“Other” in the memory of Xiaomi Redmi: the secret absorber of the place – understand and clean

Have you ever looked into your Xiaomi Redmi’s storage settings and found that the mysterious “Other” section takes up gigabytes of precious space? It’s not a system bug or a virus — it’s a standard Android junk box that gets unclassified files. The problem is that MIUI (Xiaomi’s firmware) doesn’t always sort data correctly, and the “Other” category can hide both temporary application files and critical process caches.

In this article, we will not only explain what the “Other” means in Xiaomi Redmi memory, but also show you how to reduce its volume without risking the stability of the smartphone. You will learn which files can be deleted and which should not be touched, why the memory is filled again after cleaning, and how to prevent this process. 12/13, Redmi 10/11 and flagships of the K series, where the problem is manifested most clearly due to aggressive optimization MIUI.

What is “Other” in Xiaomi memory: a technical explanation

At the operating system level, “Other”** is a container for files that Android cannot categorize as standard:

• 📁 Application cache not cleared after deletion (data residues, log files, temporary databases).
• 🔄 System dumps (debugging information generated when crashes or updates occur).
• 📊 Statistics files MIUI (Logs of use, data for analytics Xiaomi).
• 🔗 Symbolic links to deleted files (lead to phantom occupied space).
• 🛠️ Remains of firmware after updates OTA (They can weigh up to 1-2 GB).

In Xiaomi Redmi, the problem is compounded by the fact that MIUI actively uses /data/data and /data/system to store service information that does not fall into the standard categories (Applications, Media, Documents). For example, after upgrading to MIUI 14/15, many users noticed that the Other grows to 5-10 GB – this is due to the Delta Updates mechanism, which leaves older versions of files for rollback.

⚠️ Note: Do not confuse “Other” with misc (1–2 MB) is a separate area for storing recovery settings. Deleting files from there will make it impossible to download to Fastboot or Recovery.

Fun fact: On Redmi with Qualcomm chipsets (like the Redmi Note 12 Pro+), the Other often takes up less space than on MediaTek models (like the Redmi 10C), due to differences in processing of the GPU cache and the communication module.

Why the “Other” grows like a leap: 5 main reasons

If you notice that the volume of the Other increases over time, the following mechanisms are to blame:

1. Automatic MIUI backup: The system creates backups of settings and application data in /MIUI/backup, but it doesn't always delete them, for example, after resetting to factory settings, these files may remain.
2. Google Play Services generates temporary files for geolocation, advertising and synchronization that MIUI cannot classify.

Redmi with MIUI below 13.0.5 has a bug that causes files from Other to be duplicated in System Data, which can lead to double counting of occupied space.

How to Safely Clean the Other on Xiaomi Redmi: Step-by-step instructions

Before you start cleaning, back up your sensitive data — some methods can affect user files. Let's start with the safest ways to do this.

Sync Contacts and Photos with Google Drive

Write down passwords from apps (if you use autocomplete)

Check the vacant space (should be ≥10%)

Turn off the phone from charging (to avoid overheating)-->

Method 1: Integrated cleaning of MIUI

The easiest way to do this is to use the system tools:

1. Go to Settings. → Memory.
2. Slip on "Other" (may be called "Other Files").
3. Select “Clean” or “Delete unnecessary files”.
4. Confirm the action (the system will prompt you to delete the cache, logs and temporary files).

This method removes up to 30-40% of the “junk”, but does not touch the system files. On the Redmi Note 11 Pro+, you can free up to 1-1.5 GB after this cleaning.

Method 2: Manual File Manager

For deep cleaning:

1. Open the Files app (standard MIUI manager).
2. Go to the Categories» → «Other».
3. Sort files by size (shoot them by three dots → “Sort” → “Size”).
4. Delete files with extensions:.log,.tmp,.bak,.old.
5. Clear folders: /MIUI/backup (if you don’t use backups) /data/log (root rights required) /Android/data/com.xiaomi.* (system application cache)

⚠️ Note: Do not delete files in folders /system, /vendor or /boot — This will cause a phone to crash, and avoid files called persist, nvram, or efs, which are responsible for the communication modules.

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If the “Other” grows quickly again after cleaning, check the sync settings in Settings → Accounts → Xiaomi Cloud. Turn off the automatic download of “App Data” and “System Settings”.

Method 3: Cleaning through ADB (for advanced)

If standard methods don’t work, you can use Android Debug Bridge (computer required):

adb shell pm trim-caches 256m # Clears the cache of all applications


adb shell rm -rf /data/local/tmp/* # Deletes temporary files




adb shell rm -rf /data/log/* # Clears logs (requires root)

For Redmi with an unlocked bootloader, you can also perform:

adb shell su -c "find /data/data -name '*.log' -delete"

What if the “Other” is not decreasing?

If after all the manipulations, the “Other” section still takes up a lot of space, the problem may lie in:

• 🔍 Hidden firmware files, after update MIUI Sometimes there are duplicates of system applications in /data/app.
• 📱 File system errors: Damaged sectors of the drive may show the wrong amount of space occupied.
• 🛡️ Malware activities: Some viruses disguise themselves as system files and take up space in "The Other».

In such cases, it will help:

1. Fastboot flashing (if the warranty expires).

How to Prevent the Spread of the Other in the Future

To prevent the “Other” section from filling up the memory again, follow these recommendations:

Redmi with MIUI 14+ has a Deep Clean feature that automatically deletes unnecessary files once a week to enable it:

1. Go to Settings. → Memory. → Settings (⚙️).
2. Activate the "Autoclean" option.
3. Select Aggressive Mode (deletes maximum number of temporary files).

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Regular cleaning of the Other not only frees up space, but also speeds up the phone, as it reduces the load on the F2FS file system (used at Xiaomi).

Comparison of cleaning methods: what works best?

We tested various methods on the Redmi Note 12 Pro (MIUI 14.0.4) and got the following results:

As you can see, manual cleaning gives the best result without drastic measures, but on Redmi with MediaTek Helio G (for example, Redmi 10A) after cleaning through ADB, it may be necessary to reboot, since these chipsets aggressively cache data.

FAQ: Frequent questions about the “Other” in the memory of Xiaomi