Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco smartphone owners often use the built-in Dictator app to record lectures, interviews or personal notes. Over time, accumulated audio files can take up a significant amount of internal memory, which leads to a slowdown in the device, and sometimes there is a need to completely reset the settings of the application or clear the search history inside it.
The cleaning process does not require superuser rights or third-party software installation. MIUI and HyperOS offer built-in tools for managing application files and data. In this article, we will take a look at all the available methods in detail, from simple deletion of records to deep cleaning of the system cache.
It's worth noting that the standard application is often referred to as Recorder in system processes, and understanding this nuance will help you navigate your system settings faster, and we'll look at safe ways to free up space that won't damage the operating system.
Delete records through the application interface
The most obvious and safe way to free up space is to manually delete unnecessary audio files directly inside the voice recorder interface, which is ideal when you want to selectively erase old interviews or drafts, saving important data. Open the Dictophone app on the home screen or in the Tools folder.
At the bottom of the screen, you'll see a list of all the saved records, sorted by date. To delete one or more positions, click and hold your finger on the file name until the selection menu appears, and then tick all the files that are to be destroyed.
Click on the basket icon, which is usually located in the upper right or lower corner of the screen. The system will ask you to confirm the action, since it will be impossible to restore deleted files using standard means.
- 🗑️ Select specific files for selective deletion without losing any other data.
- 📂 Use the “Delete All” feature if you want to clean the playlist completely.
- ⏱️ Sort records by duration to quickly find and delete the largest files.
In some versions of the MIUI shell, files can move into the bin, taking up space until it is finally cleaned. Check the storage settings if the memory is not free.
⚠️ Note: Records deleted through the interface do not fall into the standard Gallery or Files basket, and can only be restored using specialized data recovery software, and then not always successfully.
If you're planning to delete hundreds of records, the process can take time because of the interface animation, and in those cases, it's more convenient to use a file manager, which we'll talk about in the next section, so you can work with files like you would with a document.
Cleaning through the file manager
For deeper file management, it is recommended to use a system explorer, all records of the recorder are stored in a specific directory of internal memory, and access to it is open to the user, which allows you to delete, copy or move files faster than through the interface of the application itself.
Run the File Manager app and go to the internal memory section. You need to find a folder called MIUI, inside it is a folder sound_recorder. It is here that all audio files created by a standard voice recorder are saved by default.
Within this directory, files are often categorized: call_rec You can select a group of files, click "Delete" and confirm the operation, and this approach is especially convenient when connecting your smartphone to your computer through a computer. USB-cable.
Where to find hidden files with records?
Sometimes users are faced with a situation where files in this folder are not deleted or the delete button is inactive.This may mean that the file is currently being used by another process or application.
- 💾 Copy important records to your computer or cloud before formatting or resetting your phone.
- 🔍 Use search for extension.m4a or.mp3 In a conductor to quickly find all audio.
- 📁 Create separate folders for different projects to structure record storage.
Using a file manager gives you more control over the structure of the data, so you can see the real weight of each file and make an informed decision about deleting it, and this is especially true for models with little internal memory, such as the entry-level Redmi Note series.
Data reset and clean up the app cache
If the recorder is not working properly, it is freezing or not starting, the problem may be in overflowing cache or erroneous temporary files, in which case you need to reset the application data, which will return the program to factory state, but will not delete the audio files themselves if they are stored in the phone's memory.
To do this, go to the Settings menu of your Xiaomi smartphone. Find the Apps section, then select All Apps. In the list, find the Recorder (may be called Recorder or Sound Recorder). Click on it to open the Control menu.
In the window that opens, select Memory. Here you will see two buttons: Clear Cache and Clear Everything (or Reset), clicking Clear Cache will securely delete temporary files, speeding up the program, and the Clear All button will reset the recorder's settings, such as the recording format you choose or sound quality, to standard ones.
☑️ Check before resetting the application
Once you reset, the app will run as a first-time app, and you'll need to re-authorize your microphone and memory, which is standard security procedure for the Android operating system.
