Recovering Deleted Photos from the Recycle Bin on Xiaomi: A Complete Guide to 2026

They accidentally deleted valuable photos from Xiaomi's phone and then they cleaned the cart? Don't panic -- there's still a chance of getting them back! Unlike computers, where files are not erased immediately after being deleted from the cart, MIUI smartphones often leave traces of data that can be recovered.

In this article, we’ll look at all the possible ways to recover photos on Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO devices, from built-in system features to professional software. You’ll learn how the file storage mechanisms in MIUI work, what tools will help you return photos even after formatting, and how to avoid data loss in the future. Importantly, the less you use your phone after deleting, the better the chances of success are — new files can overwrite old ones.

If you are looking for a solution for a particular model (e.g. Xiaomi 13 Pro or Redmi Note 12), all the methods in this article are versatile and work on any device with MIUI 12-14. The only exception is older devices on MIUI 10 and below, where there may be no built-in cart in the gallery.

How the Recycle Bin in Xiaomi Gallery Works and Why Photos Can Be Recovered

In MIUI, the gallery cart is not just a temporary storage folder, it's part of the file management system, and when you delete a photo, it doesn't disappear from the drive immediately, but moves to a special section marked "deleted." By default, the files are stored there for 30 days, but this period can be changed in the settings.

Once the cart is cleaned (or expired), photos are not physically erased — just the system marks their disk space as “free.” Until the new data overwrites those sectors, files can be recovered using special utilities, which is why the first rule after deletion is to minimize phone use: do not install apps, do not shoot new photos / videos, and do not update the system.

Interesting fact: on Xiaomi devices with UFS 3.1 flash memory (for example, Xiaomi 12T Pro or Redmi K60) the chances of recovery are higher than on budget models with eMMC. This is due to the features of the memory controller: UFS uses wear-leveling technology, which less often overwrites the same cells.

• 📁 Temporary Storage: Files in the Recycle Bin take up space on the disk but don’t appear in the main gallery.
• ⏳ Lifetime: Default is 30 days, but you can increase to 60 in the Gallery settings → Basket → Settings.
• 🔄 Data overwriting: New files (photos, videos, updates) can destroy deleted images irrevocably.
• 🛠️ Recovery: Possibly before the physical rewriting of memory sectors.

⚠️ Note: If you used the Clean the Cart function in the gallery MIUI, Then they reset the settings (Settings). → The phone. → Reset settings, chances of recovery are near zero.Reset formats the user data section completely.

Method 1: Recovery through the built-in MIUI basket (if not cleaned)

If you delete photos but haven’t cleaned the cart yet, you can return them in 2 clicks, which works on all Xiaomi devices with MIUI 11 and later, including POCO and Redmi.

Instructions:

1. Open the Gallery app (a flower or landscape icon).
2. Slip three dots in the top right corner (or swipe right to left on some models).
3. Select the Recycle Bin (on some firmware - Recently deleted).
4. Find the right photos, click on them (you can highlight several) and tap Restore.

If the basket is empty, check:

• 🔍 Filter by date: photos may have been deleted long ago and have been automatically cleaned.
• 📂 folder DCIM/.thumbnails — Sometimes the miniatures remain even after the originals have been removed.
• ☁️ Cloud backups (if sync with Mi Cloud or Google Photos was enabled).

Make sure the cart is not manually cleaned

Check filters by date in the basket

View the.thumbnails folder in the file manager

- Remember if sync with the cloud was enabled-->

⚠️ Note: Some models (e.g. Redmi) 9A s MIUI 12.0.3) The cart may not be displayed due to a firmware error, in which case try updating the gallery via Google Play or use the method. №3 (Recovery via PC).

Method 2: Restore through Google Photos (if synced)

If your Xiaomi had autosynchronization enabled with Google Photos, deleted photos could be saved to the cloud. Even if you cleaned the shopping cart on your phone, they can stay in Google Photos for up to 60 days (depending on your settings).

How to check:

1. Open the Google Photos app (if not installed, download from the Play Market).
2. Slip on the profile avatar in the upper right corner → Cart.
3. Find the right photos, highlight them and click Restore.

If the Google Photos cart is empty, try:

• 🔎 Use keyword searches (e.g., “beach”, “New Year’s Eve”) – sometimes photos don’t make it to the cart, but stay in the album.
• 📅 Check Archive: Google Photos has Archive feature that can get screenshots and automatic backups.
• 💾 Go to the web version of photos.google.com from a computer – there are more tools for searching.

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If Google Photos doesn’t have the right pictures, check the Pictures/Screenshots folder on your phone – sometimes screenshots are duplicated there and don’t get into the basket.

