Why not delete photos from the gallery on Xiaomi: all the reasons and ways to fix

Are you trying to make room on Xiaomi's smartphone by removing unnecessary photos, but they persist in the gallery? Or do the images disappear and appear again after a while? This problem is familiar to many owners of devices on MIUI — from budget Redmi to flagship Xiaomi 13. 80% of the time it is not the hardware failures, but the features of the firmware and standard applications.

In this article, we’ll look at all the possible reasons why photos aren’t deleted from Xiaomi’s phone, from the cliché cache to hidden cloud copies, how to check if files are actually erased, where to look for “invisible” duplicates, and what to do if the gallery persists in recovering deleted images, and a unique way to find and delete “zombie files” that take up space but don’t appear in the explorer.

Important: some of the solutions require superuser rights (root), but we have highlighted the methods that work without them, and if you are not ready to experiment with firmware, skip the relevant sections and focus on the safe ways.

1.Cash galleries and thumbnails: why photos are "returning"

The most common reason for undeleted photos on Xiaomi is the Gallery app cache, which stores thumbnails (previews) of the images in a separate folder, and even after deleting the originals, they can be displayed in the interface, and they do not occupy disk space, but create the illusion that the files are left.

How it works:

• 📁 Miniatures are stored in a folder /storage/emulated/0/Android/data/com.miui.gallery/cache or /DCIM/.thumbnails
• 🔄 When you open the gallery, the system scans these folders and shows “ghost” images.
• 🗑️ Cache cleaning doesn’t delete the originals, but removes the preview from the interface

To get rid of the “returning” photos:

1. Open Settings → Applications → Application Management
2. Find the Gallery (or Google Photos if you use it)
3. Click Warehouse → Clear the cache
4. Reboot the phone.

💡

If the photos still show up after cleaning the cache, check the DCIM/.thumbnails folder through any file manager (such as Mi File Manager or Solid Explorer).

2 Hidden folders MIUI: where are the duplicate photos hiding

MIUI creates a few hidden folders that automatically copy photos -- and they're not always visible in the standard gallery.

To see the hidden folders:

1. Open the Mi File Manager (or any other manager)
2. Click on three dots in the upper right corner → Settings
3. Activate the option to show hidden files
4. Manually check the folders from the table above

Install root-enabled file manager (e.g. FX File Explorer)|Enable hidden file display |Check.MIUI,.thumbnails, MiCloudBackup|Elete unnecessary duplicates |Elean gallery cart

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Attention! Don't delete the entire MIUI folder, which can disrupt system functions. Only delete specific files that you recognize your photos in.

3. Cloud Services: How Mi Cloud and Google Photos Recover Deleted Images

If you're using cloud sync, deleting your phone doesn't mean it's gone completely. Mi Cloud (from Xiaomi) and Google Photos can automatically restore files the next time you connect to the Internet. Here's how it works:

• 🌥️ Mi Cloud: syncs photos to folder /MIUI/Backup/AllBackup/MiCloud. Even after the originals are deleted, the copies remain in the cloud. 30 days.
• 📷 Google Photos: By default, it creates copies in either high quality (compressed) or original resolution. Deleted photos are stored in the Recycle Bin for 60 days.
• 🔄 Auto-Recovery: When connected to Wi-Fi, services can download “deleted” files back to the device.

To finally erase the photos:

1. For Mi Cloud: Open Settings → Xiaomi Account → Mi Cloud → Gallery Turn off sync Delete files manually via i.mi.com web version
2. For Google Photos: Open the app → Photos → Cart Click Clean the cart Turn off autoboot in Settings → Backup and sync

Mi Cloud|Google Photo|Both options|Don't use the cloud.|Other service-->

Important! If you deleted photos from the cloud, but they still show up on your phone, check the autoload settings in your mobile data. Sometimes Google Photos downloads copies over 3G/4G, even if the Wi-Fi is off.

