Recovery of deleted photos on Xiaomi Redmi 9: from the cart to deep scanning

Delete important photos from Xiaomi Redmi 9 and now you don’t know how to get them back? Don’t panic – even if the pictures disappeared from the gallery, they can still be stored in the device’s memory or cloud services. In this article, we will analyze all possible ways of recovery, from simple (checking the cart and Google Photos) to complex (using specialized utilities and other tools). ADB-We will pay special attention to the nuances of working with the MIUI — Xiaomi’s proprietary shell, which sometimes hides files in an unobvious way.

It's important to understand that recovery success depends on how long it's been since you deleted it and how much you've been using your phone. Every new photo, video, or app you install can overwrite deleted data. So you need to act quickly -- and preferably without too much memory manipulation -- if the photos were recently deleted (within 30 days, the chances of success are maximum.

We tested all of these methods on Redmi 9 with different MIUI versions (12 to 14) and prepared step-by-step instructions based on the features of this model, for example, you will learn why the standard shopping cart in the gallery sometimes does not show deleted files and how to circumvent this limitation, and also understand what to do if photos were deleted without backup, in which case deep memory scanning will help.

1.Check the basket in the standard MIUI gallery

The first thing you need to do is to look into the shopping cart of the built-in Gallery app. In MIUI, deleted photos don't disappear immediately: they move to a special folder and store them for 30 days (unless you have changed the settings), but many users don't know that the shopping cart can be hidden or disabled.

To find her:

• 📱 Open the Gallery app (icon with multi-colored squares).
• 🔍 In the upper right corner, press three dots (⋮) and pick the basket.
• 🗑️ If the folder is not on the menu, try swiping left in the main gallery window – sometimes the basket is hidden in a separate tab.
• 🔄 Deleted photos will be marked in gray. Highlight the photos and click Restore.

If the basket is empty or not at all, it can mean:

• ❌ Files deleted more than 30 days ago (automatic cleanup).
• ❌ You manually cleaned the cart through Settings → Warehouse → Cleanup.
• ❌ Photos were deleted not through the gallery, but through the file manager (for example, Explorer or File Manager). ES File Explorer).

⚠️ Note: In some versions MIUI (For example, 12.5) the shopping cart may not be displayed if the photos were deleted through Google Photos or third-party apps.

2. Restore via Google Photos (if synchronized)

If your Redmi 9 has enabled automatic uploading of photos to Google Photos, the chances of returning deleted photos are very high, the service stores backups even after deleting from the device - for 60 days (or indefinitely if the files were transferred to the archive).

How to check:

• 🌐 Open the Google Photos app (if not, install it from Play Market).
• 🔍 In the search box, enter Remote or go to the Library menu → Basket.
• 📤 Deleted photos will be available for recovery within 60 days. highlight the desired and click Restore.
• ☁️ If the basket is empty, check the archive: Library → Archives, old photos can be stored there.

If Google Photos wasn’t used for backup, but you remember that photos were uploaded to the cloud, try:

• 🔗 Log in to the web version of Google Photos from your computer – sometimes there are files that are not available in the mobile application.
• 📧 Check email for attachments (you may have sent photos to yourself or friends).

⚠️ Note: If you deleted photos from Google Photos more than 60 days ago and cleared the cart, it is no longer possible to restore them through this service.

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To avoid losing photos in the future, enable automatic sync in Google Photos: open the app → click on the avatar → Photo settings → Backup and Sync. Choose High (unlimited) quality if you want to save space in the cloud.

3.Use of file managers to find hidden files

Sometimes photos are not deleted completely, but simply moved to hidden folders or lost extension, which can be due to a MIUI malfunction, viruses, or incorrect use of memory cleanup applications, and you will need a file manager that supports hidden folders.

We recommend using:

• 📁 Conductor (built-in MIUI)
• 📁 Solid Explorer (paid, but with free trial period)
• 📁 FX File Explorer (with root rights, if any)

Search instructions:

1. Open the file manager and enable the display of hidden files (in Explorer: ⋮ → Settings → Show hidden files).
2. Go to /storage/emulated/0/DCIM/, where all the photos taken by the camera are stored.
3. Check the subfolders: Camera – basic pictures;.thumbnails – thumbnails (sometimes there are copies); Screenshots – screenshots; MIUI or Xiaomi – system folders with backups.

