How to Clean Up Other Files on Xiaomi Redmi 4X and Redmi Note 4X: A Complete Guide with Proven Ways

Owners of Xiaomi Redmi 4X and Redmi Note 4X often encounter the mysterious category of “Other Files” in the “Storage” section of settings, which can take up gigabytes of memory, but does not provide clarity about what it includes and whether this data can be safely deleted, complicated by the fact that standard cleaning tools (such as the built-in “Cleanup” utility) often do not cope with the task.

In practice, Other Files is a mixture of app cache, temporary data, system logs, remnants of deleted programs, and even fragments of MIUI updates. Some of them can be deleted without risking the smartphone, but some files should not be touched. In this article, we will discuss all the cleaning methods, from simple to advanced, and explain which data can not be deleted so as not to disturb the stability of the MIUI.

If your Redmi 4X or Note 4X is constantly showing “Not enough memory” despite deleting photos and apps, the problem is most likely in “Other Files.”

What are Xiaomi’s “Other Files” and Why Do They Take So Much Space?

The MIUI Other Files category is a collection box for data that the system cannot categorize as standard (photo, video, audio, documents) and includes:

🔹 App caches are temporary files that programs create to make things faster, like YouTube caches videos, Telegram media files, and games textures.

🔹 System Logs – records of Android and MIUI, They can weigh hundreds of megabytes if they haven't been cleaned out for a long time.

🔹 Remnants of remote applications — not all programs are removed "clean"; often configuration files or databases remain.

🔹 Update files – after installing the new version MIUI The system does not always remove installation packages.

🔹 dalvik-cache data is an optimized version of the apps that Android creates to speed up launch.

On the Redmi 4X/Note 4X with 16/32GB of memory, this category can grow to 3-5GB, especially if the phone has been in use for a long time and has never been cleaned.

⚠️ Note: Do not attempt to manually delete files from folders /system or /data/dalvik-cache This can cause a cyclical reboot of the phone or complete inoperability. MIUI.

Method 1: Cleaning through the built-in utility "Cleaning"

The easiest and safest method is to use Xiaomi’s standard Cleaner app, which removes cache, temporary files and debris without affecting critical data.

📌 Step-by-step instruction:

1. Open "Settings" → "Cleaning up."
2. Click on “Scan” and wait for the analysis to be completed.
3. In the “Junk” section, select “Cash” and “Unnecessary Files”.
4. Click “Clean” (usually 500MB – 1.5GB free).

If the utility finds little trash, try deep cleaning:

1. In the same “Cleaning” menu, go to the “Deep Cleaning” tab.
2. Select “Residual Files” and “Large Files”.
3. Delete unnecessary data (e.g. old data) APK-file).

Remove the app cache

Clear residual files

Delete large unnecessary files (APK, logs)

Clear downloads (if there are no important files)-->

⚠️ Method Limitation: The built-in utility does not remove dalvik-cache and some system logs. If the Other Files still take up a lot of space after cleaning, move on to the following methods.

Method 2: Manual cleaning of the application cache

Some programs (especially social networks, instant messengers and games) accumulate gigabytes of cache, which is not always removed through the "Cleanup", and to make room, you need to clean the cache manually.

📌 How to do this:

1. Go to “Settings” → “Applications”.
2. Select “All Apps” and sort by size (click on the three dots in the upper right corner → “Sort by size”).
3. Open apps with a large cache (e.g. Facebook, Instagram, Google Play Services).
4. Press "Storage» → «Clear the cache».

💡 What applications are most often "clogged" memory:

• 📱 Social networks: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok (cache can reach the Internet) 1-2 GB).
• 💬 Messengers: Telegram (caching media), WhatsApp (saves photos and videos).
• 🎮 Games: PUBG Mobile, Call of Duty, Genshin Impact (cache textures and updates).
• 🌐 Browsers: Chrome, Mi Browser (save web pages and images).

💡

If the app is slower after cleaning the cache, restart the phone and the system will restore the necessary temporary files automatically.

⚠️ Note: Do not clear data (“Data Clear”) from system applications (e.g. com.android.systemui or com.miui.home) This may result in interface failure or loss of settings.

Method 3: Remove system logs through Engineering Mode

System logs can take up to 1GB of storage, especially if the phone has been in use for a long time, and can be deleted through the Engineering Mode, but this method requires caution.

📌 Instructions:

1. Open the Phone app and enter the code ##4636##.
2. In the menu that opens, select “Usage statistics”.
3. Click on the three dots in the upper right corner and select Clear logs.
4. Confirm the action.

🔹 What does it mean:

• 📉 Deletes files with the.log and.trace extensions.
• 🔄 Frees him. 200-800 MB (depending on the time of last cleaning).
• 🛠️ It does not affect the operation of the system, since logs are restored automatically.

⚠️ Warning: Do not try to change other settings in Engineering Mode unless you know what they are intended for.

Method 4: Cleaning dalvik-cache (power users only)

The /data/dalvik-cache folder contains optimized versions of the apps that Android creates to speed up work, which can grow to 1-2 GB over time, but you can only remove it with root rights or through Recovery.

🔹 How to Clean dalvik-cache Without Root:

1. Turn off the phone.
2. Press the power button + volume up to enter Recovery Mode.
3. Select "Wipe & Reset» → «Wipe Dalvik Cache».
4. Confirm the action and restart the phone.

🔹 What happens after cleaning up:

• 🔄 When you first start after cleaning, the phone will run slower. 5-10 minutes (the system will restore the cache).
• 📉 Free 500 MB - 1.5 GB of memory.
• 🚀 In the future, performance may even improve (if the cache has been fragmented).

⚠️ Warning: If the phone is stuck on boot after cleaning the dalvik-cache, reset to factory settings via Recovery. This is rare, but possible with corrupted system files.

Method 5: Remove the remnants of MIUI updates

Once installed, the MIUI updates often do not remove installation packages, which can weigh between 500MB and 1GB. They can be found and removed manually.

📌 Where to find:

• 📁 folder /cache — Temporary update files are stored here.
• 📁 folder /sdcard/MIUI/backup — backups before updating.
• 📁 folder /sdcard/Download/rom — firmware.

🔹 How to remove:

1. Connect your phone to your PC or use a file manager (such as Mi File Explorer).
2. Go to /cache and delete all files with the.zip extension or names like update.zip.
3. In /sdcard/MIUI/backup, delete old backups (if you don’t need them).

Critical information: If there is a recovery.log file in the /cache folder, you should not delete it - it is necessary to restore the system after crashes.

Method 6: Reset to factory settings (last resort)

If all previous methods failed and Other Files still take up more than 3GB, it will be reset to factory settings, which will delete all user data, but return the phone to a “clean” state.

📌 How to do the reset correctly:

1. Save important data (photos, contacts, messages) to your PC or cloud.
2. Go to Settings → About Phone → Resetting Settings.
3. Select “Erase all data” and confirm.
4. After restarting, set your phone as new.

🔹 What will it do:

• 🧹 Complete cleaning of "Other Files" (freed up) 3-5 GB).
• 🔄 Elimination of systemic lags (if caused by littering).
• 📱 The phone will work as if it were purchased.

⚠️ Note: After the reset of Xiaomi Redmi 4X/Note 4X It may take longer to load the first time (up to) 10 Do not interrupt the process, even if the screen remains black for a long time.

💡

Factory reset is the most radical, but also the most effective, way to clean, and only use it if other methods have failed.

FAQ: Frequent Questions About Xiaomi's "Other Files"