How to completely clean up memory on Xiaomi Redmi 8: from cache to system garbage

The Xiaomi Redmi 8, released in 2019, is still a popular budget smartphone due to its reliability and maintainability. However, over time, even 64 GB of internal memory (or 32 GB in the basic version) begin to get clogged with unnecessary files, app cache and system debris. If your Redmi 8 began to slow down, issue notifications about memory shortages or spontaneously close applications, it’s time to do a general cleaning.

In this article, we will discuss 7 working ways to clean up memory, including hidden MIUI features, manual methods and automated tools, focus on securely deleting data without the risk of losing photos, contacts or messages, and learn which files can be safely deleted and which ones should not be touched - even if they take up a lot of space.

1. Diagnosis: What exactly is taking up memory on the Redmi 8?

Before you start cleaning, you need to understand which files are clogging memory. On Redmi 8, you can do this in two ways: through built-in MIUI tools or third-party apps.

Open Settings → About Phone → Memory. Here you will see a diagram of the memory distribution by category:

• 📸 Media files (photos, videos, music) – usually occupy the lion’s share;
• 📦 Applications — the APK- files themselves and their data.
• 🗑️ Cache – Temporary files to speed up work
• 📄 System files – firmware, updates, log files;
• 🔄 Others are downloads, documents, backups.

If a section is illuminated in red, it is a signal of critical space shortage.

For more detailed analysis, use Files by Google (available on the Play Market) to show:

• 📂 Folders with duplicate files;
• 🗃️ Unused applications (which haven’t opened for more than a month)
• 🎥 Large files (high resolution video, backups).

MIUI/extra

⚠️ Warning: If the System Files section is more than 10 GB occupied, this may indicate firmware errors, in which case only factory resets or firmware reflashing will help.

2.Cache cleanup: Quick and safe

Cache is a temporary file that creates applications to speed up their work, accumulates over time and can take up 1 to 5 GB of storage. On Redmi 8, the cache can be cleared in three ways:

Method 1. Through MIUI settings (the simplest):

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management;
2. Select an app (such as YouTube or Facebook)
3. Click Clear Cache (not to be confused with Clear Data – this will remove all app settings!).

For mass cleaning, use the Clear cache button of all apps in the same menu.

Method 2. Through the "Security" application:

• 🛡️ Open the Security app (the shield icon)
• 🧹 Go to the Cleanup tab;
• 🔍 Press Deep Clean and select App Cache;
• 🗑️ Confirm removal.

This method removes the cache of even those applications that do not appear in the standard manager.

Method 3. Through Recovery Mode (for power users):

1. Turn off the phone;
2. Press Power + Volume up until the Mi logo appears.
3. From the Recovery menu, select Wipe & Reset → Wipe Cache.
4. Confirm the action and restart the phone.

⚠️ Note: Do not confuse Wipe Cache with Wipe Data – the second option will reset the phone to factory settings!

3. Removal of unnecessary applications and their residues

Even after deleting applications, Redmi 8 often has folders of data that can weigh hundreds of megabytes left to get rid of.

Step 1: Remove unused applications:

• 📱 Go to Settings → Applications.
• 🔍 Sort the list by size (click on the three dots in the upper right corner);
• 🗑️ Remove applications that take up a lot of space and are not used (for example, pre-installed games from Xiaomi or duplicate services).

Some system applications (such as Mi Video or Mi Music) cannot be removed on Redmi 8, but you can disable them:

Settings → Applications → Select the application → Disable

Step 2: Clear the residual files:

After deleting applications, their data can remain in folders:

• 📁 /sdcard/Android/data/ [name of package];
• 📁 /sdcard/Android/obb/ [name packet] (game caches are stored here).

To remove them:

1. Connect your phone to your PC or use a file manager (such as Mi File Manager).
2. Manually check the Android/data and Android/obb folders.
3. Delete folders with names of remote applications.

