How to recover deleted files from Xiaomi phone: the complete guide

Accidentally removing a valuable document or family image on a Xiaomi smartphone is a stressful situation that many users face. Often a finger slips at the most inopportune moment, and after a second the necessary information disappears from the gallery or file manager. However, you should not panic ahead of time, since the Android operating system and the MIUI shell (or the new HyperOS) have several levels of data protection.

Data recovery can be done in a variety of ways, from the built-in Recycle Bin functions to the use of specialized software on your computer. The efficiency of data recovery depends on how long it has been since you deleted it and whether the device has been used since the incident. The less you do with your phone, the better the chances of success.

In this article, we will take a look at all the current ways to help you recover lost files, including standard system tools, cloud capabilities, and third-party utilities, and the highest success rate is observed when you recover in the first hours after deletion, before the memory sector is overwritten with new data.

Checking the built-in basket in the Gallery and the Explorer

The easiest and often ignored way is to check the Recycle Bin system folder. In modern versions of the MIUI and HyperOS shell, deleted photos, videos and files are not erased instantly, but are moved to temporary storage, where they can stay for up to 30 days, after which they are destroyed irrevocably. To check, open the Gallery app and go to the Album tab, scrolling down to Deleted.

The same thing happens with files in the system manager. If you delete a document through the built-in Explorer, it also gets into the buffer. Find a folder called Trash or recently deleted at the root of the file system or in the Explorer settings menu. Here you can select one or more objects and click Restore.

It's important to understand that the bin is limited in size, and if you delete a lot of files at once, the system can automatically clean the old items to make room, and it can clean up when the storage is overflowing.

• 📸 Photos and videos are stored in the Gallery basket for up to 30 days.
• 📄 Document files in the Explorer can be in the basket for up to 90 days.
• 🔄 Recovery takes place in the same folder where the file was originally located.
• ⚠️ Cleaning the cart manually deletes the data permanently.

⚠️ WARNING: If you’ve formatted a memory card or made a full reset of your phone’s settings, a built-in shopping cart won’t help, as it’s a software add-on, not a physical storage.

Remember that when internal memory is overflowing, the system can automatically delete the oldest files from the trash, ignoring the 30-day deadline.

Using the Xiaomi Cloud Service

Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphone owners have access to proprietary cloud storage. If the device was synchronized, your data could be saved automatically on the company's servers. This is one of the most reliable ways that does not require a cable connection to a PC. To access, go to Settings -> Mi Account -> Xiaomi Cloud.

The web version of the cloud at i.mi.com is often wider than the mobile app, where you can find the Gallery or Recorder section, where you store deleted items, the system allows you to recover files even after a long time, if they were not deleted from the cloud basket, cloud sync works in the background and does not require user intervention.

It is worth noting that free space in Xiaomi Cloud is limited (usually 5 GB). If the limit was exhausted at the time of deleting the file, it may not have time to sync.

Often users forget that they have switched on sync only for contacts, forgetting about the photo.

• ☁️ Data access is possible from any device through the browser.
• 📅 Deletions in the cloud can be stored for up to 60 days.
• 🔒 Sign in requires a password from the Mi Account and a confirmation code.

⚠️ Attention: When recovering large amounts of data via the mobile Internet, traffic or data plan may quickly run out.

If you plan to recover gigabytes of photos, it is better to do it through a computer, so as not to overload the RAM of the smartphone and avoid the possible freeze of the system while simultaneously downloading hundreds of files.

Recovery via Google Photos and Google Drive

Since Android is a product of Google, Google’s services are deeply integrated. Google Photos is the default app installed on most Xiaomi devices and often offers to enable autoboot. Deleted images fall into the service’s shared shopping cart, which also has a lifespan of 30 days (or 60 days for Google One subscribers).

The way it works is the same for documents and other types of files: the file moves to the Recycle Bin section in the side menu of the application or on the disk site. The advantage of the Google ecosystem is smart search: even if the file is deleted, its thumbnail or cached copy can remain in the application search results, from where you can sometimes go to restore.

It's important to check which account was synced, and multiple email accounts may be authorized on the phone, and the data may have been sent to a secondary account you've forgotten about, and switch between profiles in the app to make sure the file you want isn't in the other cloud.

• 🔍 Google’s smart search can find photos by objects, even if they’re in the cart.
• 🗑️ Google Photos are automatically released every 30 days.
• 📂 Google Drive allows you to restore previous versions of files.

If you recently changed your Google account password, sync may have stopped. Check the backup status in the app settings to make sure the data was actually being sent to the server before you delete it.

Programs for data recovery on PC

When standard methods fail, you have to use "heavy artillery" software for your computer, software like Dr.Fone, Tenorshare UltData, or DiskDigger (PC version) to scan your device's memory for residual file traces, and deep scanning can find data that the file system tags as free space, but it's still physically on the drive.

To work most of these programs, you need to turn on the phone debugging mode via USB. This is done in the hidden menu For developers. Path to the menu: Settings -> About phone -> Quickly press 7 times on the MIUI version, then select for developers in Advanced settings and activate Debugging over USB.

The recovery process takes time and depends on the amount of memory it has, and it creates a sector-by-sector copy or reads a file table to try to collect pieces of lost information. It is worth noting that on modern versions of Android with memory encryption, the effectiveness of such programs decreases if root rights are not obtained.

⚠️ Warning: Using third-party data recovery software is always risky. Never install recovery software directly on the disk or phone you are trying to save data from so as not to overwrite it.

Be prepared for the fact that many high-quality programs are paid. Free versions often allow you to scan the device and show previews of the files found, requiring payment for the actual recovery.

Memory analysis via ADB (for advanced)

For those who are not afraid of the command line, there is the Android Debug Bridge (ADB) tool, a powerful tool from Google that allows you to control your device from a computer, and you can try to make a full memory dump or find traces of deleted files in system logs and cache applications such as Telegram or WhatsApp.

To get started, you need to install ADB drivers on your computer and connect your phone. The adb device team will check the connection. You can then use commands to pull back data from system folders where deleted files may have been temporarily stored. For example, messenger cache often stores the received media files even after they are deleted from the chat.

adb pull /sdcard/Android/data/org.telegram.messenger/cache/ C:/Recovery/Telegram/

This method requires an accurate knowledge of the structure of Android file paths. A command error can lead to junk copying or, in the worst case, to damage to the file system if you misuse write commands. Command Prompt does not forgive errors, so check the syntax carefully.