Losing photos from your phone is one of the most frustrating situations for a Xiaomi owner: vacation pictures, family photos or important documents can disappear in an instant: due to accidental clicking, resetting or system failure. Fortunately, Redmi devices, POCO and other Xiaomi lines have several built-in data protection mechanisms, as well as third-party tools that will help you recover lost files.
In this article, we’ll look at all the possible recovery options, from the simplest (checking your cart and cloud storage) to the most advanced (using a PC and specialized software), and focus on the nuances of the MIUI file system that set Xiaomi apart from other Android devices, and how to increase your chances of successful recovery if photos were deleted long ago or after resetting to factory settings.
Important: The effectiveness of the methods depends on how long it has been since you deleted and what actions you have taken with your phone since then, and the faster you start recovering, the more likely you are to return the files to their original quality.
1.A check of 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 sent to a temporary storage facility where they stay up to 30 days (the default setting), which works even without an Internet connection and requires no additional programs.
How to check the basket:
- 📱 Open the Gallery app on your Xiaomi.
- 🗑️ In the upper right corner, click on the three dots (menu) and select the basket.
- 🔍 View the list of deleted files. Photos are sorted by date of deletion.
- 🔄 Select the desired pictures (you can select several) and click Restore.
If the cart is empty or there are no photos, then you can move on to the following ways: Note that the files in the cart take up space in the memory of the phone. If you deleted them long ago and the memory is full, the system could automatically clear the cart to free up space.
⚠️ Note: In some versions MIUI (Especially in the older Redmi Note models. 4/5) The cart can be disabled by default. To activate it, go to Gallery Settings. → Recycle Bin and enable the option to Save deleted files.
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 automatically saves copies of images (provided that the function is activated in the settings), even if you delete photos from your phone, they can stay in the cloud for up to 60 days.
Instructions for remediation:
- 🌐 Go to i.mi.com from any device and log in to the same Xiaomi account you used on your phone.
- 📁 In the menu, select the Gallery or Photos section.
- 🗃️ Check the Recycle Bin folder in the cloud – here are stored deleted files.
- 🔙 Select the photos you want and click Restore. They'll be back in the main gallery on your phone the next time you sync.
If the cloud doesn’t have the right images, check:
- 🔄 Has gallery synchronization been included in Settings? → Xiaomi account → Mi Cloud → gallery.
- 📡 Is there enough space in the cloud (free 5 GB, the rest is by subscription).
- 📅 More than 60 days have passed since the removal.
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If you don't remember whether Mi Cloud was enabled, check your phone settings: Settings → Xiaomi Account → Mi Cloud → Storage Management. This shows your date sync history.
3. Use of Google Photos (if backed up)
Many Xiaomi users set up automatic photo backups in Google Photos. If you logged in to a Google account on your phone and enabled this option, deleted photos could be saved to the Google cloud, the advantage of which is that photos are stored indefinitely (unless manually deleted).
How to recover photos via Google Photos:
- Open the Google Photos app on your phone or go to photos.google.com.
- Sign in with the same Google account that was used on Xiaomi.
- In the menu (three lines in the upper left corner) select the basket.
- Find the photos you want and click Restore. They'll go back to the main library.
If the basket is empty, try:
- 🔍 Use a search by date or keyword (e.g., “beach”, “New Year’s Eve").
- 📅 View the archive by month – perhaps the photos were not deleted, but simply lost among other images.
⚠️ Note: Google Photos compresses photos if you have an unpaid rate.Recovered pictures may have less resolution than the originals (maximum 16 MP for photos and photos). 1080p video).
4. PC connection and memory scanning
If previous methods didn’t work, try connecting your phone to your computer and scanning your internal memory with specialized programs, which is effective if the photos have been recently deleted and their place on the disk has not yet been overwritten by new files.
Recovery will require:
- 🖥️ Computer with Windows/macOS.
- 🔌 Cable USB (Preferably original from Xiaomi).
- 🛠️ Data recovery software (e.g. DiskDigger, Recuva, EaseUS MobiSaver).
Step-by-step:
- Connect Xiaomi to your PC via USB and select File Transfer (MTP) mode.
- Install and run a recovery program (e.g., DiskDigger).
- Select the internal storage of your phone to scan.
- Run a deep scan – it will take longer, but it increases the chances of finding deleted files.
- After the scan is completed, mark the desired photos and save them to the PC.
Important: Don't save the recovered files back to your phone, which can overwrite the remaining deleted data, use an external drive or cloud.
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-->
| Programme | Xiaomi support | Deep scanning. | Free version |
|---|---|---|---|
| DiskDigger | Yes (including MIUI) | Yes. | Limited (view only) |
| Recuva | Yes (root required for full access) | Yes. | Yes (full-functional) |
| EaseUS MobiSaver | Yes (special mode for Android) | Yes. | No (only trial) |
| Dr.Fone | Yes (supports MIUI 12/13/14) | Yes. | No (paid) |
5. Recovery after reset to factory settings
If the photos are gone after a hard reset, the chances of them coming back are much lower, but they are, and in this case, only deep memory scanning with a PC will help, since all the data on the phone has been erased. It is important to act quickly, after the reset, the system begins to overwrite the free space with new files.
What can be done:
- 🛠️ Use programs like DiskDigger or Dr.Fone in Full Recovery mode.
- 🔍 Scan not only the internal memory, but also the memory card (if it was inserted).
- 🔄 Try to recover data from Mi Cloud or Google Photos if sync was enabled before reset.
If the reset was made long ago (more than a week ago), the probability of recovery tends to zero, in which case there is only hope for cloud backups.
⚠️ Warning: After resetting to factory settings, do not install new apps or take photos on your phone – this reduces the chances of successful recovery of old files.
Why is it harder to recover data after a reset?
6.Prevention: How to avoid loss of photos in the future
To avoid the problem of deleted photos again, follow these tips:
- ☁️ Enable automatic sync with Mi Cloud and Google Photos. For this, go to: Settings → Xiaomi account → Mi Cloud → gallery → Autosynchronization Settings → Google → Backup → Backup Google Photos
- 🗑️ Configure the Recycle Bin in the Gallery: Increase the storage time of deleted files to a maximum (30 days).
- 💾 Regularly copy photos to your PC or external drive. for this it is convenient to use Xiaomi File Manager or Mi. PC Suite.
- 📱 Install a backup app like Swift Backup (requires root) or Titanium Backup.
It's also useful to know:
- 🔋 If the phone is down to 0% and turned off, don’t plug it into charging right away — let it cool for 10-15 minutes.
- 🔄 Update MIUI through Recovery always take a backup photo to an external medium - sometimes the firmware resets the settings of the gallery.
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The most reliable way to protect your photo is by combining cloud backup (Mi Cloud + Google Photos) and local backup on your PC, so you are guaranteed to save your photos even if your phone breaks.