Xiaomi and Redmi smartphone owners often face the unpleasant situation when the built-in storage suddenly overflows, and when trying to understand the reasons for the lack of space, the user sees that a significant part of the volume is occupied by the “Other” section, this mysterious item can grow to tens of gigabytes, causing panic and the desire to urgently delete something.
In fact, this name does not hide a single file, but a collection of system caches, temporary data and residual information from applications, and understanding the structure of this partition is critical to safely clean a device without the risk of losing personal photos or contacts.
In this article, we will take a closer look at what the contents of the Other folder are made of, why it takes up so much space, and what safe methods exist to optimize it, and learn how to distinguish system debris from important data, and return your gadget to speed.
The Nature of the Other Section in the MIUI and HyperOS Shell
The Other section of Xiaomi’s file manager is a system category where an Android operating system with a MIUI or HyperOS shell sends files that have not been classified by standard methods, including archives, documents, APK files, streaming services data, and messenger cache. Often the system cannot automatically determine the type of content of a complex application, so it puts it in a common pile.
Special attention should be paid to the mechanism of caching. Video and music apps are actively using buffering, saving temporary files to speed up work. Over time, these files are not deleted automatically, taking up more space. These often make up the lion's share of the volume in the "Other" section.
Why can't the system see the files?
It's important to understand that deleting this partition directly through the root rights can lead to unstable system operation. The "Other" partition is not a single folder in the traditional sense, but a logical sample of disparate data from all over the disk, so the approach to cleaning should be selective and conscious.
Main sources of storage filling
The first and most important eater of a place is usually messengers, such as Telegram and WhatsApp, which store every photo, video and voice message you see in your device’s memory, and even if you delete chat chat, a copy of it can remain in the app’s cache, while still occupying space in the “Other” section.
The second source is streaming services and browsers. YouTube, Spotify, Netflix, and browsers like Chrome or UC Browser create huge arrays of temporary files. Online video buffers large amounts of data that the system does not always have time to or delete immediately after watching.
- 📱 Messengers: Telegram cache, WhatsApp, Viber, which saves media files.
- 🎬 Streaming: video buffering on YouTube, TikTok, Netflix.
- 🌐 Browsers: accumulated cache of pages, cookies and temporary download files.
- 🎮 Games: resource cache and add-ons data (OBB file).
System logs and error reports also have a significant impact: If an application is not working properly, it can generate log text files that quickly inflate the amount of space it occupies, and periodic checks of the list of newly installed applications will help identify the culprit.
Safe cleaning methods through settings
The easiest and safest way to free up space is to use built-in cleaning tools, with MIUI and HyperOS pre-installed with a Security app that has a powerful built-in analyzer that allows you to delete temporary files without affecting important user data.
To start cleaning, you need to go to the Settings menu → Memory or open the Security application → Cleanup. The system will scan and suggest removing garbage. However, be careful: standard cleaning often does not affect the deep cache of messengers, which forms the basis of the Other section.
A more effective method is to manually clear the cache of specific applications. Go to Settings → Applications → All applications, select a “heavy” application (for example, Telegram), then click Storage → Clear cache. It is important not to confuse the “Clear cache” button with the “Clear all” button, as the second one will delete your logins and correspondence.
☑️ Safe cleaning algorithm
Use the Deep Clean feature in a standard conductor or security app, and it can find duplicate photos, old screenshots, and unused ones. APK-This allows you to safely reduce the amount of data classified by the system as “Other».
Radical measures: resetting and reflashing
If standard methods don’t help and the Other section continues to grow, you may have accumulated errors or broken index files in the file system, in which case resetting to factory settings can help. Before this procedure, be sure to create a full backup of data in the Mi Cloud cloud or on your computer.
To perform the reset, go to Settings → About Phone → Settings Reset → Erase all data. This process will delete absolutely all user data, including photos, contacts and apps, returning the phone to the “out of the box” state. Once you reset the phone, the “Other” section usually takes up a minimal amount.
⚠️ Note: Full Factory Reset permanently deletes all information from the device. Make sure you know the passwords from your Google and Mi accounts, as after the reset, the phone will require them to confirm ownership (protection) FRP).
The alternative to a complete reset is to flash the device with all data clearing (Clean Install), which requires a computer, a Mi Flash Tool utility, and an official firmware for your model, which is guaranteed to eliminate file system software errors but requires technical skills.
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Before you complete a reset or flashing, remove the MicroSD card, if installed, to protect your archived photos and documents from being accidentally deleted during the process of formatting your internal memory.
Use of third-party utilities and ADB
For advanced users who don't want to reset, there are tools for analyzing disk space. Apps like DiskUsage or Storage Analyzer visualize memory as a map, showing which folders occupy the most space, which helps to find hidden files that a standard Explorer doesn't show.
An even more powerful method is to use USB debugging and the ADB command line, which, by connecting the phone to your computer, you can manually delete the system cache of Dalvik and other temporary files, and you need to turn on the developer mode and USB debugging in your phone settings.
Example of a command to clean the cache through ADB:
adb shell pm trim-caches 999999999This command forcibly removes the cache of all applications, which can instantly free up a few gigabytes in the "D" section. However, using the command line requires caution: incorrect input can lead to the deletion of system files.
| Cleaning method | Efficiency | Risk of data loss | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard cleaning | Low. | No. | Low. |
| Cleaning up the app cache | Medium | No (logins only) | Medium |
| Third-party analyzers | Tall. | Medium (human factor) | Medium |
| Reset to factory | Maximum | Total loss of data | Low. |
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The most effective way to deal with the bloated “Other” section is to regularly manually clean the messenger cache and use deep storage analysis, rather than waiting for memory overflows.
Prevention of memory overflow
To keep the “Other” issue from returning, you need to change your smartphone usage habits. First, set up automatic cache cleaning in the apps themselves. For example, Telegram can set a media storage limit: Settings → Data and memory → Memory Use → Media Store. Set a value of “3 days” or “1 week.”
Check your download folder regularly. Files downloaded from your browser or received in instant messengers often stay there forever. Use the file manager to sort files by date and delete old APK installers and documents.
⚠️ Warning: Do not install the dubious Play Market “accelerators” or “cleaners” that are low-rated, often the source of advertising and junk files, creating the appearance of work, but only exacerbating the problem.
It is also recommended to reboot the device periodically, which closes the background processes when you restart, and can automatically delete some temporary files that were blocked by running applications, a simple but effective preventive measure.