How to Clean Xiaomi Cloud Without Losing Photos: 7 Ways to Work

Why Xiaomi Cloud is Filling and How to Fix It

Xiaomi’s Mi Cloud cloud storage is a handy tool for syncing data between devices, but it’s limited. Even 5GB of free space (or 100GB for premium users) can fill up quickly if you don’t follow the content. The main problem is automatic uploading of photos in original quality, which eats up the lion’s share of space, and many users are afraid to clear the cloud for fear of losing valuable images.

In fact, it’s possible to make space in the Mi Cloud without deleting photos, and you need to understand which files are taking up space, how to transfer them to another storage, and what settings will help prevent refilling. In this article, we’ll look at 7 proven ways, including hidden Xiaomi features that few people know about.

Importantly, the cleaning procedure is different for MIUI 12/13/14 and HyperOS (new firmware 2026), and we will point out the differences where it is critical. Also note that some methods require a stable Wi-Fi connection, and mobile Internet may not be able to handle large amounts of data.

1. Check what exactly takes up space in the Mi Cloud

Before you delete something, you need to understand the structure of the space you're occupied, and users are often surprised to find that photos only make up 30 percent of the total volume, and the rest are backups of apps, notes, or recordings from a recorder.

To see the details:

1. Open the Settings app on your smartphone.
2. Go to the Accounts → Mi Cloud (or Xiaomi Cloud) in HyperOS).
3. Slip on the Storage line - here you will see a diagram with the distribution by file types.

Typical space allocation in a filled cloud:

Critical information: If the Other section is more than 1 GB occupied, it is a sign of system debris, which can be removed through the web version of Mi Cloud (for more information in section 4).

2. Optimizing photo storage: how to save up to 60% of space

Original resolution photos (especially those from Xiaomi’s flagship 13 Ultra or Redmi Note 12 Pro+) can weigh 10-15 MB each. Fortunately, the Mi Cloud supports compression without any visible loss of quality.

How to enable optimization:

• 📱 Open the gallery. → Settings → Cloud gallery.
• 🔍 Select the Download Quality and set High (Compression) instead of Original.
• 🔄 Click Apply to existing files – this will compress already uploaded photos.

Additional ways of saving:

• 🖼️ Remove duplicate photos (duplicates automatically search for Gallery app in Control section).
• 🎥 Transfer your video to Google Photos or to physical media – they take up 10 times more space than a photo.
• 🗑️ Clean Screenshots folder – it often contains unnecessary images weighing 2-5 MB.

💡

If you're using Google Photos in parallel with Mi Cloud, turn off autoboot in both services for the same folder. Double sync eats up the space.

3. Transfer photos to another cloud without loss

The most reliable way to free up space is to transfer photos to another storage, such as Google Photos, Yandex Drive or iCloud, while the originals will remain available, and copies of them can be deleted in the Mi Cloud.

Step-by-step instructions for Google Photos:

1. Download Google Photos from the Play Market (if not already installed).
2. Log in and enable Backup and Synchronization in the settings.
3. Choose High Quality (unlimited storage) or Original (Google Drive counter).
4. Wait until the download is complete (may take a few hours).
5. Remove photos from Mi Cloud via the web version (i.mi.com).

Alternatives:

• 💾 Local storage: transfer the photo to the hard drive through MIUI+ (function of transferring files).
• 🔗 Symbolic links: For advanced users, create a simlink to a folder with a photo in another cloud (required) ADB).
• 📦 Archiving: Pack the photo in ZIP with a password and upload to Mega or pCloud.

4. Hidden features of Mi Cloud: clean through the web version

The Mi Cloud mobile app does not show all the options available, for example, removing system debris or cleaning the backup cache can only be done through the browser version.

Instructions:

1. Go to i.mi.com and log in.
2. Open the Storage Management section.
3. Click Clear Cache – This will delete temporary backup files (can free up to 1GB).
4. In the Other section, look for Logs and Temporary Files – they can be safely deleted.

Advantages of the web version:

• 🔍 The full structure of folders (including hidden ones) is visible).
• 🗂️ You can selectively delete files by date or type.
• 🔄 Recover for accidentally deleted files (within 30 days).

5. Disable autoloading of unnecessary data

By default, MIUI syncs not only photos, but notes, calendars, call records, and even some game data to the cloud, and most of this can be turned off without compromising functionality.

How to set up synchronization:

1. Go to Settings → Accounts → Mi Cloud.
2. Turn off the switches in front of unnecessary applications (for example, Notes, Sound recording, Browser).
3. For Gallery, select Download only over Wi-Fi and set a limit on file size (e.g. no more than 5MB).

List of data that can be safely disabled from synchronization:

• 📝 Notes - export important items to PDF and get out of the cloud.
• 🎮 Games data – they take up a lot of space, but are rarely needed for recovery.
• 📞 Call logs – they can be restored through the operator if necessary.
• 🌐 Browser bookmarks – sync through Google Chrome or Firefox.

💡

Disabling autoload video files (Video in gallery settings) can save up to 70% of the space in the cloud.

6.Using HyperOS features to manage the cloud

The new HyperOS firmware (2026) has made changes to the Mi Cloud, now available intelligent cleaning and prioritization of files.

New opportunities:

• 🧠 Smart Cleanup: Analyzes the cloud and suggests removing duplicates or unused files.
• 📊 Usage statistics: shows which apps are most actively consuming space.
• 🔒 Secure folders: you can exclude important photos from automatic cleaning.

How to turn on Smart Cleanup:

Settings → Memory → Clean Storage → Activate Mi Cloud Analysis

Limitations of HyperOS:

• ⚠️ Smart Cleanup is only available on devices with 8GB of RAM and higher.
• ⚠️ Prioritizing files works only for photos (not for videos or documents).

7.Extreme measures: cloud reset and new account creation

If all of these methods didn't work, the radical way is to reset the cloud to factory settings, which will delete all the data, but allow you to start with a clean slate.

Step-by-step:

1. Download all important files from Mi Cloud to your PC (via the web version).
2. Go to Settings → Accounts → Mi Cloud → Delete your account.
3. Confirm the deletion (a password will be required).
4. Create a new Xiaomi account and set up sync again, eliminating unnecessary data.

⚠️ Note: When you delete your Mi Cloud account, you will also reset: Tethered devices (Mi Band, smart home), theme and app licenses from the Mi Store, sync settings in games (for example, Mi Game Center), and you can restore them only through Xiaomi support, providing proof of purchase.

The alternative to resetting is to create a second account, such as using one account for photos and using the other for app backups, which allows you to manage your storage flexibly.

FAQ: Frequent questions about cleaning up Mi Cloud