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If the photos were stored on a memory card, connect it to your computer through a card reader and scan programs like Recuva or PhotoRec (we will discuss them below).

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If photos are missing after the MIUI update, check the /MIUI/Backup/ folder – sometimes the system backs up media files before installing updates.

4. Recovery with specialized applications (without root)

If the previous methods didn't work, it's time to move to deep memory scanning, which requires applications that analyze the internal memory of the phone at the binary data level, and the more you use the phone after deleting, the better the chances of success.

Best apps for Redmi 9 (no root rights required):

• 🛠️ DiskDigger — scans memory and restores photos in their original quality. There's a free version with limitations.
• 🛠️ Dumpster – works as an extended recycle bin, but must be installed before deleting files.
• 🛠️ EaseUS MobiSaver – Supports recovery from memory cards and internal memory.

Step-by-step instructions for DiskDigger:

Install DiskDigger from Play Market| Launch the app and select Start basic scan |Select folders to search (e.g. /DCIM/)| Wait until the scan is finished (may take 10-30 minutes) |View the files found and save them to the cloud or PC

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Please note:

• ⚠️ Don't save recovered files to the same Redmi 9 - this can overwrite the remaining data.
• ⚠️ If the application requires root rights but they don’t, skip this step. Root is optional, but increases the chances of success.
• ⚠️ Free versions of apps often limit the number of files you can recover (for example, only 10 photos).

On Redmi 9 with MIUI 13/14, some recovery apps may not see internal memory due to system limitations, in which case, connect your phone to your PC and use desktop programs (see next section).

5. Computer Recovery (using Recuva, PhotoRec, Mi PC Suite)

If the apps on your phone didn't work, try scanning your memory with your computer.

• 💻 Computer with Windows/Linux;
• 🔌 Cable USB (Preferably original from Xiaomi);
• 📱 Enabled Mode File Transfer (MTP) Redmi 9.

The best PC programs:

Instructions for Recuva:

1. Connect Redmi 9 to your PC in File Transfer mode (swipe down → USB connection notification → select MTP).
2. Run Recuva and select the type of Image files.
3. Specify the location to scan: if the phone is identified as a removable drive, select it. If not, scan the entire computer (it will take longer).
4. Click Analysis and then, after it is completed, Deep Analysis.
5. View the files you find (they will be color-coded depending on your chances of recovery) and save them to your PC.

For PhotoRec (if Recuva doesn't work):

1. Unpack the archive with the program in any folder.


2 Run photorec_win.exe (for Windows) or photorec (for Linux/Mac).




3. Select the disk corresponding to Redmi 9 (usually the last one on the list).




Specify the file system (usually FAT/exFAT for memory card or ext4 for internal memory).




5. Select a folder to save recovered files (NOT on your phone!).




6.Tap Search and wait until the process is over.

