What Does “Other” Mean in Xiaomi Phone Memory and How to Deal With It

Have you ever looked at your Xiaomi store settings and found that the mysterious “Other” section is tens of gigabytes long? It’s not a system bug or a virus — it’s a feature of MIUI that the manufacturer prefers to keep quiet about. Unlike obvious categories like “Photos” or “Apps,” “Other” collects everything under its head that could not be classified as standard file types, from the cache of service processes to the remnants of remote programs.

The problem is that this partition often grows to incredible sizes, eating up precious space on Redmi, POCO or Mi. For example, on Xiaomi 13 Pro, users often see that the Other takes 15 to 40 GB — and this is despite the fact that there are no more than 5-10% of the really useful files there. The rest is garbage that can and should be cleaned. But how? Because standard MIUI tools (like “Cleanup”) often ignore this category.

In this article, we will not only explain what exactly is hidden under the “Other”, but also show the working ways to reduce it – from safe (through built-in functions) to radical (using ADB), you will also learn which files are strictly forbidden to touch, so as not to break the system, and how to prevent the re-growth of this partition.

What exactly falls into the category of “Other” on Xiaomi

So, to start with, the other is not a single file type, but a dump for everything MIUI couldn't classify.

• 🗑️ Cache of system applications (for example, com.miui.home or com.android.systemui) that is not cleaned by standard means.
• 📁 Remnants of Remote Programs: Folders /data/data and /data/user_de temporal.
• 🔄 Logs and dumps of the system (.log,.dumpstate files) that are created when crashes or debugging.
• 📱 Update files (folder) /cache), Those who have not been removed after the new version has been installed MIUI.
• 🔗 Symbolic links and empty folders left over after data transfer or reset.
• 🎮 Cash games (e.g. from Genshin Impact or PUBG Mobile that games "forget" to remove.

Especially a lot of garbage accumulates in the /data/log folder – it stores the logs of Google Services, MIUI Optimization and even banking applications. For example, Sberbank Online can leave files weighing up to 500 MB here for several months of use.

Another invisible memory eater is Dalvik-cache. /data/dalvik-cache). These are optimized versions of apps for quick download. MIUI or delete programs, these files often remain dead weight.

Why the Other Takes So Much Space: 5 Top Reasons

If your Xiaomi has expanded to 20+GB, it’s not just you who’s to blame.

1. Aggressive caching MIUI: The system stores copies of almost everything from gallery thumbnails to geolocation data, for example, the Mi Gallery app can cache up to 1GB of thumbnails even after deleting the original photos.
2. Incomplete removal of applications. When uninstallation is done through Settings → Applications often leave folders with settings in /data/data. For example, if you delete TikTok, you will free up 200 MB, but another 100 MB will remain in the Other.
3. Automatic debugging logs: If you’ve ever turned on Developer Mode or connected your phone to the Mi Flash Tool, the system has started recording advanced logs (bugreport-*.zip files weighing up to 500MB each).
4. Errors in updating MIUI. Primary OTA-Temporary files should be deleted automatically, but due to folder failures /cache/ota maybe grow up 3-5 GB.
5. Viruses and Adware: Some applications (especially from third-party sources) create hidden folders in /data/local/tmp, which MIUI refers to as “Other”.

Fun fact: on the POCO F5 and Redmi Note 12 Pro+, the problem is exacerbated by the Memory Extension feature, which uses some of the internal storage as virtual RAM, but creates additional temporary files that are not cleaned.

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Before cleaning the “Other” check the folder /sdcard/MIUI/debug_log — Here are often gigabytes of unnecessary logs that can be manually deleted.

How to Safely Clean the Other Without Root Rights

If you don't have an unlocked bootloader or root access, don't despair. Here are 4 working ways to reduce "Other" with standard means:

1. Built-in "Cleanup" (but with cunning)

Go to Settings → Storage → Cleanup. Here:

• 🧹 Click on “Deep Cleanup” (not quick!).
• 🔍 In the “Other” section, tap the “System cache” line and confirm the cleanup.
• ⚙️ Go back and select "Unnecessary Files» → «Residual files».

This method removes up to 30% of the garbage from the Other, but leaves logs and dumps.

2. Cleaning through Files (File Manager)

Open the standard Files app (or Mi File Explorer):

1. Go to Categories → System files.
2. Select folders: Downloads (downloads) Pictures/.thumbnails (cache of thumbnails) Android/data (game remnants)

Remove everything except the current app folders.

3.Dumping cache via Recovery

This is a radical but effective method:

After this procedure, the Other may decrease by 5-10 GB, but all application settings will reset.

4. Delete logs via ADB (no root)

If you are ready to connect your phone to your PC:

1. Install ADB Tools.
2. Turn on USB Debugging in Settings → About Phone → MIUI version (shap 7 times).
3. Connect your phone and execute commands: adb shell pm clear com.miui.analytics # clearing MIUI analytics rm -rf /data/log/* # deleting logs (requires confirmation)

If your phone starts to brake or overheat after cleaning, you've probably deleted critical files.

1. Reset the device.
2. If it does not help, reset via Settings → Reset settings (without deleting files).
3. In extreme cases, run your phone through the Mi Flash Tool with the Clean All option option.

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions About Xiaomi’s “Other”