Did you accidentally delete your Xiaomi Redmi 7 memory photos or did they disappear after resetting? Don't panic: you have at least 5 ways to get your lost photos back, even if they were deleted months ago. The key is to act quickly and not write new files to your phone so you don't erase old data.
Redmi 7
MIUI
Mi Gallery
basket
30 days
Google Photo
Mi Cloud
ADB
⚠️ Warning: If you've tried to recover photos through third-party software and they haven't found anything, don't despair. You may have searched in the wrong memory partition. 7 The photos can be stored in three places: /storage/emulated/0/DCIM/, /storage/emulated/0/Pictures/ and /storage/emulated/0/Miui/Gallery/cloud/ (synchronized).
Before you start, check:
- 📁 Is there any free space on your phone (less than 10% of memory increases the risk of overwriting deleted files).
- 🔄 Whether sync with Mi Cloud or Google Photos was enabled (see account settings).
- 🛠️ Have you updated your firmware after deleting the photo (this can erase the data irrevocably).
1. Checking the basket in the standard MIUI gallery
The first thing you need to do is to look into the hidden shopping cart of the Mi Gallery app, where in MIUI 10-14, deleted photos don't disappear immediately, but are sent to temporary storage for 30 days.
Open the Gallery app (flower icon) → tap three dots in the top right corner → select the Recycle Bin. If not, update the gallery via Play Market or check the display settings: Gallery settings → Show hidden folders.
In the Recycle Bin, you'll see all the deleted files with date and time to recover:
- 📌 Select the desired photos with a long tap.
- 🔄 Click Restore (Icon with a down arrow).
- 📂 Files will be back in the folder. DCIM/Camera or from which they were removed.
⚠️ Warning: If the cart is empty but you are sure that the photo was deleted recently, try restarting your phone. MIUI It doesn't update the contents of the cart without restarting. Also check if the files are hidden: in the gallery, click three dots. → Settings → Show hidden files.
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On Redmi 7, the shopping cart may not show if the photos were deleted through a file manager (e.g. Files by Google).
2. Restore via Google Photos (if synchronized)
If your Redmi 7 has Google Photos installed and autosynchronization enabled, all deleted photos can be returned within 60 days. Even if you manually cleaned the shopping cart in the gallery, Google Photos stores backups separately.
Instructions:
- Go to Google Photos (if not, download from Play Market).
- Slip on the profile avatar in the upper right corner → Cart.
- Select the necessary photos → click Restore.
- If the basket is empty, check the Archive (there may be hidden pictures).
If you don’t find a photo, try searching by date or place:
- 📅 In the search bar, enter a date (for example, May 2023).
- 📍 The name of the place where the photo was taken (if the geotag was included).
- 🔍 Use keywords like beach, birthday.
⚠️ Note: If you deleted photos from Google Photos more than 60 days ago, they may have been permanently erased from servers, in which case you move on to recovery methods from your phone’s memory (sections 4-5).
Go to Google Photos → Settings → Backup and synchronization|Check if “Backup” is enabled"|Make sure you have the right Google account|See synchronization statuses over the past few days-->
3. Search in Mi Cloud (Xiaomi Cloud)
Mi Cloud is a cloud storage from Xiaomi that automatically saves photos if the gallery Sync feature is enabled. On Redmi 7, it can be activated by default when you first set up your phone.
To check:
- Open the Settings. → Accounts. → Mi Account.
- Scroll down to the Mi Cloud → Gallery section.
- If synchronization is enabled, tap Data Management → Recycle Bin.
- Restore the necessary photos (storage period is 30 days).
If the sync is disabled, but you remember that it used to work:
- 🌐 Go to i.mi.com from PC.
- 🔑 Sign in with the same Mi Account as on your phone.
- 📷 Go to the Gallery section → Basket.
⚠️ Warning: Mi Cloud only gives 5GB of free space. If memory is full, new photos don't sync, and old ones can be automatically deleted. → Mi Account → Mi Cloud → Warehouse.
| Recovery method | Storage period | Internet is required | It works without root. |
|---|---|---|---|
| MIUI basket | 30 days | No. | Yes. |
| Google Photo | 60 days | Yes. | Yes. |
| Mi Cloud | 30 days | Yes. | Yes. |
| Programmes for PCs | Before the re-recording | No. | Yes (partially) |
| ADB-team | Before the re-recording | No. | No (root needed) |
4. Recovery with PC and specialized programs
If you can't find the photos in the clouds and the cart, you'll need to connect Redmi 7 to your computer, and you'll need a USB cable (preferably original) and one of the recovery software.