Method 3: Recovery via PC with DiskDigger or Recuva

If the cart is cleaned and there are no cloud copies, the most reliable method is to connect the phone to the computer and scan the memory with specialized programs. We recommend DiskDigger (for deep scanning) or Recuva (for quick search).

Step-by-step instructions for DiskDigger:

1. Download and install DiskDigger (Windows version).
2. Connect Xiaomi to your PC via USB-cable (enable File Transfer mode in notification curtain).
3. Launch DiskDigger, select your phone from the Disk List and press Dig Deep (deep scan).
4. After the scan is completed, mark the desired photos (you can filter by format:.jpg,.png) and click Recover Selected Files.
5. Save the recovered files to your computer (not your phone!).

The algorithm is similar for Recuva, but the interface is simpler:

• 🖥️ Select the type of Image files before scanning.
• 🔍 Specify the path to Xiaomi’s internal memory (usually a Xiaomi drive]).
• 📁 After scanning, sort the results by date of removal or size.

⚠️ Warning: Do not save recovered files back to your phone, as this can overwrite the remaining traces of deleted photos. Use a cloud, flash drive or other computer.

Method 4: Restore via Mi Cloud (if backed up)

Mi Cloud is a cloud storage service from Xiaomi that automatically backs up photos, contacts and notes. If you've logged in to Mi-account and enabled sync, chances are high for your photos to be returned.

How to check backup copies:

1. Go to i.mi.com and log in.
2. Select the Gallery section or backup copies.
3. Check the Camera, Screenshots and Download folders – sometimes photos are duplicated there.
4. If the necessary pictures are found, download them to your PC or send yourself through the messenger.

Features of Mi Cloud:

• ☁️ Free 5 GB of storage (about 1500 photos in high quality).
• 🔄 Synchronization works only when connected to Wi-Fi (configured in Settings) → Xiaomi account → Mi Cloud → gallery).
• 📅 Backups are created once a day (if Auto Sync is enabled).

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If you don’t have the right photos in the Mi Cloud, check the Devices section – it’s possible that the backup was created on another phone (for example, if you changed Xiaomi and signed in to the same account).

Method 5: Restoration through root access (for advanced users)

If all previous methods have failed, the last resort is to get root rights and scan the phone’s memory using ADB or specialized utilities like PhotoRec. This method is only suitable for advanced users, as:

• 🔓 Root access voids the warranty on the phone and may result in some features being blocked (e.g. Google Pay or banking apps).
• 🛠️ Requires unlocking the bootloader, which erases all data on the phone.
• ⚠️ Mistakes in working with ADB They can turn a phone into a brick».

If you are willing to take a risk, follow the instructions:

1. Unblock bootloader through the official Xiaomi website (you will need to link your account and wait 7-15 days).
2. Install custom recovery (TWRP) for your model.
3. Please use Magisk to obtain root rights.
4. Connect your phone to your PC and use the command: adb shell su -c "find /data -name '.jpg' -o -name '.png' > /sdcard/recovery.log" This will create a log with paths to all images on the phone, including deleted ones.
5. Download the log to your PC and analyze it using PhotoRec or TestDisk.

⚠️ Attention: On devices with MIUI 13/14 and a Snapdragon chip 8 Gen 1/2 (for example, Xiaomi 13 Ultra) unlocking bootloader may result in hardware locking module 5G. Check the XDA-Developers forums for compatibility before the procedure.

How to Prevent Loss of Photos in the Future: 5 Rules

To avoid the problem of deleted photos, follow these recommendations:

• 📱 Automatic Sync: Enable backup in Google Photos (Settings) → Backup and sync) or Mi Cloud. Select High (non-original) quality to avoid wasting space.
• 💾 Local copies: Once a month, copy important photos to your PC or external drive. DCIM/Backup hand-back.
• 🔄 Cloud services: In addition to Google Photos, consider Yandex Drive (gives 10 GB free) or Mega (20 GB when registering).
• 📂 File organization: Sort photos by folder (for example, 2026_Vacation, Documents – it’s easier to track what’s already copied.
• 🔧 Recycle Bin Settings: Increase the retention period of deleted files to 60 days in the Gallery → Basket → Settings.

For Xiaomi devices with MIUI 14, there is a useful feature of the Smart Album (in the gallery): it automatically groupes photos by person, place and event, which makes it easier to search and back up.

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If you take pictures often, install FolderSync from the Play Market, which allows you to automatically sync your DCIM folder to the cloud (Dropbox, OneDrive) on a schedule (for example, once a week over Wi-Fi).

FAQ: Frequent questions about photo recovery on Xiaomi