4. Optimization of media files: photos, videos and music

Media files are the main memory eater on Redmi 8. Even if you're not shooting 4K video, photos from a 12MP camera take up 3-5 MB each, here's how to reduce their volume:

Method 1: Transfer to a memory card or cloud:

• 📁 Use Google Photos to automatically upload photos to the cloud (settings → Backup and Sync);
• 💾 Move files to microSD (if installed): open Explorer, highlight files, click Move → Memory Map;
• 🖥️ Copy files to your PC via the USB- cable (select File Transfer Mode when connected).

⚠️ Warning: On Redmi 8, memory cards are formatted in FAT32, which does not support files larger than 4GB. If you need to transfer large videos, format the card to exFAT via PC.

Method 2: Compression of photo and video:

• 📷 In the camera settings (Settings → Camera → Photo resolution), select 9 MP instead of 12 MP – this will reduce the size of the images by 30%;
• 🎥 For video, set the resolution 1080p instead of 4K (up to 70% space savings);
• 🗜️ Use compression applications like Photo & Picture Resizer or Video Compress.

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Before compression, back up the originals – some compression algorithms degrade the quality irreversibly.

Method 3: Removal of duplicates and debris:

Files by Google automatically finds:

• 🔄 Duplicate photos (e.g., screenshots with the same content)
• 🗑️ Blurred or dark images
• 🎵 Repeated audio files.

Also check the folders:

• 📁 DCIM/.thumbnails - Photo thumbnails (can be deleted)
• 📁 Pictures/Screenshots — snippet;
• 📁 Download is a downloaded file from messengers.

5. Cleaning system files and logs

MIUI creates many service files that accumulate over time, and can be safely deleted, but caution is needed, because some folders are critical to the system.

What system files can be deleted:

To access these folders, use Mi File Manager with the option “Show hidden files” enabled (Settings → Additional → Show hidden files).

How to clean the cache of system applications:

Some system services, such as Mi Account or Google Play Services, accumulate gigabytes of cache to clear it:

1. Open Settings → Applications → Show all applications;
2. In the search, enter the name of the system application (for example, com.xiaomi.account);
3. Press Warehouse. → Clear the cache.

6.Reset to factory settings: a last resort

If all previous methods failed, and Redmi 8 still lacks memory, you will have to do a complete reset, which will delete all data, including apps, photos and settings, so first:

Preparation for discharge:

How to reset Redmi 8:

1. Open Settings → About the phone → Reset settings;
2. Select to erase all data (reset to factory settings);
3. Enter the password (if installed) and confirm the action;
4. Wait for the process to be completed (it will take 5-10 minutes).

After resetting, the phone will reboot to its original state.

Recovery after discharge:

• 🔄 Restore contacts from a backup (via Mi Account or Google)
• 📲 Install only the necessary applications (avoid junk programs)
• 🔧 Set up automatic cache cleanup in Security → Cleanup → Autoclean.

⚠️ Warning: Redmi 8 may need to re-assign to Mi Account after resetting. If you forget your password, restore it in advance on account.xiaomi.com, otherwise the phone will remain locked!

7.Prevention: How to prevent memory filling

To prevent memory from getting clogged too quickly on Redmi 8, follow these tips:

MIUI settings for automatic cleaning:

• 🧹 Enable Autocleaning in the Security app;
• 📊 Set a limit for the application cache: Settings → Storage → Cache Limitation;
• 🔄 Set up an automatic upload of photos to Google Photos (with subsequent removal from the device).

Habits that will preserve memory:

• 🚫 Do not install APK- files from unknown sources (they often contain hidden debris).
• 📥 Regularly clean the Download folder (downloads from the browser and messengers);
• 🎮 Delete the game cache after passing (folder Android/obb);
• 📵 Turn off automatic saving of media files in messengers (WhatsApp, Telegram).

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Regularly cleaning up cache and moving media files to the cloud can increase free space by 30-50% without deleting important data.

Alternative firmware:

If standard methods don’t work, consider installing custom firmware (like Pixel Experience or LineageOS) that lacks pre-installed junk from Xiaomi and often takes up 2-3 GB less space, however, this requires unlocking the bootloader and firmware skills.

FAQ: Frequent questions about cleaning the memory of Redmi 8