How to Clean Up Xiaomi Storage: A Complete Guide with Hidden Features

Xiaomi’s internal memory clogs up faster than it seems: high-resolution photos, app updates, messenger cache and hidden MIUI system files eat gigabytes unnoticed. Even if you regularly delete unnecessary files, a month or two later, the Not Enough Memory notification reappears. In this article, unique cleaning techniques that are not described in standard instructions, including working with /data/app partition, analyzing system logs and safely removing duplicates without losing data.

Complicating the problem is that MIUI actively uses caching to speed up work, but often does not optimize it automatically. For example, the Gallery app can store thumbnails of photos that take up to 1-2 GB, even after the originals are deleted. And the /cache system partition accumulates temporary update files that have not been cleaned for years. We will analyze not only basic methods (removal of garbage through settings), but also advanced ones using ADB, third-party utilities and hidden engineering mode menus.

1. Analysis of occupied space: what exactly eats memory?

Before you clean it, you need to understand which files are taking up space. MIUI has a built-in storage analyzer, but it only shows the big picture.

1. Open the settings → About the phone → Memory.
2. Slip on the “Occupied” chart – the system will show the distribution by category (applications, multimedia, systems, etc.).
3. Click on category (e.g., Apps) → Sort by size. You can see the most voracious programs.

However, the built-in tool does not show:

• 📁 Hidden folders such as.thumbnails (photo/video miniatures) or.MIUI (backup).
• 🗑️ Residual files after deleting applications (folders) /data/data/package).
• 📊 Logs of system in /data/log, weighable 500 MB.

For a complete analysis, use third-party utilities:

• 🔍 Files by Google – shows “junk” (duplicates, large files, unused) APK).
• 📊 DiskUsage – visualizes occupied space by folder (requires root to access system partitions).
• 🛠️ SD Maid (paid version) – finds residual files and cache even in protected folders.

⚠️ Note: Do not manually delete folders called com.android. or miui. this can cause system failure. ADB.

2. Cleaning the application cache and system

Cache speeds up programs, but over time it grows to giant sizes, for example, Telegram can accumulate up to 3-5 GB of cached media, and Google Play Services can accumulate up to 1 GB of temporary files.

How to clean:

1. Open Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Select an app (like YouTube) → Storage → Clear cache.
3. For mass cleaning: Settings → Memory → Clear cache (remove the cache of all applications at once).

For system cache (section /cache):

• 🔄 Reset the phone to Restore Mode (turn off the device, then pinch the Power.) + Loudness up).
• 📛 Select Wipe cache partition (not to be confused with Wipe data – it is a factory reset!).
• 🔙 Reset the device.

Select only "Clear Cache" and not "Clear Data"

Do not delete the cache of system applications (for example, "Settings" or "Phone")

Check the size of the cache before and after cleaning

Reboot the phone after a mass cleaning-->

Hidden method: MIUI 14/15 has an undocumented function to clean Dalvik cache (accelerates Android, but sometimes takes up to 1 GB).

adb shell pm trim-caches 1000G

This command forcibly clears the cache of all applications, including system (connection is required to the system). ADB and the debugging on USB).

3. Removal of unnecessary applications and their residues

Even after you delete the application via Settings or Google Play, you still have:

• 📦 Folders with data in /data/data/package.
• 🗃️ Files in /Android/obb (play-in).
• 🔗 Symbolic references to /data/app-lib.

How to remove completely:

1. Use SD Maid (CorpseFinder section) or Files by Google (Clean up tab).
2. For manual cleaning, connect to ADB and execute: adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 application package adb shell rm -rf /data/data/application package

List of the most “heavy” preinstalled applications (can be removed without consequences):

⚠️ Note: Deleting system applications like com.miui.home or com.android.phone will cause your phone to fail. Before deleting, check the package on sites like APKMirror.

4. Optimization of multimedia: photos, videos and duplicates

Photos and videos take up 50 to 70 percent of the memory on most smartphones.

