“File type is not supported or file is corrupted” on Xiaomi: how to bring a photo back to life

You try to open a photo on a Xiaomi smartphone, but instead of an image you see a blurred preview or a message like “file type is not supported” or “file is corrupted”? This error is familiar to many brand users – especially owners of models Redmi Note 10/11/12, POCO X3/X4 and Mi 11/12. The problem can affect both fresh pictures and old photos from archives transferred from other devices.

The reasons for the failure are due to the processing of media files by MIUI firmware, format conflicts (e.g..heic vs. jpg), metadata corruption or hardware limitations. 80% of the time, photos can be restored without loss of quality if you follow a clear algorithm. This article analyzes all possible causes, step-by-step instructions for different scenarios and answers to the questions users ask most often.

Why Xiaomi doesn’t open photos: 5 main reasons

The “file type is not supported” error is a common signal from the system that it cannot recognize or decode the image, and here are the key reasons why this happens on Xiaomi devices:

• 📱 Incompatible file format: Photos in.heic format (used on iPhone) or.webp are not always correctly processed by the standard gallery MIUI, Especially on older versions of the firmware.
• 🔄 Metadata Damage: When Transferring Files Through MTK File Manager, Mi Mover, or cloud services (like Google Photos) can go off» EXIF-tags without which the system does not recognize the file as an image.
• 💾 File system errors: If the photo was saved to a damaged microSD card or to internal memory with broken sectors, the files may be partially opened or not opened at all.
• 🔧 Application Conflict: Third-party galleries (like Google Photos or QuickPic) sometimes block access to files if they don't have permission to read the folder DCIM.
• 📲 Limitations MIUI: In the firmware MIUI 12.5 and later there is a bug with the display of photos taken in mode RAW or with a resolution above 12 MP on some models.

The easiest way to diagnose a problem is to try opening a file on another device, if the photo is displayed on a PC or other smartphone, it is Xiaomi's firmware or settings that are to blame, and if not, the file is physically damaged.

⚠️ Warning: Do not delete "broken" photos from your phone, even if they do not open! corrupted files can often be restored using specialized tools (about them in the next section).

Method 1: Convert formats (for HEIC, WEBP, RAW)

If your photo is saved in.heic (typical for iPhone),.webp (web images) or.dng format (RAW-pictures), standard gallery MIUI The solution is to convert to universal.jpg or.png.

Options for action:

• 📱 Through the app: Install HEIC to JPG Converter (available on Google Play) or File Converter. These utilities convert files directly on your phone without losing quality.
• 💻 On the computer: Transfer the photo to the PC and use CopyTrans HEIC for Windows (free) or online service heictojpg.com.
• 🌐 Cloud service: Upload the file to Google Drive, open it through your browser on your PC and save it as.jpg.

For RAW-Adobe Lightroom (free version) will open the image and allow you to export it to.jpg.

Check the file extension (should be.heic,.webp or.dng)

Install a converter from Google Play

Save the original in a separate folder

Check the quality after conversion-->

Method 2: Recovering damaged files

If the photo is physically damaged (for example, due to a failure when writing to a memory card), it can be tried to restore using specialized tools.

First, try the free solutions:

1. Connect your phone to your PC and copy the “broken” photos to a separate folder.
2. Install ExifTool (available for use) Windows/macOS/Linux) and execute the command: exiftool -all= -overwrite_original filename.jpg This will clear metadata and can "unlock" the file.
3. If it doesn't help, use it. JPEG Repair – It restores the structure JPEG-file.

⚠️ Warning: Don't save recovered files over originals! Always work with copies to avoid aggravating damage.

Conversion of formats

Recovery through ExifTool

PC programs (JPEG Repair, etc.)

Reset gallery settings

Other-->

Method 3: Checking the memory card and internal storage

If the problem occurs with all the photos saved to the microSD card, or with files in a particular folder, the file system may be to blame.

For the memory card:

1. Remove the card and connect it to the PC through the card reader.
2. Run CHKDSK (on Windows): chkdsk E: /f (replace E: with the letter of your drive).
3. If there are any errors, confirm their correction.

For internal memory:

• 📲 Go to Settings. → Memory. → Clean and select Check and Correction.
• 🔄 If the option is not available, perform a soft reset (without deleting data) via Settings. → The phone. → Resetting settings.

If the memory card is damaged physically (for example, after a phone crash), only professional equipment will help to restore data, in such cases, do not write new files to the map - this will reduce the chances of recovery.

💡

Before checking your memory card, back up all important files on your PC or in the cloud, and tools like CHKDSK can delete corrupted data without any recovery.

Method 4: Reset Gallery and Cache settings

Sometimes the error "file type is not supported" appears due to a failure in the standard gallery MIUI. In this case, resetting its settings will help:

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

If the photos still don’t open after reset, try:

• 🔄 Install an alternative gallery (e.g. Simple Gallery or A)+ Gallery).
• 📥 Update firmware MIUI up to the latest version (some builds have bugs with display media files).

On Xiaomi models with MIUI 13+, it can also help to disable the “Photo Optimization” feature in the gallery settings – it sometimes conflicts with non-standard formats.

Method 5: Recovery through backups

If the photos were synced with cloud services, they can be returned from the following:

• ☁️ Google Photos: Open the app, go to the Recycle Bin (files are stored there for 60 days) or check the Archive folder.
• 📁 Mi Cloud: Log in to i.mi.com, log in and check the Gallery section.
• 💾 Local backups: If you used Mi Mover or Titanium Backup, check folders MIUI/Backup Titanium Backup on the internal drive.

If you don’t have backups, but your photos have been deleted recently, try recovery software:

• DiskDigger (Android) scans the internal memory and card.
• Recuva (PC) – works with connected drives.

⚠️ Warning: The more time has passed since deletion, the lower the chances of recovery. Once a file is deleted, its disk space is marked as free, and new data can overwrite old data.

Method 6: Manual File Extensions Correction

Sometimes the problem is that the file extension is not right, for example, a photo may have a.png extension, but it's actually.jpg. You can manually fix this.

1. Connect your phone to your PC or use a file manager (like FX File Explorer).
2. Enable the display of file extensions (in FX: Settings → Show extensions).
3. Find the problem file and rename it by changing the extension: From.heic to.jpg From.webp to.png From.tmp to.jpg (if the file is temporary)

Confirm the change and try to open the file again.

If the photo does not open after renaming, return the previous extension - it is possible that the file is damaged deeper than it seems.

Frequent questions about photo recovery on Xiaomi

💡

If none of these methods worked, the last hope is professional data recovery services (for example, Hetman Recovery or Stellar Data Recovery), which work with physically damaged drives and can return up to 90% of files, but the service is paid (from 1,500). ₽).