Recovering deleted photos on Xiaomi phone: step-by-step instructions

Losing photos on a Xiaomi smartphone is one of the most frustrating situations for owners. Vacation pictures, family photos or important documents can disappear as a result of accidental deletion, resetting or system failure. Fortunately, in most cases, they can be returned - even if you have already cleaned the cart or formatted the memory card. In this article, we will discuss all the current ways to restore deleted photos on Redmi, POCO and other Xiaomi devices, including hidden MIUI functions and third-party tools.

It's important to understand that recovery success depends on several factors: whether the time has elapsed since deleting, whether the phone has been used after file loss, and whether backup is enabled, for example, if you deleted a photo less than 30 days ago and didn't write new data to the device, the chances of returning it are as high as possible, but after a complete reset or flashing of the phone, recovery becomes almost impossible without professional tools.

We tested all of these methods on the latest Xiaomi 13/14, Redmi Note 12/13 and POCO F5/X5 models with the latest MIUI 14/15 (based on Android 13/14). The instructions are universal and will be suitable for most of the brand’s devices released after 2018. If your model is older, check the section on the recovery features on older smartphones.

1.A check of the basket at MIUI Gallery

The first thing you need to do is to look into the built-in Gallery application basket, and in MIUI, deleted photos are not permanently erased immediately: they are stored in a temporary storage facility for 15 to 30 days (depending on the model and firmware version), which is the easiest and fastest way to return images without additional software.

How to check the basket:

• 📱 Open the standard Gallery app (icon with multicolored squares).
• 🗑️ In the upper right corner, press three dots (⋮) and select the Recycle Bin (or recently deleted on some models).
• 🔍 Scroll through the list and find the photos you want. They're sorted by date of deletion.
• 🔄 Select files (long press) and click Restore at the bottom of the screen.

If the cart is empty or there are no photos, go to the next method. Please note: after cleaning the cart or expiration of the storage period, files are deleted irrevocably (if there was no backup), and the cart may not work if the photos were deleted through Explorer or third-party file managers.

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On some Xiaomi models (such as the Redmi 9A or POCO M3), the gallery cart is disabled by default. To activate it, go to Gallery Settings → Recycle Bin → Enable the Recycle Bin.

2.Restore via Google Photos

If your Xiaomi has Google Photos enabled, deleted photos can be returned from cloud storage, the service saves copies of all uploaded photos and videos, and provides a shopping cart for 60 days - twice as long as a standard MIUI gallery.

Instructions for remediation:

• 🌐 Open the Google Photos app (if not, install it from Play Market).
• 👤 Sign in with the same Google account that was used for syncing.
• 🗑️ In the menu (three lines in the upper left corner) select the basket.
• 🔍 Find the right photos, highlight them and click Restore.

If the cart is empty, check the Archive or search by date. Google Photos also allows you to download backups to your computer: go to photos.google.com, select a photo and click More → Download.

An important caveat: Google Photos only saves photos in their original quality if you have enough space in the cloud (or a Google One subscription). If compression (High quality) is enabled, the originals may be lost. To check the settings, go to Google Photos → Settings → Backup and Sync.

3.Recovery via Mi Cloud

Xiaomi offers its own cloud storage, the Mi Cloud, which automatically stores photos, contacts and other data. If sync is enabled, deleted images can be returned via a web interface or mobile application. The main advantage of Mi Cloud over Google Photos is the ability to recover even after resetting the phone to factory settings.

How to recover photos via Mi Cloud:

1. 🌍 Go to i.mi.com or open the Mi Cloud app on your phone.
2. 🔑 Sign in to your Xiaomi account (the same as on your phone).
3. 📁 Select the Gallery or Photos section.
4. 🔍 Find the Recycle Bin folder (in the web version it may be called Recently Deleted).
5. ↩️ Select the desired photos and click Restore.

If the photos don't show up in the cart, try downloading them directly from the main gallery.Please note: Mi Cloud only provides 5GB for free.If the space is over, old backups can be automatically deleted.To check the available space, go to Settings → Mi Cloud → Storage.

4. Programs for Recovery of Deleted Files

If the photos are not saved in the cart or the cloud, the last chance is to use specialized utilities to recover data, these programs scan the internal memory or microSD card for traces of deleted files, the less time has passed since deleting, the better the chances of success.

The best programs for Xiaomi:

We recommend starting with DiskDigger, one of the few apps that runs on Xiaomi without superuser rights (root). However, deep scanning still requires unlocking the bootloader and installing Magisk. If you are not ready for such manipulations, connect the phone to your computer and use Recuva or EaseUS MobiSaver.

