Previous articleGone photos from the gallery on Xiaomi: all ways to return pictures

You opened a gallery on your Xiaomi, Redmi or POCO, and your favorite photos have gone missing? It's a familiar situation: the photos were yesterday, and today they're not in the standard Gallery app or Google Photos, and the reasons can range from trivial settings to serious MIUI failures.

In this article, we will discuss 7 main reasons for the disappearance of photos on Xiaomi smartphones, including the Redmi Note 12 models, POCO X5, Mi 11 and others, you'll learn how to check hidden folders, restore deleted files, fix sync errors, and even return the images after reset to factory settings. MIUI — We have a separate solution.

Don't panic: 80 percent of the time, photos aren't permanently deleted, they're simply moved to secure system folders or temporarily hidden because of cache failure, so let's start with the simplest and get to the most complex recovery methods.

1. Check hidden and system folders

The first thing to do is to make sure that the photos are not moved or hidden by the system, and there are a few "secret" places where the images may go missing at MIUI:

• 📁.nomedia folder — if it's in the directory with the photo, the gallery won't show it. Check it through any file manager (e.g. Mi File Manager or Solid Explorer).
• 🔒 The Private Secure folder is in MIUI There's a built-in storage for sensitive files. To go in, open Settings. → Privacy → Private Safe.
• 🗑️ The basket - in the latest versions MIUI Deleted photos are placed in the cart and stored there for 30 days. Check it in the Gallery app** (basket icon in the upper right corner).
• ☁️ Cloud services – if you have Mi Cloud or Google Photos enabled, photos may have gone to the cloud. Go to the appropriate app and check the Archive or Remote folders.

Pay special attention to the DCIM/.thumbnails folder, which contains thumbnails of photos that are sometimes mistaken for originals, and if you find your pictures here, then the originals may have been deleted or moved.

⚠️ Warning: Do not delete the.nomedia folder, just move it from the directory with the photo or rename it (remove the dot at the beginning.

2. Gallery cache failure or MIUI

If the photos are physically in place (you see them through the file manager) but not displayed in the gallery, the problem is most likely in the app's cache or system settings.

1. Clear the gallery cache: Go to Settings → Apps → App management. Find Gallery** (or Google Photos if you use it). Click Storage → Clear cache.

Reboot the media scanner:

adb shell am broadcast -a android.intent.action.MEDIA_MOUNTED -d file:///sdcard/

This command can be executed via ADB (you need a computer) or a terminal on your smartphone (if you have root rights), and it will force you to update the database of media files.

Update MIUI:

Sometimes, photo display bugs are fixed in new firmware versions. Check for updates in Settings → About Phone → System Update.

If the photos still don't appear after cleaning the cache, try to delete the gallery data (in the same Warehouse menu → Delete data). This will reset the application settings, but will not delete the photos themselves.

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Before clearing the gallery data, back up the DCIM folder to your computer in case something goes wrong.

3.Photos deleted: how to recover

If the photos were not lost because of a crash, but were deleted (accidentally or after resetting the settings), they can still be returned. Here are 3 working ways, from simple to complex:

If you have used Mi Cloud, check cloud.xiaomi.com in your browser – it is possible that the photos are saved in the cloud. To recover via DiskDigger or Recuva, it is important that no new data is written to the place of deleted photos (this reduces the chances of recovery).

⚠️ Warning: Do not install recovery software on the same partition where the photos were stored.

4 Problems after MIUI Update

Many Xiaomi users experience a photo disappearing after a firmware update.

• 🔄 Resetting access rights – after the update, applications may be prohibited from accessing the storage.
• 📱 Changes in folder structure in new versions MIUI The path to the photo sometimes changes (for example, with the DCIM/Camera on Pictures/Screenshots).
• 🐛 Bugs in firmware - especially relevant for bets and unstable assemblies.

To return the photo after the update:

1. Check the access rights for the gallery in Settings → Apps → Permissions → Storage.
2. Reboot your phone – sometimes it helps the media scanner re-index files.
3. If the photos are missing after a major update (for example, from MIUI 12 to MIUI 14), try to roll back to the previous version via Fastboot (instruction below).

5.Photos missing after factory reset

If you have done a hard reset (reset via Settings) → Additionally. → Recovery and reset, all local photos have been deleted, but there's a chance they'll be returned:

• ☁️ Cloud Backups: Mi Cloud – Check Cloud.xiaomi.com → gallery → Cart. Google Photos - go to photos.google.com → Bag. Yandex.Disk or Mail.ru Cloud - if you turned on autoboot.
• 💾 Local Recovery: If you've recently reset, try programs like EaseUS MobiSaver or Dr.Fone that scan your internal memory for the remnants of deleted files.
• 🔧 Service center: If photos are critical (such as documents or unique images), contact the data recovery lab. They can extract information directly from the memory chip (but it is expensive).

Important: After a reset, do not write new files to your phone or install apps – this reduces the chances of recovery.

Do not write new files to your phone|Check cloud storage|Use programs for recovery|Contact the service center (if the photos are critically important)-->

6. Memory Card (SD) problems

If the photos were stored on a memory card, their disappearance may be due to:

• 🛑 File system corruption – the card may be formatted in an inappropriate format (e.g., exFAT instead of the file system). FAT32).
• 🔌 Improper extraction – if you pull out the card without Safe extraction, files can get corrupted.
• 🦠 Viruses – some malware hides or encrypts files SD-card.

To recover the photo from the map:

1. Connect the card to the PC through the card reader.
2. Run CHKDSK (for Windows): chkdsk E: /f (replace E: with the letter of your drive).
3. If the card is not readable, try PhotoRec or TestDisk (free and uninstallable).

⚠️ Note: If the memory card makes strange sounds (clicks, squeaks) or is not detected on any device, do not try to format it - this can permanently destroy the data.

7. Viruses and malware

Rarely, but sometimes, photos are lost due to viruses that:

• 🔒 Encrypt files (extortionists like WannaCry).
• 🗑️ Delete or hide media files.
• ☁️ Upload photos to remote servers (spyware).

Signs of infection:

• The phone started to slow down or overheat.
• Unknown applications have appeared.
• Battery discharge has accelerated.
• Strange folders appeared in the gallery (for example,.vault or encrypted).

What to do:

1. Install an antivirus (Malwarebytes or Dr.Web Light) and scan the device.
2. Check the list of installed apps in Settings → Apps – remove suspicious ones.
3. If the photos are encrypted, try to restore them from a backup (cloud, PC).
4. In extreme cases, make a factory reset (but it will delete all the data!).

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If you have files with the.locked or.encrypted extension on your phone, do not pay ransomware, contact the data recovery lab or try decryption devices (for example, No More Ransom).

FAQ: Frequent questions about missing photos on Xiaomi