Losing valuable video on your smartphone is always stressful, especially when it comes to rare frames from family holidays or important work moments. Owners of the popular Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus model often face a situation where the memory is full, and the system automatically or accidentally deletes files, or the user deletes them himself, wanting to make room. Fortunately, the Android operating system and the MIUI shell have several levels of data protection that allow you to return information even after some time after deleting.
The effectiveness of recovery depends on how quickly you caught up and what presets were active on your device. If after deleting a video you actively shot new videos or downloaded heavy files, the likelihood of successful return of originals is reduced due to overwriting of memory sectors. In this article, we will discuss in detail all the available methods, from simple checks of the basket to the use of specialized software for deep scanning.
Analysis of the built-in basket in the MIUI Gallery
The first and most obvious place to look for missing files is the Deleted folder in the standard Gallery app. Xiaomi developers have designed a security mechanism that does not permanently delete content immediately after clicking the appropriate button, but moves it to temporary storage.
To check for a video, you need to open the Gallery app and go to the Albums tab. At the bottom of the folder list, the Deleted section is often hidden, which may require authorization through a Mi Account to access sensitive data. If you find the right video there, just highlight it and click Restore to return the video to the main album.
- 📱 Open the Gallery app on the home screen.
- 🗑️ Go to the bottom tab of “Albums” and find the folder “Deleted».
- 🔒 Pass a security check (password or fingerprint) if the system requests access.
- ↩️ Select the files you need and press the restore button.
Why do files disappear from the cart before the time?
It is worth noting that the volume of the shopping cart is limited, and when overflowing old deleted files can disappear before the set deadline of 30 days, so checking this section regularly is an important habit for any smartphone user.
Synchronization with Google Cloud Storage Photos
Most modern Android smartphones, including Redmi 5 Plus, have Google Photos enabled by default, often acting as a lifeline, as they back up media files in the cloud before they are removed from the phone’s physical storage medium.
To check, you need to run the Google Photos app and make sure you’re logged in to the correct Google account. The app interface also has its own shopping cart that works independently of the MIUI system basket. Files can stay there for up to 60 days if you’re on a Google One subscription, or 30 days for regular users.
It's important to check the download quality settings in the app. If you selected the "Save space" option, then the videos could have been compressed, but they'll still be recoverable.The original quality takes up more space in the cloud and requires free space in your Google drive.
⚠️ Note: If you delete a photo or video from the Google Photos Recycle Bin, it will disappear forever. You will not be able to restore it through standard Google interfaces, you will need to contact Google Support, which helps only in rare cases.
The advantage of using Google Photos is cross-platform: you can log in to your account from any other device, computer or tablet and recover data even if the Xiaomi phone itself is damaged or lost.
Using the Mi Cloud for Backups
Xiaomi’s ecosystem offers its own Mi Cloud service, which is deeply integrated into the MIUI shell. Unlike Google, which is primarily focused on photos and videos, Xiaomi’s cloud is often used to synchronize system settings, contacts and messages, but the gallery feature there is also present.
To check for deleted videos in Mi Cloud, go to your phone's settings, select "Mi Account" and click on "Mi Cloud." Make sure that Gallery sync is enabled before files are lost. If the switch is on green, your videos can be saved to the company's servers.
- ☁️ Go to "Settings» → «Mi-account» → «Mi Cloud».
- 🖼️ Select the Gallery and check the synchronization status.
- 🌐 Alternatively, visit i.mi.com via your browser on your PC, logging in under your login.
- 📂 In the web interface, find the photo section and check for deleted albums.
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The free storage in the Mi Cloud is only 5GB. If you have a lot of high-resolution video, the space could run out and new files could no longer sync.
The web version of i.mi.com cloud often provides a more user-friendly interface for viewing and mass downloading files than a mobile application, where you can filter content by date in detail and find the desired video that was missing from the device.
Remember that Mi Cloud stores deleted items for 30 days, and after that period, the data is deleted from the servers without the possibility of recovery through standard tools.
Checking local system backups
The Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus has a built-in function of creating local backups, which allows you to save data directly to the device memory or on the phone. SD-Many users forget about this feature, but it may contain complete copies of your video archives made in the past.
Local backups are created manually or on schedule if this option was configured earlier, stored in a hidden folder of the system, but available for viewing through the recovery menu, and are a great way to return data if the cloud services were not connected to the Internet at the time of shooting.
The path to backup files: /MIUI/backup/AllBackup/To access recovery, go to Settings, select About Phone, and click multiple times on the kernel version, or find a separate Resurfacing and Recovery item in the advanced settings, where you will see a list of available restore points with dates and data volume.
☑️ Checking the local backup
It is important to consider that recovering from a local copy can take considerable time, especially if the archive is large.During the recovery process, the phone may reboot, so make sure that the battery is at least 50%.
Data recovery through computer and software
If built-in techniques don’t work, PC software comes to the rescue that can perform deep scans of a smartphone’s memory. For Redmi 5 Plus, which runs on a Snapdragon processor, tools that use access rights or work through USB debugging are often effective.
One of the popular solutions is the use of software like Dr.Fone, Tenorshare UltData or a free analogue of Recuva (for working with the software). SD-Computer programs have more powerful file system analysis algorithms than mobile applications, since they are not limited by Android access rights.
| Programme | Type of connection | Needs a Root-Right. | Efficiency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dr.Fone | USB-cable | Preferably. | Tall. |
| Recuva | Storage mode (SD) | No. | Medium |
| DiskDigger | Application to PC/Phone | Yes (for deep search) | Tall. |
| Mi PC Suite | Official software | No. | Low (backups only) |
To connect the phone in debugging mode, you need to activate the hidden developer menu. To do this, go to About Phone and quickly click on the MIUI build number seven times. Then, in the “Additional” → “Developers” menu, turn on Debugging over USB.
⚠️ Warning: Be careful when using third-party data recovery software. Some programs may request full access rights to the device, which could theoretically compromise the privacy of your personal data.
If the videos were stored on a microSD card, the safest and most effective method is to extract the card, paste it into the card reader and scan it with Recuva, which eliminates the risk of damage to the phone system and gives the best result.
Preventing Data Loss in the Future
After a successful or unsuccessful recovery, it is worth thinking about preventing similar situations in the future. Smartphone memory is not the most reliable storage, and sudden firmware failure or physical damage can lead to complete loss of information. Regular copy creation is the only guarantee of safety.
Set up automatic sync of important folders with multiple cloud services at once, for example, you can use Google Photos for quick sync and periodically make full backups to your computer via a computer. USB-Duplication of data reduces risks to almost zero.
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Rule 3-2-1: Store 3 copies of data on 2 different types of media, and 1 of them in a remote location (cloud).
It is also recommended to periodically clean the phone’s memory of unnecessary debris, but do so consciously by checking the contents of folders before deleting.Using file managers with a “basket” feature, such as Files by Google or ES Explorer (with caution), adds an additional layer of security.
- 🔄 Set up automatic upload of photos and videos to the cloud over Wi-Fi.
- 💾 Copy important files once a month to an external hard drive or computer.
- 🛡️ Install a reliable antivirus and do not install applications from unknown sources.
- 👀 Regularly check the free space so that the system does not delete cache and files forcibly.
Following these simple rules will allow you to enjoy shooting on Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus without worrying about the safety of your digital memories.