Every Xiaomi or Redmi smartphone owner is faced with a nasty situation: the device’s memory is full and it’s almost impossible to free up space. You delete photos, clean the app cache and delete unnecessary programs, but the system analyzer shows that the lion’s share of space is occupied by a mysterious section called “The Other.” This section is often inflated to tens of gigabytes, causing the user to wonder what exactly occupies space on his Redmi Note or Xiaomi Mi.
Understanding the structure of the Android file system, especially in the MIUI or HyperOS shell, is essential for managing resources wisely. Unlike the usual Gallery or Music folders, the Other section is not a single repository, but an aggregated list of files that the system has not been able to classify into standard categories. In this article, we will discuss in detail what this volume consists of, why it grows, and what methods exist to safely clean it without losing important data.
The Nature of the Other in Android
The Other section is not a separate physical memory sector, but a logical category that the Android operating system creates to group files. When the built-in storage analyzer scans a device, it tries to distribute all files according to the types it knows: images, videos, audio, documents and applications. Anything that does not fall into this strict framework or has a non-standard extension is automatically sent to the Other category.
The bulk of this is cache files and temporary data. The apps you use every day create a lot of auxiliary files to speed up your work, which can be previews of images in messengers, temporary download files, error logs and streaming services data, which the system considers important for speed, so it does not delete automatically, and over time they accumulate, taking up gigabytes of space.
Another significant component is the remnants of remote applications: when a program is uninstalled in Android, often there are folders with settings or user data that the developer did not intend to delete, and this includes update files that were not deleted after the successful installation, and offline navigation maps.
⚠️ Warning: Do not attempt to manually delete files from system folders through root-righted file managers without knowing exactly what they are intended. MIUI or complete system failure to boot.
It is important to distinguish between system cache and user data. If the cache can be cleaned relatively safely, then deleting user data inside the Other section can erase progress in games or setting up work applications.
Main sources of memory filling on Redmi
The most active “placeholders” of the “Other” section on Xiaomi and Redmi smartphones are messengers, in particular Telegram and WhatsApp. These applications store the history of correspondence, received media files and cache channels in their internal directories, which are often not recognized by the system as “Images” or “Video”, and are arcade as “Other”.
Streaming services and browsers are particularly inflating memory. Spotify, YouTube, Netflix and other similar applications cache content viewed to reload faster. If you often listen to music or watch videos online, the cache of these applications can quietly grow to 5-10 GB. Browsers, in turn, store web cache, cookies and temporary download files.
The next source of debris is the firmware update files. After a successful HyperOS or MIUI upgrade, the installation package (.zip) often remains at the root of internal memory or hidden system folders. Because it is an archive file, the system classifies it as "Other", although it is no longer needed once installed.
Also worth mentioning are the "tails" of remote games and apps: heavy cache games (e.g., the "tails" of the games and apps, PUBG Mobile or Genshin Impact: When deleted, you sometimes leave behind huge folders with resources (OBB-files) if the deletion was incorrect or the application was modified, these files can weigh several gigabytes and needlessly lie dead.
Content Analysis: How to Find Hidden Files
Before you start cleaning, you need to understand what exactly takes up space. The standard file manager in MIUI often hides details. For more in-depth analysis, you should use specialized utilities such as DiskUsage or Total Commander. These applications visualize memory in the form of diagrams, allowing you to see the heaviest directories.
When you use these tools, you will see that the bulk of the Other section is often hidden in the Android/data and Android/obb folders. This is where the application data is stored. It is also worth paying attention to the folders of specific messengers, such as Telegram/Telegram Audio or WhatsApp/Media, which can be scattered into different subcategories.
System logs and error reports are another hidden memory user, and sometimes applications or the system itself begin to cycle in logs of errors, creating huge text files, and can be found in root folders or in /data/log directory (access to system files).
Why doesn’t the system see these files as garbage?
For users who don’t want to install third-party software, the built-in storage analyzer can also provide a basic view. Go to Settings → Memory and click on the usage schedule. Although the detail here is limited, you can see which apps take up the most space, which indirectly points to the source of the problem in the “Other” section.
Safe methods of cleaning storage
The safest and most recommended way to clean up is to use Xiaomi’s built-in tools.The Security app has a Cleanup module that automatically finds temporary files, ads and app residues. Run a deep cleanup, but carefully review the list before you delete so you don’t lose important documents.
The second method is to manually clear the cache of heavy applications. Go to Settings → Apps → All applications, find heavyweights (like Telegram or TikTok), select Memory and click Clear Cache. It is important not to confuse it with the Clean All button, which will delete authorization and correspondence data.
☑️ Checklist for safe cleaning
The third method is to delete update files. Use a file manager, turn on hidden files, and find files with the.zip extension at the root of the memory. If you see a file called update.zip or containing a version of MIUI and the system is stable, you can delete it.
The fourth method involves using the Cleanup function for applications that are not sorry to reconfigure, which will return the application to the “as after installation” state by removing all the accumulated garbage and logs, a radical but effective way to make room in the “Other” section.
Radical measures: resetting and formatting
If the Other partition is critical (e.g., more than 40-50 GB) and cannot be cleaned by standard methods, system errors in the file table can accumulate, in which case a complete Hard Reset is an effective but radical solution.
Before doing this, make sure to back up all your important data to the cloud service or computer. Reset will delete everything: contacts, photos, apps and settings. After reset, the Other section is usually compressed to a minimum system 2-4 GB.
⚠️ Warning: Before resetting, make sure the battery is at least 60% and the device is connected to a stable Wi-Fi network. Interrupting the reset process can damage the Redmi bootloader.
Alternative to a full reset can be formatting the internal drive as an external one (if this option is available in your Android version) or flashing the device through your computer using the Mi Flash Tool utility.
Prevention of overflow of the “Other” section
To keep the problem from returning, you need to introduce a habit of regular maintenance of your smartphone. Set a rule: check the storage once a month and clean the social network cache. Telegram and WhatsApp settings can enable autodelete media files, which will significantly reduce the amount of space occupied.
Use cloud storage for photos and videos. Services like Google Photos or Xiaomi Cloud allow you to free up space on your device, leaving only thumbnails, and this prevents the proliferation of media files, which are often mistakenly classified by the system.
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Enable the “Auto-Delete Media” function in Telegram settings. Set a cache storage limit (for example, 1 GB), and the application will delete old files by itself, freeing up space in the “Other” section.
Also watch for system updates. Xiaomi regularly releases patches that optimize the file system and fix errors that lead to memory leaks. The current version of MIUI or HyperOS is more stable and manages the cache more efficiently.
Comparison of cleaning methods
The choice of cleaning method depends on your technical skills and the scope of the problem, and below is a table comparing the effectiveness and risks of different approaches to vacating space in the “Other” section.
| Method | Efficiency | Risk of data loss | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Built-in cleaning | Low/Mediocre | Minimum | Low. |
| Manual cache cleaning | Medium | Low. | Medium |
| Removal via PC (ADB) | Tall. | Medium. | Tall. |
| Reset to factory | Maximum | Tall (no backup) | Medium |
As you can see from the table, for most users, the optimal balance is a combination of built-in cleaning and manual control of the messenger cache.
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Regular prevention and monitoring of messengers is more effective than rare radical cleanings. The "Other" section is primarily a cache, not a systemic failure.