Accidentally removing an important video from a Xiaomi phone is a stressful situation familiar to many users.The moment you realize a record has disappeared can take you by surprise, but panic early. Modern smartphones have multiple levels of data protection, and often a file can be returned in just a few minutes.
Recovery is possible thanks to the features of the Android operating system and cloud services that sync media files by default. In this article, we will examine all the available methods, from the built-in Recycle Bin to the use of specialized software for deep memory scanning.
The main rule to learn right now is to stop using your smartphone immediately after you discover a loss. Any new recording, photo taken or downloaded application can overwrite the memory sector where the deleted video is physically stored, making it impossible to recover.
Check the built-in basket in the MIUI Gallery
The first place to go to owners of Xiaomi, Redmi or Poco smartphones is the built-in Recycle Bin feature: In the shell of MIUI (and the new HyperOS), deleted files are not erased instantly, but moved to a special buffer where they are stored for 30 days.
You don't have to install third-party apps to access this repository, just open the standard Gallery app and go to Albums, and at the bottom of the list you'll find the Deleted folder, where all erased media files go.
- 📂 Open the Gallery app and select the Album tab.
- 🗑️ Scroll down the list and click on the Remote folder.
- 🔍 Find the right video, pinch it with your finger to highlight.
- ↩️ Click the “Restore” button in the lower menu.
If the video was deleted more than 30 days ago or you manually cleaned the cart, this method won't help, but in most cases, when it's a little time since it was deleted, the file is right here, and this is the fastest and safest way.
⚠️ Note: The Recycle Bin feature may be disabled in the gallery settings or not working if you use a third-party photo viewing app instead of the system.
It's important to note that the amount of memory the basket has is limited, and if you deleted a lot of heavy video files, the system could automatically clear old records from the buffer before 30 days had elapsed to free up space.
Sync with Google Photos and the Cloud
The second most reliable method of searching is to check cloud storage. Most Android users automatically enable sync with a Google account when they first set up their phone, and even if a file is deleted from the phone's memory, a copy of it can remain in the cloud.
Open the Google Photos app (flower icon). Click on the Library icon in the lower right corner. There's also a Recycle Bin that works independently of the MIUI Gallery. Deleted files here are also 30 days old, and up to 60 days for Google One subscribers.
Also, check the Photos on Device section, and sometimes it happens that the video has been deleted from the shared feed, but it remains in the local cache folder or in the album of the specific application, such as the messenger through which it was sent.
What to do if the cloud is empty?
Also worth a look at Xiaomi Cloud (Mi Cloud) service. If you had a Mi Account enabled, videos could be uploaded there. Check this through your phone's settings under "Mi Account" → "Cloud" → "Gallery."
Using a File Manager to Find Residues
Sometimes the video file is not deleted completely, but simply lost because of a failure in the media index, in which case it can be found through System Explorer. The Android file system is designed so that the data is stored in specific directories, even if it is not displayed in the gallery.
Run the Explorer app (or Files) on your Xiaomi. You need to go to the root directory of internal memory. Look for folders called DCIM, Movies, Video or Download. The DCIM/Camera folder most often stores records made by the main camera.
Turn on hidden files in Explorer settings. Sometimes deleted or corrupted video files may have strange names or extensions, such as.tmp or.000. Try sorting files by date of change to find records made when the video was still on your phone.
☑️ Search through the Explorer
If you find a file but it doesn't open, you may have damaged the file header, so try renaming the extension to standard.mp4 or.mkv and running it through a third-party video player, such as VLC Player.
Data recovery software
If built-in techniques don’t work, you’ll have to resort to “heavy artillery” – specialized software for PCs, programs like Dr.Fone, DiskDigger or Recuva (for memory cards) are capable of deep scanning memory sectors.
To work with the internal memory of a smartphone, most programs require Root rights (superuser rights). Without them, the scan will be superficial and will find only low-quality cached thumbnails. Getting root rights on modern Xiaomi requires unlocking the bootloader, which can void the warranty.
| Programme | I need a Root. | Type of file | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| DiskDigger (Android) | Yes (for a full search) | Photos, Videos | Low. |
| Dr.Fone (PC) | Preferably. | All types | Medium |
| Recuva (PC + SD) | No (for SD cards) | All types | Low. |
| Undeleter (Android) | Yes. | Photos, Videos | Tall. |
The recovery process usually looks like this: you install the program on your computer, connect the phone through the computer. USB-plug-in USB (Settings → The phone. → 7 times tap the assembly number → For developers → Debugging by USB).
⚠️ Warning: Do not install recovery software directly on the memory card or in the folder of the phone where the files were lost.
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Use quality original USB-Cheap cables often only transmit current to charge, but not data, which will cause a faulty connection of the recovery program.
Recovery from microSD memory card
This is greatly simplified if the deleted videos were on an external microSD card, in which case the computer can work with the drive as a normal flash drive, ignoring the limitations of the Android operating system.
Remove the card from a Xiaomi smartphone and paste it into a card reader connected to your computer. Run a data recovery program, such as a free Recuva or a more powerful R-Studio. Select the deep scan mode.
The advantage of working with SD-The map is that you don't need root rights and complex debugging settings, and the odds of success are about 80-90%, If the card has no physical damage and has not been formatted after deleting the files.
After scanning, the program will show a list of found files, usually with a green status indicator (file intact) or red (file corrupted), save the recovered videos only to the computer's hard drive, not back to the map.
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Working with a memory card through a card reader on a PC gives an order of magnitude greater chances of success than using applications inside the phone.
Prevention and setting up of auto-saving
To avoid future data loss, you need to set up automatic backups, which are the only 100% guarantee that your video archives will be safe.
In the Xiaomi camera settings, you can activate the “Save a copy to the cloud” function. It is also worth checking the settings of Google Photos: make sure that the “Sync” check box is ticked and the “Original” or “Saving Place” quality is selected.
- ☁️ Configure automatic uploading in Google Drive or Yandex.Disk.
- 💾 Make regular backups to your computer through USB.
- 📸 Use cloud services with unlimited storage for photos and videos.
Regularly checking memory occupancy will also help to avoid accidental deletions: When the phone’s memory is crammed, the system starts to function unstable, which can lead to file system failures and data loss.