Every Xiaomi smartphone owner is faced with a nasty situation: notifications of space shortages are appearing more often, even though you haven’t installed new applications. You open a standard storage analyzer and you see a frightening picture — a large part of the internal drive is occupied by a mysterious category called “Other”, which often grows to tens of gigabytes, causing the system to slow down and the inability to download new files.
An Android system based on a MIUI shell or HyperOS is designed to automatically classify known data types, such as photos, videos, documents and applications. However, anything that does not meet clear recognition criteria is sent to Other. It's important to understand that this is not a system bug, but a mechanism where temporary files, streaming services cache, application logs and remnants of remote programs are added. Without regular cleaning, this partition can eat up to 30% of your device's useful volume.
In this article, we will explore in detail what this hidden dataset is made of, why it should not be ignored, and what methods can be safely free valuable gigabytes. We will not use questionable software-cliner applications, but rather look at built-in tools and proven system commands that will help return performance to your gadget.
The Anatomy of the Other Section: What is Stored There
The Other section is a collection of different file structures that the system cannot uniquely categorize as standard, primarily an app cache that accumulates over time, such as messengers like Telegram or WhatsApp that store videos and images you have viewed in hidden folders that don’t appear in the gallery, but take up space.
And it's also a part of the section that often hides bug logs and crash reports that the operating system generates, and if you've ever sent bug reports to developers, those text files might have been stored, and it also includes firmware update files that didn't automatically delete after installation, and temporary browser files.
- 📱 Cache of multimedia applications (YouTube, TikTok, Instagram)
- 📄 Temporary installation files and residues deleted APK-packet
- 🔍 System Logs and Debugging Errors Reports
- 🗄️ Archives and ZIP-files that the system does not recognize as documents
⚠️ Note: Some files in the Other section are critical to the system. Do not attempt to manually delete the contents of the system folders through the file manager without understanding their purpose, this can lead to unstable operation of Xiaomi.
The special place is occupied by offline map files and downloaded tracks in music services, if you use a navigator or streaming, this data can weigh several gigabytes, the system sees it as a set of incomprehensible data, therefore, it is classified as “Other”, Regular audit of these folders allows you to maintain order in the storage.
How to find hidden files through a conductor
To start the fight for space, you first have to see the enemy in the face. Google's standard MIUI or Files Explorer lets you view hidden folders if you turn on the option, giving you access to the directory structure where heavyweights usually hide.
Go to the root directory of internal memory and look at the folders with the application names. Android/data or Android/obb You can find a cache of games and programs that formally belongs to the system, but is actually garbage after you delete the application. Be careful when removing files from the Android folder, as it stores the settings of many programs.
Where to find Telegram and WhatsApp cache
Use size-sorting to identify the largest directories at once. Often, a folder called.thumbnail or cache at the root of an application takes up more space than the photos themselves, and structure analysis helps us understand which application caused the memory overflow.
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Turn on the display of hidden files in the Explorer settings (three dots in the corner → Settings → Show hidden files) to see folders starting from a dot that often contain the old cache.
Use of built-in storage analyzer
Xiaomi smartphones have a powerful built-in memory management tool that is often more efficient than third-party memory management tools, which allows you to visually assess what memory is occupied and offers safe ways to clean it, you can find it through the Security menu or in the phone settings in the About Phone → Storage section.
The tool scans the device and groups the files. You should pay special attention to the Cleanup section, where the system suggests removing advertising debris and temporary files. However, to work in depth with the Other section, you need to go to a detailed view, and here you will see a list of applications, sorted by place.
Click on the app that takes up the most space (often social media or browsers) and select Clear Cache. Don't confuse cache cleaning with data cleaning: the second action will completely delete your account and the settings inside the app, while the cache contains only temporary files that can be recreated.
If the standard analyzer shows that the Other is still big, try using the Deep Clean feature, which scans the memory for duplicates, similar images, and large files you may have forgotten in downloads, a secure method that does not require superuser rights.
Radical methods: resetting and flashing
In cases where the Other has grown to an absurd size and is not amenable to routine cleaning, a more radical approach may be required, often after multiple system updates or if there are errors in the file system, and factory resets are the most effective way to completely clear the memory of any garbage.
Before you decide to do this, make sure to back up your critical data to a cloud server or computer. The reset process will delete everything, including contacts, messages and photos. Once reset, the phone will be as new as possible, and the Other section will take up as little as possible.
☑️ Preparation for full discharge
An even more complex but effective method is to flash the device with a complete partition cleanup, which requires a connection to a computer and the use of the Mi Flash Tool, which is recommended only for advanced users, as an error can lead to the device's failure.
⚠️ Warning: Clear All destroys all data without recovery. Make sure you have access to your Mi and Google account for activation.
Table: Comparison of cleaning methods
To make it easier for you to choose the right way to deal with memory overflow, we have prepared a comparative method table that will help you assess the risks and effectiveness of each approach.
| Method | Efficiency | Security of data | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cleaning up the app cache | Low/Mediocre | Safe. | Easy. |
| Conductor removal | Medium | Risk of removing excess | Middle-Average |
| Reset to factory settings | Tall. | Complete removal | Easy. |
| The Flashing (Clean All) | Maximum | Complete removal | Hardly. |
As you can see from the table, the first two methods are enough for regular maintenance. Radical measures should be applied only when other methods have exhausted themselves. The greatest effectiveness in the long run is shown by a combination of manual cache cleaning once a month and resetting once a year.
Prevention: How to prevent the growth of garbage
The best way to deal with this problem is to prevent it, set up automatic cache cleanup in popular apps, for example, on Telegram you can set a cache size limit so that old files are deleted automatically, which will keep the Other section under control without you being involved.
Also, check Downloads regularly, often downloading APK installation files that are no longer needed after installing the program, or documents that you have viewed once, and file system hygiene is key to your Xiaomi performance.
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Automatically clearing the cache in the app settings is the best way to prevent the accumulation of garbage in the Other section in the future.
Remember to remove unused applications. Even if you don't use them, they can continue to generate background logs and temporary files. The fewer programs installed, the cleaner the system works and the less debris accumulates in hidden memory.