Why you can’t remove photos from the gallery on Xiaomi and how to fix it

Are you trying to clean up a gallery on a Xiaomi smartphone, but the photos persist after deleting? Or do not respond at all to the click of the "Delete" button? This problem is familiar to many owners of Redmi devices, Poco and Mi lines - from budget models to flagships. Most often, it is not the fault of iron breakdowns, but the features of MIUI, app cache or synchronization with the cloud.

In this article, we will discuss 7 The main reasons why photos are not removed from the Xiaomi gallery are from the banal (e.g. duplicates in the cloud) to the technical (damaged files or file system errors). For each reason, we will give step-by-step solutions with illustrations and warnings about possible risks — FAQ Answering frequent questions, including issues after the update MIUI 14/15.

Sync with Mi Cloud: why photos “resurrection” after deletion

The most common reason for undelete photos is automatic sync with Mi Cloud, and even if you delete the picture from your device, it can return in a few minutes (or after rebooting) if:

• 📱 Autoboot option is enabled in Mi Cloud in gallery settings.
• 🔄 Photos were uploaded to the cloud before being deleted from their phone.
• 📁 You are not removing the photo from the main folder. DCIM/Camera, It's from the Mi Cloud album.

To check this out, open the gallery, tap three dots in the top right corner, and select Settings → Mi Cloud. If the Autoboot slider is active, turn it off. But remember, this won't remove the photos you've already uploaded from the cloud, it will only stop further syncing.

⚠️ Warning: Disabling the autoload does not erase photos from the Mi Cloud. To delete them permanently, go to the web version of the cloud (i.mi.com) or use the Mi Cloud app on your phone.

If you want to save backups but avoid duplicates, set up selective sync:

1. Open Settings → Accounts → Mi Cloud → Gallery
2. Slip on the synchronization settings.
3. Select Wi-Fi Only and mark folders that don’t need to be synced (like Screenshots or Telegram).

2.Cash galleries and miniatures: "ghost" photos that do not disappear

Sometimes photos seem undeleted, even though they are no longer physically on the device, because of the cached thumbnails — the Xiaomi gallery saves reduced copies of images for quick download. Even after removing the original thumbnail can be displayed for days or weeks.

To clear the cache:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Find the Gallery (or Google Photos if you use it).
3. Slip the vault. → Clear the cache.
4. Reboot the phone.

If you can still see photos after cleaning the cache, check the.thumbnails folder (hidden folder in the root directory) that can be manually deleted through the file manager (for example, Mi File Manager), enabling the display of hidden files:

File Manager Settings → Three Points → Show Hidden Files

⚠️ Note: Deleting the.thumbnails folder won’t hurt the system, but it can slow down the first gallery load after restarting.

3. Damaged files and file system errors

If the photos are not deleted and there is an error such as Unable to delete or File used, the problem may be:

• 🔧 A damaged file (for example, after interrupted recording or editing).
• 🗄️ File system errors (often after incorrect extraction) SD-map).
• 📱 File occupancy by another process (for example, photo editor or messenger).

Try removing the file through the file manager (not the gallery!) first. If it doesn't work, use Safe Mode:

1. Press the power button before the off menu appears.
2. Press and hold the power off until the offer to go to safe mode appears.
3. In Safe Mode, try to delete the file again.

If that doesn't work, check the file system for errors.

1. Connect your phone to your PC via USB (in File Transfer mode).
2. Open this computer, find your device.
3. Right-click on the disk → Properties → Service → Check.

4. Access rights and restrictions of MIUI

MIUI is known for its strict file access restrictions, especially in the latest versions (14+).If a gallery or file manager can't delete a photo, they may not have permission to write to a folder.

• 📁 Folders on SD-map (MIUI block the record by default).
• 🔒 System folders (e.g., system folders, DCIM/.thumbnails).
• 🛡️ Private Safe protected files (if you have transferred them there).

To check the rights:

1. Open Settings → Applications → Permissions → Storage.
2. Find the Gallery and Files – they should have access to the storage.
3. For SD-maps: go to Settings → Warehouse → SD-map → Three points. → Settings → Format as internal storage (this will remove all data from the card!).

If the photos are stored in Private Safe, they cannot be deleted directly. First, transfer them to a regular folder:

1. Open the gallery. → Albums. → Private Safe.
2. Select a photo. → More. → Move it.
3. Specify the destination folder (for example, DCIM/Camera).
4. Now delete the files from the new folder.

5. Duplicates and "shadow" copies of the photo

Photos on Xiaomi can be duplicated in several places:

• 📸 Original in DCIM/Camera.
• 🖼️ Miniature at.thumbnails.
• ☁️ A copy in the cloud (Mi Cloud or Google Photos).
• 🤖 Cache of messengers (if you sent a photo via Telegram, WhatsApp, etc.).

To find all copies of one photo:

1. Install a file manager with a content search (e.g. Solid Explorer).
2. Enter the file name (for example, IMG_20231015_123456.jpg).
3. Remove any duplicates found.

To automatically search for duplicates, use apps like Duplicate Files Fixer or Files by Google, which scan the storage and show identical files, even if they have different names.

💡

If you take screenshots often, check the Pictures/Screenshots folder, which can accumulate hundreds of unnecessary files. MIUI 14+ has a feature to automatically clean screenshots older than 30 days: Settings → Special features → Additional → Autoclean screenshots.

6. Errors after updating MIUI or resetting settings

After updating MIUI (especially to versions 14/15) or resetting to factory settings, the gallery may "forget" file paths or lose access rights.

• 🔄 Photos are displayed but not opened.
• 🗑️ When deleting, an error appears File not found.
• 📂 The folders are empty, but take up space on the disk.

Decisions:

1. Remodel media base: Settings → Applications → Application management → Gallery → Storage → Clear data Attention! This will remove all gallery settings, including albums and favorites.
2. Update the Gallery app via the Play Market or App Store (if it is updated separately from the firmware).
3. Reset permissions: Settings → Applications → Permissions → Resetting application permissions

If the problem occurs after resetting, check if the option is enabled Data Recovery from backup. It can automatically return deleted photos:

Settings → Accounts → Mi Cloud → Data recovery

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After updating MIUI, always check the permissions of the applications – often the reset happens automatically and the gallery loses access to the storage.

7 Hardware problems: damaged memory or SD-map

If none of these methods worked, the problem could be physical damage to the storage:

• 💾 Internal memory: damaged sectors or wear of a flash drive (relevant to older devices).
• 📁 SD-Card: Often fails after prolonged use or improper extraction.

Signs of hardware problems:

• 🚨 Errors in writing/reading any files.
• 🐢 Slowing down your phone when opening a gallery.
• 🔋 Fast battery discharge (damaged memory increases power consumption).

Diagnosis:

1. Check your health. SD-PC-based maps H2testw or CrystalDiskMark.
2. For internal memory, use the AIDA64 app (Storehouse → Memory State).
3. If memory is damaged, back up the data and format the device (or replace it). SD-map).

⚠️ Warning: If your phone is making errors like Storage space is corrupted, don't ignore them! This can cause all data to be lost. Immediately copy important files to your PC and contact the service center.

FAQ: Frequent questions about gallery issues on Xiaomi