⚠️ Attention: If Redmi 9 not determined by the computer in mode MTP, try: 🔄 Restart your phone and PC. 🔌 Use another one. USB-cable. 📱 Turn on Debugging. USB In Settings → The phone. → Version. MIUI (press 7 once) → Additionally. → For developers → Debugging by USB. What if the program finds photos but they open as broken? If the recovered files don't open or are displayed with artifacts, it means that parts of them have been overwritten: 1. Recover files with another program (for example, PhotoRec instead of Recuva). 2. Use online services to repair images, for example JPEG Repair. 3. Check if the thumbnails are still in the folder. /DCIM/.thumbnails — Sometimes they have better quality than you think. 6. Recovery through backup copies MIUI (if there are) MIUI It has a built-in backup system that sometimes saves photos to the cloud or locally, and you can check this through official Mi software. PC Suite or in phone settings. How to restore from local copy: Go to Settings → The phone. → Backup and reset → Local backup. Check if there are available copies with a date preceding the removal of photos. If there is a copy, click Restore and select Gallery or Multimedia. To recover from the Xiaomi Cloud: 🌥️ Open the Settings. → Xiaomi account → Mi Cloud. 📁 Go to the Gallery or backup copies. 🔍 Find the photos you want and download them back to your phone: ❌ Local backups MIUI They are created manually – there is no automatic backup of photos (unlike Google Photos). ❌ If you have never set up Mi Cloud, there will be no photos. ✅ If there is a copy, but it cannot be restored, try resetting the phone to the factory settings and recovering data at the first setup. 7. Extreme measures: restoration with root rights or through ADB If all previous methods fail, there are two radical ways to do this: root rights and memory scanning with Undeleter or Undeleter. GT Recovery. Use. ADB (Android Debug Bridge for manually searching for deleted files. ⚠️ Warning: Getting root rights to Redmi 9 It can cancel the warranty and cause the phone to run in an unstable way, and it's recommended only for advanced users. ADB: 1. Install. ADB computer (instructions: https://developer.android.com/studio/command-line/adb). 2. Get Redmi on board. 9 plug-in USB. 3. Enter the command to search for deleted files: adb shell su -c "find /data -name '.jpg' -o -name '.png' > /sdcard/recovered_files.txt" 4. File. recovered_files.txt The memory card will contain a list of all images found, including deleted images. 5. Copy the files you need on your PC with adb pull. for root rights recovery: 🔧 Install Magisk to get root (instructions are available on the root). XDA Developers). 🛠️ Use Undeleter or GT Recovery – These root-right apps scan memory at a low level. 💾 Save recovered files to your PC or cloud. ⚠️ Note: Do not update after obtaining root rights MIUI through OTA — This can lead to bricks. Use only custom firmware through TWRP. 8. If all of these methods have failed, the last option is to contact a professional data recovery service: 📸 Photos are of high value (e.g., single shots from an important event). 💾 Phone is physically damaged (fall into water, screen crashes, doesn't turn on). 🔧 You're not willing to risk your data by trying to recover it yourself: 🔬 Chip-off recovery – extracting data directly from the memory chip (the most reliable, but expensive method). 🖥️ Logical recovery – deep analysis of the file system using professional software. 📱 Phone repair – if the problem is in the hardware (for example, flash memory is not working). Average cost of recovery in Russia (2026 Year: Type of recovery Cost, ₽ Logical (programmatic) timeframe) 3 000 — 8 000 1-3 Chip-off day (physical) 10 000 — 25 000 3-7 Emergency (urgent) days) 15 000 — 30 000 1 Day Where to look for services: 🏙️ In major cities: Data Recovery Laboratory, Data Recovery, Xiaomi Service Center (official partners). 🌍 Online: Flashback Data, DriveSavers (international services with device delivery). ⚠️ Warning: Don’t try to recover data yourself before using the service, which can reduce your chances of success "100% Recovery at a low price is often a scam. FAQ: Frequent questions about photo recovery on Redmi 9 ❓ Can we recover photos that were deleted a year ago. If the photos were not uploaded to the cloud (Google Photos, Mi Cloud) and stored on a memory card that was not used all this time, the data is likely overwritten. ❓ Why the basket in the gallery MIUI Possible reasons: Photos were deleted not through the gallery, but through the file manager (in this case, they do not fall into the basket). → Basket → The system automatically cleared the cart after 30 days.Update MIUI reset the basket settings. ❓ Can I recover photos after resetting my phone to factory settings? If the reset was made without formatting the internal memory (Option Clean Everything in the Facility) MIUI), Use DiskDigger or PhotoRec to scan. If Formatting is selected, the data is likely to be lost irretrievably. ❓ How to avoid losing photos in the future: ☁️ Enable automatic sync in Google Photos or Mi Cloud. 📁 Regularly copy photos to your computer or external disk. 🔄 Use backup applications like Swift Backup (requires root). 🚫 Don’t just store photos on a memory card – it may fail. ❓ Does the recovery apps work on Redmi 9s? MIUI 14? Yes, but with reservations: ✅ DiskDigger, EaseUS MobiSaver and Recuva are all working, but may not see all files due to limitations MIUI. ❌ Some applications (such as Dumpster) require installation before deleting files. 🔧 For maximum efficiency, connect your phone to your PC and use desktop programs.