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

Mysterious ‘Other’: Why Xiaomi is hiding gigabytes of your memory

Have you ever looked at your Xiaomi, Redmi, or POCO storage settings and found that the mysterious 10GB, 20GB, or even 30GB is the lion's share of the storage settings, and it's unclear what files are, how they got there, and if they can be deleted. The manufacturer doesn't give a direct answer, and standard cleaning methods often don't work. In this article, we'll not just explain what's really under the "Other" label in MIUI, but we'll show you working ways to reduce this "black box" without risk to the system.

Let me warn you right away: it's not a bug or a virus. The other is a natural consequence of MIUI architecture, where the system categorizes files in a way that's not always logical for the user. It's a mix of app cache, temporal data, update remnants, log files, and even fragments of deleted programs. The main problem is that MIUI doesn't provide tools to analyze this partition in detail, so you have to work manually or with third-party utilities. But don't rush to download the first "clean" that's, many of which only make things worse.

What exactly is included in the “Other” on Xiaomi?

If MIUI were to be honest about the content of this section, there would be fewer questions, but because the manufacturer chose to hide the details, we'd have to figure it out ourselves, and according to firmware analysis and enthusiast research, The Other gets into the following:

• 📁 System and user application caches are temporary files that programs create to speed up work, but often do not delete.
• 🔄 Remains of updates MIUI — Firmware packages that have been downloaded but not installed (or partially installed).
• 🗑️ Log files and dumps – records of system operation, errors and crashes (especially a lot of them accumulate after application crashes).
• 👻 «Zombies files are data from long-deleted programs that have been left in memory due to cleaning errors.
• 🔒 Encrypted files – some applications (e.g. banking) store data in a secure form, and MIUI They can't be classified.
• 🎨 Themes and design – cache themes, wallpapers and animations that you once downloaded but do not use.

Interestingly, the volume of the "Other" can grow dramatically after:

• 📱 Updates MIUI (especially through recovery or manually).
• 🔄 Resetting settings to factory (some files remain even after a hard reset).
• 🚀 Install/remove a large number of applications in a short period of time.

How do you check what exactly takes place?

Before you delete something, you have to figure out what we're dealing with. Unfortunately, standard storage analysis at MIUI doesn't give you any details about "The Other." But there are workarounds:

Method 1: Through Settings (limited analysis)

Go to Settings → Memory → Storage Analysis. Here you will see the total volume of the Other, but without breaking it down.

1. Click on “Other”** – sometimes a list of subcategories (e.g., “Cash”, “Downloads”) opens.
2. Check the Files section** - temporary data may be hidden here.

Method 2: Third-party analyzers (deep scan)

For detailed analysis, applications like Files by Google, SD Maid, or Storage Analyzer will show:

• 📊 Folder size /data, /cache, /system.
• 🗃️ Large files (e.g..log,.tmp,.bak).
• 🔍 Duplicates and empty folders.

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When using SD Maid, enable the “Show system files” option (root rights required) so you’ll see hidden folders that don’t normally show up.

Method 3: Through ADB (for Advanced)

If you are familiar with ADB, you can run a command to analyze the storage:

adb shell du -h -d 1 /data | sort -h

This will show the size of the folders in /data (where most junk files are stored).Be careful - deleting system data can cause crashes!

Safe Ways to Clean the Other

Now, to the basics, how to make room without breaking the phone, let's start with the safest methods that don't require root rights.

Method 1: Cleaning the application cache

Many programs (especially social networks and instant messengers) accumulate gigabytes of cache to clean it up:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Select an app (e.g. Facebook, Telegram, YouTube).
3. Click Clear Cache** (not to be confused with Clear Data – it will delete accounts!).

For mass cleaning, use Settings → Memory → Clean the cache.

Method 2: Delete temporary update files

After the MIUI update, files weighing 1-3 GB are often left to delete:

1. Open Explorer (e.g. Files by Google).
2. Go to the Download or MIUI folder.
3. Delete files with the.zip extension or names like update.zip.

Clear the cache of all applications

Delete old update files (.zip)

Remove log files (.log,.tmp) from /data/log folder

Clear /cache (through recovery)

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Method 3: Resetting cache via Recovery

If the phone began to slow down, and the “Other” takes too much, the cache reset will help:

1. Turn off the device.
2. Press the Power button + Volume up to enter Recovery.
3. Select “Wipe Cache Partition” (not “Wipe Data!”).
4. Reboot the phone.

Radical methods (at your own risk)

If the standard methods didn't work, and the Other still takes tens of gigabytes, you can try more serious measures. But remember, these actions can lead to crashes, data loss or even a bricking up of the phone. Back up before any manipulations!

Method 4: Manually Delete Files via ADB

With ADB, you can delete unnecessary files in system folders, for example, to clear log files, do:

adb shell


su




rm -rf /data/log/*




rm -rf /cache/*

⚠️ Note: Do not delete files in /system or /vendor — This can put the phone out of action!

Method 5: Complete reset (Hard Reset)

If the Other is not taking up enough (e.g., 50+GB), there may be critical errors in the system, in which case a complete reset will help:

1. Make a backup copy of important data.
2. Go to Settings → About the phone → Reset settings.
3. Select “Delete all data”**.

After the reset, the Other should be reduced to 1-3 GB (normal volume for MIUI).

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If the Other grows again quickly after the reset, the problem is in a particular application or firmware. Try updating the MIUI or finding the culprit through the storage analyzer.

How can we prevent the growth of the “Other”?

To avoid this problem in the future, follow the following simple rules:

• 🔄 Clean the cache regularly (every 1-2 months).
• 🚫 Don’t install apps from unverified sources – they often leave debris behind.
• 📥 Keep an eye on the Download folder – delete unnecessary update files.
• 🔄 Update. MIUI — In newer versions, cleaning errors are sometimes corrected.
• 📁 Use cloud services to store photos/video to avoid clogging internal memory.

It is also worth disabling automatic updates of applications in Google Play - so you can control which programs are updated and do not accumulate extra cache.

Table: Normal and abnormal size of the Other

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If the Other is large after all the manipulations, check the phone for viruses with Malwarebytes or Dr.Web Light. Some malware masquerades as system files.

Frequent Questions About “The Other” in Xiaomi’s Memory

Now you know what the Other is in Xiaomi's memory, why it takes up so much space, and how to safely reduce it, and the key is to take your time to delete everything and always back up before major changes, and if after all the manipulations, the problem remains, you might want to go to the service center, because sometimes hardware errors are to blame.