Modern Xiaomi smartphones running on the shell of MIUI or the new HyperOS offer users many functions, but over time they begin to experience a lack of free space. This is an inevitable process: applications grow in size, cached data accumulate, and high-resolution photos and videos occupy gigabytes. When internal storage is overflowing, the device begins to work slower, notifications can disappear or even refuse to take pictures. Understanding how to manage a file system correctly becomes a critical skill for every owner.
In this article, we will take a look at all available methods of freeing up space, from standard tools to advanced cleaning techniques for system partitions. You will learn to distinguish between files that are safe to delete and those that are strictly forbidden to touch. Regular prevention will allow your gadget to work as fast as the first day after purchase, eliminating annoying brakes and freezes.
Analysis of occupied space by staff funds
Before you start taking any drastic measures, you need to know exactly what's taking up the lion's share of your storage. There's a powerful analytics tool built into the MIUI shell that visualizes the distribution of data. Go to Settings, then select About Phone and click on Warehouse, and here you'll see a pie chart broken down by category: apps, images, videos, documents, and so on.
And notice the Other section, which is often the one that hides huge amounts of data that are not automatically classified by the system, which can be remnants of remote programs, messenger cache, or downloaded navigator maps, and clicking on this section will show you a more detailed structure of files, which will allow you to make an informed decision about deleting them.
⚠️ Note: Do not delete files from system folders unless you are sure of their purpose. Deleting critical libraries can lead to unstable interface or complete inoperability of the smartphone.
For a deeper analysis, you can use Explorer, which is also pre-installed on all devices of the brand. Turn on the display of hidden files in the Explorer settings to see the full picture. Often users forget about the download folders from browsers, where APK installation files and temporary documents can lie for years.
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Visual analysis of the storage helps to identify "eaters" of memory, which are not visible on a superficial examination of the gallery.
Using the “Security” app and cleaning the cache
The easiest and safest way to quickly free up a few gigabytes is to use the built-in Security app, which automatically scans the device for junk files, ad cache and residual data, launch the app, wait until the scan is over, and press the Clean button, and the system decides which files can be deleted without harming user data.
But automatic cleaning doesn't always remove everything, especially in popular messaging apps. Telegram, Viber, or WhatsApp cache can take up tens of gigabytes, saving all the photos and videos you've viewed. To clean them, you need to go to the messenger's settings, find the Data and Memory section, and select Memory Use, where you can delete the cache, leaving important correspondence and documents.
- 🗑️ Application cache: temporary files that speed up programs but inflate over time.
- 📸 Media files of messengers: automatically saved photos and videos from chats, which are often duplicated.
- 🌐 Browser residues: saved pages, download history and cookies taking place.
Also worth noting is the Deep Clean feature inside a security application, which allows you to find large files, duplicate images, and rarely used applications. Be careful with the last point: sometimes the system flags as unused those programs that you just haven't opened in a long time, but that are needed for other services to work.
What's Dalvik Cache?
Managing Photo, Video and Cloud Services
Multimedia content is the main consumer of space on a modern smartphone. High-resolution and 4K video instantly eat away at free gigabytes. The first step should be to review the gallery. Delete the blurred footage, the unsuccessful take-offs and screenshots that are no longer needed. Remember to check the Recycle Bin folder, as deleted files continue to take up space for 30 days.
Cloud services are ideal for automating the process of vacating space. Google Photos offers a “Free Space” feature that removes images already stored in the cloud from the device. Similar to Xiaomi Cloud and other synchronization services. Configure automatic upload of media files so that they do not accumulate in the memory of the phone.
| Service | Type of compression | Free limit | Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Photo | Saving space | 15 GB (total) | Smart search, integration with Android |
| Xiaomi Cloud | Original | 5GB | Synchronization of system settings |
| Yandex Disk | No compression. | 10GB | Autouploading photos from phones |
| TeraBox | Original | 1 TB | A lot of stuff, but there's advertising. |
If you’re not ready to move to the cloud, consider migrating your archive to an external hard drive or computer, and a regular backup once a month will keep your phone only up-to-date snapshots of recent weeks, while keeping the entire story safe on an external medium.
Cleaning up messengers and social networks
Communication apps often become invisible memory eaters, and their mechanism is such that they store copies of all received media files. Telegram, for example, defaults to the Save in Gallery setting, which leads to duplication: the file is in both the app cache and the system image folder, and disabling this feature in chat settings will save space significantly.
WhatsApp has a similar situation, but there's a nuance with backup databases.The app can store local backups for the past 7 days, and each can weigh several gigabytes. Go to the file manager, find the Android/media/com.whatsapp/WhatsApp/Databases folder, and delete the old msgstore files, leaving only the latest one.
⚠️ Before clearing the messenger databases, make sure that important correspondence is stored in a cloud backup (Google Drive or iCloud), otherwise you may lose your message history irrevocably.
Social networks like VK or Instagram also cache the feeds and stories you have viewed, and these apps often have a “Clear Cache” option in their settings that is safe to use. If you don’t, you’ll have to use the “Clear Data” feature in your Android settings, but this will result in you logging out and resetting the app.
☑️ Cleaning messengers
Removal of duplicates and large files
When you use your smartphone, duplicate files inevitably accumulate, which can be photos of the same object taken in serial mode, or documents downloaded several times from different sources. The built-in Cleanup tool in the security application can find similar images, but for deeper analysis, it is better to use specialized tools or careful manual browsing.
The Download folder is the default location for all files, documents, app installers and temporary files, and often contains forgotten presentations, older versions of programs or game installers that have been installed or deleted, and regularly sorting the folder by size helps you quickly identify unnecessary bulky files.
To find really large files that are hidden deep inside the system, you can use file managers with size-sorting functionality, like Total Commander or Files by Google. Sort all the contents of internal memory by size decrease. You may be surprised to find that 10 GB of space is occupied by a forgotten movie or archive with an offline map.
- 🎬 Video files: take up the most space, check the folders of messengers and downloads.
- 📦 Archives and ZIP: Often forgotten after unpacking and installation applications.
- 🗺️ Offline maps: Navigators can store maps of entire countries if they are not updated.
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Use the.apk extension search in the file manager to find and delete all application installation files that are no longer needed.
Radical methods and reset to factory settings
If none of these methods worked and the memory continues to fill up with junk, the last option is a complete reset, which will bring the phone back out of the box by removing all user data, apps and settings, which is guaranteed to free up all available memory, but requires careful preparation.
Before performing a reset, it is critical to create a full backup. Use Xiaomi's built-in cloud or make a local backup to your computer or SD-Make sure your contacts are saved in your Google account and your photos are uploaded to the cloud, and once reset, you can only recover them from that copy.
Settings → About the phone → Reset settings → Erase all dataOnce you have entered the unlock password and confirmed the action, the phone will restart and start the cleaning process, which can take 5 to 15 minutes. Upon completion, you will get a clean system. When you initially set up, take your time to restore all applications immediately from the backup - it is better to install only the necessary ones so that you do not clog the system again.
⚠️ Warning: Complete reset is irreversible, and if you do not back up important data (photos, contacts, documents), it will be lost forever and cannot be recovered by any means.
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A complete reset is a last resort that solves the memory problem by 100%, but requires a mandatory data backup.