Xiaomi’s Other: What It Is, Why It Grows, and How to Remove It Without Resetting

Have you ever looked into your Xiaomi storage and wondered where gigabytes of memory went under the mysterious “Other” item? This partition can take anywhere from 5 to 30 GB — and it can not be opened or deleted by standard means. Unlike photos, videos or applications, “Other” does not have a clear structure, which raises suspicions: whether it is system garbage, or critical files, deleting which will turn the phone into a “brick”.

In fact, Others is a dump for temporary files, cache, logs and remnants of deleted applications that MIUI can't properly sort, and in some cases, even fragments of updates or data from Google Play Services that the system can't classify, the main problem is that over time, this partition grows, eating up precious space, and users don't know how to deal with it without risking damaging the phone.

In this article, we will discuss:

• 🔍 What exactly is hidden under the “Other” (spoiler: not only cache!)
• 📉 Why this section grows even after cleaning and how to stop it
• ⚙️ Safe Removal Methods – From Hand Cleaning to Hidden Functions MIUI
• ⚠️ What can you do to avoid breaking your phone?

What is “Other” in the memory of Xiaomi: analysis of the shelves

Xiaomi's official documentation describes the "Other" section as "files that cannot be categorized as standard categories." But it's too vague.

• 🗑️ App cache and systems are remnants of temporary files that are not deleted after closing programs. For example, Facebook or TikTok can leave gigabytes of garbage here».
• 📄 Logs and dumps are debugging files that the system creates when it crashes (.log,.dmp), and a lot of them accumulate after updates. MIUI.
• 🧩 Remnants of remote applications — not all programs are deleted completely, often leaving folders with settings or cache (for example, in the case of a computer). /data/data/).
• 🔄 Updates - after installing the new version MIUI The system does not always clean up temporary update files (/cache/).
• 🌐 Web browsing data – browser cache (Mi Browser, Chrome) and WebView, which is used to display web content in applications.

Critical: Others may hide files that the system uses to work but cannot classify, such as Google Play Services data or Mi Account encryption files, which manually delete can cause crashes!

To understand the scale of the problem, look at real data from users’ devices (averages for Xiaomi smartphones on MIUI 14):

Interestingly, on budget models (Redmi 9A, POCO M4 Pro), the Other usually takes up less space, simply because there are fewer installed applications and less frequently updated MIUI. But flagships (Xiaomi 14, Mix Fold 3) suffer more due to the active use of multimedia and background processes.

Why does the Other grow on its own (even if you don’t install anything)

Many users notice that the Others section increases even without active actions, such as overnight or after a reboot.

1. Automatic updates: MIUI and Google Play Services regularly download updates in the background, which are temporarily stored in /cache/ and are not always deleted after installation.
2. Application background activity: Messengers (Telegram, WhatsApp), social networks (Instagram, TikTok) and even system services (Mi Cloud) constantly create temporary files to speed up work.
3. Error logs. If the phone overheats, brakes, or suddenly reboots, the system records debugging information. These files accumulate in /data/log/ and can weigh hundreds of megabytes.
4. MIUI optimization: The system sometimes repackages files to save space, but creates duplicates that it doesn’t delete.

Another hidden culprit is the Mi Turbo feature, which is available on new models, which speeds up the launch of commonly used applications, but to do this, it creates their "shots" in memory, these pictures become obsolete over time, but they are not always deleted.

To stop the growth of Other, you not only need to clean the memory, but also limit background activity. For example, in the battery settings (Settings → Battery → Battery Optimization), you can turn off auto-start for unnecessary applications.

How to Safely Clean Up “Other” on Xiaomi: 5 Proven Ways

Before you start cleaning, remember the main rule: do not manually delete files through the file manager if you do not know their purpose! Many folders in /data/ or /system/ are critical for the phone to work. Instead, use these methods:

1. Built-in cleaning in MIUI

The easiest way to do this is to use the cleaning tool:

1. Go to Settings → Memory → Cleanup.
2. Press Deep Clean (confirmation may be required).
3. Select categories to remove: application cache, unused files, application residues.
4. Confirm the action and wait for the completion.

This method removes up to 30-50% of the garbage from the Other, but does not touch the system files.

