Many owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco smartphones periodically face an unpleasant situation: the device’s memory is full, although you have not downloaded any large files. The culprit is often the mysterious “Other” section, which can take up tens of gigabytes. This storage accumulates cache of applications, remnants of deleted programs, temporary update files and system debris.
Ignoring this problem slows down the MIUI or HyperOS operating system, and makes it impossible to install new updates. You need to understand the structure of this data to safely free up space. In this article, we will discuss proven cleaning methods that will help return the gadget to its previous speed.
Before we go into radical action, we need to figure out what exactly is underneath this label, and the system debris that accumulates in our everyday use, like browsing the web, listening to music on streaming services, and messaging apps, leaves a trail, and understanding the nature of these files is the first step to intelligent optimization.
Analysis of the contents of the “Other” section
The Other section of Android storage is not a single file, but a collection of data that the system cannot uniquely classify as photos, videos, music or documents, including game archives, offline navigator maps, browser cache and error logs. Memory analysis helps identify the most “heavy” applications that consume resources.
Often, messengers like Telegram or WhatsApp are the bulk of the bulk, storing all images and videos viewed in hidden folders that standard Explorer classifies as “Other” and a significant portion of the data from streaming services like Spotify or YouTube, if they include caching content.
⚠️ Before removing any files from system folders, make sure they do not contain important data, such as saved passwords or correspondence that are not synced to the cloud.
For detailed study, you can use built-in analysis tools or third-party utilities. Visualization helps you find giant files faster, such as old system backups or service packs that have already been installed but are not automatically deleted.
Use of the built-in "Security" application
The easiest and safest way to clean up the Other section on Xiaomi is to use the Security app preinstalled, which is designed specifically for MIUI and HyperOS shells, so it knows which files can be deleted without risk to the system. Launch the app and select Clean up.
The system will scan and suggest removing the garbage. However, standard cleaning is often superficial. For a deeper analysis, click on the garbage icon or go to the cleaner settings. There you can find large files, duplicates and rarely used applications. Automated cleaning is good for prevention, but manual checking gives you the best result.
The Security app also has a Deep Clean feature that analyzes the contents of messenger folders and suggests that you delete old videos or images, and be careful when selecting files to delete so that important documents don't accidentally get erased.
☑️ Cleanup action plan
Do not rely on automated algorithms. Periodically check the "Large Files" section inside the utility, which often includes forgotten downloads or archives that are formally related to the "Other", but can be manually deleted by the user.
Cleaning the app cache manually
The largest partition volume, Other, is usually the cache of applications. It's temporary data that speeds up the launch of programs, but over time inflates to a huge size. To clear them, go to Settings → Applications → All applications. Here you will see a list of all installed programs.
Sort the list by memory size. Select the lead app (often social media or browsers) and click on it. In the menu that opens, look for Storage. Here you'll see two buttons: Clear cache and Clear everything. Clearing the cache is secure and won't delete your logins or settings.
Using the Clear Everything button will reset the application to a state immediately after installation, you will lose saved passwords, settings and correspondence history within this application. Use this option only if the program is not working correctly or takes up a critically large amount of space, and the cache does not help.
⚠️ Note: Do not clear system applications such as Phone, Contacts or Messages unless you are sure of your actions – this can lead to loss of numbers and call history.
Pay special attention to browsers. Chrome or Mi Browser cache can take several gigabytes. It is better to clear the history and cache through the browser settings, as this gives more flexible control over deleted periods of time.
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To quickly clear the cache of all applications, you can immediately use the command in ADB, but this requires a connection to the computer and the presence of drivers. It is safer for the average user to do this through the settings of each application separately.
Work with garbage in the folder Android and Telegram
The Android/data and Android/obb folder are also worth noting. In older versions of Android, access was open, but in newer versions (Android 11 and above), access is limited. However, Xiaomi’s file managers still allow you to view content.
Telegram messenger is known for its ability to store gigabytes of data. It stores all the media files viewed in the cache. To clear it, open Telegram, go to Settings → Data and Memory → Memory Use. Click on Clear Cache. You can set autodelete so that the cache does not exceed a certain limit, such as 1 GB.
In a file. MIUI/debug_log You can accumulate debugging logs if you have developer mode on your phone. If you're not using your phone to debug apps, you can delete those files through the file manager. They often weigh quite a lot and are part of the "Other" section».
| Type of data | Location. | Security of removal | Recommended frequency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash messengers | Application settings | Safe. | Once a week. |
| Logs of debugging | MIUI/debug_log | Safe. | Once a month |
| Cash browser | Browser settings | Safe (logins will come out) | Every two weeks. |
| Folder.thumbnails | DCIM/.thumbnails | Safe (recreated) | If necessary, |
Delete hidden folders and residual files
When you delete apps in Android, you often have tails, folders with settings or temporary files, and use a file manager like Mi Explorer or Files by Google to find them. Turn on the hidden files in your Explorer settings (usually a three-point menu item).
Look for folders with names of remote applications or games, and if you know for sure that the program is deleted, it will be folder in the root of internal memory or in the folder. Android/data The residual files are not loaded and only take up space.
Also worth checking is the Download folder, which often downloads APK installation files, documents and images you've already viewed, and files with the.apk extension that are already installed can be deleted without regret.
What to do if the folder is not deleted?
Resetting settings and radical methods
If the Other partition has swelled to incredible sizes (e.g., 20-30GB on 64GB of storage) and no methods are helping, there may have been a critical error in the file system, in which case a complete factory reset is an effective but radical method.
Before you do that, make sure to back up all your important data to your computer or to the Mi Cloud. Go to Settings → About Phone → Settings Reset → Erase all your data. The phone will go back to the “like out of the box” state and the “Other” partition will disappear as the entire file system will be reformatted.
There is also a method of cleaning through Recovery mode, but it requires more technical literacy. The average user is just a standard reset. After reset, do not rush to restore all applications immediately from the backup - it is better to install the necessary ones manually so as not to return old garbage.
⚠️ Warning: A full reset will remove ALL data from your phone, including photos, contacts and messages. Make sure you have an up-to-date copy of important information on an external medium.
Once reset, the system will run faster and the amount of memory used will be minimal, and this is the best way to rejuvenate a device that has been in use for several years without reinstalling the system.
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A complete factory reset is the only 100% way to ensure that you remove all system debris if the file system is corrupted or overflowing with errors.
Prevention of memory overflow
To avoid the problem of “how to clean another partition” from recurring, you should introduce the habit of regular prevention: do not allow the memory to be filled “on top of the line”. Android system requires free space for normal operation (at least 10-15% of the total volume).
Use cloud storage for photos and videos. Set up automatic sync with Google Photos or Mi Cloud with Free Space. This will remove the originals from the device by leaving them in the cloud. Also regularly check the settings of messengers, disabling auto-save media in the gallery.
Keep an eye out for system updates. Xiaomi engineers are constantly optimizing the file system in new versions of MIUI and HyperOS. The update may contain bug fixes that cause system logs to proliferation.