Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco smartphones face intrusive notifications of a shortage of space sooner or later. MIUI or its more recent version of HyperOS regularly warns the user that the storage is overcrowded, which can lead to slowing down the interface and the inability to install updates. Understanding what exactly takes up precious gigabytes is the first step to speeding up the device without buying a new gadget.
The main difficulty is that the standard storage analyzer often shows only the tip of the iceberg. The user sees that a lot of space is occupied by Photos or Applications, but does not always realize that within these categories hidden messenger caches, remnants of remote games and system debugging logs. System files can take up up to 30% of memory even after the complete cleaning of user data. In this article, we will examine in detail the structure of the Android shell-based file system from the Chinese manufacturer and learn how to safely vacate space.
System partition and hidden MIUI shell files
On modern Xiaomi smartphones with a MIUI 14 or HyperOS shell, the system partition can weigh between 10 and 20 gigabytes. This is normal, since the firmware includes not only basic Android, but also many preinstalled services, drivers and visual elements of the interface.
But often, the System or Other category hides not only OS files, but also data that the system can't properly classify, including system application cached data, temporary update files, and error logs, and if you notice that this partition has grown to unimaginable sizes, there may have been a malfunction in one of the system processes.
You can use built-in tools or third-party utilities to analyze what is hidden in the system's interior. The standard File Manager Explorer often hides the default system folders.
- 📁 folder MIUI — contains data of screenshots, dictaphone and design themes.
- 📁 folder Android/data — Here are stored caches of games and heavy applications.
- 📁 Tencent folder or com.whatsapp – junk files from messengers.
Why is the “Other” section constantly growing?
It is important to understand that manually deleting files from system folders is extremely cautious, and incorrectly deleting files can lead to a cyclical reboot or the disappearance of important functions.
Analysis of user applications and their cache
Social networks and instant messengers are traditionally the most voracious in terms of disk space, and apps like Telegram, Viber, Instagram, and TikTok have the ability to accumulate gigabytes of data, storing every photo, video, and voice message viewed into a local cache to speed up reloading.
Over time, this cache becomes huge. For example, an active Telegram user may find that the messenger takes 5-10 GB, even though the weight of the application itself is only a couple of hundred megabytes. Clearing the cache in the application settings is safe and does not delete your correspondence, but frees up a significant amount of memory.
To effectively manage your application memory, follow this algorithm:
☑️ Application memory check
Modern high-level mobile graphics games, such as Genshin Impact or PUBG Mobile, can take up more than 10 GB each. If you haven't run a particular game in a long time, it's best to delete it completely and download it again if necessary, since update files are often duplicated.
⚠️ Note: When you clean the app data (not to be confused with cache), you will lose all local information: logins, saves in games without cloud sync and settings. Use the function “Clear cache” rather than “Clear everything».
Another source of inflated memory is app updates via Google Play or GetApps.The system can store older versions. APK-files in case of rollback, taking up space that could be used for the photo.
Media files: photos, videos and duplicates
Media files are the most obvious category taking up space: cameras from Xiaomi's modern smartphones take high-resolution pictures, and 4K videos consume huge amounts of memory. One minute of 4K video at 60 frames per second can weigh about 400 megabytes.
The problem is compounded by duplicates, often by random users taking the same photo multiple times, or by the gallery retaining thumbnails and edited versions of the source. MIUI has a built-in tool to find similar photos, but it doesn't always work perfectly.
For clarity, consider the approximate distribution of space, which is occupied by different types of files:
| File type | Approximate size | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|
| Photo (12 MP) | 3-5 MB | Constrict or delete screenshots |
| Video (1080p, 60 fps) | 150-200 MB/min | Move it to the cloud |
| Video (4K, 60 fps) | 350-450 MB/min | Remove only when necessary |
| RAW photo | 25-40 MB | Use only for professional photography |
Use the Cleanup feature in the Security app to find large video files. Oftentimes, you can find forgotten long screen or video recordings in the DCIM/Camera folder that are no longer needed.
Downloads, documents and temporary files
Download is a black hole where all files downloaded from a browser or received through instant messengers are flocking. APK, PDF-documents, saved images from web pages – all this remains dead weight for years.
In addition, many applications create their own folders at the root of internal memory. Once the application itself is deleted, the folder with its name often remains and contains garbage.
Here is a list of places to check first:
- 📂 Download – Remove old installers and documents.
- 📂 Bluetooth files obtained from bluetus are often forgotten.
- 📂 MIUI/debug_log — Logs of debugging that can be safely removed.
💡
Enable automatic recycle bin cleaning in the Security settings after 30 days, which will prevent the accumulation of deleted files that are still taking up space.
Also worth checking is the messenger folders. On WhatsApp, for example, videos are often saved separately from chats in the WhatsApp/Media/WhatsApp Video folder. By cleaning this folder, you won't be able to touch text history.
Use of cloud services and synchronization
The most efficient way to free up space on a device with a small amount of memory is to transfer data to the cloud. The Xiaomi Cloud ecosystem offers basic functionality, but specialized services like Google Photos, Yandex.Disk or Turbo Cloud are better suited for storing photos and videos.
Google Photos’ “Free Space” feature allows you to remove all photos that are already uploaded to the cloud from your device. This is safe: photos remain available in the app, but no longer take up the physical memory of your smartphone. For Xiaomi owners, this is a critical feature.
Set up automatic synchronization of the Camera and WhatsApp folders:
- Open the settings of the cloud service.
- Select “Sync and Autoboot”.
- Specify the quality of “High quality” so as not to waste the storage limit.
- After the download is complete, use the space release button.
⚠️ Before mass cleaning local files, make sure that the sync is successful and the files are accessible from another device or through the cloud web interface.
Radical methods: resetting and formatting
If the software cleanup doesn't work and the memory fills up on its own, it's possible that the file system is damaged or that there's too many errors in the system, and in these cases, a full factory reset helps.
Before performing this procedure, be sure to create a full backup of the data.Reset will delete all user data, apps and settings, returning the phone to the “out of the box” state.
Procedure for discharge:
Settings → About the phone → Reset settings → Erase all data💡
Full reset is the only way to ensure that you remove all system debris and file system errors that cannot be found manually.
Once reset, the phone will run much faster. Don't rush to install all the apps at once - just put the ones you need to control the memory from the start.