2. Cleaning through Safe Mode (Safe Mode)

If the phone is slowing down due to background activity, run it in safe mode:

1. Press the power button, then hold your finger to Turn off until the Safe Mode option appears.
2. Confirm the reboot. The phone will turn on with third-party apps disabled.
3. Repeat the Deep Cleaning (see Method 1).
4. Restart your phone in normal mode.

In safe mode, the system does not interfere with the deletion of temporary files, so the cleanup is more efficient.

3. Manual removal of the cache of system applications

Some systems (Mi Gallery, Mi Browser, Google Play Services) accumulate gigabytes of cache to clear it.

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Select a system application (e.g. Gallery).
3. Press Warehouse. → Clear the cache.
4. For a complete cleanup, click Clear Data (but this will remove the app settings!).

Note: Do not clear your Google Play Services, Mi Account or Settings data – this could disrupt your phone.

4.Using ADB for Advanced Users

If you are familiar with ADB (Android Debug Bridge), you can remove garbage through your computer:

adb shell pm clear --user 0 com.android.providers.media


adb shell pm clear --user 0 com.miui.gallery

These commands will clear the media provider's cache and galleries. Don't use adb shell rm -rf /data/* - this will delete all user data!

5. Reset to factory settings (extreme case)

If the "Other" takes > 15 GB and is not cleaned, only hard reset remains:

1. Make a backup of the data (Settings → About Phone → Backup).
2. Go to Settings → Additional → Recovery and Reset.
3. Select Reset and confirm.

After resetting, the Other will decrease to 1-3 GB, but you will have to reset the phone.

💡

Before reset, check if the phone is linked to the Mi Account. If so, remember the username and password, otherwise after the reset, the phone will require you to enter the data of the previous account!

What NOT to do when cleaning the “other”

Some "advice" from the Internet can hurt the phone, and this is strictly forbidden:

⚠️ Attention: Deletion of folders /system/, /vendor/ or /data/system/ These sections contain critical files of the bootloader and the Android kernel.

• 🚫 Delete files through Root Explorer without understanding their purpose. /data/dalvik-cache/ It is necessary to speed up the work of applications.

Also not worth it:

• 🔧 Disable system applications via adb or Titanium Backup – this can disrupt the work MIUI.
• 🔄 Reboot your phone often in the hope of cleaning it up. It doesn't help, it just creates new logs.

If you still want to dig into system folders, use Mi File Explorer with root rights (but remember that this removes the warranty and can lead to a brick phone).

How to Prevent the Growth of Others in the Future

To prevent the “Other” from growing again, follow these recommendations:

1. Limit the background activity of applications: 📱 Go to Settings. → Battery → Optimizing the battery. 🔋 Select apps that shouldn’t work in the background (e.g. Facebook, AliExpress). ⚡ Turn off auto-start for unnecessary programs.
2. Set up automatic cleaning: 🧹 Turn on the settings. → Memory. → Autocleaning. 🗓️ Set a schedule (for example, once a week).
3. Monitor updates: 🔄 Turn off automatic download of updates MIUI (Settings → The phone. → Updating the system → ⚙️ → Downloading). 📥 Delete old update files manually through Settings → Memory. → Update files.
4. Use lightweight alternatives to heavy apps: 📷 Instead of Google Photos, use Simple Gallery. 🌐 Chrome is Bromite or Firefox Focus.

Another useful trick is to reboot your phone regularly (every 2-3 days), which clears temporary files from RAM and prevents them from being written to Others.

💡

The most effective way to deal with the “Other” is through the combination of automatic cleaning (MIUI) + manual control of the app cache + background activity restrictions.

Hidden MIUI features that help manage memory

Xiaomi hides a few useful tools for working with memory.

• 🔍 Storage Analyzer: It allows you to see which files are in the "Other" to enable: Open Settings → Memory. Task the memory schedule 3 times in a row. Select Storage Analysis (Mi Account password may be required). Here you will see an accurate list of folders and files sorted by size.
• 🗑️ Mi Turbo (optimization): The feature speeds up the phone, but sometimes it accumulates garbage. To reset its cache: Go to Settings → Special facilities → Mi Turbo. Select Clear the Data.

.thumbnails

This folder (/storage/emulated/0/DCIM/.thumbnails) stores photo and video thumbnails and can be safely cleared through any file manager.

Another little-known feature: if you connect your phone to your computer via the Mi PC Suite, the program will feature the option Deep Optimization, which removes garbage better than the built-in MIUI tools.

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