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

Delete important photos from Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 and don't know how to get them back? Don't panic: in most cases, files can be recovered even if they are 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, we will analyze all the current ways, from standard MIUI functions to professional utilities for deep memory scanning.

The Redmi Note 6 Pro (codenamed tulip) is based on MIUI, which has its own media storage system, which means that even after deleting the photos can remain in the hidden bin for up to 30 days — but only if you didn't manually clean it. If the basket is empty, you have to plug in third-party tools. We tested all the methods on current versions of the firmware and collected only those that actually work.

Important: recovery effectiveness depends on how long it has been since you deleted it and whether you have used your phone since then. The faster you start the procedure, the better the chances of returning the images in their original quality. Some methods (for example, scanning through a PC) require root rights, but we will also give you options without them.

1. Checking the basket in the standard MIUI gallery

The first thing you need to do is to look in the Gallery app basket, and in MIUI, deleted photos are not erased immediately, but are sent to temporary storage for 30 days, which is the simplest method and requires no additional software.

How to open the basket:

• 📱 Open the Gallery app on your Redmi Note 6.
• 🗑️ Slip on three dots in the top right corner and select Cart (or Recently Deleted in Newer Versions).
• 🔍 View the list of files: photos are sorted by date of deletion.
• 🖼️ Select the desired pictures with a long tap and press Restore.

If the basket is empty or you have manually cleaned it, then you can move to the next method. Note that in some MIUI firmware, the basket may be disabled. To activate it, go to Gallery Settings → Recycle Bin and turn on the option to Save Deleted Files.

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If you don’t have the right photos in the cart, but you remember their names, try to find them through the File Manager (MI File Manager. Type.jpg or.png in the search, sometimes files remain in the folder. DCIM/.thumbnails.

2. Restore via Google Photos (if synchronized)

If your Redmi Note 6 has been enabled to sync with Google Photos, the chances of returning images are very high. The service automatically backs up all media files if you have given it permission.

Instructions for remediation:

• 🌐 Open the Google Photos app or go to photos.google.com.
• 🔍 In the menu on the left, select Recycle Bin - this is where deleted files are stored for 60 days.
• 📅 If the photos were deleted long ago, try searching for them by date or object (e.g., type in beach 2023).
• ☁️ If there are no files in the basket, check the folder Archive – sometimes hidden pictures get there.

If sync isn't set up, this method won't work, but you can try to restore your Google account on another device and check if there are any old backups left, and MIUI has default sync with Google Photos, so you need to manually activate it in your account settings.

3. Search for deleted files via MI Cloud (Xiaomi cloud)

Xiaomi offers its own cloud storage, MI Cloud, which automatically saves photos if the feature is activated. Unlike Google Photos, backups can be stored longer here, but the amount of free space is limited (usually 5 GB).

How to check out MI Cloud:

1. 📱 Open the Settings. → Xiaomi account → MI Cloud.
2. 🖼️ Go to the Gallery or Photos section.
3. 🔍 View folders: sometimes deleted from the phone photos remain in the cloud.
4. 📥 If you find the right photos, download them back to the device.

If MI Cloud doesn't have the files you need, check the Recycle Bin partition inside the cloud, which is where they're stored for up to 30 days. Note: Recovery will require a stable Internet connection, as the files are downloaded again. If you don't have enough space on your phone, pre-free up the memory.

4.Use of third-party programs to scan memory

If standard methods don't work, you'll have to use specialized tools that scan the internal memory of the phone at the file system level and can even find photos that have been deleted long ago.

We recommend starting with DiskDigger, because it doesn't require superuser rights and has a Russian-language interface. Install it from Google Play, run it and select Full Scan. It can take anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour depending on the amount of memory you have, and you can save the photos you find directly to your phone or send them to your email.

⚠️ Note: If the program offers to restore files with names like IMG_20230515_123456.jpg, But when you look at them, they're broken -- black squares or artifacts -- that means that the memory sectors have been overwritten, and you can't get the photo back.

5. Connecting the phone to the PC and recovering via the computer

If there is little space on the phone or programs don’t find the files you want, try connecting the Redmi Note 6 to your computer and scanning the memory through desktop utilities, a method often more effective because the PC has more resources for deep analysis.

Step-by-step:

1. 🖥️ Connect your phone to your computer through USB-cable (original cable is recommended).
2. 📂 Enable file transfer mode (MTP) notice-curtain.
3. 🔍 Install Recuva or PhotoRec (free) on PC).
4. 📊 In the program, select the disk corresponding to your phone (usually a removable drive).
5. ⚙️ Run a deep scan with a filter by extensions.jpg,.png,.heic.
6. 💾 Save the files found to your computer, not back to your phone!

For maximum efficiency, use PhotoRec, a console utility that ignores the file system and scans the disk by signatures, finds even photos that other programs can't see, but it has a complex interface, so beginners should start with Recuva.

Turn off the internet on your phone during scanning|Use the original USB-cable|Charge your phone at least 50 times%|Do not interrupt the scanning process|Save recovered files on PC, not phone-->

6. Recovery via TWRP and root access (for advanced)

If all previous methods have failed, the last chance is to use custom recoveries (such as TWRP) and dedicated partitioning utilities, which require unlocked bootloaders and root rights, but allows access to low-level recovery tools.

What you need:

• 🔓 Unlocked bootloader on Redmi Note 6 (instructions on the official Xiaomi website).
• 📦 Established TWRP Recovery (version for tulip).
• 💻 Programme ADB and Fastboot on the computer.
• 🔧 Autopsy or Scalpel for partition analysis.

Recovery process through TWRP:

1. Upload the phone to TWRP (clip Power + Volume up).
2. Connect the device to your PC and run the command: adb pull /dev/block/mmcblk0 This will create a memory image of the phone on your computer.
3. Scan the image with Autopsy, specifying the signatures for the photos.
4. Export the files found to a safe place.

⚠️ Attention: Working with TWRP And root can cause you to lose warranty, malfunction your phone, or even get a little bit of a brick. If you're not sure what you're doing, you should consult a specialist. Also remember that after you get root rights, some banking applications (like Sberbank Online) may stop working.

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TWRP is the most powerful, but also the riskiest method, and only use it if the photos are critical and other methods have not worked.

What do you do if nothing helps?

If neither method worked, it means that the memory sectors where the photos were stored were overwritten with the new data, so you can't get the files back, but you can try the following steps:

• 🔍 Contact a service center: some workshops have specialized hardware to recover data from flash memory (e.g., Chip-Off method.
• 📧 Check backups on other devices: You may have sent photos to friends via messengers (Telegram, WhatsApp) or saved them to your laptop.
• 🔄 Use messenger cache: sometimes photos remain in folders WhatsApp/Media or Telegram/Telegram Images even after being removed from the gallery.

If the photos were taken on Redmi Note 6 but synced with other services (e.g. VK, Instagram, Dropbox), check their web versions. Sometimes the pictures remain in the social cloud even after you delete them from your phone.

Critical information: On the Redmi Note 6 firmware MIUI 10/11 There's a bug that can make the gallery cart clean automatically when you upgrade. OTA-Update, chances of recovery through standard methods drop dramatically.

FAQ: Frequent questions about photo recovery on Xiaomi Redmi Note 6