How to Free Memory on Xiaomi: What Can Be Safely Deleted and What Can't

Your Xiaomi is showing a Memory Full notification again, and photos are not saved, apps are slowed down, and updates are not installed? The problem is familiar to every second owner of Redmi, POCO or Mi smartphones - even with 128 GB of memory, it is enough for literally a year of active use, not only your files, but also the MIUI system debris, application cache, duplicate media files and "hidden" data that occupy gigabytes unnoticed.

In this article, we’ll look at what files can be manually deleted (even if MIUI hides them), how to disable unnecessary space-eating features, and which apps should be removed first. All methods run on MIUI 12-14 (including global and Chinese versions) and have been tested on models from the Redmi Note 10 to Xiaomi 13 Ultra.

We warn you right away that not all “internet tips” are safe, for example, deleting the MIUI folder in the root directory can lead to system failure, and cleaning the cache of some applications can lead to data loss, so we separately highlighted the risky actions and proposed alternatives.

1.Cash of applications: what can be removed without consequences

Cache is a temporary file that apps create to speed things up, and over time, it grows to a few gigabytes, especially in instant messengers, social media, and games.

• 📱 Social networks and instant messengers: Facebook, Instagram, Telegram and VK They can accumulate up to 1-2 GB of cache, and once cleaned, applications will load longer on the first run, but account data will not be affected.
• 🎮 Games: Cash games (e.g. Genshin Impact or PUBG Mobile can weigh 3-5 GB. Remove it through the game settings or Settings menu → Annexes → Application management.
• 🌐 Browsers: Chrome, Mi Browser and Firefox store cache sites, history and cookies. Cleaning will speed up the browser, but will leave accounts on some sites.
• ⚠️ System applications: Cache com.android.systemui or com.miui.home is better not to touch – this can lead to interface failures.

How to clear the cache:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Select an app (like Instagram) and click Storage.
3. Tap Clear Cache (not to be confused with Clear Data – it will delete accounts!).

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If the cache accumulates again quickly, disable autoload media in the messenger settings. For example, in Telegram this is done in Settings → Data and memory → Media autoload.

2 Unnecessary applications: what can be removed without risk

Xiaomi preinstalles dozens of apps, many of which are duplicated or useless. Mi Video, Mi Music or Mi Browser can be replaced with YouTube Music and Chrome, for example. But not all apps are removed by standard means - some require disabling through ADB or root rights.

List of safe applications to remove (checked on MIUI 14):

How to remove system applications without root rights:

1. Turn on Developer Mode (7 times tap the MIUI version in Settings → About Phone).
2. Connect your phone to your PC and execute the command: adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.miui.videoplayer (replace com.miui.videoplayer with the desired application package).

3. Duplicate photos and videos: how to find and delete

One of the biggest memory eaters is duplicate photos and videos, which are produced when:

• 📸 Transfer files between devices (for example, via ShareMe or Bluetooth).
• 🔄 Automatic backup in Google Photos or Mi Cloud.
• 📱 Use of multiple cameras (main) + telephoto + The wide-angle images are almost identical).

How to find duplicates:

1. Use the built-in Cleanup tool (Settings → Cleanup → Duplicate Files).
2. Or install third-party applications: Files by Google, CCleaner, Duplicate Files Fixer.

Warning: Before removing, check that the duplicates are indeed identical. Sometimes the difference in exposure or angle makes the images unique.

Backup important photos | Check DCIM, Download, Pictures | Use the Duplicates tool in MIUI| Remove duplicates manually (if automatic tools missed) | Clear the cart after deleting-->

4 Downloads and Temporary Files: Where to Look for Garbage

The Download folder is a storehouse of unnecessary files: old APKs, documents, messenger memes and archives you've long forgotten. And the.thumbnails folder (hidden!) stores thumbnails of all images and videos, taking up to 500 MB.

Where to look:

• 📁 /storage/emulated/0/Download — bootloader.
• 📁 /storage/emulated/0/DCIM/.thumbnails — Miniatures (can be removed completely, they will be restored automatically).
• 📁 /storage/emulated/0/Android/data — cache of games and applications (caution: deleting application folders will cause them to fail!).
• 📁 /storage/emulated/0/MIUI/backup — backup MIUI (If you do not make a backup manually, you can clean).

How to clean:

1. Open Explorer (or Files by Google)
2. Go to the desired folder and sort the files by date (Sort → Date).
3. Remove anything older than 6 months (except important documents).

Cleaning up system debris: safe and dangerous methods

MIUI creates a lot of temporary files that are not automatically deleted, including:

• 🗑️ Logs of the system (/data/log) — borrow 1 GB, but manually removing them is not recommended (use Cleanup in settings).
• 📦 Residual files after deleting applications (folders in the /data/data or /Android/obb).
• 🔄 Update files (/cache) — You can clean it through recovery.

Safe methods of cleaning:

1. Use the built-in Cleaning (Settings → Cleaning → Deep Cleaning).
2. Delete /storage/emulated/0/Android/obb – this is where you store additional game data (they will be rebooted if necessary).
3. Clean Dalvik-cache through recovery (reboot to recovery, select Wipe → Advanced Wipe → Dalvik Cache).

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Never manually delete /system, /vendor or files with the.odex extension, which will cause the system to crash and require a flashing.

⚠️ Warning: If after cleaning system files, the phone starts to brake or overheat, reset the cache via recovery (Wipe Cache Partition.

6. disable unnecessary MIUI functions that eat up memory

Some MIUI features are constantly creating temporary files or cacheing data, and turning them off will free up space and speed up the phone:

• 🎵 Mini player on the lock screen: Disable in Settings → Lock screen → Mini player.
• 📡 Auto-Update Apps: Go to Google Play → Settings → Auto Update Apps and select Do Not Update Automatically.
• 📸 Automatic booting MMS: In Messages, turn off Autoboot MMS (Saves up to 500 MB per month).
• 🌐 Preloading Web Pages: In Chrome, Turn Off Settings → Confidentiality → Preloading pages.

Also check Settings → Accounts and sync and disable synchronization of unnecessary data (for example, Mi Cloud, if you do not use it).

7. Transfer data to a memory card or cloud

If the cleanup didn't work, transfer some of the data to a memory card or cloud storage.

• 📱 Starting with MIUI 12, transfer of applications to SD-The card is blocked (only media files are allowed).
• ☁️ Google Photos in High Quality Mode provides unlimited storage for photos and videos (up to the top) 1080p).
• 🔗 Mi Cloud only gives 5GB for free, but syncs contacts, notes and photos.

How to transfer files to SD-map:

1. Open Explorer and select files.
2. Click Move and indicate the path to SD-map (e.g., map, /storage/1234-5678/DCIM).
3. Confirm the move.

⚠️ Note: Not all applications work with SD-For example, WhatsApp does not allow you to transfer chats to an external drive - only backups to Google Drive.

8.Extreme measures: reset to factory settings

If there is a critically low amount of free memory (less than 1 GB) and conventional methods don’t work, it will be reset to factory settings, which will delete all data, including apps, photos and accounts, but return the phone to a “clean” state.

How to reset:

1. Create a backup copy of important data (photos, contacts, chats).
2. Go to Settings → About the phone → Reset settings.
3. Choose to erase all data and confirm.

After discharge:

• Don’t restore data from the backup right away – check how much memory is freed up first.
• Install only the necessary applications.
• Turn off automatic download of media in messengers.

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Resetting to factory settings is the only way to remove system debris that is not manually cleaned (e.g., remnants of old MIUI updates).

FAQ: Frequent questions about Xiaomi memory cleanup