How to Clean Up Xiaomi’s Mi Cloud Memory Completely: A Step-by-Step Guide

Why Mi Cloud is Filling and How to Fix It

Xiaomi’s Mi Cloud cloud storage is a handy tool for backing up photos, contacts and settings. However, its free rate is limited to only 5 GB, which is short-lived. Users are faced with a notification “Mi Cloud memory is 100% full”, after which new data is no longer synchronized, and no backups are created. In this article, we will discuss all the ways to clean the cloud, from manually removing unnecessary files to optimizing automatic backups.

The main reasons for overflowing Mi Cloud:

📸 Automatic upload of photos and videos in original resolution (up to 80% of the space).
📱 Backups of apps that are created daily (including cache and game data).
📄 Synchronization of documents from the folders "Downloads" and "Documents».
🔄 Duplicate files that remain after reinstalling applications or changing devices.

Before you start cleaning, check how much space the different types of data occupy, which will help determine what can be safely deleted and what is better transferred to another medium.

How to check the occupied space in the Mi Cloud

To see detailed cloud usage statistics, follow the following steps:

Open the Settings app on Xiaomi smartphone.
Go to the Accounts section → Mi Account.
Slip on Mi Cloud (or “Cloud”).
At the top of the screen you will see a diagram with the distribution of memory into categories: Photos, Videos, Backups, Documents and Other.

Click on any category to see a detailed list of files. For example, the Photos section shows albums sorted by download date, and Backups shows a list of devices and backup dates.

📊 How often do you clean up your Mi Cloud?

Once a month

Only when the place ends.

Never cleaned.

I'm using a paid rate.

Type of data	Average size	Can I remove it?
Photo in original quality	2 to 5 MB apiece	Yes (save copies to PC)
Video (Full HD)	50-500 MB per file	Yes (transfer to disc)
Backup copies of applications	100-500MB for backup	Partially (remove old versions)
Documents (PDF, DOCX)	1-50 MB per file	Yes (if there are local copies)
Notes and contacts	up to 10MB	No (critical data)

If you see that more than 70% of the memory is occupied by photos and videos, the first thing you should do is optimize them, and you don't have to delete files, you can compress them or transfer them to another cloud.

Method 1: Remove unnecessary backups

Backups are the main devourer of the Mi Cloud, and the system stores full pictures of the device, including settings, SMS, call log and app data, and if you haven't cleaned the cloud in a while, backups from multiple smartphones can accumulate.

To remove old copies:

Open Settings → Mi Account → Mi Cloud → Backups.
Select the device you want to clean.
Click on the date of creation of the copy and select Delete.
Confirm the action in the dialog window.

Outdated copies (over 6 months)

Backups from previous devices

Copies created after resetting settings

Duplicate (if copies were created in the same day)-->

⚠️ Warning: Do not delete the last backup if you plan to reset your smartphone to factory settings. SMS, Notes and settings after resetting.

If you use Xiaomi with MIUI 12 and later, the system allows you to selectively recover data from backups, which means you can delete a copy, but save individual elements (for example, only contacts).

Create a new backup (Settings → About Phone → Backup).
After you finish copying, select View the details.
Uncheck the boxes from unnecessary data (such as app cache) and save the changes.

Method 2: Cleaning up photos and videos

Media files take up the lion's share of memory in the Mi Cloud, especially if the original download is enabled.

Option 1: Removal through the Gallery appendix

Open the gallery → albums → Mi Cloud
Select a folder (for example, “Camera” or “Screenshots”).
Select and mark unnecessary files.
Click Delete and confirm the action.

Option 2: Optimization of storage

If you don’t want to lose files, you need to save space:

🖼️ Press the photo until 1080p In the Mi Cloud settings (Settings) → Mi Cloud → Photo Photo → Quality of loading).
🎥 Delete videos that are duplicated in Google Photos or on a memory card.
🗃️ Move old albums to an external disc or other cloud (e.g. Yandex Disc).

💡

Before mass deleting a photo, turn on the display of hidden files in the gallery (Settings → Show hidden folders).

⚠️ Note: Files deleted from Mi Cloud are deposited in the Recycle Bin and stored for 30 days, and if you clear the Recycle Bin or have been more than a month away, it will be impossible to restore the media.

Method 3: Turning off automatic synchronization

By default, Xiaomi includes automatic upload of photos, videos and documents to the cloud, which is convenient but quickly fills up memory.

Go to Settings. → Mi Account → