Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco smartphones are faced with a frightening situation: internal storage is full, but analysis shows that apps and photos occupy only a small part. The main “eater” of gigabytes becomes a mysterious category called “Other”, which often grows to tens of gigabytes, causing operating system failures and the inability to install new programs.
Understanding the nature of this partition is critical to keeping your device running. Unlike the “Photos” or “Apps” folders you can understand, “Others” is a hoard of system files, cache, remnants of deleted programs and temporary data. Many users mistakenly believe it is a system bug, but in most cases it is the normal behavior of Android in the shell of MIUI or HyperOS.
In this article, we'll go into detail about what's behind this tag, why it's not cleaned by standard means, and what are the safe ways to free up space, and you won't need super-user rights or sophisticated computer utilities, although in some cases you might need them, but you need to act consistently and not remove the extra.
⚠️ Warning: Before performing any operations to clean system files or reset settings, be sure to back up important data on a cloud server or external media.
What is the “Other” section really about?
To effectively combat a problem, you need to know the enemy in person. The Others section (sometimes referred to as System or Outer) is not one specific file type; it is a collection of data that the system cannot uniquely classify as media files, documents or application installation packages. The basis of this volume is the application cache that accumulates as messengers, browsers and social networks are used.
Remnants of remote programs occupy a special place. When you delete a game or utility, some of its configuration files and temporary data are often stored in memory. Over time, these tails are added to gigabytes of garbage, and also include firmware update files, error logs and temporary files created by the system to speed up work, but forgotten by developers.
Telegram, WhatsApp and Viber have a habit of storing the received photos and videos in their own cache, which the standard memory analyzer sees as “other”; even if you watch a photo once, it remains in the device’s memory for quick access, taking up precious space.
- 📂 Residual files of remote applications and games
- 📂 Temporary System and Application Update Files
- 📂 Cache of streaming services and browsers
- 📂 Error logs and use reports
Storage Analysis: Finding Hidden Files
The standard MIUI interface does not always provide detailed information about the content of the “Other” section. For deep analysis, you need to use built-in tools or third-party file managers. The most effective regular tool is Xiaomi’s “Conductor”, which is able to show hidden folders and sort files by size.
Go to the storage settings and click on the cleanup button. The system will analyze and suggest removing obvious debris. However, this is only a surface cleaning. For a deeper dive, use the "Storage Analysis" function in the security menu. Here you will see a visualization of the occupied space, where you can often identify specific folders with heavy files hidden in the "Other" section.
If standard tools are not enough, it is recommended to install a specialized analyzer, such as DiskUsage or Storage Analyzer, which builds a memory card, where the color and size of the blocks shows which file or folder occupies the most space, which allows you to find forgotten video files in the messenger folders or huge logs created by a failed application.
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Use the Hidden Files feature in Explorer settings to see folders starting from a dot (like.android or.config) that often hide a significant amount of data.
Cleaning the cache of applications and junk files
The safest and most effective way to reduce the volume of Others is to manually clean the cache of heavy applications. Don’t confuse cache with app data: cleaning the cache will delete temporary files (pictures, thumbnails), without affecting your logins and correspondence. Clearing the data will lead to a complete reset of the application, which in the case of instant messengers can mean the loss of message history.
To perform the operation, go to Settings → Applications → All applications. Sort the list by place occupied. Go to the settings of the leading applications (usually browsers, social networks and marketplaces) and select “Clear cache.” Repeat this procedure regularly so that the system does not overload.
It’s also worth checking Downloads, which often automatically saves documents, APK installation files, and images from the Internet that you no longer need, and deleting those files instantly frees up space that was previously displayed as Other.
☑️ Checklist for quick cleaning
Working with messengers: Telegram and WhatsApp
Messengers are the main culprits behind the proliferation of the Others section on Xiaomi smartphones. Telegram, for example, defaults to storing all received media files in the device’s memory, even if you’ve already viewed them. To fix this, you need to change the caching settings inside the app itself.
In Telegram, go to Settings → Data and Memory → Memory Use. Here you will see the amount of cache you have occupied. Press the “Clear Cache” button. Moreover, set an automatic cleanup timer (for example, “3 days” or “1 week”), which ensures that old files are deleted automatically, making room for new ones.
WhatsApp is similar, but there's a nuance about folders: Files can be duplicated in the system media folders, go to chat settings and turn off automatic gallery save if you don't need a copy of every photo you receive in a shared feed, which will reduce data duplication and the volume of "Other."
| Annex | The path to cleanup | Safe? | Recommended interval |
|---|---|---|---|
| Telegram | Settings → Data and memory | Yes, correspondence persists. | 1 time per week |
| Settings → Chats → Storage | Yes. | 1 time per month | |
| Chrome | Settings → Confidentiality | Yes, the sites will be out. | As necessary |
| YouTube | Settings → General → Clear the history | Yes. | 1 time per month |
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Setup autodelete cache in Telegram is a “magic pill” that will forever solve the problem of memory overflow due to this messenger.
System Files and Android folder
Inside the Others section, there's often an Android folder, and there's data and obb subfolders, and it's where game and application data is stored. In modern Android versions (11 and above), access to this folder is restricted by security, and you can't just clean it without special permissions or ADB-team.
Trying to manually delete the contents of an Android/data folder through a standard Explorer often leads to errors or inability to run applications. If you see that this folder has grown to a giant size, it is likely that some application (often heavy-resource games or navigators) mismanages its temporary files.
To clean up system debris in this area, you can use Xiaomi’s built-in Security app. Run the scan and select Clean. The system will determine which files are safe to delete from system directories. You can also use the Advanced Cleanup feature in the security menu, which has access to deeper layers of the file system.
⚠️ Warning: Never delete files with the.xml or.db extension from system folders manually unless you know exactly what they are responsible for).
What to do if your Android/data folder is not cleaned?
Radical methods: Resetting and flashing
If none of the softer methods worked and the Others continues to take up the lion’s share of memory, the radical but most effective way is to completely reset to factory settings, which completely destroys all the data on the phone, including Others, viruses and file system errors, returning the device to a store-like state.
Before resetting, make sure all important contacts, photos and documents are saved to Google Account or Mi Cloud. Go to Settings → About Phone → Settings Reset. Select “Erase All Data.” Once rebooted, the phone will be clean. Don’t rush to restore app backup immediately when you first set up – better install them as needed to keep the garbage from coming back.
In extreme cases, when even a reset doesn’t help (which is extremely rare and indicates a physical memory malfunction or a deep system failure), flashing the device through the computer using the Mi Flash Tool utility is required.This is a complex procedure that requires an unlocked bootloader and is recommended only for advanced users.
- 📂 Make a full backup copy on the PC
- 📂 Charge your phone to at least 60%
- 📂 Log out of your Mi Account before resetting
- 📂 Do not interrupt the process of power resetting