How to Clean Another folder on Xiaomi: From Cache to System Files

Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones often face a nasty situation: the storage is full, and on detailed analysis it turns out that the lion’s share of memory is occupied by the mysterious category “Other”. Android system does not always correctly classify files, assigning temporary data, messenger cache and remnants of remote applications to this group. Cleaning this partition is a critical task for the speed of the device, since a crowded system partition can lead to freezes.

There are several proven methods to safely remove excess memory. Freeing up memory doesn't always require superuser rights or flashing, most of the time, you'll need to be smart with the built-in MIUI tools or the new HyperOS, and manually remove the junk through the file manager. It's important to understand what's underneath the tag so you don't delete the data.

Below, we will discuss in detail the algorithms for different versions of the shell, you will learn to distinguish between the system cache and personal files. Secure cleaning ensures that you do not lose important photos or correspondence, but also return gigabytes of free space. Follow the instructions consistently, starting with the simplest methods.

Storage analysis: what is hidden category

Before we take action, we need to understand the nature of the files in the Other section. Android labels data that is not standard categories like Photos, Videos, Apps or Documents. Often, this includes an app cache that grows to giant sizes, especially for social networks and instant messengers, and it can also be update files that have not been deleted automatically, or remnants of remote games.

In some cases, the folder is inflated due to a malfunctioning file system. For example, if an application was interrupted during data writing, the file may remain "hanging" and not appear in the standard document list. System logs and error reports often take place in this section, too. Understanding the structure helps to choose the correct cleaning method without affecting important data.

⚠️ Note: Before any manipulation of the file system, we strongly advise you to back up your sensitive data to the cloud or computer. Although these methods are safe, the human factor has not been removed.

It should be noted that the volume of the category “Other” can vary from a few megabytes to tens of gigabytes. If the volume exceeds 10-15 GB, this is a clear signal to action.

Use of the built-in Security application

The easiest and safest way to start the fight for space is to use regular optimization tools. The MIUI and HyperOS shells have a Security app pre-installed that can find and delete unnecessary files. Run the application and select Cleanup. The system will analyze the storage and suggest removing garbage.

However, standard cleaning is often superficial. For a deeper analysis, click on the bin icon or select the Deep Clean option. Here you will see a more detailed breakdown by category. Pay particular attention to the "Big Files" and "Recent Deletions" section. The system may suggest clearing the cache of installed applications, which often constitutes the bulk of the "Other" section.

• 🧹 Open the Security app and start the scan.
• 📂 Go to the Cleanup section and click the Cleanup button for the proposed files.
• ⚙️ Use the Deep Clean feature to find large and duplicate files.
• 🗑️ Don’t forget to check the shopping cart in the Gallery and File Manager, as photos deleted there also take up space.

It is important to understand that the built-in tool does not always see the entire hidden cache, for example, it may miss some temporary browser files or streaming services data. Therefore, after using "Security", it is recommended to conduct a manual check. Autocleaning is only the first step in the comprehensive maintenance of your device.

💡

Enable automatic cache cleaning in the Security settings when unlocking the screen or charging so that memory won’t clog in the future.

Manual cleaning of the cache of messengers and social networks

The main memory eaters in the Other category are messengers. Telegram, WhatsApp, Viber and Instagram store a huge number of temporary files that do not delete on their own. On Telegram, this can be done most effectively through the settings of the application itself. Go to Settings → Data and memory → Memory Use and click Clear Cache.

For WhatsApp, the situation is a little more complicated, because the app stores backups locally. You need to go to Settings → Data and Storage → Storage Management. Here you will see a list of chats that take up the most space, and you can remove attachments selectively, which allows you to save important documents but remove heavy videos that are no longer needed.

Social networks like Instagram and TikTok also aggressively cache videos they've watched. These apps often don't have a "clean everything" button in their settings, so you have to go to Android settings. Go to Settings → Apps → All apps, find the right app, select Memory and click Clear cache. Don't confuse it with the "clean everything" button, which will reset the app to factory settings and require re-authorization.