- 🛠️ DiskDigger (there is a free version for Android).
- 💻 Recuva (to work with a memory card).
- 🔍 EaseUS MobiSaver (paid, but with trial period).
Step-by-step instructions for DiskDigger:
- Download the program from the Play Market.
- Connect Redmi 7 to your PC in File Transfer (MTP) mode.
- Run DiskDigger on your phone → select Full Scan (requires root).
- Wait until the analysis is completed (it can take up to an hour).
- Tag the desired photos → click Restore → save on PC.
⚠️ Note: DiskDigger will only show thumbnails of photos without root rights. Full recovery requires root (see section 5) or Recuva to scan a memory card.
If the photo is stored on SD-map:
- 📱 Remove the card from your phone.
- 💾 Connect it to the PC via the card reader.
- 🔄 Launch Recuva → Select a memory card → start scanning.
What if the program doesn’t see the phone?
5. Advanced methods: ADB and root access
If the standard methods don't work, you can still scan the memory deep through ADB or root rights, which are more complicated, but you can get a photo even after you reset.
✅ Method 1: ADB-teams (without root)
Connect Redmi 7 to your PC, enable USB Debugging (see spoiler above) and execute in Command Prompt:
adb shell
su
cd /data/media/0/DCIM/
ls -laIf you see files with the.thumb or.nomedia extension, you can copy them to your PC:
adb pull /data/media/0/DCIM/.thumbnails/ C:\Redmi7_Recovery✅ Method 2: Root + specialized utilities
With root rights, you'll have access to all memory areas, including system memory.
- 📱 Install Magisk to get root (instructions for Redmi 7 are available on the Internet) XDA Developers).
- 🛠️ Download Root Browser or Undeleter Recover Files & Data.
- 🔍 In the program, select a section /data or /sdcard → run a deep scan.
⚠️ Attention: Getting root rights to Redmi 7 will unlock the bootloader, which can lead to loss of warranty and problems with the bootloader. OTA-And the wrong actions with the wrong ones. ADB If you're not sure, you can see a specialist.
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Root access gives you the best chance of recovery, but it requires technical skills. Without root, most programs see only surface data, and deep scanning is not available.
6.If nothing has worked: professional assistance
When all methods are exhausted and photos are critical (for example, these are the only pictures from an important event), it is worth contacting the data recovery laboratory.
What service centers offer:
- 🔬 Chip-off recovery (removing memory chips and reading data directly).
- 💾 JTAG-method (for phones with damaged firmware).
- 📡 Backup analysis (if the phone has previously connected to the PC).
The cost of services starts from 3 000 rubles, but can reach up to 20 000 + depending on the complexity.
- 📌 Do they have experience with Xiaomi Redmi 7 (different models have different memory architectures).
- 🔒 Privacy is guaranteed (your photos should not fall into third hands).
- ⏳ Timeframe for completion (usually 1 to 5 days).
⚠️ Warning: Avoid questionable services that promise "100% recovery in 5 minutes." High-quality data extraction is a time-consuming process, and no program will guarantee, especially if the phone's memory has been overwritten.
How to avoid losing photos in the future
To avoid the problem of remote photos, set up automatic backup on Redmi 7:
- 🌥️ Enable sync with Google Photos (Settings) → Accounts. → Google → Synchronization).
- ☁️ Activate Mi Cloud (Settings) → Mi Account → Mi Cloud → gallery).
- 💾 Regularly copy the photo to a PC or external drive.
- 📁 Use a file manager (such as Solid Explorer) to manually backup a folder on the memory card.
Also useful:
- 🚫 Do not store your photo in one place (rule) 3-2-1: 3 copy 2 carrier, 1 cloudy).
- 🔄 Before resetting your settings or firmware phone be sure to transfer the photo to another disk.
- 📵 Avoid “cleaner” applications (such as Clean Master) that can delete “unnecessary” files, including backups.
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The most reliable way to protect your photo is to combine cloud storage (Google Photos or Mi Cloud) with local backup on your PC, and even if your phone breaks, you won’t lose data.