Xiaomi’s Other folder: What’s Inside and How to Safely Clean

Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco smartphones sooner or later face a mysterious partition in storage that can grow to tens of gigabytes. Android and the shell MIUI or HyperOS classify files by type, but anything that does not fall into the standard categories like Photos or Apps is sent to the Other section, which is a digital warehouse often causes a lack of space for new updates or games.

Users are frightened when this partition takes up 10, 20 or even 50 GB of free memory. Unlike an application cache folder, system logs, remnants of remote programs and temporary download files can get into this partition, understanding the structure of this partition is critical for safe cleaning of the device.

In this article, we will discuss in detail what the Other category consists of, why it is not cleaned by standard methods, and what tools will help to return gigabytes of free space.

Anatomy of the “Other” section in Xiaomi’s storage

The Other section (sometimes referred to as System or Miss depending on the firmware version) is not a single physical folder, but a logical category. Android groupes files that are not clearly defined in standard media libraries, and includes an application cache that was not marked as cleanable by the developer, and messenger data.

The files that are left over from the application are special, and if you delete a game or program but you don't clear the residual files, they move to "Other," and it stores temporary files (.tmp) that are created while the system is running, but for some reason, they weren't automatically deleted after the tasks are completed.

⚠️ Note: The Other folder may store important files, such as data to log into banking applications or save game progress. Blindly removing content through the file manager can lead to resetting program settings.

System logs and error reports are another big user of space, and if MIUI fails, the system can record detailed process reports, taking up megabytes and gigabytes of disk space, which is useful to developers when debugging, but only takes up space for the average user.

Main sources of category growth

The main culprits in filling the storage are most often messengers, such as Telegram and WhatsApp, which store the received photos, videos and documents in their internal folders, which the system often classifies as “Other” rather than “Images” or “Video”, and the cache of media files in Telegram can grow to huge sizes if autodelete is not configured.

Streaming services and browsers also contribute, and offline maps in navigators, downloaded tracks in music services, and browsing cache in the browser all make up a pile, especially when you download entire regions, Yandex.Navigator offline maps or Google Maps take up a lot of space.

Here is a list of the main file types hidden in this section:

• 📁 Residual files of remote applications and games.
• 📦 APK-Installation files left over after program updates.
• 📝 System logs and crash reports (files.log,.txt).
• 🎵 Media cache of streaming services (Spotify, YouTube, Yandex.Music).

Analysis of contents using built-in tools

Before you use third-party software, you should use the built-in storage analyzer. There's a powerful tool in the MIUI and HyperOS shell that visualizes memory. Go to Settings → Memory and wait for the analysis to be completed. The system will show a diagram where you can click on the "Other" sector.

Some firmware versions, when you click on the Other section, open a detailed list of folders, sorted by size, which allows you to immediately see which directory takes up the most space, often an Android/data folder or a specific messenger cache.

A regular cleaner available through the Security app can also help: Run the scan and select the Clean option. However, it is worth noting that the standard algorithm is often too conservative and does not touch the deep cache for fear of disrupting the application.

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For a deeper analysis, enable the option “Show storage usage by application” in the developer settings – this will help identify memory-eating programs.

Use of third-party disk analyzers

If the built-in tools don't give you the full picture, the specialized analysis apps will come to the rescue, and the leader in this field is DiskUsage or Files by Google, which builds a visual memory card, where each square corresponds to a particular file or folder, the larger the square, the more the object weighs.

You need to be careful about these analyzers, and you can see the folder structure as nested rectangles, and if you click on a large block, you go down a level deeper until you find a particular culprit file, and you can accurately identify, for example, a forgotten movie in a download folder or a giant log file.

Popular tools for analysis:

• 🔍 DiskUsage – a classic analyzer with a tree structure.
• 🗑️ Clean Master – a processor for cleaning, but requires caution with advertising.
• 📂 Files by Google – a secure file manager with garbage cleaning function.

⚠️ Warning: When using third-party analyzers, be careful with system folders. /system, /vendor or /data, if not sure 100% This can lead to a "bootloop" (cyclical reboot).

Manual cleaning through the file manager

For those who prefer full control, manual cleaning through the built-in Explorer is available. Open the Explorer app and go to the root of internal memory. Turn on the hidden files in the Explorer settings to see all directories. Look for folders with the names of remote applications.

Pay special attention to the Android folder, which contains the data and obb subfolders, the application data is stored in the data, the game cache is stored in the obb, if you delete the game but the folder with its name is still there, you can delete it, but if the application is installed, cleaning this folder will reset it.

Safe manual cleaning algorithm:

1. Sort the folders by size.
2. Check the Download folder for old APKs and documents.
3. Go to the folder MIUI → gallery → cloud, if you use the Xiaomi cloud, there may be temporary sync files.
4. Check the Tencent folder (if any), it often accumulates garbage from Chinese versions of the software.

Table: Typical folders and their safe removal

To systematize knowledge of what to touch and what to leave alone, consider a table with the most common directories that affect the size of the Other section.

Radical methods and resetting settings

If manual cleaning didn't help, and the Other section continues to grow, there may have been an accumulation of errors or broken index files in the file system, in which case resetting the network settings or a full factory reset might help, a last resort that requires prior backup of all data.

A full reset is guaranteed to clear the Other section, as it deletes all user data and returns the phone to the “out of the box” state. Before the procedure, make sure that your contacts, photos and important documents are saved in the Mi Cloud or on your computer.

Instructions for complete discharge:

Settings → About the phone → Reset settings → Erase all data

Once reset, the phone will run faster and the storage will clear the garbage.However, if you start installing the same apps and don't set up the cache autocleaner, the problem may come back after a while.

⚠️ Note: Before performing a complete reset, be sure to remove SD-card (if used) so that it is not accidentally formatted along with the phone’s internal memory.

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The Other section is not a virus, but a repository of unqualified files, and cleaning the messenger cache regularly and removing the remnants of programs prevents it from growing.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)