How to manage internal memory on Xiaomi

Users of Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco smartphones often experience a situation where the device starts to run slower or refuses to install application updates. The main reason for such problems is crowded data storage.

MIUI or HyperOS has a complex file structure that can confuse an inexperienced user. It is important to understand the difference between system partition, user space and virtual memory. In this article, we will discuss in detail the physical and logical location of data, as well as optimization methods.

Before you start deleting files, you need to make a thorough diagnosis. the Android system partition on Xiaomi takes a fixed amount that can not be used for personal files, and its overflow is often a mistaken display of cache data. Proper navigation through the settings menu will help free up gigabytes of space without losing important information.

⚠️ Note: Before removing files from system folders, make sure you do not affect the files with the.apk extension or the libraries required for the installed applications to work, otherwise the system may not work well.

Navigation in the settings menu and device status

The easiest way to find out where the space is and how much is left is to consult the standard diagnostics tools of the system, so the user does not need to download third-party software.

In the list of parameters that opens, you need to find a paragraph that is usually called "About the phone" or "My phone," and that's where you summarize the processor model, the operating system version, and most importantly, the state of the drive, and if you click on the line "Memory" or "Storage," you'll see a detailed data distribution diagram.

The system automatically analyzes content and sorts files into categories, and you'll see how much space apps, images, videos, audio and documents take up, which allows you to quickly identify the "eaters" of space, for example, instant messengers like Telegram or WhatsApp can take up tens of gigabytes if you don't set up automatic cleaning.

• 📱 Go to Settings. → The phone. → Storage for viewing the general summary.
• 📊 Click on the “Applications” category to see a list of programs sorted by volume occupied.
• 🗑️ Use the “Clean Up” button in the storage section to delete temporary files and system cache.

Physical location and file system

The question of where the internal memory is also technical: the memory chip (eMMC or UFS) is physically soldered directly onto the smartphone motherboard, and unlike computers, it is impossible to replace or remove this module without special soldering equipment and micro-soldier skills.

Logically, the memory is divided into several partitions, one of which is reserved for Android and the MIUI shell. The other partition, often called the Internal Drive, is accessible to the user, and this is where the defaults are stored photos, downloaded files and installed applications.

Modern smartphones use a file system ext4 or f2fs, It's a very fast read and write system, and it's connected to a computer by connecting a smartphone to a computer. USB-cable (MTP), The user sees the root directory of the internal storage. DCIM (camera, Download (download) and Android (app data).

Use of the "Conductor" application

For deeper file management, the standard settings menu may not be enough, and every Xiaomi smartphone has a File Manager app preinstalled, which allows you to see the folder structure as it exists on the disk.

When you run the Explorer, you'll see the Categories and Folders tabs, and if you switch to the folder tab, you can manually find heavy files. Often, users forget about the MIUI folder, which has the backup subfolder inside, and you can store old backups of the system or applications that you don't need anymore.

Also worth looking at is the Tencent folder (for WeChat users or older QQ versions) and the social media folder. Images and Video directories often accumulate thousands of viewed but stored images from channels and chat rooms, and deleting them is safe and frees up a significant amount of volume.

⚠️ Note: Do not delete files from the folder Android/data and Android/obb manually, if you are not sure of their purpose, this can lead to resetting of progress in games or malfunctioning of applications.

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Use the size-sorting function in the explorer. Open any folder, click three dots in the corner, and select "Sort" → "By size." This will instantly show the heaviest files in the current directory.

Expanding memory by means of SD-map

Many Redmi models and budget Xiaomi have retained a microSD card slot.This is a great way to solve the space shortage problem.The card can be used as portable storage or, in some cases, as part of internal memory.

To use the card, it needs to be formatted correctly. When you first install it, the system will suggest you to choose the type of use. If you choose Portable Storage, the card will be available for photos, videos and music, but you can't install applications on it. If you choose Internal Storage, the system will format the card and combine it with the main memory.

However, it is worth remembering that memory card speeds are usually lower than the speed of an embedded UFS chip. Using a slow card as internal memory can lead to a slowdown in the interface. It is recommended to use U3 or V30 cards from proven brands such as SanDisk or Samsung.

Disk space analysis and cleaning

For users who want to see a detailed picture of the disk's occupancy, there are specialized utilities. Although MIUI has an inbuilt analyzer, third-party applications like DiskUsage or Files by Google can provide more visualization in the form of diagrams.

These programs scan internal memory and show file "trees" where the size of the rectangle is proportional to the size of the file, which allows you to instantly find forgotten archives, old firmware updates or a cache of navigation maps that can take several gigabytes.

Regular cache cleaning is an important procedure. Cache is temporary data that speeds up applications but can grow to inadequate size over time. Cleaning can be done through the Security → Cleanup menu, which is pre-installed on all Xiaomi devices.

Cloud storage and virtual memory

Modern approach to data storage involves the active use of cloud services. Xiaomi Cloud, Google Photos and Yandex.Disk allow you to transfer the photo gallery and documents to the Internet, freeing up the physical memory of the device.

Google Photos’ Storage Optimization feature replaces the original photos with compressed copies on the device, leaving the originals in the cloud. This can free up to 60-70% of the space occupied by media files.

Also worth mentioning is the virtual memory extension technology that Xiaomi is introducing into new models. While this refers to RAM (RAM) rather than internal memory for files, the technology uses part of the internal drive to create a paging file. This helps keep more applications open in the background, but requires free disk space.

⚠️ Warning: When you enable RAM expansion, make sure you are free 4-5 GB of internal memory, otherwise the system will start to work slower due to constant disk fragmentation.

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The combination of cloud storage for media files and regular manual cleaning of messenger cache is the most effective way to keep 20-30% of internal memory free for stable operation of the system.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)