Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones often face a nasty situation: the system warns of a shortage of space, although user files, applications and media occupy only a small part of the storage. The culprit usually becomes the mysterious “Other” section, which can grow to tens of gigabytes, making it impossible to install new programs or shoot high-resolution video. This is not a system error, but a feature of the MIUI and HyperOS file system, which groups heterogeneous data that do not fall into the standard categories.
This problem needs to be addressed because a crowded internal drive directly affects the performance of the device. When the free space runs out, the operating system starts to run slower, and applications can fly out or freeze. In this article, we will take a detailed look at what lies behind this section and provide working algorithms for safe cleaning without losing important data.
Before we take any drastic measures, it is important to understand the nature of the origin of such files, often it is the cache of messengers, remnants of remote applications or system logs that simply were not deleted automatically. Android has the property of accumulating “digital garbage”, and in Xiaomi shells this process can be more aggressive than in pure Android.
What's in the "Other" category?
The Other section is a repository for all files that the system has failed to classify as images, videos, audio or documents, primarily cached data from applications that do not have a clear folder structure or use their own storage formats, such as streaming services and instant messengers can create huge databases of temporary files that the system sees as an unidentified dataset.
Another big reason for this is the offline maps and downloaded content from social networks, and if you use your navigator without the Internet, or you often watch videos on Telegram and WhatsApp, this data is deposited in deep directories, and you also get error logs, application usage reports, and temporary update files that are not deleted after installation.
⚠️ Warning: Do not attempt to delete files from system folders manually through root-righted file managers without understanding their purpose.This can cause an operating system malfunction or a cyclical smartphone reboot.
It is important to note that the volume of the Other section is often incorrectly calculated due to the peculiarities of indexing, the system can "count" more than it actually is, or vice versa, hide the real volume of garbage. For accurate diagnosis, it is useful to use built-in analysis tools or third-party utilities that can scan hidden directories.
Why does the volume of the Other change on its own?
Using the built-in Xiaomi cleaner
The safest and first step for the user to take is to use the regular Security app, which, unlike third-party solutions, has access to system areas where regular programs are not available. Launch the application, select Cleanup and wait until the scan is complete. The system will prompt you to delete temporary files, installer package residues and other debris.
For a deeper cleaning, go to the storage settings via Settings → About Phone → Memory. Here you can see a detailed breakdown by category. Click on "Other" or "System Data" to see which folders take up the most space. Often you can find forgotten downloads or large files left by specific applications.
- 🗑️ Cache Deletion: In the Storage section, select a specific application and click “Clear Cache” without confusing it with “Data Cleanup” which will remove your authorization.
- 📂 Download Analysis: Check the Download and Bluetooth folder, where installation files often accumulate APK, no longer needed.
- 🔄 Reboot: After cleaning, be sure to perform a full reboot of the device so that the system recalculates the file index.
The built-in cleaner is good for regular maintenance, but it doesn't always see deep-hidden messaging files. So if the Other section is still large after the standard procedure, a more detailed approach to analyzing content will be needed.
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Use the Deep Clean feature in the Security app, which scans your device for similar photos, large video files, and unused applications that may also indirectly affect the storage structure.
Manual cleaning through the conductor
If the automatic tools fail, you'll have to work with the file system manually. Open the standard Explorer app and go to the internal drive root folder. First of all, you should be interested in folders with the names of popular applications such as Telegram, WhatsApp, Viber or Instagram, often containing folders cache or temp, the contents of which can be deleted safely.
Pay special attention to the Android folder, which contains the data subfolder, which stores the data of all installed programs, and you need to be extremely careful: delete only those folders whose names you know and which are related to already deleted applications, and clearing the active programs folders will cause them to reset their settings and log out of accounts.
☑️ Checking before manual removal
Another hidden area is the MIUI folder at the root of the storage, which can be locked screenshots, themes and error logs, and files with the.log or.tmp extension can be easily deleted, they take up space, but they don't carry a payload for the current operation of the smartphone.
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Manual removal is only effective when point-to-point cache work of specific “heavy” applications, such as video editors or navigators.
Cleaning up garbage in messengers
The lion's share of the "Other" section is bloated messenger databases. Telegram, for example, stores all photos and videos viewed in a local cache, even if you've already seen them once. Go to the app's settings, select Data and memory → Memory Use and click "Clear Cache." This action is safe and does not delete your correspondence, the files will simply be re-uploaded from the cloud if necessary.
WhatsApp is similar, but it's also important to check media files. In chat settings, find the storage control point. The app will show which dialogues take up the most space. Often users send heavy videos that are duplicated in the device's memory for months.
| Annex | The path to cleanup | Risk of data loss | Recommended frequency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Telegram | Settings → Data and memory | Low (boots again) | Once a month |
| Settings → Storage | Medium (requires a backup copy) | Once in 3 months | |
| Viber | More. → Settings → Memory. | Low. | As necessary |
| Phone settings → Appendix | High (to be logged out) | In short of space |
Remember that some messengers allow you to set up autodelete the cache, which will save you from having to manually clean in the future, for example, on Telegram you can set a cache size limit, when you reach which old files will be deleted automatically.
Resetting and flashing
If none of the above methods helped reduce the "Other" partition and it continues to occupy a critical volume (for example, 20-30 GB on an empty phone), there may have been a file system error. In this case, the most effective solution is a complete reset to factory settings.
To perform the reset, go to Settings → About Phone → Settings Reset → Erase all data. This process will delete all user files and return the phone to the “out of the box” state, which is guaranteed to clear the “Other” section. If this did not help, the problem may lie in damage to the markup section, and then you will need to flash the device through the computer using the Mi Flash Tool utility.
⚠️ Warning: Hard Reset permanently deletes all data, and make sure your photos, contacts and documents are stored on an external medium or account. Google/Xiaomi.
Firmware is a radical method that should only be used by advanced users. Wrong firmware or interruption of the process can turn a smartphone into a brick. If you are not sure of yourself, you should contact an authorized service center.
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Resetting to factory settings is the only 100% solution if the Other partition inflates due to a logical error in the file system.
Prevention of memory overflow
To keep the problem from returning in a month, you should change your smartphone usage habits: regularly check the storage and delete unnecessary files; do not store movies or TV shows that you have already watched on your device, but use cloud services or external drives to do this.
It is also recommended to disable automatic saving of media files in the gallery for instant messengers, this will prevent duplicate images: they will remain in the chat, but will not be copied to the general gallery of the phone, taking up space in the “Other” section.
- ☁️ Use the cloud: Set up sync photos with Google Photos or Xiaomi Cloud with the Free Place function".
- 📵 Turn off autoboot: In mobile network settings, forbid apps from downloading large files without Wi-Fi.
- 🧹 Regular cleaning: Once a week, run a standard cleaning through the Safety app".
Compliance with these simple rules will allow your Xiaomi to run fast and consistently for years to come.Memory is a resource that requires management, and controlling the Other partition is a key part of that process.