• 📸 Xiaomi defaults to high-resolution photos (12-48 MP).
• 🎥 Video in the video 4K weigh 300-500 MB/minute.
• 🖼️ When editing photos in the Gallery, copies are created (folder.thumbnails).

How to reduce the space occupied:

• 📱 Change the camera resolution: Open the camera → click on the settings icon (⚙️) → Choose 12 MP instead of 48 MP (unless you print a large format photo).
• 🎞️ Squeeze Videos: Use Google Files (Clean Up tab» → «Compress Videos or Video Compress.
• 🔍 Find duplicates: Duplicate Files Fixer or Files by Google will find repetitive photos/videos.
• ☁️ Move to the cloud: Google Photos (up to 15GB free) or Mi Cloud (5GB for Xiaomi accounts).

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If you shoot video frequently, turn on the “Save Video Compression” option in your camera settings (available on the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ and later) to reduce file size by 30-40% without any noticeable loss of quality.

The hidden folder.thumbnails (miniatures) can weigh up to 2 GB.

1. Connect your phone to your PC and enable the display of hidden files.
2. Go to Internal Storage → DCIM →.thumbnails.
3. Delete all files manually (or use the adb shell rm -rf /sdcard/DCIM/.thumbnails command).

5. Cleaning system logs and dumps

System logs (/data/log, /data/anr, /data/tombstones) are created when applications crash or update, are needed for diagnostics, but are rarely used by users, and can be safely deleted by freeing up 200-800 MB.

Cleaning methods:

• 🛠️ Through SD Maid: Open the "CorpseFinder" section» → «Log Files».
• 📱 Through ADB: adb shell su rm -rf /data/log/* rm -rf /data/anr/* rm -rf /data/tombstones/* (Root rights or unlocked bootloader required).

MIUI also has a hidden folder called /data/local/tmp, which stores temporary update files to clear it:

adb shell rm -rf /data/local/tmp/*

6. Transfer of applications to SD-card (if supported)

Not all Xiaomi smartphones support microSD portability, but if your model allows it (like the Redmi Note 10 Pro or POCO X3 Pro), you can free up 5-10 GB of the following:

1. Insert microSD (UHS-I U3 class is recommended for speed).
2. Format it as internal memory (all data on the map will be deleted!): → Memory. → SD-map → Set up as an internal.
3. Move the apps: Settings → Annexes → Select an application → Memory. → Change. → SD-map.

Limitations:

• ❌ Not all applications support portability (especially system applications).
• ⚠️ After the map is removed, the applications will stop working.
• ⚡ The card will be encrypted – it can not be read on another device.

Alternatively, use a microSD to store media (photos, videos, music).

1. Open the gallery or the music.
2. Press three points (⋮) → «Settings» → «default folder».
3. Select a folder on SD-map.

7. Reset to factory settings (last resort)

If nothing works and there is a critically low amount of space (less than 1 GB), you will have to do a hard reset, which will delete all data, including:

• 📱 Applications and their settings.
• 📸 Photos/videos (unless saved to the cloud or PC).
• 📞 Contacts (if not synced with Google).
• 🔑 Wi-Fi passwords.

How to do the reset correctly:

1. Save important data (see the cloud section above).
2. Open Settings → About Phone → Resetting → Delete all data.
3. Select “Clear Everything” (not “Reset” – it will only delete settings, not files!).
4. After the reset, don't restore the backup through Mi Account, it will return all the garbage back. Install the applications selectively.

⚠️ Note: On some models (Redmi) 9A, POCO M3) After reset, you may experience a "Not enough memory" error when you first set up, which is because the system reserves space for updates. Solution: skip the initial setup, connect to Wi-Fi and update immediately. MIUI last-minute.

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Resetting to factory settings is the only way to completely clear the /data partition, where the residual files and settings are stored. However, once reset, the phone will run faster, as all fragmented data will be deleted.

FAQ: Frequent questions about Xiaomi memory cleanup