4 Gallery Recycle Bin: Why Files "Disappear" Temporarily

The standard MIUI Gallery has a built-in shopping cart where photos are taken after being deleted - and stay there for 30 days (by default), and many users forget about this and think that the files are erased forever, even though they are simply hidden.

How to clean the cart completely:

1. Open the Gallery app
2. Click on three dots in the upper right corner →
3. Choose Clear Everything or Delete Files selectively
4. Confirm the action.

If the cart is empty, but the photos are still displayed, check:

• 🔍 folder DCIM/.recent — Temporary copies may be kept here
• 📂 Outside. SD-Card (if any) – sometimes the gallery shows files from it, even if they are deleted from internal memory
• 🤖 folder /Android/data/com.miui.gallery/files — There may be backup copies of miniatures.

5. Access rights and file system failures

Sometimes photos are not deleted due to file system failures or insufficient permissions in the Gallery app, which is more common after:

• 🔄 Updates MIUI (Especially a dirty update without resetting)
• 📱 Connecting the phone to the computer in mode MTP (Media Transfer Protocol)
• 🛠️ Wrong shutdown SD-map
• 🦠 Viral attacks (rarely but possible)

How to diagnose and correct:

1. Access rights check: Go to Settings → Applications → Application management → Gallery → Permissions Make sure that the Warehouse, Camera and Microphone rights are enabled (the latter is required for video)

File system check:

adb shell df -h

If there are errors in the output of the command (for example, read-only filesystem), do:

adb shell fsck /dev/block/mmcblk0pX

(where X is the partition number, usually p25 for /data)

Removal of rights:

If the photos are on the SD-map, remove it, paste it back and format it via phone (settings) → storage → SD-map → format).

💡

If ADB commands don’t help and photos are still not deleted, the problem may be a hardware memory failure, in which case only flashing the phone or replacing the memory module (for models with a removable drive) will help.

⚠️ Attention, formatting SD-The card will delete all the data from it. Pre-copy important files to the computer or the cloud.

6 Viruses and malware: when photos are “protected” from deletion

In rare cases, photos are not deleted due to viruses or spyware that block access to files.

• 📲 You have installed applications from unverified sources (outside of Google Play)
• 🔗 Received suspicious references to SMS messenger
• 🛡️ Antivirus alerts about suspicious activity

Signs of infection:

• 🚫 Files are not deleted through the gallery or through the conductor.
• 🔄 After the reboot, the “erased” photos return
• 📥 Unknown folders with photos appear (for example, DCIM/100ANDRO)

How to check and clean your phone:

1. Install antivirus (such as Malwarebytes or Dr.Web Light)
2. Scan the device for threats
3. Check the list of installed applications in Settings → Applications. Delete suspicious (especially with device administrator rights)
4. If the virus blocks removal, go to Safe Mode (press the power button → Safe Mode) and try again.

⚠️ Attention! Some viruses are disguised as system applications (e.g. com.android.system). Check the name in Google before deleting - real system applications cannot be removed!

7 Hardware problems: when the drive is to blame

If none of the software methods worked, the problem could be physical memory damage.

• 📱 Removable phones SD-map (Redmi Note, Poco series)
• 🔧 Devices after falls or moisture
• ⚡ Frequently recharged devices (memory chip degradation)

Signs of hardware failure:

• 🐢 Slow work of a gallery or guide
• 🚨 Reports of read/write errors (E/ACCESS logged)
• 🔄 The photos disappear, but after a while they return in damaged form (artifacts, stripes)
• 📉 Free disk space does not increase after deleting files

What to do:

1. For SD-Cards: Remove the card and check it on the computer using H2testw If you find a bad sector, replace the card - it is not subject to restoration
2. For internal memory: Back up data Perform a factory reset (Settings → About phone → Reset) If the problem remains – contact the service center (replacement of the memory module is possible)

⚠️ Attention, on Xiaomi models with UFS 2.1/2.2/3.0 (for example, Xiaomi 11/12/13, Redmi K40/K50) It might not help if you reset your settings -- you need a chip-level diagnosis!

FAQ: Frequent questions about undeleteable photos on Xiaomi