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

Losing photos on a smartphone is one of the most frustrating situations for a user, especially if you're talking about the Xiaomi Redmi 9T with its limited internal memory, where every image counts. Fortunately, even after deleting the files, they don't disappear from the device instantly: they stay in memory until the new data is overwritten, which gives you a chance to recover — but only if you act quickly and correctly.

In this article, we'll look at all the current ways to return deleted photos to Redmi 9T, from standard MIUI features to professional tools. It's important to remember that the effectiveness of the methods depends on how long it has been since deleted, whether the memory card has been used, whether backups have been turned on. For example, photos deleted a month ago with active phone use are almost impossible to return - they are long taken over by new files, but pictures deleted an hour ago can be restored even without root rights.

Before you start, check two key points: 1 Do not save new files to your phone (photos, videos, apps) - this reduces the chances of success. 2 SD-map, remove it and connect through the card reader to the PC – so the probability of recovery is higher.

1.A check of the basket at MIUI Gallery

The standard Gallery app on Xiaomi Redmi 9T (as with other smartphones with MIUI 12+) has a built-in cart where photos are stored 30 days after being deleted.

How to check:

1. Open the Gallery app (an icon with colored squares).
2. Slip on three horizontal lines in the lower right corner (menu).
3. Select the basket item (urn icon).
4. Find the right photos, click on them and select Restore.

⚠️ Note: If you have manually cleaned the cart or used a third-party gallery (like Google Photos), this method will not work. → Basket → Turn on the basket.

2. Recovery via Mi Cloud (Xiaomi Cloud)

If your Redmi 9T has been activated sync with Mi Cloud, the chances of returning a photo are much higher.

• 🔹 You are logged into Mi-account on your phone.
• 🔹 The settings have enabled the option of Synchronization of the gallery (Settings) → Xiaomi account → Mi Cloud → gallery).
• 🔹 Cloud storage is not full (free is 5 GB).

Instructions for remediation:

1. Open your browser on your PC or phone and go to i.mi.com.
2. Sign in with the same account as Redmi 9T.
3. Go to the Gallery → Recycle Bin (or Deleted Files) section.
4. Select the desired photos and click Restore.

💡 If photos are not displayed in the cloud cart, try the filter by date. Mi Cloud stores deleted files for up to 60 days (as opposed to 30 days in the local cart).

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Before you restore through Mi Cloud, check if there is enough space on your phone. If the internal memory is full, the photos are not synced back!

3. Use of Google Photos (if backup was enabled)

Google Photos is another reliable recovery solution if you've set up automatic copying. Unlike Mi Cloud, photos are stored in the Recycle Bin for 60 days, and free space is limited to 15 GB (together with Gmail and Drive).

How to get back a photo:

1. Install the Google Photos app (if removed) or open the web version of photos.google.com.
2. Sign in to your Google account (the same as Redmi 9T).
3. In the menu (three lines at the top left), select the Recycle Bin.
4. Find the deleted photos, click on them and select Restore.

⚠️ Note: If you used the option to Free up space in Google Photos, local copies on your phone could be permanently deleted, in which case you can only restore them through the cloud.

4. PC Recovery with DiskDigger or Recuva

If you don't save your photos in the cart or the cloud, you'll have to use specialized software, like DiskDigger (for Android) or Recuva (for PC) for Xiaomi Redmi 9T. The first option works directly from your phone, the second one requires a computer connection.

Method 1: DiskDigger (without root rights)

• 📱 Install DiskDigger from Google Play.
• 🔍 Start the scan (select Basic scan for photos).
• 🖼️ After completion, mark the desired files and press Recover.
• 💾 Save recovered photos to a memory card or cloud (not internal memory!).

Method 2: Recuva (via PC)

1. Download Recuva from the official CCleaner website and install it on your computer.
2. Get Redmi on board. 9T PC-only USB-cable (file transfer mode).
3. In Recuva, select the type of Image files and specify the phone drive.
4. Start a deep scan (Deep Scan).
5. After completion, mark the photo and press Recover.

Critical: If you've already saved new files to your phone after you delete a photo, programs can only find fragments of images. The less memory action you take, the better the chances of a full recovery.

Disable Wi-Fi and mobile data on your phone

Use the original USB-cable

Do not connect your phone to charge during scanning

Save recovered files on PC, not phone-->

Reconstruction of c SD-cards (if the photo was on it)

If the photos were stored on a microSD, the recovery process is simplified: the card can be removed and connected to the PC via a card reader, which reduces the risk of overwriting the data, the same Recuva or PhotoRec (for advanced users) will work.

Step-by-step:

1. Extract. SD-map 9T (before disabling it in settings as a removable drive).
2. Connect the card to the PC via the adapter.
3. Start Recuva and select the disk SD-map.
4. Specify the file format of JPG, PNG, HEIC (if shot on iPhone).
5. Start the scan and wait for the results.

⚠️ Attention: If SD-The card has been formatted, the chances of recovery are plummeting, and in this case, only professional software like R-Studio can help, but it doesn't guarantee 100% results.

6.Recovery through MIUI backup (if any)

MIUI allows you to create local backups that include photos from the gallery, and if you backup before you delete them, you can return them through standard settings.

How to check and restore:

1. Go to Settings → Additional → Backup and Reset.
2. Select Local Backups.
3. Find the backup with the desired date (before deleting the photo) and tap on it.
4. Choose Restore and confirm the action.

💡 Useful advice: Local backups MIUI stored in a folder MIUI/backup/AllBackup If the recovery through the menu does not work, you can manually copy files from the backup (they have the.mbk extension).

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Backups of MIUI do not include the default photos! To save them, you need to manually select the "Gallery" item in the data list for reservation before creating a backup.

7. Appeal to the service center (extreme case)

If all of these methods failed, and the photos are critical (for example, they are the only copies of documents or family photos), you can contact the service center.

• 💰 It is expensive (from 5 000 to 20 000 rubles depending on the complexity of the).
• ⏳ It takes a lot of time (from 3 days to a week).
• 🔧 It does not guarantee 100% results (especially if the memory is overwritten).

Before the service visit:

• 📵 Turn off your phone and don’t turn it on.
• 🔋 Do not charge the device (this may trigger overwriting processes).
• 📄 Prepare a check or a warranty card (if the phone is guaranteed).

⚠️ Note: Not all service centers are dedicated to data recovery. Look for specialized labs with chip-off recovery equipment (e.g., for example, for the first time in the world, PC-3000 or DeepSpar Disk Imager).

FAQ: Frequent questions about photo recovery on Redmi 9T