Xiaomi and Redmi smartphone owners often face a situation where the device starts to run slower or stops downloading new photos.Memory shortage is a signal that can not be ignored. A crowded drive affects not only the ability to install applications, but also the overall stability of the MIUI or HyperOS operating system.
Cleaning the storage is not just about removing old images, it's about a comprehensive maintenance process. The modern shells from a Chinese manufacturer accumulate a huge number of temporary files that are hidden from the user's eyes. Understanding the structure of folders and knowing the hidden functions of the cleaner will help restore the sharpness of the phone.
In this article, we’ll look at all the available ways to free up space, from built-in utilities to manually removing system debris, learn how to safely delete data that is no longer needed, and prevent memory from overflowing again in the future. Regular maintenance of the device prolongs its life.
Analysis of the occupied space through settings
The first step is always to diagnose. Before you delete anything, you need to understand what takes up precious gigabytes. The MIUI shell and the new HyperOS have a built-in analyzer that visualizes data. Go to Settings → About Phone → Storage.
Here you'll see a color diagram where each sector is responsible for a specific type of content, and the system automatically sorts files into categories: apps, images, videos, documents, etc. System files are usually fixed in size, but can grow due to update errors.
- 📱 Applications and their data often occupy up to 60% of the total memory.
- 📸 Gallery and trash cans can hide deleted but not cleaned files.
- 📥 Downloads and documents often contain duplicate installations. APK-file.
⚠️ Warning: Do not attempt to manually delete files from system folders unless you are sure of their purpose.This can result in a cyclical reboot or data loss.
Notice the other category, which is often where the remnants of remote apps or messenger cache that the system didn't recognize automatically hide, and detailed analysis allows you to make an informed decision about what can be removed without harming the smartphone.
Use of the built-in “Cleanup” application
Each Xiaomi smartphone has a Security system app preinstalled, which includes the Cleanup module, the first tool you should turn to for rapid prevention, which scans the device for temporary files, ad residues and cache.
Launch the app and click the Clean button. The scanner will find files that can be removed safely. However, standard cleaning is often superficial. For a deeper analysis, click on the Garbage icon inside the app to see the details.
☑️ Checking garbage
Pay particular attention to the WhatsApp Cleanup or Telegram Cleanup feature, if available in your firmware version. Messengers tend to accumulate gigabytes of media that are duplicated in the gallery, and deleting them through the system tool is often more effective than manually cleaning chats.
- 🗑️ Deletes temporary application installation files.
- 📦 Clears the cache of browsers and social networks.
- 📄 Finds installer packages left over after updates.
Once the procedure is complete, it is recommended to restart the device, allowing the system to re-index the file system and correctly display the space that has been vacant, sometimes the memory counter is updated only after restart.
Cleaning the cache of apps and social media
Social media and instant messengers are the main memory eaters. Telegram, Viber, Instagram and TikTok store every video and image viewed in a local cache for quick download. Over time, this cache can reach 5-10 GB or more.
To clear the cache of a particular application, go to Settings → Apps → All apps. Select the app you want (like YouTube) and find Memory. There will be a "Clear Cache" button. It's important not to confuse it with the "Clear Everything" button, which will delete your logins and settings.
Difference between cache and data
The messengers themselves also have built-in memory management tools, such as Telegram, which allows you to set up automatic cache deletion. Go to Settings → Data and Memory → Memory Use, and set the “Storage Media” period to 3 days or 1 week.
⚠️ Attention: Clearing the data in banking applications will require re-authorization and setting up biometrics.
Regularly checking heavy applications keeps the system on track, and if you're actively using video, the cache can fill up in just one day of heavy use, and in such cases, manual cleaning becomes a necessary habit.
Removal of duplicates and large files
Over the years, hundreds of duplicates accumulate in memory, and we often save screenshots, download the same documents, or take several similar photos, and the File Manager Explorer is able to find such files.
Open the Explorer app and select Files category. Sort them by size or date. Often, you can find old APK installation files in the Download folder that are no longer needed, since the app has been installed and updated through Google Play for a long time.
| File type | Where to find | Can be removed |
|---|---|---|
| APK files | Download folder | Yes, if the app works. |
| tumbnails | .thumbnails in DCIM | Yeah, it's a miniature photo. |
| Log files | MIUI/log folders | Yeah, error reports. |
| Temp | Folder temp | Yes, temporary files. |
It's also worth checking the DCIM →.thumbnails folder, which stores thumbnails of your photos for quick display in the gallery. If you have thousands of photos, this folder can weigh several gigabytes. It can be cleaned, but the system will recreate it the next time you open the gallery.
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Use the “Duplicate Search” feature in the Gallery app or third-party utilities like “Files by Google” to find the same images safely.
Large video files captured in 4K resolution also take up a lot of space, and if you don't plan on mounting them on your phone, you'd better transfer them to your computer or cloud storage and remove them from your device.
Gallery optimization and cloud services
Photos and videos are the most voluminous content for most users, synced with Google Photos or Xiaomi Cloud to free up space on the device by storing originals in the cloud, the most effective way to combat memory shortages in the long run.
Google Photos has a Free Space feature that finds photos and videos that have already been successfully uploaded to the cloud and removes local copies of them, but the quality does not suffer, since the original is stored in the cloud.
For users of the Xiaomi ecosystem, sync with Mi Cloud is available, and enable it in your account settings, which will keep your contacts, messages and photos safe, and when you buy a new phone, all data will be restored automatically.
- ☁️ Google Photos Offers 15GB of Free Space.
- 🌩️ Xiaomi Cloud gives 5GB of free expansion.
- 📂 Local storage is limited by physical memory.
Remember to check the Recycle Bin folder in the gallery. Deleted photos are often stored there for another 30 days, continuing to take up space. Cleaning the basket is a mandatory final step after sorting the pictures.
Radical methods: resetting and formatting
If none of the above methods worked and the memory fills up on its own, it may be that there are errors or “broken” sectors in the file system, in which case formatting the internal drive or a complete reset may help.
Before you do this, make sure you back up all your important data, reset it will delete everything: contacts, photos, apps, and settings, and it will go back out of the box.
Settings → About the phone → Reset settings → Erase all dataAfter reset, don't restore all applications immediately. Install only the necessary ones and observe the system behavior for a couple of days. If the memory starts to fill up again without your involvement, the problem may be hardware or related to a particular version of the firmware.
⚠️ Warning: Formatting internal storage (if the phone offers to choose between internal and external) will make the memory card unreadable on other devices without re-formatting.
Sometimes the problem lies in a specific system update. If overflows started after the MIUI update, you should wait for the next patch or contact the service center to flash the device.
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A complete reset is a last resort that solves 99% of memory problems but takes time to recover data.