How to Clean Up “Files Others” on Xiaomi: The Complete Guide

Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco smartphones often face a mysterious situation: the device’s internal memory fills up, although there are no obvious heavyweights in the gallery and application list. In the storage settings, a frightening category called “Other” (sometimes designated as “System Data” or “Other”) pops up, which can take up tens of gigabytes. The system partition begins to inflate, blocking the installation of updates and slowing down the MIUI or HyperOS interface.

This problem is not a defect, but rather a feature of the Android architecture in conjunction with the manufacturer’s shell, which accumulates temporary files, remnants of deleted programs and error logs. Understanding what exactly is behind this label is the first step to freeing up valuable space. In this article, we will discuss in detail the safe and advanced cleaning methods that will return your gadget to speed.

Ignoring a crowded partition can lead to critical operating system failures. Application cache and system logs tend to grow indefinitely if left unchecked. Let's figure out how to manage data wisely without risking losing important information.

The Anatomy of the Other Section: What is Stored There

Before we start taking drastic measures, we need to understand the nature of the junk files. The Other category is a hodgepodge of data that the system cannot uniquely classify as photos, videos, music or apps, including messenger cache (especially Telegram and WhatsApp), remnants of deleted games, temporary browser files and crash logs.

Special attention should be paid to streaming services and social networks, apps like YouTube, TikTok or Instagram actively cache content viewed for faster download when re-accessed, over time, this data is not deleted automatically, turning into gigabytes of ballast, and this category often falls into the backups created by the system or cloud services that are waiting for synchronization.

⚠️ Note: Do not attempt to delete files manually through root conductors without understanding their purpose. /data/misc It can cause a cyclical reboot of the device.

Importantly, some of the volume is occupied by Dalvik Cache files, which speed up the launch of applications. They are safe to clean, but after the restart, the system will re-form them, which temporarily increases the load on the processor. Understanding the structure helps you choose the right cleaning method: superficial for quick help or deep for capital freeing up space.

Basic cleaning with built-in MIUI facilities

The safest and first step for every user is to use the standard Security tool, the MIUI shell and the new HyperOS have a powerful built-in optimizer that can find obvious garbage. Run the Security app and select Cleanup. The system will analyze the storage and suggest that you delete temporary files.

However, a standard scanner is often superficial. For more detailed work, go to the storage settings via the Settings → About Phone → Storage menu. Here you will see a visualization of the occupied space. Click on the “Other” category (if it is interactive in your version of the software) or use the “Deep Clean” feature, which is often hidden in the additional “Conductor” application menu.

Remember to check the Download folder regularly, and many users have been storing the installation folder there for years. APK-files, forgotten PDF-These are often the lion's share of the unaccounted space that the system attributes to other things, and removing this data is completely safe for system stability.

Working with messengers: Telegram and WhatsApp

Telegram is the undisputed leader in memory capture in the Other category, and the feature of this messenger is that it stores all of its correspondence, photos and videos locally on the device unless it has automatic cleaning set up, making it the main eater of gigabytes, which the system classifies as unidentified data.

To solve the problem, open Telegram settings, go to Data and Memory → Memory Use. Here you will see the Cache slider. When you click Clear Cache, you will instantly free up space. Importantly, your photos and videos will not disappear from chat rooms, they will simply be re-downloaded from the cloud if necessary. It is recommended to install automatic cache cleanup, for example, every 3 days or week.

• 📱 Open the Telegram settings and find the Data and Memory section».
• 🗑️ Click on “Clear Cache” and confirm the action (it is safe to do so).
• ⏱ Set the Autodelete timer to “3 days” or “1 week».
• 📹 Turn off auto-save to the gallery for video in chat settings.

WhatsApp has a similar procedure, but it has its own nuances. In the app settings, select Data and Storage → Storage Management. You can delete large files or media from specific chats. Often users forget that the videos sent and received in group chats are duplicated and take up space. Clearing this data will significantly reduce the volume of the “Other” section.

Cleaning through Conductor and hidden folders

A more advanced method involves manually auditing the file system using the built-in Explorer (or File Manager) application. Enable the display of hidden files in the Explorer settings (usually a three-dot button or a slider on the menu), Your goal is to find folders with the names.thumbnails, cache or remnants of remote applications.

Pay special attention to the Android/data folder. It stores app data, including game and map cache. Inside the com.google.android.gms or com.tencent.mm (WeChat) folder, there may be gigabytes of garbage. You can delete the contents of specific application folders, but it will reset their settings and require reauthorization. Be careful and delete only what you are sure of.

It's also worth checking the folder. MIUI/debug_log. Some firmware versions accumulate debugging logs that can grow to huge sizes, and if you're not a developer and you're not debugging the system, you don't need those files. Deleting them is safe and often frees you from the need to do so. 1 before 5 GB space.

⚠️ Note: When manually cleaning folders Android/obb Take care, deleting files from here will cause heavy games to stop running and require you to re-jump additional data.

Use file size sorting in Explorer. Often, at the root of internal memory or in Documents folder, you can find forgotten archives or video files that formally belong to the Other because their MIME type is incorrectly defined. Move important data to your computer or to the cloud, and delete the extra.

Using ADB for deep cleaning

For users who are not afraid of the command line, the tool ADB (Android Debug Bridge provides the most powerful access to the file system, which allows you to delete the system cache and files that are not available through the normal interface. USB» In the section For developers (to activate this section, click 7 times on the Build Number in the About Phone menu).

Connect your smartphone to your computer, install drivers and platform-tools. In the command line, type a command to clear the cache of the installer package (Package Installer), which often inflates:

adb shell pm clear com.android.packageinstaller

You can also clear the system partition cache by following the command:

adb shell pm trim-caches 999999999999

This command forcibly trims the cache of all applications to a specified limit (in bytes), specifying a huge number effectively means “clear all possible cache”, a secure operation that does not affect personal data, but requires confirmation on the smartphone screen on the first run.

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Before using ADB, make sure to back up important data. Although cache clearing commands are safe, randomly entering a deletion command (rm -rf) can destroy the system.

Analysis of storage by third-party utilities

If the built-in tools don't seem informative enough, specialized analytics applications will come to the rescue, with Files by Google or DiskUsage being the leader in this field, building a visual memory card to show which folders and files are taking up the most space.

DiskUsage, for example, displays the file system as a diagram. You'll immediately see that the Other section is actually a specific folder with the logs or cache of a particular application. This allows you to pinpoint the problem without affecting the rest of the system. SD Maid (SE version) also does a great job of finding "body" - remnants of remote applications.

Below is a comparison table of cleaning methods so you can choose the best one for your situation:

Using third-party cleaners (Clean Master and analogues) is often not recommended on modern versions of Android.The system itself effectively manages memory, and aggressive cleaners can, on the contrary, slow down the work, constantly closing the background processes that immediately start again.

Cardinal measures: Resetting and flashing

If neither method worked and the Other category continues to grow, there may have been critical errors or damage in the file system, in which case the solution would be to reset completely to factory settings. Be sure to back up all important data to the Mi Cloud cloud or to your computer before doing so.

To perform the reset, go to Settings → About Phone → Settings Reset → Erase all data. This process will remove absolutely everything, including system debris, and return the phone to a “out of the box” state. After initial setup, you will find that the volume of the “Other” partition is minimal.

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Wipe Data is the only way to get rid of system errors in the file system that cause the Other section to blow up if the software methods do not help.

In extreme cases, when even a reset does not help (which is rare and indicates the wear of memory or bugs of a particular firmware version), it is recommended to flash the device through the computer using the Mi Flash Tool utility and select Clean All mode.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)