Recovering Deleted Videos on Xiaomi: From Recycle Bin to Deep Scanning

Removed an important video from a Xiaomi phone and you don't know how to get it back?The situation is familiar to many: accidentally clicking "Delete", resetting settings or even breaking the device can deprive you of valuable records. Fortunately, most Redmi, POCO and Mi models have built-in data protection mechanisms, and for complex cases there are third-party tools.

In this article, you'll find 5 recovery methods that work, from simply checking your cart to using professional tools like DiskDigger or Recuva, and we'll go through the nuances for different scenarios: deletion without backup, file system damage, and when your phone doesn't turn on. It's important to act quickly -- the fewer operations you do after deletion, the better the chances of success.

Note: the effectiveness of the methods depends on the smartphone model, the version of MIUI and the type of memory (internal or microSD card). For example, on the Xiaomi 13 Pro with MIUI 14, the basket works differently than on the Redmi Note 10 with MIUI 12.5. If the video was deleted long ago (more than 30 days), the chances of recovery without a backup are minimal.

1.A check of the basket at MIUI Gallery

The first thing you need to do is to look into the built-in Recycle Bin of the Gallery app, where the deleted files are stored for up to 30 days in MIUI (some models up to 15 days), which works even without root rights and does not require a PC connection.

How to open the basket:

• 📱 Open the Gallery app (Icon with Camera).
• 🔍 Click on three dots in the upper right corner → Choose a Recycle Bin (or Recently Deleted).
• 🖼️ Find the right video, click on it and select Restore.
• 📤 The file will go back to the folder. DCIM/Camera Movies.

If the cart is empty or the video is not there, go to the next method. On some firmware (for example, MIUI Global for the European region), the cart can be disabled by default - check the settings of the gallery in the Settings → Recycle cart section.

⚠️ Warning: After cleaning the cart manually (Clean the cart button), the files are deleted irrevocably and are not subject to recovery by standard means.

2.Recovery through MIUI backup

If your Xiaomi has automatic backup enabled, the videos could have been saved to the Mi Cloud cloud or local copy, a method that is suitable for users who have previously configured sync.

How to recover from Mi Cloud:

1. 🌐 Go to Settings. → Xiaomi account → Mi Cloud.
2. 📁 Select Gallery or Backup Copies.
3. 🔄 Click Restore and select the desired date (if multiple copies are available).
4. ⏳ Wait until the process is complete (may take up to 30 minutes depending on the amount of data).

For local backup:

• 💾 Connect your phone to your PC and open the folder. MIUI/backup/AllBackup.
• 📂 Find a file with the.mbk extension (for example, backup_20231015.mbk).
• 🔧 Use the official Mi Backup Extractor utility to extract video.

⚠️ Warning: If you reset your phone to factory settings and didn't back it up in advance, this method won't work.

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Before restoring from a backup, check the free space on the device – if it is less than 10% of the copy volume, the process may be interrupted.

3.Use ADB for recovery (no root)

If the video has been recently deleted and the shopping cart is empty, you can try extracting files via Android Debug Bridge (ADB), a method that works without superuser rights but requires a connection to a computer.

Step-by-step:

1. 🖥️ Install. ADB Tools on PC.
2. 📱 Turn on Debugging. USB on the phone: Settings → The phone. → Version. MIUI (Press 7 times to unlock Developer Settings, then return to Settings → Additionally. → For developers → Debugging by USB.
3. 🔌 Connect your phone to your PC and confirm your debugging permission.
4. 💻 Open the command line (Windows) or the terminal (macOS/Linux) enter:

adb shell


su -c "cd /sdcard/DCIM/Camera && ls -la | grep '.mp4'"

If you find a video, copy it to your PC:

adb pull /sdcard/DCIM/Camera/your video.mp4 C:\Backup\

If the command returns the permission denied error, try an alternative path:

adb shell "find /storage/emulated/0/ -name '*.mp4' -type f"

Install ADB Tools on PC|

Enable debugging over USB on Xiaomi|

Connect the phone with the original cable |

Check the visibility of the device by the team `adb devices`|-->

4. Deep scanning programs (with or without root)

If standard methods don't work, specialized utilities will come to the rescue, scan the device's memory at a low level, and can find fragments of deleted files, and the effectiveness depends on how much data was recorded on top of the deleted video.

Top.-3 recovery:

• 🛠️ DiskDigger — runs without root, but with limitations. Downloaded from Google Play.
• 💻 Recuva (for PC) - suitable if you connect the phone as an external drive.
• 🔍 EaseUS MobiSaver – supports Xiaomi and restores video even after resetting settings.

Instructions for DiskDigger:

1. 📲 Install the app on your phone.
2. 🔍 Select Full Scan (requires root for maximum efficiency).
3. 📹 Mark file types: MP4, MOV, 3GP.
4. 🕒 Wait for the scan to finish (may take several hours).
5. 💾 Save the files found to a memory card or cloud.

⚠️ Note: When you use programs without root rights, you can only restore files that have not yet been overwritten by new data. If you shoot new videos or install applications after deleting a video, the chances of success drop dramatically.

5. Recovery from damaged or non-emerging phone

If Xiaomi doesn’t turn on, is stuck on the logo or has a corrupted file system, more radical measures will be needed, in which case it helps to connect to a PC in Fastboot mode or extract the memory chip (only in the service center).

Methods for "dead" devices:

• 🔌 Fastboot mode: Connect your phone to your PC while keeping Volume down + Power.If the device is defined as Qualcomm HS-USB QDLoader 9008, you can try flashing stock firmware through the Mi Flash Tool (but this will delete all data!).
• 💽 Chip-off recovery: In the service center, specialists connect directly to the memory chip via a programmer. ₽), It is effective even after formatting.
• 🔄 JTAG: Hardware for damaged firmware, requires soldering and specialized equipment.

If the phone turns on but doesn’t load beyond the MI logo, try Recovery Mode:

1. Turn off the device.
2. Press Volume Up + Power for 10 seconds.
3. From the recovery menu, select Mount → Mount /data.
4. Connect your phone to your PC and use ADB pull to copy files.

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If Xiaomi does not respond to buttons and is not detected by a PC, it is almost impossible to restore data independently. In such cases, contact service centers with chip-off analysis equipment.

6.Prevention: How to Avoid Losing Video in the Future

To avoid the problem again, follow the simple rules:

• ☁️ Automatic sync: Enable video upload to Google Photos or Mi Cloud. Even if the file is deleted from your phone, a copy of it will remain in the cloud.
• 📁 Backups: Create backups regularly through Settings → System system → Backup.
• 🚫 Deletion blocking: In the gallery MIUI You can turn on protection for individual folders: click on the folder → Protect → set the password.
• 🔄 Recycle Bin Check: Periodically clean the Recycle Bin manually, but before doing so make sure important files are saved.

For additional protection, use applications like Dumpster (alternative cart) or Resilio Sync to automatically back up to another device.

If you shoot high-resolution videos frequently (like 4K@60fps on Xiaomi 13 Ultra), consider buying a microSD card with an A2 or UHS-II class, which will reduce the risk of data loss when recording.

FAQ: Frequent questions about video recovery on Xiaomi