📌 Put the debugging on. USB In Settings → The phone. → Version. MIUI (press 7 times) → Additionally. → For developers → Debugging by USB

📌 Connect your phone to your PC via the original cable

📌 Allow access to data on the phone screen

📌 Do not write new files to your device until the scan is completed.-->

Warning: Recovery programs can find fragments of deleted files, but do not guarantee 100% results. The more you use your phone after deleting (taking new photos, installing apps), the greater the risk of overwriting lost data. If photos are critical, immediately disconnect the phone from the network and do not turn it on until you start recovery.

5. Hidden MIUI functions for recovery

MIUI firmware contains a few little-known tools that can help you recover deleted photos without third-party software, features that are not officially documented, but work on most Xiaomi devices.

Method 1: Recovery with MIUI Backup

• ⚙️ Go to Settings. → The phone. → Backup and reset.
• 🔄 Select Local Backups and check if there are current backups.
• 📂 If you have a backup, click Restore and select the data you need (including the Gallery).

Method 2: Search for temporary files through Explorer

Sometimes deleted photos are left in cache or temporary folders to find them:

1. 📁 Open Explorer (or any file manager, such as Solid Explorer).
2. 🔍 Go to the folder. /storage/emulated/0/Pictures/ or /DCIM/.thumbnails/.
3. 🔎 Enable the display of hidden files (in Explorer: three dots) → Settings → Show hidden files).
4. 🖼️ Check files with.thumb,.nomedia or no extensions – sometimes thumbnails or corrupted copies of the originals.

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MIUI Backup only backs up automatically when you connect to Wi-Fi and charge, and if you've never manually enabled it, there may not be local backups.

Method 3: Recovery through ADB (for Advanced)

If you have experience with Android Debug Bridge, you can try extracting deleted photos from the command line. ADB-driver.

adb shell


su




cd /data/data/com.android.gallery3d/cache/




ls -la | grep *.jpg

This command will show you a list of cached images in the gallery folder, and you can copy them to your computer using:

adb pull /data/data/com.android.gallery3d/cache/photo.jpg C:\Restore\

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If you don’t know how to work with ADB, use Minimal ADB and Fastboot for Windows. It makes it easy to execute commands without fully installing Android Studio.

6. How to avoid losing photos in the future

The best way to combat data loss is to prevent it, set up automatic backups and follow simple rules to minimize the risks:

• ☁️ Enable sync with Google Photos and Mi Cloud: 📱 Settings → Accounts. → Google → Synchronization of data → Photo Photo 📱 Settings → Mi Cloud → Synchronization → gallery
• 💾 Regularly copy your photo to a PC or external drive (for example, once a month).
• 🚫 Don’t keep a single copy of important photos on your phone – use the rule 3-2-1 (3 copy, 2 carrier-type, 1 house-house).
• 🔄 Check the cart before cleaning - in MIUI It cleans automatically after 30 days, but you can do it manually earlier.

Also pay attention to the settings of the Explorer:

• 🗑️ Open the Conductor. → Settings → Recycle cart and enable the option Use cart.
• ⏳ Set the maximum retention period for deleted files (up to 30 days).

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If you take pictures often, install the Simple Gallery app from the Play Market, which offers more flexible shopping cart settings (such as manual cleaning) and supports folder encryption.

Warning about cleaners:

⚠️ Note: Do not use applications such as Clean Master, CCleaner or MIUI Optimizer for garbage cleanup. They often delete cache galleries and temporary files that may store thumbnails or copies of lost photos. If you've already lost pictures, don't start memory optimization until you try to recover.

7. Features of recovery on older Xiaomi models

If your smartphone is released before 2018 (e.g. Redmi 4X, Mi A1, Mi 5), the recovery process may be different.

• 📵 Lack of support for current versions MIUI (no basket in the gallery).
• 🔌 Outdated Android versions (4.4-7.0) that are not compatible with modern recovery software.
• 💾 Limited memory (often no room to back up).

Recommendations for older models:

1. 🔍 Use Recuva or PhotoRec on PC – They Work Better FAT32 (filesystem of old Xiaomi).
2. 📁 Check the folder. /DCIM/.thumbnails/ — On old firmware, there are sometimes full-size copies.
3. 🔄 If the phone doesn’t turn on, remove the microSD card and connect it to your computer via a card reader.

For Android 5.0-6.0 devices (like the Redmi Note 3), GT Recovery (requires root) can help, but beware: unofficial firmware and modifications on older smartphones often lead to a “brick” (bootloader breakage).

Frequent questions