How to recover deleted photos from Xiaomi phone: from cart to deep scan

Losing photos from your phone is one of the most frustrating situations for a Xiaomi owner, and vacation pictures, family photos, or important documents can disappear in an instant: accidentally tapped, resetting, a virus, or even a banal lack of space on the device. Fortunately, 90% of the time, deleted files can be returned — if you act quickly and correctly.

In this article, we’ll look at all the current recovery options for Xiaomi, Redmi, and POCO smartphones (including the 2023-2026 models), from simple methods like checking the cart to professional tools like ADB and DiskDigger. Importantly, the odds of success depend on how long it’s been since you deleted and whether you’ve used your phone after you lost your files. The faster you get started, the more likely you are to return your images in their original quality.

Note: instructions are suitable for MIUI 12-14 devices (including global and Chinese firmware versions).If your Xiaomi runs on pure Android (e.g. POCO F5 with HyperOS), some menu items may differ - we will specify alternative paths.

1.Check the basket at Xiaomi Gallery

The first thing you need to do is to look into the built-in Gallery application cart, where the deleted photos are stored for up to 30 days (by default) in MIUI, and then are permanently erased, which works even if you've cleared the memory through Files or Cleanup.

How to open the basket:

• 📱 Open the Gallery app (icon with colored squares).
• 🗑️ Slip on three dots in the upper right corner → Select the Recycle Bin (or recently deleted on some models).
• 🔍 Scroll down the list – here you can see all the files deleted in the last month.
• ↩️ Select the desired photo (long press) → Click Restore at the bottom of the screen.

If the cart is empty or the photo is not there, move to the next method. Note that the files from the cart are restored to the same folder from which they were deleted, for example, if the picture was in Camera, it will return there.

⚠️ Attention: Some users confuse the gallery basket with the basket in the Files application. These are different storages! In Files (folder icon), the basket contains only documents and downloads, but not photos from the gallery.

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 stores copies of the images (unless the feature is manually disabled).

How to check:

• 🌐 Go to i.mi.com from your computer or phone.
• 🔑 Sign in with the same Mi Account that is linked to your phone.
• 📸 In the menu on the left, select the Gallery → Check Camera, Screenshots and Remote folders.
• 💾 To download a photo on your phone, click on the photo → More. → Save it to the device.

If the photo is not in the cloud, check the sync settings on your phone:

1. Open your Settings → Accounts → Mi Cloud
2. Make sure the switch in front of the Gallery is active.
3. Slip it to the gallery. → Check the date of the last synchronization.

⚠️ Note: If you reset your phone to factory settings and don't remember your Mi Account password, access to the cloud will be blocked. In this case, you won't be able to recover photos via Mi Cloud - use alternative methods.

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Before resetting your phone to factory settings, always check if your Mi Account is linked to it. Sans will lose access to cloud backups, including photos and contacts.

3. Use Google Photos (if sync has been enabled)

Google Photos is another cloud storage tool that can save your photos, and many Xiaomi users don’t even know that their photos are automatically uploaded to Google Account if the Backup option is enabled in the settings.

How to check:

• 📱 Open the Google Photos app (if not, install it from Play Market).
• 🔍 In the lower menu, select Photos. → Scroll down to the Archives or Cart section.
• 🗓️ Use a date filter (calendar icon) to find lost photos.
• 📥 To restore, click on the photo → Save it to the device.

If the photo is not in Google Photos, check the backup settings:

1. Open Google Photos → Profile → Photo settings → Backup and Sync.
2. Make sure the feature is active and tied to the correct account.
3. See which folders are included in the backup (should be Camera, Screenshots, etc.).

Important: Google Photos stores deleted photos in the basket for 60 days (as opposed to 30 days in MIUI), and if less than two months have passed, the chances of recovery remain high.

4. Connect your phone to your computer and use recovery software

If you don't find photos in the trash or the cloud, you'll need to go deep, and you'll need a computer (Windows/Mac) and some software, and it works by scanning the internal memory of the phone at the file system level and looking for traces of deleted files.

The best programs for photo recovery with Xiaomi:

• 🛠️ DiskDigger – free version searches for photos, paid restores all types of files.
• 🔍 Recuva – a simple interface supports Xiaomi through the connection USB.
• 📱 EaseUS MobiSaver – specializes in mobile devices, there is a version for MIUI.
• 💻 PhotoRec is a powerful tool for power users (works through the command line).

