How to Clean Up “Other” on Xiaomi Redmi 6A: A Complete Guide with Proven Methods

Why Xiaomi Redmi 6A is clogged with the “Other” section and what to do about it

Owners of Xiaomi Redmi 6A often face a problem: the phone’s memory suddenly runs out, although the gallery does not have a photo, and the applications take only a few gigabytes.The culprit is the mysterious “Other” section in the storage settings that can “eat” up to 10-15 GB of space. Unlike modern smartphones with extended memory, the Redmi 6A (2018 release) has only 16 GB in the basic version, so every megabyte counts.

The other is not just garbage. This includes system caches, remnants of deleted applications, temporary MIUI files, log files, and even hidden messenger data. On Redmi 6A, due to the features of the MIUI 9/10 firmware, this section is growing faster than on new Xiaomi models, due to the lack of automatic cleaning and optimization of background processes. Attempts to remove it through standard settings often fail – the system simply “hid” files from the user.

In this article, we will discuss 5 Proven ways to clean the “Other” on Redmi 6A, including hidden functions MIUI, manually ADB And it's important that some of these actions require a super-user's rights, but we'll show you where to get around them, and you'll also learn how to prevent memory from being refilled, which is especially true for phones with a mobile phone. 2/16 GB configuration.

Method 1: Cleaning through built-in MIUI tools

To start with, the safest method that doesn't require third-party apps or root rights to be installed, MIUI for Redmi 6A has hidden cleaning features that many users miss. Here's how to use them:

1. App cache cleanup: Go to Settings → Apps → All apps. Tap three dots in the top right corner and select Sort by size. Here you will see the apps taking up the most cache space (most commonly YouTube, Chrome or Facebook). Click on the app → Storage → Clear cache.
2. Removal of unnecessary APK-file: MIUI It saves files of installed applications even after they are deleted. To clear them, open Files. → Categories → APK manually delete unnecessary files with the.apk extension.
3. Storage optimization: In Settings → Memory tap Clean (bottom of the screen).The system will scan the phone and prompt you to delete temporary files, thumbnails and update remnants.

This method will help free up 1-3 GB of memory, but will not solve the problem completely if the "Other" takes up more than 5 GB.

Method 2: Use of the Security application

The Security app (shield icon) is a standard MIUI tool for system optimization, and it can find and delete files that are not visible in a regular file manager.

• 🔍 Deep Cleaning: Open the app, go to the Cleanup tab → Deep Clean.This is where the system will show hidden cache files, update residues and unnecessary logs.Click Clear (may need to restart).
• 🗑️ Disposal: Select Garbage on the same tab. the app scans your phone for temporary files, empty folders and unused data.
• 📁 Clean up downloads: In the File Management section, check the Download folder – often there are old files that the system refers to as “Other».

Warning: Do not manually delete files from Android, MIUI or system folders - this can cause malfunctions in the phone.The Security app securely deletes only those data that do not affect system processes.

Backup important files |Close all working applications |Connect phone to charge (if charge < 30%) |Check free space before cleaning-->

Method 3: Manually delete hidden files through file manager

If standard methods don't work, you'll have to dig deeper. Many files in the Other section are hidden from the user, but they can be found through a file manager with permission to access system folders. We recommend using FX File Explorer or Solid Explorer (both have free versions).

Instructions:

1. Install a file manager from Google Play and give it access to the storage.
2. Turn on hidden files: In the manager settings, find the option to Show hidden files (usually in the View or Settings section).
3. Go to the root folder of the storage (/storage/emulated/0/) Check the following directories: 📂.thumbnails – thumbnails of images and videos (can be removed without consequences). 📂.cache (delete the content, but not the folder itself). 📂 Android/data — This can be used to store data from remote applications (folders with names like com.facebook.orca are the remnants of Messenger). 📂 MIUI/backup — backup MIUI (If you don’t use them, you can clean them).

⚠️ Attention: Do not delete folders Android/obb — This is where game data is stored, for example, PUBG Also avoid folders called com.xiaomi.* These are system files. MIUI.

Once cleaned, restart your phone. If no space appears, check the Other section again - sometimes the system updates the data with a delay.

Method 4: Cleaning through ADB (for power users)

If previous methods didn’t work and The Other still takes gigabytes, you can use Android Debug Bridge (ADB), a low-level phone management tool that requires a connection to a computer, but doesn’t need root rights.

What you need:

• 🖥️ Computer with Windows/Linux/macOS.
• 🔌 USB-cable (preferably original).
• 📥 Installed Xiaomi and ADB-tools drivers.

Step-by-step:

1. Turn on USB debugging on your phone: Go to Settings → About Phone and tap on MIUI Version 7 times to activate Developer Mode. Then go back to Settings → Additional → For Developers and enable USB Debugging.
2. Connect your phone to your computer and open the command prompt (or terminal) in the ADB folder.
3. Enter the commands in turn: adb devices (you should have your device name) adb shell pm trim-caches 1G (clears the cache of all applications) adb shell rm -rf /data/local/tmp/* (removes temporary system files)

Once you have completed the commands, restart the phone, a method that helps free up to 2-4 GB of space, but requires caution – the wrong command can disrupt the system.

Method 5: Reset to factory settings (last resort)

If none of these things worked, and the Other still takes up a critical amount of space, you have to reset your phone completely, and it's a radical method that will delete all the data, but it will get the phone back to its "clean" state. On the Redmi 6A, you can do the reset in two ways:

Instructions for resetting through settings:

1. Make a backup copy of important data (photos, contacts, messages).
2. Go to Settings → Additional → Recovery and Reset → Resetting.
3. Choose to erase all data and confirm the action.
4. After the reboot, the phone will be like new — without the extra files in the “Other” section.

⚠️ Attention: On Redmi 6A After reset, you may need to re-assign your Mi Account. If you forget your password, your phone may lock.

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Before resetting, write down the phone's IMEI (type *#06# in the dialer). In rare cases, after the firmware is reset, it may reset and have to be restored through an engineering menu.

How to prevent the “Other” from being refilled

Cleaning up your memory is only half the battle, so that the Other section doesn't get clogged again, follow these tips:

• 📵 Limit the background activity of applications: Go to Settings → Battery and productivity → Battery management and select Restricted mode for unnecessary applications, which will reduce the number of temporary files they create.
• 🔄 Turn off automatic app updates: Go to Settings on Google Play → Auto-update apps and select Do Not Update automatically. Updates often leave unnecessary files in "Other».
• 📥 Use cloud services: Move photos and videos to Google Photos or Mi Cloud and then delete them from your phone. Even after you delete the thumbnails can remain in "Other", so clean the.thumbnails folder once a month.
• 🛡️ Install light firmware: If you're ready for experimentation, consider switching to custom firmware like LineageOS or Pixel Experience. MIUI But remember, it requires unlocking the bootloader and can take away the warranty.

It is also useful to check the “Other” section every 2-3 months through Settings → Memory and clean it according to the instructions above. This will take 5-10 minutes, but save gigabytes of space.

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Regular cleaning of cache and turning off background processes reduce the growth of the Other by 40-60%.

FAQ: Frequent questions about cleaning up 'Other' on Redmi 6A