How to Clean Up Your Xiaomi Phone Storage Completely: From Garbage to Hidden Files

Why Xiaomi is running out of memory and how to fix it

Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco are famous for their price-performance ratio, but even the flagship models with 256 GB of memory sooner or later face a problem of space shortage, not only your photos and videos, but also the system debris that MIUI actively generates in the background. app cache, log files, residual data after deleting programs - all this eats up precious gigabytes, leading to a slowdown of the phone.

The thing about MIUI is that it aggressively caches data to make it faster, but it rarely cleans it automatically. For example, instant messengers like Telegram or WhatsApp can take 5-10 GB just from downloaded media, and games like Genshin Impact or Call of Duty Mobile can take up to 15 GB per cache of texture, and even if you delete an application, its updates and temporary files often remain in memory.

In this article, we will analyze 7 proven methods of cleaning storage – from basic (cache removal) to advanced (ADB and hidden folders). All methods are tested on MIUI 14/15 and are relevant for models from 2020-2026, including Xiaomi 13/14 Series, Redmi Note 12/13 and Poco F5/X5.

1. Built-in cleaning MIUI: What to remove and how to use correctly

The most obvious way is to use the built-in Cleanup tool (formerly called Security), which is available on all Xiaomi smartphones and removes:

• 🗑️ Application cache (temporary files that do not affect the operation of programs, but take up space).
• 📁 Unnecessary APK (leftovers from installed applications).
• 🔍 Log files (system error logs).
• 📂 Empty folders and duplicates in the gallery.

How to start cleaning:

1. Open the Cleanup app (icon with broomstick).
2. Click Scan and wait until it is completed (usually 10–30 seconds).
3. Select file categories to delete (we recommend ticking everything except Download, there may be important documents).
4. Click Clean and confirm the action.

⚠️ Note: Built-in cleaning does not remove cache of system applications (such as Mi Video or Mi Music) that can take up to 1-2 GB. These will require manual cleaning (see Section 3).

2. Manual cleaning of cache applications: which can be removed without risk

App cache is a temporary file that speeds up programs, but over time grows to giant sizes. For example, YouTube can accumulate up to 500 MB of cache, and TikTok can accumulate up to 1-2 GB. Delete it is safe, but there are nuances:

• ✅ You can delete: cache of messengers (Viber, WhatsApp), social networks (Instagram, Facebook), games, browsers.
• ⚠️ Cache of navigators (Google Maps, Yandex.Maps) - when you delete the map you will have to download again.
• ❌ Do not touch: cache of system applications (Settings, Phone, Messages) if you do not know what they are responsible for.

Cleaning instructions:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Select an app (like Chrome) and click Storage.
3. Tap Clear Cache (not to be confused with Clear Data – it will delete all settings and accounts!).

💡 Tip: If the application after cleaning the cache began to work slower, restart the phone — MIUI Recover critical temporary files automatically.

3. Disposal of garbage through the Warehouse: hidden files and duplicates

The Warehouse menu (in settings) contains a powerful tool for analyzing occupied space.

• 📸 Photos and videos (including screenshots and recorded videos).
• 🎵 Audio files (music, voice messages).
• 📄 Documents (PDF, Word, Excel).
• 📦 Other files (APK, ZIP, time-data).

How to find and remove unnecessary:

1. Go to Settings. → Warehouse.
2. Click on the category (for example, Photos and Videos).
3. MIUI will automatically find duplicates, blurred images and large files (over 10 MB).
4. Tick the unnecessary boxes and click Remove.

⚠️ Note: Other files often hide important data, such as WhatsApp backups (msgstore.db.crypt14) or save games. Check the file extension before deleting!

4. Clean Uploads: How Not to Remove Important

Download folder is the main garbage collector.

• 📥 APK-files after installing applications.
• 📄 PDF/DOCX mail-mail.
• 🖼️ Images and memes from social networks.
• 🎬 Videos from TikTok or Instagram.

How to clean safely:

1. Open the Files app (from Xiaomi or Google).
2. Go to Downloads and sort files by Date or Size.
3. Delete:

💡

Before mass deletion, back up your Google Drive, Mi Cloud folder or PC, which will take 5 minutes but save you from accidental data loss.

🔍 Hidden threat: Downloads may contain viruses disguised as harmless files (e.g., innocuous files, photo_123.jpg.exe). Delete suspicious files without thinking!

5. Advanced Cleanup: ADB and Hidden MIUI Folders

If standard methods don't work, it's time to dig deeper, and MIUI's firmware creates hidden folders that you can't see in a standard file manager.

• /data/log/ – system log files (can weigh up to 500 MB)
• /data/local/tmp/ – Temporary update files
• /sdcard/MIUI/ - Backups and migration data
• /sdcard/Android/obb/ – cache of games (can take up to 10 GB!).

Access to these will require:

1. Option 1 (no root): Use ADB (Android Debug Bridge).
2. Option 2 (with root): Install Root Explorer or FX File Manager.

Instructions for ADB:

adb shell


su




rm -rf /data/log/*




rm -rf /data/local/tmp/*

⚠️ Note: Delete files through ADB Without understanding the consequences, it can lead to failure. MIUI or loss of functionality (e.g., failure of the camera or GPS). Before cleaning, make a backup through Settings. → The phone. → Backup.

6. Cloud Storage Optimization: Mi Cloud and Google Photos

If the phone is sorely short of space, move some of the data to the cloud. Xiaomi offers 5GB in the Mi Cloud for free, and Google Photos - 15GB (together with Google Drive).

• 📱 Mi Cloud:
• 📷 Google Photo:

After synchronization:

1. Delete local copies of photos / videos (Google Photos has the function Free up space).
2. Move rarely used files (such as documents) to Google Drive.

💡

Cloud services save space, but remember: access to files requires the Internet, important documents (passport, tickets) are better stored both on-premises and in the cloud.

7.Extreme measures: reset to factory settings

If none of the methods worked, and the phone still shows the message "Memory is full," it will leave a full reset, which will delete all data, including:

• 📱 Applications and their settings.
• 📸 Photos, videos, music.
• 📞 Contact and SMS (If not synchronized with your account).
• 🎮 Preservation of games.

How to reset:

1. Create a backup (via Settings → About Phone → Backup or manually on PC).
2. Go to Settings → About the phone → Reset settings.
3. Choose to erase all data and confirm.
4. After the reboot, the phone will look like new.

⚠️ Note: Some Xiaomi models (such as the Redmi Note 10 Pro) may require re-assigning your Mi Account to unlock after reset!

FAQ: Frequent questions about cleaning up storage on Xiaomi