Losing photos on a smartphone is one of the most painful situations for a user, especially if we are talking about Xiaomi, where the default is not always on sync with the cloud, and the built-in basket can be cleaned automatically, and fortunately, even after deleting files do not disappear from the device’s memory instantly: they can be returned if you act quickly and correctly.
In this article, we will discuss all the current ways to recover photos on Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones - from basic (check basket and cloud storage) to advanced (use of PC and specialized utilities). Separately, we will dwell on the nuances for different versions of MIUI and models, and also give recommendations on how to protect photos from accidental deletion in the future. If you act in the first hours after a loss, the chances of success are maximum!
1.Check the basket at Xiaomi Gallery
The first thing you need to do is to look into the built-in Recycle Bin of the Gallery app, where in MIUI, deleted photos are stored for up to 30 days (by default), and then automatically erased. Importantly, if you were manually cleaning the Recycle Bin or using memory optimization features, the files could have disappeared earlier.
How to check:
- 📱 Open the Gallery app (camera icon).
- 🗑️ In the upper right corner, tap three points (⋮) → pick the basket.
- 🔍 Scroll through the list or search by date/file type.
- 🔄 To restore, highlight a photo → Click Restore (Icon with a down arrow).
If the cart is empty or there is no photo, then move on to the next method. Note: some firmware (e.g. MIUI 14 for the global version) may call the cart Recently deleted or Album Archive.
2. Recovery via Mi Cloud (Xiaomi Cloud)
If your Xiaomi has enabled sync with Mi Cloud, the chances of returning photos are much higher, the cloud keeps backups of photos even if they are deleted from the device, the main condition is that you had to log in to your Mi Account and activate the option of Auto Sync Gallery.
Instructions for remediation:
- 🌐 Go to i.mi.com from your PC or phone (sign up with the same account as your smartphone).
- 📁 In the menu on the left, select the Gallery → Recycle Bin (or All files if the Recycle Bin is empty).
- 🔎 Filter the photo by date of deletion or album.
- 💾 Select the files you need. → Click Restore (they will return to the gallery on the phone).
⚠️ Note: Mi Cloud only provides 5GB of storage for free. If the limit is exhausted, old backups can be automatically deleted.
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If photos are not displayed in the cloud, try to enable the display of hidden files: in the Mi Cloud Gallery, click on three dots → Settings → Show hidden files.
3.Using backups of Google Photos
Many Xiaomi users install Google Photos as an alternative to the standard gallery. If you have backed up to this service, you can restore photos even years after deleting. Google Photos saves files in the Archive or Recycle Bin (stored for 60 days).
Step-by-step:
- Open the Google Photos app or go to photos.google.com.
- In the menu (three lines in the upper left corner) select the basket.
- Find the right photos, highlight them and click Restore.
- If the basket is empty, check the Archive or search by date/place.
⚠️ Attention: Google Photos compresses photos for free storage (Quality High). To save the originals, you had to choose the option Original quality (paid after 15 GB).
| Service | Storage period in the basket | Max. Free storage. | Maintains original quality |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mi Cloud | 30 days | 5GB | Yes. |
| Google Photo | 60 days | 15 GB (with Gmail and Disk) | Only on a paid rate |
| Yandex Disc. | 30 days | 10GB | Yes. |
| OneDrive | 30 days (90 days for subscribers) | 5GB | Yes. |
4. PC recovery: programs for deep scanning
If you don't find the photos in the cart or the cloud, you have a last chance, and that's scanning the phone's internal memory with specialized software, which works because when you delete the files, they're not physically erased, they're only labeled "free," and until they're overwritten, you can restore them.
This will require:
- 🖥️ Computer with Windows/macOS.
- 📱 Cable USB (preferably original).
- 🔧 Recovery software (e.g. DiskDigger, Recuva, EaseUS MobiSaver).
- 🔒 Debugging authorization USB (included in the settings → The phone. → Version. MIUI → 7 times to tap → return to → For developers).
Step-by-step instructions for DiskDigger:
- Connect your phone to your PC in File Transfer (MTP) mode.
- Start DiskDigger, select your device from the list of disks.
- Specify the file types to search for (check JPG, PNG, HEIC).
- Press Scan and wait until it is completed (may take up to an hour).
- View the photos found, highlight the necessary ones and click Recover.
Enable debugging over USB in the developer settings
Use the original USB cable
Charge your phone at least 50%
Do not save recovered files to the same disk from which the scan is being conducted
Disable antivirus (can block access to memory)-->
⚠️ Warning: Do not install recovery software on the phone itself, this may overwrite deleted data, and avoid saving new photos or installing apps until the scan is completed.
Why aren’t all the photos restored?
5. Specialized utilities for Xiaomi (with root access)
For advanced users who are ready to get root rights, more powerful tools like GT Recovery or Undelete are available, scanning memory at a low level and can find photos even after formatting.
- 🔓 Root access deprives of warranty and can lead to system failures.
- 🛠️ Requires unlocking the bootloader, which erases all data.
- ⚠️ Wrong actions can permanently damage the file system.
If you do, follow the algorithm:
- Unlock Bootloader through the official Xiaomi tool (you will need a Mi Account and wait 7-15 days).
- Install Custom Recovery (TWRP) and get root rights through Magisk.
- Download GT Recovery from XDA Developers (verified versions only!).
- Start the scan by selecting /data/media/0/DCIM (where the photo is stored).
Critical: Once root permissions are obtained, immediately back up /data partition via TWRP. This is the only way to get the system back up if something goes wrong.
6.Prevention: How to protect photos from future loss
To avoid the problem of deleted photos, set up automatic backup and follow the simple rules:
- ☁️ Enable synchronization with Mi Cloud: Settings → Accounts. → Mi Cloud → gallery → activate Autosynchronization.
- 📤 Export your photo to PC: Copy folder once a month DCIM hard disk or external drive.
- 🔄 Use duplicate services: Set up automatic download in Google Photos + Yandex Disk (in case of failure of one of them).
- 🚫 Avoid “memory optimizers”: Applications such as Clean Master or Security MIUI You can delete files without warning.
It's also useful to know:
- 📅 Configure Authorization in Google Photos: Open the app → Settings → Backup and synchronization.
- 🔒 Encrypt important photos: in the Xiaomi Gallery highlight files → More. → Block (requires a password).
- 📦 Check the folder regularly DCIM/.thumbnails — Sometimes the photo miniatures are saved there even after the originals are deleted.
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The most reliable way to protect a photo is a combination of cloud redundancy (Mi Cloud + Google Photos) and local backup on a PC, and even if one source fails, the data will remain in the other.