⚠️ Note: When clearing the messenger cache, your correspondence and contacts are saved, but temporary files (avatars, video previews) may be deleted.

Working with File Manager and Hidden Folders

Xiaomi's standard Explorer allows you to look deep into the file system. Open the Files app and go to the Internal Drive section. You can look for folders with names of remote applications or system directories that have bloated due to bugs. Pay special attention to the Android/data and Android/obb folders. They store game and application data.

Android/data often contains remote game files. If you see a folder with the name of a package (e.g. com.game.name) that no longer has a game on your phone, you can delete it. Also check the MIUI → gallery → cloud folders, where thumbnails from the cloud can accumulate. Manual deletion requires care to avoid hitting system files.

Sometimes, at the root of the internal drive, you'll find files with or without a.log extension, created by long-deleted programs. They can be deleted. However, if you're not sure about the origin of the file, you'd better google by its name. System security is paramount, so delete only what you're 100% sure of.

Cleaning through a computer and ADB-team

If built-in methods don't work, a computer comes to the rescue. Connect your smartphone to your PC via USB, select file transfer mode (MTP). You can see the folder structure more clearly through Windows Explorer or macOS. Sort files by size to find heavyweights. Often large video files or archives are hidden in unexpected places.

For advanced users, a cleaning method is available through ADB (Android Debug Bridge), which allows you to remove the system cache that is not available through the interface, you need to enable debugging over USB in the Developer menu, and then, by connecting the phone to the PC, you can perform a command to clean the packet cache.

adb shell pm trim-caches 999999999

This command attempts to free up the specified amount of space (in bytes) by removing the application cache, and you can also use the command to clean a particular application:

adb shell pm clear com.package.name

Using ADB requires caution. Putting the wrong command can cause you to reset or delete important system components. Command Prompt is a powerful tool, but it doesn't forgive mistakes. If you're not familiar with ADB syntax, you'd better limit yourself to a graphical interface.

⚠️ Attention: Team `pm clear` It completely removes application data, including logins and settings, and only use it if you're ready to reconfigure the application.

Radical measures: Resetting to factory settings

When nothing helps and the Other category continues to grow, taking up half the memory, the last argument is a complete reset, which is guaranteed to clear everything superfluous, returning the phone to a state of "store-like." Before you do this, make sure to make a full backup through Mi Cloud or to your computer, as all data will be destroyed.

To perform the reset, go to Settings → About Phone → Reset. Choose to Erase all data. The process will take a few minutes, after which the phone will restart. This is the most effective way to get rid of file system errors and dead files that are not deleted by any other method.

• 🔄 Make a full backup of contacts, photos and documents.
• 🔋 Charge your phone to minimum. 50-60% before the beginning of the procedure.
• 📱 Reset via the settings menu or via Recovery Mode (volume button up) + feeding).
• 📲 After reset, do not restore the backup of applications immediately so as not to return the “garbage” back.

Once reset, the system will run faster and the memory will be free, but if the problem with bloating the Other partition repeats itself shortly after installing a clean set of applications, it may be the flash drive itself or a bug in a particular firmware version, in which case it is worth considering reflashing the device to a global version or rolling back to a stable build.

💡

A full reset is a 100% solution to the problem with the crowded “Other” partition, but it takes time to recover data and phone settings.

Prevention: How to prevent memory filling

To keep the problem from returning, it is important to maintain digital hygiene, check your messaging settings regularly, and turn off auto-save media in the gallery, and use cloud storage for photos and videos by enabling the “Free Space” feature, which deletes local copies of files already uploaded to the cloud.

Also keep an eye out for system updates. Xiaomi engineers are constantly working to optimize memory in newer versions of MIUI and HyperOS. Sometimes a bug that inflates the Other section is fixed with a security patch or system update. Don't ignore notifications about available updates.