What’s in the memory of “Other” on Xiaomi Redmi and how to remove it

Xiaomi and Redmi smartphone owners often face a mysterious situation: storage is crowded, although photos and applications seem to be few.A detailed analysis of memory in a MIUI or HyperOS system reveals a huge partition designated as “Other” (or “System Data”). This partition can take from 5 to 50 gigabytes, significantly limiting the capabilities of the device.The user sees that the free space is running out, but standard cleaning tools often are powerless in front of this “black box”.

The reason is that the Android operating system and the proprietary shell handle temporary files, error logs and app cache. Over time, this data accumulates, creating the illusion of lack of space. Cleaning the Other section requires not just deleting files, but understanding the structure of their storage. In this article, we will examine what exactly is hiding behind this name, and consider proven methods for freeing up space on your device without risking damage to the system.

The Anatomy of the Other Section: What is Stored There

The Other section is not a virus or a counter error. It's a collection of system files that Android cannot classify as standard media, documents or installed applications. This includes temporary update files, streaming service cache, remnants of remote programs and system logs. MIUI and HyperOS have their own caching features, which often cause this partition to inflate faster than on pure Android.

Telegram and WhatsApp store all the photos and videos viewed in a hidden cache, which the system refers to the category “Other”, until you forcibly clean it inside the application, and can also store offline maps of navigators and downloaded playlists of music services.

• 📁 System cache: temporary files of the interface and running applications.
• 📝 Logs and reports: records of errors and system actions that are constantly created.
• 🗑️ Residual files: data from long-deleted games and programs left in Android folders.

⚠️ Note: Do not attempt to delete files from system folders through root-enabled file managers unless you are sure of their purpose).

Understanding the structure helps you choose the right cleaning method. If the overflow is caused by logs, a simple restart will help. If it is a messenger cache, you will need to deep clean through the application settings. The largest volume in the “Other” section on Xiaomi is usually taken up by the Telegram app cache and the gallery system cache.

Basic cleaning through built-in Security application

The first and safest step for any user is to use Xiaomi’s regular tools, with each Redmi smartphone pre-installed with a Security app that has access to system areas closed to ordinary file managers, which allows you to remove obvious debris that the system flags as safe to remove.

Launch the app and select Clean Up. The system will analyze the storage and suggest that temporary files be deleted. However, standard cleaning often only affects the surface layer. For a deeper analysis, click on Memory Cleanup or Storage Management, where you can see in detail which applications take up the most space.

It’s important to do this regularly, especially after installing major updates or games, and the built-in analyzer can find duplicate photos and large files you may have forgotten in your download folder, which helps free up a few gigabytes, although it doesn’t always solve the problem with the Other section completely.

Deep cleaning of the cache of leading applications

Social media and instant messengers are often the main memory eaters. Telegram, TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube store huge amounts of data to quickly load content when re-viewed, which the system classifies as “Other.” To reach them, you need to go to Settings → Apps → All applications.

Find the most "heavy" app on the list, like Telegram. Go to its properties and select Memory. Here you will see two buttons: Clear cache and Clear all. The first deletes temporary files, the second resets the application to "just installed" state, requiring re-authorization. Use cache cleanup regularly.

For multimedia applications such as Spotify or YouTube Premium, where content is saved for offline viewing, the “Other” section size can grow in proportion to the number of saved playlists, in which case it is more effective to uninstall the application and reinstall it, or use the built-in “Clear Downloaded Data” feature in the service settings.

• 📱 Telegram: Settings → Data and memory → Use of memory → Clear the cache.
• 🎵 Spotify: Settings → Warehouse → Clear the cache.
• 📹 TikTok: Profile → Menus. → Settings and privacy → Liberation of the place.

⚠️ Before fully clearing your messenger data, make sure you have a backup of important correspondence if it is not synced with the cloud.

Analysis of storage by third-party utilities

If the built-in tools don’t show a detailed picture, specialized disk space analyzers come to the rescue. Apps like DiskUsage or Files by Google visualize the memory of a smartphone in the form of diagrams, allowing you to find hidden folders of huge size that are not visible in a standard conductor.

Using DiskUsage, you can see that the folder Android/data It's actually gotten a little bit too big because of the cache of a particular game or video editing app, and it allows you to pinpoint the problem folder without touching the rest of the data, and it often finds the forgotten files in the Download folder. DCIM/.thumbnails.

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Use the Memory Map mode in the analyzers to visually assess the scale of the problem. The large squares on the diagram are your main cleanup goals.

However, be careful: some system files may appear as occupying space, but deleting them will disrupt the system. Third-party analyzers give rights to read and write, but do not always have the right to remove system debris without root access.

Radical methods: resetting and flashing

When software methods fail and the Other continues to grow, occupying a critical volume, the last measure is a complete factory reset, which completely erases user data, applications and settings, returning the phone to the “out of the box” state, while reducing the Other partition to the minimum system values.

Before performing this procedure, be sure to back up all important data to your computer or to the Xiaomi Cloud/Google Drive cloud. Reset can be done via the recovery menu or through phone settings. Path to the menu: Settings → About Phone → Settings Reset → Erase all data.

Sequence of actions for discharge:


1. Charge the phone to at least 50%.




2. Take backup contacts and photos.




3. Go to Settings -> About Phone.




4. Select Settings Reset.




5. Confirm the action with the unlock password.

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A complete reset is the only way to ensure that you remove system debris and file system errors accumulated over the years of use.

Once reset, the phone will run faster and the memory will be free, but if you restore the full backup copy right away, you can also return some of the junk files, and it is recommended that you install the applications manually after reset, rather than restoring everything with a scoop from the backup.

Prevention of memory overflow

To prevent the problem from returning too quickly, you need to develop the habits of a digital hygienist: Regularly rebooting your smartphone (at least once a week) helps the system reset temporary logs and shut down processes that eat up memory in the background.

You can also set up automatic cache cleaning in applications that allow it, or use the Power Saving features in MIUI that limit background activity. Don't store files on your device that are already in the cloud or on your computer. Constantly monitoring the storage occupancy will prevent a critical slowdown.

Keep an eye out for system updates. With newer versions of MIUI and HyperOS, developers often fix bugs that lead to memory leaks and incorrect counting of occupied space.

Comparison of methods of cleaning the storage

To make it easier to choose a strategy to deal with space scarcity, we have prepared a comparative method table that will help you understand what is the right way to deal with your situation, assessing the risks and effectiveness.

If your phone is slow and your memory is 95 percent busy, you probably need to take drastic measures, and for preventive purposes, a combination of standard cleaning and manual cache management is enough.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)