How to recover deleted photos on a Xiaomi phone (HyperOS 3)

Device

Android

Shown on

Xiaomi Redmi Note 15 Pro 5G (25080RABDG), HyperOS 3.0.308.0, Android 16

App

Photos

Real screenshots

5 of 5 steps

Checked

October 2026

Sources

2 official, linked below

Step by step

1. 

   See what Delete says

   When you delete a photo, Gallery says you can go to Recently deleted items to recover it or delete it for good.

   Done

2. 

   Open Recently deleted items

   In Gallery, tap the three dots at the top right, then Recently deleted items.

   Done

3. 

   Check the days left

   Each photo shows the days it has left; ours said 29 days. The note says backed-up items can stay in the cloud for up to 60 days, and items that weren't backed up for up to 30 days.

   Done

4. 

   Open the photo and tap Restore

   Tap the photo. Restore is the left button at the bottom; the bin deletes it for good.

   Done

5. 

   Find it back in Photos

   Ours went straight back under Photos, Today, on the day it was taken.

   Done

If you do not see this option

• No Recently deleted items in the menu? Gallery may first ask to Allow access to your photos. Ours did: Set opened the app info, then Permissions, Photos and videos, Always allow all. The menu showed Recently deleted items after that.
• Deleted it in Google Photos instead? Google Photos has its own bin. Google says photos deleted there stay in the bin for 30 days; restore them from Google Photos, not from Xiaomi Gallery. Source: Delete or restore your photos and videos

If this does not work

• Not in Recently deleted? It may be older than the days shown, or deleted for good from there. If you back up to Google Photos, check its Bin too.
• Deleted from Recently deleted? Then they are gone from the phone, and only a backup can bring them back: how to back up a Xiaomi phone.

About this guide

Deleting a photo in Xiaomi Gallery doesn't erase it straight away. It goes to Recently deleted items, and each photo shows how many days it has left.

The screenshots are from our Redmi Note 15 Pro 5G with Xiaomi HyperOS 3.0.308.0 and Android 16, in Light mode. We took one all-black test photo, deleted it, restored it, then deleted it for good.

Good to know

Emptying Recently deleted items frees the space they still use: Xiaomi storage full.

In short: Gallery, three dots, Recently deleted items, open the photo, Restore. Up to 30 days, or 60 in the cloud if backed up.