Xiaomi’s “Other Files”: What Is This Garbage and How to Delete It Without Risk

Have you ever looked into your Xiaomi storage settings and been surprised to find that the mysterious “Other Files” category is the lion’s share of memory? These gray gigabytes defy logic: they can’t be opened as photos, they don’t disappear after deleting apps, and even factory resets sometimes leave them in place. In this article, we’ll look at what’s really hidden under the “Other Files” in Redmi, POCO and Mi smartphones, why the system stores them and, and most importantly, how to get rid of them without harming the device.

Spoiler: Not all "other files" are garbage, which may include critical MIUI data, cache of system applications, or even encrypted backups, and the wrong deletion of those files can turn your smartphone into a brick or erase valuable data, so we'll not only show you how to clean up your memory, but we'll also teach you how to distinguish safe trash from something you can't touch.

What are “Other Files” in Xiaomi Storage and Why Do They Show Up?

The Other Files category (or "Other Files" in English firmware) is a dump for anything that doesn't fit into the standard categories (Photos, Videos, Audio, Applications).

• 📁 Cache of system and user applications (including remnants from long-distant programs).
• 🔑 Temporary files from updates MIUI, downloads from the browser or messengers.
• 🗄️ Logs and dumps (error logs, crash reports that Android creates for diagnostics).
• 🔒 Encrypted data (e.g., Mi Cloud backups or files from secure applications).
• 🧩 Firmware residues (if you upgraded Xiaomi via Recovery or Fastboot).

The main problem is that MIUI can't automatically sort this garbage, for example, after deleting an application, its cache may remain in the /data/data folder, but the system no longer considers it "belonging" to the program and sends it to Other Files, the same thing happens with incorrectly deleted updates: the downloaded firmware package weighs 2-3 GB, but after installation it is not cleaned.

Fun fact: on some models (for example, Redmi Note 10 Pro or POCO X3 Pro) the share of “other files” can reach 30-40% of the total memory if the user actively installs / removes applications or updates the firmware often. F2FS, Xiaomi is using to optimize speed.

What “Other Files” Can Be Deleted and Which Can’t

Before you can get to the cleanup, you need to be clear about what to touch and what to leave. Below is a table with a breakdown of typical files from the Others category:

Particular care should be taken with files in folders:

• 🚫 /data/system — This is where Android settings are stored and MIUI.
• 🚫 /data/misc — Critical data for network, accounts and services.
• ⚠️ /data/app — If you delete files from here, applications may stop running.

⚠️ Warning: Never delete files with.odex,.vdex or.oat extensions, which are optimized application code, and their loss will lead to persistent errors such as “Application Stopped».

How to see what exactly takes place in the “Other Files”

By default, MIUI doesn't show the detailed composition of the Other Files category, and you'll need third-party tools to figure out what's eating up memory.

1. Use a file manager with storage analysis (e.g. Files by Google or Solid Explorer): 🔍 Open the application and select the section "Storage Analysis». 📊 Find the category “Other” or “Other” – some managers show subcategories (cache, logs, etc.).

ADB

adb shell du -sh /data/* | sort -rh

The team will show the heaviest folders in the /data section.

Enable the display of hidden files

MIUI

• 📂 Open the files. → press three points → Settings → Enable "Show hidden files».
• 🔎 Check the folders.thumbdata,.nomedia, lost.dir – they often take up gigabytes.

Method 2: Manual removal with root rights

If you have root access, use Root Explorer or FX File Explorer to clean up your problem:

• 🔧 Move to the /data/data and delete the folders of the remote applications (for example, com.tencent.mm for WeChat, if you uninstall it).
• 🗑️ Clean it up. /data/log — Here's where the logs are stored.
• 🔄 Remove the contents /cache and /data/dalvik-cache (After that, restart the smartphone).

⚠️ Note: Delete files in /data/data root-rights can disrupt applications. Always back up before doing so!

How to Prevent the Accumulation of Other Files in the Future

To prevent the problem from returning, follow simple rules:

• 🔄 Clean the cache regularly (once every 1-2 weeks) through Settings → Warehouse → Cleanup.
• 🚫 Do not use “waste cleaners” from the Play Market (such as Clean Master or CCleaner) – they often delete the desired files and show false data.
• 📥 Watch for downloads: delete unnecessary files from the Download folder and clear the browser cache.
• 🔧 Update the firmware through Settings → Update the system, not manually (this reduces the number of temporary files).
• 📦 Use the "Light Mode" in MIUI (In Settings → Special features), if the smartphone is old - it reduces the creation of cache.

For example, on POCO F3, users note that disabling Adaptive Brightness and Window Animation reduces system load and reduces the number of temporary files, and it is also worth turning off automatic downloading of media in messengers (WhatsApp, Telegram) so that they do not clog up memory with unnecessary photos and videos.

Frequent Errors When Cleaning “Other Files” and How to Avoid Them

Many users make critical errors in their attempts to make room, leading to crashes.

Another common problem is the false sense of being freed, for example, when you delete 2GB of "other files" in the storage settings, you don't see changes in the storage settings, because MIUI caches the memory data. To update the information, do this:

adb shell sm set-force-adoptable true


adb shell sm list-volumes

Or just wait 10-15 minutes – the system will count the volume.

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions About “Other Files” on Xiaomi