How to Clean Xiaomi of Garbage: The Complete 2026 Guide

Xiaomi smartphone owners are well aware that over time, the device starts to run slower and notifications of space shortages appear more often.This is due to the accumulation of temporary files, remnants of deleted applications and bloated messenger cache. Unlike many other manufacturers, the MIUI system and the new HyperOS have built-in tools for maintenance, but they do not always cope with deep cleansing without the user.

Competent cleaning not only frees up gigabytes of valuable space, but also extends the life of the drive, as well as improves overall responsiveness. In this article, we will examine proven methods for removing system and user debris that are relevant to Redmi, POCO and Mi flagships in 2026.

Use of the built-in Security application

The first and most obvious step is to use a standard tool that is pre-installed on each device: Security (or Security) scans the device for temporary files, ad cache and residual data after you delete the programs, run the scan by clicking on a large green button, and wait for the system analysis to be completed.

Once the check is complete, the system will suggest that you delete the files you found, but be careful: sometimes the algorithm will flag as trash files you might want to save, such as thumbnails of images from WhatsApp or temporary document files. Before pressing the cleanup button, carefully review the list of categories so that important data is not accidentally deleted.

⚠️ Warning: Do not use Accelerate too often. Constant forced process unloading from RAM can lead to faster battery discharge, as the system will have to restart background services.

For more in-depth work, go to Clean Up Inside the App, where you can use tools to remove large files, duplicate photos, and unused apps, and use this section regularly to help keep things in order without having to install third-party software, which often contains aggressive ads.

Manual cleaning of the cache of messengers and social networks

The main users of free space on modern smartphones are messengers like Telegram, WhatsApp and social networks. These applications store all the photos, videos and voice messages you see into local memory, creating giant archives of data. Standard cleaning through Android settings often does not delete media files, leaving them lying dead weight.

To clean up effectively, you need to go to the settings of a particular application. In Telegram, for example, this is the Data and Memory section → Memory Use. You can set a limit on caching or manually clear the cache without deleting correspondence. Similar features are available in WhatsApp in the Data and Storage section.

• 📱 Telegram: Clears the cache of media files, leaving the text of messages intact.
• 💬 WhatsApp: Allows selectively delete video and audio by file size.
• 📘 VK / Instagram: Requires a complete reinstallation or data cleanup of the app to completely remove the cache.
• 🎵 Spotify / Music: Remove downloaded tracks for offline listening, if you do not configure automatic control.

It is important to understand the difference between cleaning the cache and cleaning the data. Clearing the cache is safe and only deletes temporary files, whereas clearing the data will reset the application to a post-installing state by removing your logins, settings and local saves. Always choose Clear the cache if you just want to make room.

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In Telegram settings, enable autodelete cache: set a limit of 1 GB or a period of 3 days so that the application itself deletes old media files.

Storage analysis and removal of large files

Often, the place is occupied not by system debris, but by files forgotten by the user: recordings of a voice recorder, downloaded movies, backup copies orRAW-Xiaomi's standard conductor allows you to sort files by size, which is a great way to quickly find heavyweights. → Folders. → Sort by size.

And the DCIM folder, which stores photos and videos, is a huge space, and 4K video at 60 frames per second is a huge amount of space, and if you're not planning on mounting those videos on your phone, it makes sense to transfer them to your computer or to cloud storage, and leave only previews on your device.

Also check the Download folder. Browsers and instant messengers often save installation files there. APK, which have already been established, or PDF-Deleting these files is the fastest way to get a few gigabytes of free space.

Delete residual files after deleting applications

When you remove applications in the standard way through the desktop, folders with their settings, cache and temporary data are often left in the system. These tails can take up a significant amount of space, especially if you often test new programs.

Newer versions of HyperOS and MIUI 14+ have improved the algorithm for detecting such residues. When you delete an application, the system may suggest clearing associated files. If you missed this point, use the file manager and go to the root folder of internal memory. Look for folders with the names of remote programs or developers (for example, folders from game studios after deleting games).

⚠️ Warning: Be extremely careful when manually removing folders at the root of internal memory. MIUI This can lead to system failure and data loss.

There's also a.Trash folder or a Recycle Bin in the gallery and the explorer. Files deleted by the user often don't disappear permanently, but move there and store for 30 days. Cleaning the cart is the final step in cleaning the smartphone completely.

Using Developer Mode and ADB for Advanced

For advanced users who want to clean the system as deeply as possible, debugging tools are available. With the help of a computer and the ADB utility (Android Debug Bridge), you can remove system plug applications that can not be removed in the usual way, which frees up space in the system partition and reduces the load on the processor.

To start, activate Developer Mode. Go to Settings → About Phone and quickly press 7 times on MIUI Version (or OS Version). Then, in advanced settings, enable USB Debugging. Connect your phone to your PC and use packet removal commands.

adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.xiaomi.bloatware_name

This method requires precision: removing the critical system component can lead to a cyclic reboot.Be sure to make a full backup of the data to an external medium before starting any manipulations through the ADB, since recovery of the system after erroneous removal of system packages is possible only through firmware.

Prevention of system pollution

To avoid going back to cleaning every two weeks, it’s important to have proper digital hygiene, first of all, disable automatic storage of media files in the gallery for all chats in messengers, and this will prevent duplicate photos: they will remain in the chat, but will not take up space in the shared camera feed.

The second important step is to set up cloud services, enable sync with Google Photos or Xiaomi Cloud with Free Space, which automatically removes images from the device that have already been successfully uploaded to the cloud, so that the originals will always be available, but will not take up space on the phone.

• 🔄 Disable auto-update applications via mobile network so as not to accumulate temporary installer files.
• 🚫 Unsubscribe from Telegram channels that post heavy video circles and GIF-animation.
• 🧹 Once a month, audit installed applications and remove those that have not been used for more than 3 months.

Regularly restarting your smartphone (at least once a week) also helps the system reset accumulated errors in RAM and complete suspended background processes that can consume resources.

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The best cleaning is prevention.Setting up automatic sync and limiting messenger cache will save you the need to clean your phone every month.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)