How to recover deleted photos on the phone Xiaomi Redmi: all working methods

Deleting photos on a Xiaomi Redmi smartphone is one of the most common causes of panic among users, especially when it comes to valuable footage, such as family photos, documents or unique moments that cannot be reproduced. Fortunately, even after cleaning the basket or formatting the memory card, the chances of returning files remain high — provided you act quickly and correctly.

Many people mistakenly believe that after clicking Delete, data is erased forever. In fact, the Android operating system simply marks the space on the drive as free, and the files themselves remain in memory until they are overwritten with new data. This means that the first 24-48 hours after deletion are critical: the sooner you start recovery, the higher the probability of success. In this article, we will analyze 7 proven ways to return photos on the Redmi Note 12/11/10, Redmi 9/8/7 and other models – from standard MIUI tools to professional utilities.

⚠️ Important: Before you start to restore, you can't install new apps, take photos or download files. Each action writes data to the drive and reduces the chances of success.

1.Check the basket at MIUI Gallery

Xiaomi Redmi smartphones based on MIUI 12/13/14 automatically send deleted photos to the cart, where they are stored for 30 days, a section that is often overlooked, although it saves 80% of the time.

To find the basket:

1. Open the standard Gallery app (flower icon).
2. Slip on three horizontal lines (menu) in the lower right corner.
3. Select the item "Basket" (or Recently Deleted in English firmware).
4. Hold your finger on the desired photo and click "Restore".

If the basket is empty or you have cleaned it manually, proceed to the following method.

💡

On some Redmi models, the cart is hidden. To turn it on, go to Gallery Settings → Recycle Bin → Enable and set a storage period (maximum 60 days).

2. Restore via Google Photos (if synchronized)

If your Redmi has autosynchronization with Google Photos enabled, the deleted images could be saved to the cloud, which works even after you reset your phone to factory settings.

How to check:

1. Open the Google Photos app (if removed, install from the Play Market).
2. Slip on the profile avatar → “Basket”.
3. Hold the photo and select “Restore”.

The storage period in the Google Photos Recycle Bin is 60 days. If you deleted the photos earlier, try:

• 🔍 Search by date: enter in the search bar 2026-05 (month-long).
• 📁 Archive: Some photos can get there instead of a basket.
• 🖥️ PC version: go to photos.google.com - there may be another sort.

⚠️ Warning: If sync has been disabled, this method won't work. Check settings: Google Photo → Settings → Backup and synchronization.

Recovery via Mi Cloud (for Xiaomi account holders)

Mi Cloud is Xiaomi's proprietary cloud storage that automatically saves photos when the "Gallery Sync" option is enabled.

1. Go to Settings → Accounts → Mi Cloud.
2. Make sure the Gallery slider is active.
3. Open i.mi.com on your PC or in your phone browser.
4. Sign in and go to the Gallery section» → «Basket».

In Mi Cloud, photos are stored 30 days after deleting. If they are not in the cart, try:

• 🔄 Recovery of backup: in Mi Cloud → Devices → Backups select backup before photo deletion date.
• 📂 Checking other folders: sometimes photos are saved to Mi Cloud → gallery → Screenshots or Downloads.

Important: If you don't remember your Mi Account password, you can only restore access via your linked email or phone number. Password reset via SMS doesn't work in all regions.

4.Recovery programs without ROOT (on the phone)

If the photo is not in the cart or in the cloud, you have to use specialized applications, and we tested 10 utilities, and these were the best results (they work without superuser rights):

Instructions for DiskDigger (the most reliable option):

1. Install an app from the Play Market.
2. Select “Start Basic Scan” (without ROOT).
3. Check the boxes for /storage/emulated/0/DCIM and /storage/emulated/0/Pictures.
4. After scanning, select the desired photos and click "Restore".
5. Save files to a memory card or cloud (not internal memory!).

⚠️ Note: Do not save recovered photos back to the phone's internal memory - this can overwrite the remaining deleted data.

Charging the phone > 50%|Mobile Internet is disabled (to avoid interrupting the scan)|Free space on the memory card > 1GB|All background applications closed-->

5. PC Recovery (maximum efficiency)

If you don't find anything on your phone, connect Redmi to your computer and use desktop software, which scans memory at a low level and finds files even after formatting.

The best PC programs:

• 💻 Recuva (free, simple, supported by Xiaomi).
• 💻 EaseUS Data Recovery (paid, but there is a trial version).
• 💻 7-Data Recovery (recovery well) HEIC and RAW).

Step-by-step instructions for Recuva:

1. Download the program from the official website and install.
2. Connect Redmi to the PC via USB-cable (select File Transfer Mode on your phone).
3. In Recuva, select the type of Images files.
4. Specify the path to the phone’s internal memory (usually This is a computer → [Redmi Model] → Internal storage).
5. Start a deep scan (it will take 30-60 minutes).
6. After completion, mark the photo and click "Restore" (save to the PC drive!).

6. Recovery after resetting settings or firmware

If you have done a hard reset or reflashed your phone, the chances of returning a photo are reduced, but only deep scanning through a PC using professional tools will help.

What can be done:

• 🛠️ Use TestDisk or PhotoRec (free but hard to set up) and these tools work even with damaged memory partitions.

⚠️ Note: After resetting, you can not install new applications or update MIUI. Each action overwrites data and reduces the chances of recovery.

💡

If the phone has been reset, don't connect it to the Mi Account the first time you turn on! this can trigger automatic synchronization and overwrite deleted files.

7.Prevention: How to avoid loss of photos in the future

To avoid the problem of deleted photos, set up automatic backup on Xiaomi Redmi:

3 reliable ways:

• ☁️ Google Photos: Enable Settings → Backup and synchronization (free up to 15 GB).
• 📱 Mi Cloud: Settings → Mi Cloud → Gallery (5GB free, optimized for Redmi).
• 💾 Local Backup: Copy the folder once a month DCIM memory card.

Additional advice:

• 🚫 Don’t just keep your photo on your phone – use the rule. 3-2-1 (3 copy, 2 carrier, 1 cloud).
• 🔄 Periodically check the basket in the gallery and clouds - sometimes photos there lie for years.
• 📵 Turn off automatic cleaning: in Settings → Warehouse → Clean up deactivate the option “Delete unused files».

💡

The most common reason for permanent loss of photos is overwriting data, so if you delete pictures, don't take new photos or install apps before you try to recover them.

FAQ: Frequent questions about photo recovery on Xiaomi Redmi