Recovery of deleted photos on Xiaomi Redmi 6A: from the cart to deep scanning

Delete important photos from Xiaomi Redmi 6A and don't know how to get them back? Don't panic - in most cases, files can be recovered even if they're missing from the gallery. The main thing is to act quickly and not write new data to your phone so as not to erase lost photos.

In this article, you will find 5 proven methods of returning deleted photos: from standard functions MIUI We'll go through each method in detail, identify its pros and cons, and warn you of common errors that can make recovery impossible. 6A — Limited memory model and specific file system.

Spoiler: If you've used cloud services or MIUI backup, the odds of success are close to 100 percent, but even without them, there are solutions — the key is not to put off the action "for later."

1.Check the basket at MIUI Gallery

The first thing you need to do is to look into the Gallery's built-in application cart, and in MIUI, deleted photos are not erased immediately, but are put in temporary storage for up to 30 days (by default), which is the fastest and safest way to return photos.

How to open the basket:

• 📱 Launch the standard Gallery app on Redmi 6A.
• 🗑️ Swipe the basket icon in the upper right corner (or swipe right in the album menu).
• 🔍 Find the right photos, highlight them with a long tap and click Restore.

If the basket is empty or the icon is gone, you've either expired or you've manually cleaned it, and then you'll move on to the following methods.

⚠️ Note: In some versions MIUI The cart is disabled by default. To activate it, go to Gallery Settings. → Recycle Bin and turn on the option Save Deleted Files, but this will only help for future deletions - you can't return deleted photos.

2. Recovery via Mi Cloud (Xiaomi Cloud)

If the Redmi 6A enabled sync with Mi Cloud, your photos could be automatically saved to the cloud, which works even after the phone is reset to factory settings or the device breaks.

How to check the cloud:

1. 🌐 Go to i.mi.com and log in to the same Mi Account you used on your phone.
2. 📁 Open the Gallery section or backup copies.
3. 🔍 Find a folder with a date close to the time the photo was deleted, and you can store both originals and thumbnails.
4. 📥 Select the files you need and click Download (or Restore to your device if your phone is connected to your account).

Note that the free version of the Mi Cloud only has 5GB of storage. If the limit is exhausted, the old backups could be automatically deleted. Also check if the sync in the phone settings has been turned off (Settings → Xiaomi Account → Mi Cloud → Gallery).

3. Search for photos in Google Photos (if the application was installed)

Many Redmi 6A users install Google Photos to automatically back up. If the app was set up, your photos could be saved to the Google cloud - even if you deleted them from your phone.

Instructions for remediation:

• 📱 Install Google Photos on any smartphone (or open the web version of photos.google.com).
• 🔑 Sign in with the same Google account that was used on Redmi 6A.
• 🗃️ Go to the basket section (on the menu on the left) Photos are stored here for 60 days.
• 🔄 If the basket is empty, check the Archive or search by date.

Important: Google Photos compresses photos for free storage (if High Quality option is enabled) and you had to pay for original quality or use another service to get the originals.

⚠️ Attention: If on Redmi 6A It enabled memory optimization in Google Photos, and the original photos could be automatically deleted from the phone after uploading to the cloud, and you can only restore them through the web version of the service.

4. Connecting to a computer and scanning memory

If cloud services didn't work, try direct scanning of your phone's memory via your PC, which works even if the photos aren't displayed in the gallery but haven't been overwritten by the new data yet.

What you need:

• 🖥️ Computer with Windows/macOS/Linux.
• 🔌 Cable USB (Preferably original from Redmi 6A).
• 🛠️ Recovery software (recommended by DiskDigger, Recuva or PhotoRec).

Step-by-step:

1. 📵 Get Redmi on board. 6A to PC in file transfer mode (when you see a request on your phone, select this option).
2. 🔍 Run a recovery program (such as DiskDigger) and select the disk corresponding to the phone’s memory.
3. 🔎 Set up the scan: Formats: JPG, PNG, HEIC (for Redmi 6A Depth: Full scan (will take longer but find more files).

⏳ Wait until the process is complete (may take 30 minutes to several hours).

📥 Save the photo found on your computer (not on your phone!).

For the Redmi 6A, it is especially important to scan internal memory (/storage/emulated/0/DCIM) as this is where the camera photos are stored by default. If you used a microSD, check it too.

Disable Wi-Fi and mobile data on your phone|Charge your phone at least 50 times%|Use the original USB-cable|Do not connect your phone to other devices during scanning-->

⚠️ Please note: Do not save recovered photos back to Redmi 6A Recording new data can wipe out files that have not yet been scanned. Use a computer or external drive to save it.

5. Restoration with root rights (for power users)

If standard methods don't work and photos are critical, you can try root-access deep scanning, which is a risky method, because doing the wrong thing can cause your phone to break, but it increases your chances of success.

What needs to be done:

1. 🔓 Get root rights to Redmi 6A (For example, through Magisk or KingRoot, this is a firmware with an unlocked bootloader.
2. 📱 Install a root-access recovery application (e.g., Undeleter or GT Recovery).
3. 🔍 Start scanning system partitions (/data, /sdcard).
4. 📥 Save the found files to an external medium.