Step-by-step instructions for DiskDigger (on the example of Windows):

Connect Xiaomi to your computer through the original USB-cable

Enable File Transfer Mode (MTP) in the Notification Curtain

Install the DiskDigger program from the official website

Close all programs that may block access to your phone (such as antivirus)

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1. Download and install DiskDigger from the official website.
2. Connect Xiaomi to your PC, select File Transfer (MTP) mode in the notification curtain.
3. Start DiskDigger, select your phone from the list of devices.
4. Press Full Scan → wait until it is completed (can take anywhere from 30 minutes to several hours).
5. After scanning, tick the desired photos → click Recover and select the folder to save on PC.

Important nuances:

• 🚫 Do not save recovered photos back to your phone – this can overwrite the remaining deleted files.
• 🔋 Make sure your phone is at least 50% charged – scanning consumes a lot of power.
• 🔒 If the program requires root access, obtaining it will void the warranty on Xiaomi.

⚠️ Warning: If you’ve already written new files to your phone after deleting a photo (e.g., taken new pictures or installed apps), your chances of recovery drop dramatically.

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The faster you connect your phone to your PC to scan, the more likely you are to find deleted photos, and the optimal time is the first 24 hours after you lose your files.

5. Recovery through ADB (for power users)

If standard methods don't work and root rights don't, you can try extracting photos through ADB (Android Debug Bridge), which requires command line skills, but does not violate the warranty.

What you need:

• 🖥️ Computer with installed ADB-driver.
• 📱 Included Debugging by USB on the phone (Settings) → The phone. → Version. MIUI → 7 times tap to unlock the developer menu, then additionally → For developers → Debugging by USB).
• 🔌 Original. USB-cable (important for stable connection).

Instructions:

1. Connect Xiaomi to your PC and allow debugging (a request will appear on the phone screen).
2. Open the command prompt (Windows) or terminal (Mac/Linux) in the folder with ADB.
3. Enter the command to check the connection: Adb devices must display the serial number of your device.
4. Backup the photo partition (this can take a long time): adb pull /sdcard/DCIM C:\Xiaomi_Backup Here. /sdcard/DCIM — photo file, and C:\Xiaomi_Backup — PC-path.
5. After completion, check the folder. Xiaomi_Backup On PC – there may be recovered files.

If the team doesn’t work, try an alternative route:

adb shell "su -c 'tar -cvzf /sdcard/backup.tar.gz /sdcard/DCIM'"

This command will create an archive of backup.tar.gz on the phone, which can then be copied to the PC.

⚠️ Attention: Method C ADB It is not 100% recovery, especially if the photos were deleted long ago, it is effective when the files are still physically present in the memory, but are not available through standard means.

6. Contact Xiaomi Service Center (extreme case)

If all of these methods did not work, and the photos are critical (for example, they are single copies of documents or unique frames), you can contact the official service center Xiaomi.

What you need to know before your visit:

• 💰 The cost of the service starts from 3 000-5 000 rubles (depending on the model and complexity of the work).
• ⏳ Recovery can take 1 to 5 working days.
• 📄 Bring checks or a warranty card (if the phone is guaranteed).
• 🔒 Check whether the center provides a guarantee of the confidentiality of your data.

Addresses of service centers in Russia:

• 📍 Moscow: list on the official website.
• 📍 St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk and other cities - check through the Mi Store.

Before you bring your phone to the service, check by phone if they are engaged in data recovery. Not all centers provide this service - some specialize only in hardware repair.

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The service center is the last chance to get a photo back, but it's only justified for really valuable data, and most of the time, software solutions (basket, cloud, PC) are the ones that solve the problems.

7. How to prevent future photo loss

To never face the problem of deleted photos again, set up automatic backup and follow the simple rules:

Methods of protection:

• ☁️ Enable sync with Mi Cloud and Google Photos: 📱 Settings → Accounts. → Mi Cloud → Gallery (insert). 📸 Google Photo → Profile → Settings → Backup (select the original quality).
• 💾 Regularly copy photos to a PC or external drive (once a month).
• 📁 Use a memory card (if the model supports microSD): you can save the photo directly to it.
• 🔄 Set up automatic basket cleaning: In the Gallery → Basket → Set the storage period maximum (30 days).

What not to do:

• 🚫 Do not store your photo in one place (for example, only on your phone).
• 🚫 Do not manually clean the cart unless you are sure of the contents.
• 🚫 Do not install questionable apps for “memory optimization” – they can delete photos without warning.

If you take pictures often, consider buying a cloud storage with a large volume, like Google One for 139. ₽/The month gives 100 GB, which is enough for thousands of pictures in original quality.

FAQ: Frequent questions about photo recovery on Xiaomi