Xiaomi’s “Other” in Memory: What are these files, how to clean them and return free space

Have you ever looked into your Xiaomi memory settings and found the lion’s share of the mysterious “Other” section? Gigabytes of data that are neither apps, media, or cache — yet persistently eat away at precious space, a problem that many owners of Redmi, POCO, and Mi smartphones are familiar with, especially on 64- or 128-GB devices with every megabyte counting.

Unlike obvious categories like Photos or Applications, the Other is a kind of MIUI black box, where temporary files, deleted program remnants, log files, update data, and even hidden system backups accumulate, and the problem is that standard cleaning tools (like the built-in Cleaner) often fail to handle this garbage, resulting in users being faced with a situation where, with 10 to 15 GB of free space, the system issues a notification, “Memory is full,” and new applications refuse to install.

In this article, we will discuss in detail:

• 🔍 What exactly is hidden under the category “Other” and why this section grows over time.
• ⚠️ What files can be deleted without risk to the smartphone, and which to touch categorically can not be removed.
• 🛠️ Step-by-step cleaning instructions – from built-in tools MIUI to manual methods using ADB.
• 📱 Specifications of different models (Redmi Note 12, POCO X5, Mi 11 et al.) and versions MIUI (13, 14, HyperOS).

1.What is the “Other” in Xiaomi memory: a complete analysis of the contents

The “Other” section of MIUI is a container for all files that the system cannot uniquely categorize as standard (applications, multimedia, documents, etc.) and includes:

• 📁 Residual application data: After deleting programs, folders with settings, databases or cache often remain (for example, /data/data/com.example.app).
• 📄 Log files and dumps: Android systems and MIUI Keep error logs that can take hundreds of megabytes (folders) /data/anr, /data/tombstones).
• 🔄 Temporary update files: After installing firmware or application updates, archives (.zip,.apk) remain in folders like /cache or /data/ota_package.
• 🔒 Hidden backups: MIUI automatically creates backup settings, SMS and even some of the applications (folder) /MIUI/backup).
• 🎭 Topics and design files: if you have ever changed a topic to Topics, the system saves copies of them in the /MIUI/theme.
• 📡 System cache: for example, data from Google Play Services or Mi Cloud that is not cleared by standard means.

Xiaomi’s peculiarity is that even after resetting to factory settings, some of these files can remain on the device. For example, folders with logs or backups are not always deleted completely, especially if the reset was done through the settings menu, not through Fastboot.

⚠️ Note: The “Other” section may also store encrypted data (e.g. files). DRM-Deleting them will lead to problems with the playback of content on Netflix, Disney+ Wink.

2 Why the "Other" grows over time: 5 main reasons

If you notice that the “Other” section is taking up more space, the blame may be:

1. Frequent installation/deletion of applications: Each remote application leaves behind a tail, a folder with settings, cache or data, for example, Facebook or TikTok can forget to delete up to 100-200 MB of data.
2. Automatic MIUI Updates: The system downloads firmware in the background and saves it to /cache, even if you don’t install the update right away.
3. System failures and errors: When applications are terminated (ANR-Android creates memory dumps that can take up to 500 MB per incident.
4. Backups and synchronization.Mi Cloud and local MIUI backups create copies of data that are not always deleted after recovery.

On devices with MIUI 12-14, the problem is exacerbated by the Smart Clean feature, which doesn’t always correctly identify unnecessary files, such as skipping the cache of system applications or old updates, considering them “important.”

💡

If you often test MIUI betas, the Other section will grow faster due to the accumulation of debugging logs. Turn off Developer Mode (Settings → About Phone → MIUI → 7 taps) if you don't use it.

3. How to Safely Clean “Other” on Xiaomi: 4 Proven Ways

Before you start cleaning, back up your sensitive data (photos, contacts, messages) and even “safe” methods can lead to loss of information if you interrupt the process.

Method 1: Integrated MIUI tools

The easiest method is to use a standard cleaner:

1. Go to Settings. → Memory.
2. Slip on the "Other" section.
3. Select categories for cleaning: 🗑️ Residual files – Remnants of remote applications. 📦 Update files are old firmware. 📝 Log files - error logs.

Press "Clear."

Backup important data | Charge your phone at least 50% | Connect to Wi-Fi (if you need to download tools) | Disable automatic update of applications-->

Method 2: Manually cleansing through file manager

This will require a file manager with access to system folders (for example, Mi File Explorer with root mode enabled or Solid Explorer).

