“Other” on the Xiaomi phone: decryption of hidden settings and their purpose

The Mysterious Section of The Other: Why Does It Appear and What Does It Hide?

Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi or POCO smartphones sooner or later encounter the item “Other”** (or Other in English firmware) in the settings menu. This section either appears in the list of applications, then suddenly disappears, then takes up gigabytes of memory for no apparent reason. Is it a system bug, a hidden function or a consequence of user actions?

In fact, “Other” is a collective designation for data that the system cannot categorize into specific categories (photos, videos, apps, etc.) Depending on the MIUI version (from MIUI 12 to MIUI 15) and the phone model (for example, Xiaomi 13 Pro vs Redmi Note 10), the content of this section can be radically different.

• 📁 Cache of system processes (including data from Google Services and MIUI Optimization)

It's important to understand that the Other partition can take up to 30% of the total memory of a device on MIUI 14+ firmware due to aggressive caching to speed up the interface, but not all files here are safe to delete - some are critical to system stability.

Where to find “Other” in different versions of MIUI?

The location of the section depends on the shell version and regional firmware. In the latest versions of MIUI (starting with MIUI 13), the path has changed as developers have moved it deep into the menu.

On some firmware (e.g. MIUI EU or custom builds), the partition may be called System Data or Miscellaneous. If you don't find it on the standard path, try:

1. Enter the search for settings request another or other.
2. Use a file manager (e.g. Mi File Manager) with hidden files displayed (Settings → Show hidden files).
3. Connect the phone to your PC and view contents through ADB (requires an unlocked bootloader).

⚠️ Note: On HyperOS devices, try to clean the “Other” partition through third-party utilities (e.g, SD Maid) may cause Google Play services to crash. Use only built-in tools MIUI.

What exactly is stored in the "Other" section?

The content of this section can be divided into 3 categories: secure files for removal, conditional data and critical system files. Let's take each type with examples.

1.Secure to delete files (can be cleaned)

• 🗑️ App cache: Temporary data from Google Play Services, MIUI Launcher, Gallery.
• 📥 Update Remains: Files with.zip or.tmp extension in folder /data/ota_package.
• 📊 Analytics Logs:.log and.trace files in /data/log (created MIUI Analytics).

2. Conditionally important data (remove carefully)

• 🔑 Keys. DRM: key files in /data/misc/drm. Deleting them will cause problems with playing videos on Netflix or Disney.+.
• 📡 Network settings: Wi-Fi and Bluetooth configurations in /data/misc/wifi. After removal, you will have to re-enter passwords.
• 🎨 Topics and Wallpaper: Uploaded themes from MIUI Themes are stored in /data/system/theme.

3. Critical system files (Do not delete!)

• ⚙️ Android databases: files *.db in /data/data/com.android.providers.settings.
• 🛡️ Security Files: Certificates in /data/misc/keystore (encrypted).
• 🤖 Data data ART/Dalvik: Cache compiler in /data/dalvik-cache. Removal will cause reboot and recompilation of all applications.

How to safely clean the Other without harming the system?

Before cleaning the partition, be sure to back up through Settings → Additional → Backup or Mi Cloud. Follow the step-by-step instructions:

Clear the cache through Settings → Warehouse → Clean up|Remove downloads in Mi File Manager|Disable Analytics in Settings → Confidentiality → Diagnostics|Restart the phone after cleaning-->

Method 1: Integrated MIUI tools

1. Open the Settings → Storage.
2. Slip on “Other”** and select “Clear” (if the option is active).

Method 2: Through the File Manager

1. Open Mi File Manager.
2. Go to Categories → System files.
3. Select the Download, Logs, Temp folders and delete their contents.

Method 3: Cache reset (without data loss)

If the first two methods did not help:

1. Turn off the phone.
2. Press the Power button + Volume up to enter Recovery.
3. Select Wipe Cache Partition (not to be confused with Wipe Data!).
4. Reset the device.

⚠️ Warning: On HyperOS devices, resetting cache via Recovery may cause Google Pay to temporarily fail due to security key regeneration. Untie your bank cards before the procedure.

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If the Other section fills up quickly after cleaning, check the activity of apps in the background through Settings → Battery → Battery use. Often the culprits are Facebook, TikTok or MIUI Optimization.

Why does "The Other" take up so much space? Main reasons

The sharp increase in the volume of the "Other" section is usually due to one of the following reasons: analyze which one is relevant for your device:

1. MIUI updates

Every update via About Phone → System update leaves behind files weight 1–3 GB in a folder /data/ota_package. Even after installing firmware, they are not always automatically deleted.

2 Logs and dumps

If the phone reboots frequently or apps crash, the system creates bugreports to /data/data/com.android.shell/files/bugreports. One such file can weigh up to 500MB.

3.Cash Google Play Services

Google’s services aggressively cache data to speed up work. /data/data/com.google.android.gms can grow to 2 to 5 GB, especially if you’re actively using Google Maps or YouTube.

4. Remains of Remote Applications

When uninstalling applications through Settings → Applications, their data is not always deleted completely. /data/data/[package_name] and take place in the "Other" section».

5. System backups

MIUI automatically creates backups of settings and data in /data/backup. If you've never used the backup feature, these files are useless.

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On HyperOS devices, the main culprit behind the Other sprawl is the new MIUI Optimization caching mechanism, which reserves up to 10% of memory for smooth operation. You can't turn it off, but you can limit it through Settings → Special features → Memory optimization

What if the “Other” is not cleaned?

If standard methods fail and the partition continues to take 10+GB, use one of the advanced methods.

Method 1: Manual cleaning through ADB

For experienced users:

1. Connect your phone to your PC and activate USB Debugging in Settings → About Phone → MIUI version (shap 7 times).
2. Open the command prompt and type: adb shell pm trim-caches -a This will forcefully clear the cache of all applications.
3. To delete logs, use: adb shell rm -rf /data/log/*

Method 2: Reset to factory settings

Last resort if other methods have not worked:

1. Create a backup with Mi Cloud or Google Account.
2. Go to Settings → About the phone → Reset settings.
3. Select “Erase all data” (not “Reset”**!).

Method 3: Fastboot Flashing

If the reset didn't help, the file system might have been damaged.

1. Swipe your phone through the Mi Flash Tool in clean all mode.

⚠️ Note: On devices with a blocked bootloader (Redmi Note 11, Xiaomi 12 and later), flashing through Fastboot requires authorization of the Mi Account. If you forget the password, unlocking will take up to 72 hours.

How to prevent the “Other” from being refilled?

To prevent the section from growing again, follow these recommendations:

• 🔄 Turn off automatic update download: Settings → The phone. → Updating the system → ⚙️ → Downloading.
• 📊 Limit Analytics Collection: Settings → Confidentiality → Diagnostics → Send an error report (Otkl.).
• 🗑️ Set up automatic cleaning: Settings → Warehouse → Cleanup → Auto-cleaning (On.).
• 🛡️ Use the lighter versions of apps: Replace Facebook with Facebook Lite and Google Maps with Maps Go.
• 🔧 Check the storage regularly: Set a monthly cleanup reminder via Google Keep or Mi Calendar.

For devices on HyperOS additionally:

• Turn off Smart Optimization** in Settings → Battery → Battery Optimization.

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On smartphones with HyperOS and 256 GB of memory, the “Other” partition can take up to 15-20 GB due to the reservation of space for virtual memory (RAM Expansion), which is normal system behavior, and you do not need to clean this data.

FAQ: Frequent questions about Xiaomi's "Other" section