How to go to the archive of Xiaomi phone: hidden folders and the cloud

Users often search for a way to log into their smartphone archives, believing that there is a single system folder that automatically includes all deleted or hidden files. However, in reality, Xiaomi’s ecosystem is more complex: local backups, clipboards and cloud storage intertwine. Understanding this structure is critical for those who want to return lost data or free up disk space.

In this article, we’ll look at all the possible options for what users call an “archive,” which will help you find hidden folders, work with Google Drive, Mi Cloud, and local backups, and allow you to effectively manage your device’s memory without installing questionable cleaners.

Before we get to the complicated manipulations, it's worth clarifying that if you just deleted a file, it might be in the conductor basket, not in the deep archive, but if you're talking about system redundancy, the paths will be completely different.

Local archive of system backups

The Android operating system on Redmi and Poco smartphones has a built-in function to create complete copies of data, which creates a file package that technically is your phone’s archive at the time of saving, and can only be found through the file manager, since the standard settings menu displays only the date of the last backup.

To get to that data, you need to activate the hidden elements display. The standard backup path is MIUI/backup/AllBackup. Inside this directory, you have folders with the date and time you created the copy. Importantly, you can't just open and run applications from this archive, it's just a set of data to recover from the Recovery menu.

If you plan to transfer this data to another phone, you will need to copy the entire folder, and interrupting the copying process can damage the archive and the system will not be able to recognize it when you try to restore it.

⚠️ Note: Files inside the AllBackup folder have specific extensions and are not designed for manual editing.Attempting to change the folder structure will lead to a recovery error.

You can also force this copy through the settings menu. Go to Settings → About Phone → Backup and Restore. Here you will see a list of available archives and you can create a new one or delete the old one, freeing up space.

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Create local backups before you run your phone firmware or install major system updates, and that’s the only way to save your application data if cloud sync isn’t set up.

Working with a conductor and hidden folders

The standard Explorer (or File Manager) tool in MIUI and HyperOS hides system files by default. To enter the hidden data archive, you need to change the display settings. Click on the menu icon (three bars or dots) and activate the "Show Hidden Files" switch.

Once this option is enabled, elements that start with a dot will appear in the root directory and in all subfolders. For example, the.thumbnails folder stores thumbnails of images, and the.android folder stores data from system services. Be careful: deleting the contents of such folders can lead to malfunctioning applications.

• 🔍 Search for large files: Use the built-in storage analyzer in Explorer to find bulky archives of messengers.
• 📂 Sort: Sort files by date of change to find newly created system logs.
• 🔒 Secure folder: There is a separate Hide Files feature that hides media in a password-protected area, accessible only through a gallery or authorization explorer.

Many users confuse hidden system folders with “remote photo archives,” but there is no single storage in the phone’s local memory — the remote one is erased immediately if cloud sync is not enabled.

Archives in Google Photos and Mi Cloud

When it comes to recovering deleted photos, most users are referring to cloud services. The Xiaomi ecosystem is heavily using the Mi Cloud and Google Photos bundle, and this is where the "archive" of your media files is stored, even if they were deleted from the device.

There's a special folder called Archives in the Google Photos app, and you get pictures that you've removed from the main feed, but you don't want to delete them permanently, so to check it out, open the app, go to the Library tab, and select Archive, which can store screenshots, checks, or personal photos.

A similar system works in Mi Cloud. If the phone was enabled gallery sync, deleted photos are taken to the cloud basket, where they are stored for 30 days. To access them, go to Settings → Mi Account → Mi Cloud → Gallery.

It is worth noting that cleaning the cart in the cloud occurs automatically after the expiration of the term, and it will be impossible to restore files after that without third-party paid software, the effectiveness of which is questionable.

Archive of messages and multimedia in messengers

Often, when users search for “how to log in to archives,” they search for old correspondence or files from WhatsApp, Telegram, and Viber, which have different storage architectures than the system one, such as WhatsApp’s “Chat Archive” feature, which hides conversations from the general list but does not delete them.

To find files sent in messengers, you need to know the exact path in the file system (11 and above) access to the folder Android/media limited, but you can pass through the conductor along the way Android/media/com.whatsapp/WhatsApp/Media. Here are subfolders with images, documents and voice messages.

Telegram is a simpler place: all files are stored on messenger servers. Locally on the phone, they only take up space in the cache. You can clean this cache through Settings → Data and memory → Memory Use. This is the most efficient way to free up gigabytes of space without losing access to the history of correspondence.

⚠️ Note: When cleaning the messenger cache, make sure you have a stable Internet. Without the network, old photos and videos will not be downloaded from the application cloud.

Remember that deleted messages with the function "vanishing timer" can not be recovered in any way, they do not get to the local archive or the cloud.

Recover deleted files without backup

If you delete a file, it's not in the bin, and the cloud sync has been turned off, things get complicated. The Android file system marks the place where the file was lying as "free," and writes new data on top of it. Until that place is overwritten, the file can theoretically be restored.

There are specialized tools like DiskDigger or Dr.Fone that require you to connect your phone to your computer and, in some cases, have Root rights. Without superuser rights, the scan will be superficial and find mostly thumbnails of photos.

The recovery process is as follows:

1. Installation of the scanner program on the PC.

2. Connecting the smartphone via USB in debugging mode.

3. Launching deep memory scan.

The effectiveness of these methods depends on the time elapsed since the deletion, and the more you use your phone after losing data, the less chance you have of success.

Cleaning up system debris and cache

Sometimes, the "archive" is a collection of temporary files that slow down the system, and Xiaomi phones are responsible for this with the built-in Security app, which automatically finds remnants of deleted applications, browser cache and advertising files.

It is recommended to clean it regularly through this tool, but you should not use third-party accelerators from the Play Market, as they often contain advertising and can create an unnecessary load on the processor. MIUI It is sufficient to maintain order.

You also need to manually check the Download folder, which is where the installations most often get into. APK-file, PDF-documents and pictures from the Internet that you downloaded and forgot, and deleting them is safe and frees up a significant amount of memory.

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Regular manual check of the Download folder and messenger cache is more effective than any automatic cleaners and safer for the system.