Folders that can be cleaned manually:

• 📂 /data/backup — backup MIUI.
• 📂 /cache — Temporary system files (you can delete everything except the current folders).
• 📂 /data/log — Logs of system and applications.
• 📂 /MIUI/backup — backup.
• 📂 /android/obb — cache of games (if games are deleted).

⚠️ Note: Do not delete files in folders /system, /vendor or /data/app — This will cause the system to collapse and require reflashing.

Method 3: Cleaning through ADB (for advanced)

If standard methods don't work, you can use ADB (Android Debug Bridge), which requires connecting your phone to a PC.

Instructions:

1. Install Platform Tools on PC (download from the official website).
2. Enable USB Debugging on your phone (Settings → About Phone → MIUI Version → 7 taps → Additional → For Developers → Debugging by USB).
3. Connect your phone to your PC and execute commands: adb shell pm clear com.miui.cleanmaster # Clean the cache of the standard cleaner rm -rf /data/local/tmp/* # Delete temporary files rm -rf /cache/* # Clean the cache system (requires root rights)

To delete the residual application files, use:

pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.example.app

(Replace com.example.app with the Remote Application Package)

Method 4: Reset to factory settings (extreme case)

If the Other takes more than 5-10 GB and is not cleaned by other methods, only a complete reset remains, but this will delete all data, including:

• 📱 Annexes and their data.
• 📸 Photos, videos, music (unless backup is made).
• 📞 Contacts, SMS, Call logs (unless synced with Mi Cloud or Google).

To reset:

1. Go to Settings → About the phone → Reset settings.
2. Select “Erase all data”.
3. Confirm the action.

💡

If the Other section grows again quickly after reset, the problem may be in the corrupted file system, in which case only flashing through Fastboot will help.

4. Specificity of cleaning on different models Xiaomi

Not all Xiaomi devices handle the “Other” section the same way, here’s what you need to know about popular models:

On HyperOS devices (such as Xiaomi 14 or Redmi K70), the Other section may include files of the new file system that are not displayed in the standard manager.

1. Use MT Manager (requires root).
2. Clear the folder. /data/user_de (contains user profile data).

5.How to prevent the re-accumulation of garbage in the "Other"

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

• 🔄 Clean the cache regularly through Settings → Memory. → Cleaning (once every 1-2 weeks).
• 🚫 Turn off automatic firmware updates if you do not plan to install updates immediately: → The phone. → Updating the system → ⚙️ → Auto-downloading updates (disable)
• 📱 Remove Apps correctly: through Settings → Annexes → Remove, not just dragging the icon to the cart.
• 🔒 Limit background activity of unnecessary apps: Settings → Battery → Choice of applications → Limit background activity
• 📁 Use cloud services for backups instead of local storage.

6 Frequent mistakes in cleaning the Other and how to avoid them

Many users make critical mistakes when trying to make room, and here are the most common ones:

1. Deleting /system or /vendor files will cause a device to crash (total failure).
2. Clean /data/app folder manually, and it stores the installed applications, and deleting them will cause them to disappear.
3. Using "miracle programs" to clean up, applications like Clean Master or CCleaner often delete important files or show false data about "junk."
4. Interrupt the cleanup process. If you clean files through ADB or reset, don't turn off your phone or remove the battery. This can damage the file system.
5. Ignoring backups. Before any memory manipulation, be sure to backup through Settings → System → Backup.

⚠️ Note: If after cleaning the Other, the phone started to restart or give out errors, most likely critical system files were deleted.

7.Alternative ways to free up memory on Xiaomi

If cleaning the Other didn’t have enough effect, try these methods:

• 📱 Transfer applications to memory card (if supported): Settings → Annexes → Select an application → Warehouse → Change. → Memory map
• ☁️ Use of cloud storage: 📸 Google Photos to Automatically Upload Photos/Video. 📁 Mi Cloud for Contact Backups and Notes.
• 🔄 Disabling pre-installed applications: Settings → Annexes → Application management → Choose unnecessary → Shut down.
• 📂 Manual File Sorting: Move movies, music and documents to a PC or external drive.
• 🔧 Installation of lightweight versions of applications (for example, Facebook Lite, Messenger Lite).

On devices with MIUI 14+ and HyperOS, the Memory Extension feature has been introduced, which allows you to use part of the internal memory as RAM. However, this does not solve the problem of space shortage, but only masks it:

Settings → About the phone → Memory → Expansion of memory

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