How to go to the cart on Xiaomi: TVs, smartphones and tablets

Have you accidentally deleted an important file on a Xiaomi device and are now trying to recover it? Or just want to clear the cart to make room? Depending on the model and the type of device (smartphone, TV or tablet), the ways to access the cart can be radically different. In this article, we will discuss all the current methods, from standard MIUI functions to hidden features of the file manager.

It's important to understand that not all Xiaomi devices have a shopping cart as usual. For example, on Mi TVs or Redmi Smart TVs, the file deletion mechanism works differently than on smartphones with MIUI 12+. And some older models do not store deleted data at all. To avoid wasting time on useless actions, first determine which device you have in your hands, which will save hours of searching.

If you use a Xiaomi, POCO or Redmi smartphone based on MIUI, you have two main ways to access the shopping cart: through the standard Files app or with the help of third-party file managers like Total Commander. On Xiaomi TVs, the situation is more complicated - here the basket can be hidden in the system settings or even absent.

1. basket on smartphones Xiaomi, POCO and Redmi (MIUI)

On most modern Xiaomi smartphones (starting with MIUI 10), the basket is built into the standard Files app (formerly called Explorer), but its behavior depends on the firmware version and regional build, for example, in global versions of MIUI, the basket can be disabled by default, and in Chinese versions it can work differently.

To check if you have a cart:

• 📱 Open the Files app (Icon with a blue folder).
• 🔍 In the lower menu, select Categories or Device.
• 🗑️ Scroll down the list – if there is a Recycle Bin item, then the function is active.
• ⚙️ If there is no basket, go to Settings → Memory. → Basket and turn it on manually.

In some versions of MIUI (e.g. MIUI 13 for Xiaomi 12), the basket is hidden deeper to find it.

1. Open Files and tap three dots in the upper right corner.
2. Select Settings → Show hidden files.
3. Return to the main menu and scroll down – the.Trash section should appear (this is the shopping cart).

Open the Files annex"|Check the section “Category"|Find the item "Basket" or ".Trash"|Enable the display of hidden folders if necessary-->

An important nuance is that the files in the Recycle Bin are stored for a limited time, usually 15 or 30 days, and then automatically deleted. If you're looking for a file that was deleted a month ago, you can't restore it through the Recycle Bin, which would require specialized programs like DiskDigger or Recuva (but they only work if you have root rights).

2. How to recover files from the shopping cart on Xiaomi

If you find deleted files in the recycle bin, it takes a few seconds to recover them, but there are some limitations:

• 📁 You can only recover files that have been deleted through the Files app. If you deleted them through Google Photos or another manager, you should search for them in the corresponding shopping carts of these applications.
• 🕒 Files that have been in the basket for more than 30 days, can not be restored - they are deleted irretrievably.
• 📂 Folders are restored completely, individual files cannot be pulled from them.

Step-by-step instructions for recovery:

1. Open the basket in the Files app.
2. Select the files or folders you want to return (long click → ticks).
3. Click on the Restore button in the lower menu.
4. Select the folder to save (by default – Downloads or Documents).

What if the Restore button is inactive?

• 🚫 The file is damaged and cannot be restored.
• 🔒 You don’t have enough permissions (for example, the file was in a protected system folder).
• 📱 Memory is full – free up space and try again.

Once a week | Once a month | Only when I run out of memory | Never clear | I don't know where it is-->

3. basket on Xiaomi TVs (Mi TV, Redmi Smart TV)

On Xiaomi TVs, the shopping cart mechanism works differently than on smartphones. There is no usual ".Trash" section here, instead, deleted files are temporarily stored in memory, but access to them is closed, and you can only restore them through the built-in file manager or by connecting the TV to your computer.

Instructions for Mi TV 4/5 and Redmi Smart TV:

1. On the remote, click Menu → Settings → All Settings → Storage & Reset.
2. Select Internal Storage → Explore (in some versions of File Manager).
3. Go to Download or Movies folder – there can be “shadow” copies of deleted files (they are marked in gray).
4. Select the file and click Options → Restore.

If this method does not work, try connecting the TV to your PC via USB-OTG or via a local network (via FTP).

• 🖥️ A folder will open on the computer. Xiaomi_TV with the Internal Storage section and USB Drive.
• 🔍 Turn on the display of hidden files – sometimes the basket is hidden in the folder.Trashes.
• ⚠️ Do not delete files with the.nomedia extension – they are responsible for displaying multimedia.

Warning: When connecting your TV to your computer, do not format internal memory via Windows, which will result in a complete reset and loss of all data, including installed applications.

4. Alternative ways of accessing the basket

If standard methods don't work, you can use third-party tools, like the Dumpster app (available on Google Play) that creates its own basket that intercepts all deleted files.

• 🔄 It works regardless of the version. MIUI.
• 📅 Allows you to adjust the storage period of files (up to 90 days).
• 📂 Supports recovery by type (photos, videos, documents).

Installation and configuration of Dumpster:

1. Download the app from Google Play (or via APK if you have Chinese firmware).
2. At the first start, give access to the device memory.
3. In the settings, enable the Auto Clean option and set a storage limit (e.g., 5GB).
4. All deleted files will now be placed in the Dumpster Recycle Bin, where they can be recovered at any time.

For advanced users, there is another way – manual access to the cart through ADB. This works on smartphones with an unlocked bootloader:

adb shell


su




cd /storage/emulated/0/.Trash




ls

If the folder exists, you'll see a list of deleted files. To recover the file, use the command:

mv /storage/emulated/0/.Trash/file name /storage/emulated/0/Download/

💡

If you often work with the shopping cart, add a shortcut to the home screen. To do this, in the Files app, find the Recycle Bin section, make a long tap, and select Add to the home screen. Now you can access the deleted files in one tap.

Frequent problems and their solutions

Even with the right actions, users are faced with cart errors, and let's look at the most common cases and how to fix them.

Special case: if after updating MIUI the shopping cart disappeared, try resetting the Files application settings:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Find Files and select Warehouse.
3. Click Clear Data and Reset Settings.
4. Reset the device.

💡

If the Recycle Bin behaves unstable (self-cleansed, does not save files), the cause may be a corrupted file system, in which case only a complete reset of settings through Settings → Additional → Recovery and Reset.

6. How to permanently delete files from the Recycle Bin (without recovery)

Sometimes you don't have to restore files, you have to delete them so they don't take up space.

• 🗑️ Open the basket in the Files app.
• 🔘 Select unnecessary files (or click Select All).
• 🚮 Slip on the basket icon in the bottom menu and confirm the removal.

On Xiaomi TVs, the process is similar, but with nuances:

1. Go to File Manager. → Internal Storage.
2. Find a folder with deleted files (usually.Trash or Recycle Bin).
3. Select files and select Delete Permanently.

Note: After the final deletion, files cannot be restored even with specialized programs. If you delete sensitive data (for example, scans of documents), first make sure that you have backup copies.

💡

To speed up the cleaning of the cart, use the voice assistant Xiao AI. Say: "Clean the cart", and the system will automatically delete all files older than 7 days.

7.Comparison of the cart on Xiaomi and other brands

The mechanism of the cart on Xiaomi is different from the analogues of Samsung, Huawei or Google Pixel.

A unique feature of Xiaomi: on devices with a Qualcomm Snapdragon chip (for example, Xiaomi 11T or POCO F3), the basket works more stable than on models with MediaTek (for example, Redmi Note 10), this is due to the optimization of the F2FS file system, which better copes with temporary files.

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions