When a user tries to make room on a smartphone but is unable to remove unnecessary photos, it is one of the most common problems in the Xiaomi ecosystem: owners of Redmi and Poco series devices often notice that after pressing the delete button, the file seems to get stuck in the system, or returns after a while. This causes great irritation, especially when the internal memory of the device is critically filled, and you need to immediately release several gigabytes.
The reasons for this behavior of the MIUI or HyperOS operating system can range from a trivial overflow of the clipboard to serious errors in the file table. Sometimes the problem lies not in the gallery itself, but in the background synchronization processes that block access to the file. Understanding the source of the error is the first step to successfully solving the problem, avoiding unnecessary actions to clean up the memory.
In this article, we will take a look at all possible file lock scenarios and offer step-by-step instructions for fixing them. You don’t need to be a technical specialist to fix this problem, since most solutions are available in standard settings. We will look at both software failures and cloud services that often become hidden culprits.
Overflow of the folder “Recently deleted”
The first and most obvious reason why photos can behave strangely is because the system basket overflows, and there's a folder called "Recently Deleted" in the MIUI shell that stores files after standard deletion for exactly 30 days, and if you delete a huge number of pictures at a time, the temporary storage can overflow or freeze, blocking the addition of new deletion records.
In this case, the system may simply stop responding to the cleanup commands, as the file system limits for that particular directory have been exhausted.This does not mean that the phone's memory is occupied dead, but the delayed deletion mechanism fails. Forced cleaning of that folder often solves the problem instantly.
To do this, you need to open the Gallery app and go to the Albums section. Scroll down to the bottom of the list where "Recently Deleted" is located. Click on it, select "Clean" or "Delete All" option. If the standard interface doesn't respond, try deleting files in one or a small group.
☑️ Cleaning the Gallery basket
It is worth noting that after cleaning this folder completely, the disk space is freed up completely, but if after this action the problem with deleting new files persists, then the cause lies deeper in the system processes or the application cache.
Synchronization conflicts with Mi Cloud
One of the most insidious reasons why you can't delete a photo is active sync with Mi Cloud storage. When this feature is enabled, your phone constantly checks the local gallery with the cloud. If you're trying to delete a photo that hasn't yet fully uploaded to the cloud or, conversely, is blocked by the server due to a download error, the system can prevent deleting a local copy.
So you can see the boomerang effect, where you delete the photo, it disappears for a split second, and then it reappears, because the background sync process sees a mismatch between the cloud and the phone, and it restores the file. Temporary sync shutdown helps determine if that's the reason.
⚠️ Before you turn off sync, make sure that important images are already saved to the cloud or computer so that they do not lose them irretrievably.
To check this setting, go to your phone's settings and select your Mi Account. Find the "Mi Cloud" section and click on "Gallery." If the switch is active, try turning it off. Then wait a few minutes and try to delete the problematic photos again. If the deletion was successful, then the conflict was in the server data protocol.
What if the photos are deleted only after the Internet is turned off?
If the 5GB (free rate) quota is overflowing, new photos cannot be uploaded, which causes the system to constantly try to send them to the server, while blocking the removal of old ones.
Cache and data errors of the Gallery application
The Gallery app on Xiaomi smartphones is not just a picture viewer, but a sophisticated media manager who creates thumbnails and indexes files. Over time, it can accumulate errors that (lead) to incorrect display of file management commands. If the cache is overflowing or corrupted, the interface can simply “forget” to send a command to delete.
Cache cleaning is a safe procedure that doesn’t affect your personal photos, but resets temporary application files. This often helps shake up the system and restore normal functionality. You need to go to the phone’s settings section, select Apps, and find the Gallery list.
Inside the app menu, click on the Clear button and select Clear Cache. If that doesn't work, you can try a more radical method - Clear Everything (or Reset), but before you do, make sure that the cloud sync works correctly so you don't lose your album settings.
- 📱 Go to Settings. → Annexes → All applications.
- 🔍 Find the Gallery app in the list.
- 🗑️ Click the Clean button and select Clear the cache.
- 🔄 Restart the device and check the removal work.
Once you do this, the system will re-scan the media files, which can take a while, especially if you have thousands of photos, so the phone may get a little warmer, which is a normal media indexing reaction.
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Use Xiaomi’s built-in Security app to deep-clean the system’s cache with a single click, this often solves problems with the gallery’s hanging processes.
Access rights issues and system restrictions
Modern versions of Android, which run Redmi and Poco, have significantly tightened file system access rules. The Gallery app must have up-to-date permissions to read and write external drives. If you recently upgraded or reset your settings, rights may have been reset or restricted by security policies.
In addition, some system files or pictures taken by other applications (e.g., screenshots from bank applications or DRM-protected screenshots) can be protected from deletion by standard methods, in which case the system marks the file as “important” or “systemic”, blocking its deletion by the user.
You can check access rights from the same app menu. Make sure the Gallery has access to Photos and Videos, and Media Files. If the sliders are turned off, turn them on and restart the app. Sometimes it helps to force the app to stop before rechecking the rights.
| Type of error | Symptoms. | Probable cause | Method of decision |
|---|---|---|---|
| Failure of access rights | Remove button is inactive | No permission to record. | Verification of permissions in settings |
| File's busy. | The message "failed to be deleted" | The file is used by another application | Phone reboot |
| Damage to the FS | The photo disappears and appears | File table error | Verification via PC or formatting |
| Synchronization | Photo returns from the cloud | The Mi Cloud Conflict | Shutting down synchronization |
It is also worth considering that if the phone is connected to the computer in file transfer mode (MTP), delete can be blocked by Windows or macOS, which keeps the directory open. USB-Cable and try to delete the photo again.
Use of Third-Party File Managers
If the standard Xiaomi Gallery stubbornly refuses to delete certain files, the most effective workaround is to use a file manager.The standard Explorer (or File Manager) works with the file system at a lower level and often ignores the media scanner locks.
You can use both the built-in file manager and install a more powerful tool, like Total Commander or Files by Google. Find the DCIM/Camera or Pictures folder, locate the problematic image and try to delete it from here. Often, the system issues a request for confirmation of rights, and once it is accepted, the file is deleted irrevocably.
In some cases, renaming a file before deleting helps. If you change the file name or file extension (e.g.,.jpg to.tmp), it can trick the blocking process into making the file available for deletion, especially for files with corrupted headers.
⚠️ Note: Be extremely careful when deleting files through the file manager. Make sure you do not delete system folders or files of other applications, as there is no basket here.
For advanced root users, there are special utilities that allow you to see and delete even hidden and protected files, but for the average user, using a third-party file manager is the safest and most effective method.
Radical measures: resetting and formatting
If none of the software methods worked, and the photos are still being deleted, taking up precious space, the memory partition file system itself may have been damaged, and in this case, a deeper intervention is required, and the first step is to try to clean it through the computer.
Connect your phone to your PC using USB-If you're using the cable, select File Transfer mode, and try to delete problematic images through the Windows interface. The computer often has higher priority rights to write and can ignore mobile process locks. If that doesn't work, the formatting option remains.
Formatting internal memory is a last resort, it completely erases all data from the phone, returning it to a factory state, before you do that, make sure to back up all important data to an external drive or to the cloud.
- 💾 Make a complete backup of the data.
- ⚙️ Go to Settings. → The phone. → Resetting settings.
- 🧹 Select “Wipe all data” (Wipe all data).
- 🔌 Wait for the process to be completed and the initial setup.
Once reset, the phone will look like new, and the file system problems that prevented the photo from being deleted are guaranteed to disappear, and if the problem reappears even on a clean phone without installed apps, it may indicate a physical degradation of the memory chip, which requires repair in the service center.
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If files are not deleted even after resetting settings and connecting to a PC, there is a high probability of a physical malfunction of the smartphone memory module.