⚠️ Warning: Clear Everything in the app settings only resets the program settings, but in rare cases, a file system error may affect the display of files. Always back up important data before a deep reset.
Regularly cleaning the cache is useful if you are actively using the recorder for professional activities. The accumulation of temporary data can lead to desynchronization of sound or problems with saving long files.
Using the “Security” application and cleaning up memory
The MIUI and HyperOS shells are pre-installed with the Security system application, which includes a powerful tool for cleaning garbage files that can also find and delete audio files that take up a lot of space.
Run the Security app and select Clean up, and the system scans the device for temporary files, cache, and large files, and if the tape recorder files appear in the scan list, you can delete them right from here without going to other menus.
Also, Deep Clean often includes the category “Big Files” or “Audio” and shows the largest records you could forget to delete, a great way to quickly find forgotten recordings that eat up gigabytes of memory.
| Cleaning method | What's removed | File impact | Recommended frequency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deletion in the annex | Selected records | Complete deletion of files | As necessary |
| File manager | Files in the Recorder folder | Complete deletion of files | For mass cleaning |
| Clearing the cache | Temporary data | Files are saved | When there is a malfunction |
| Resetting the annex | Settings and cache | Files are saved | Critical errors |
Using system cleaning tools is preferable to third-party applications like Clean Master. Xiaomi's built-in utilities have deeper access to system partitions and work more stable, without loading RAM with background processes.
Remember that after cleaning through Security, files may disappear without recovery.Make sure you don't accidentally delete important audio notes that weren't synced to the cloud.
Automatic Deletion and Cloud Synchronization
To prevent the problem of overcrowded memory from returning, you should think about automating the process. Although the standard Xiaomi voice recorder does not have a built-in auto-delete timer, this feature can be implemented through the settings of the Xiaomi Cloud service or third-party synchronizers.
Turn on the voice recorder sync in your Mi Account. Go to Settings → Mi Account → Xiaomi Cloud → Data Sync and make sure the switch opposite the voice recorder is active, which will save copies of the records in the cloud.
Once synchronized successfully, you can delete files from your device knowing they're available in the cloud, and you can access them from any computer, and that makes your phone an easy-to-record terminal, and your archive is stored remotely.
- ☁️ Configure automatic boot only when connected to Wi-Fi so as not to waste mobile traffic.
- 🔄 Check the synchronization status in the notification curtain regularly.
- 📱 Use theMi Cloud to free up space on your device without losing your archive.
If the cloud storage is exhausted (free of charge) 5 GB), consider using third-party services such as Google Drive or Yandex.Disk by setting up automatic folder unloading sound_recorder through their applications.
⚠️ Note: With sync enabled, deleting a file on your phone can cause it to be deleted in the cloud after a while. Before mass clearing, temporarily turn off the Internet or sync if you want to save files only in the cloud.
Automation is the key to order in the file system, and setting up regular synchronization allows you to have a current backup of records even if your phone is lost or broken, which is critical for journalists and students.
Solving problems during cleaning
Users may experience a situation where the recorder files are not deleted, or the application writes an error "Insufficient memory" even when there is free space, often due to access rights or file system errors.
If standard deletion doesn’t work, try restarting your smartphone.This closes all background processes that may have “grabbed” the audio file. After rebooting, try re-deleting through the file manager.
In some cases, turning off Call Recording in your phone settings helps if it creates conflict files, and check if the file has a Read Only attribute (although Android does this differently through access rights).
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If the recorder file is not deleted, try renaming it and then deleting it. Sometimes this bypasses the process lockdown.
If nothing works, you can use Safe Start mode. Boot your phone in Safe Mode (usually by pressing the off button and tapping the "off" button on the screen long) In this mode, third-party apps don't work, and nothing will prevent you from removing the "stubborn" file.
Remember that persistent write or delete errors may indicate a malfunction of the phone’s flash memory. If the problem is systemic, check the state of the drive through the service center.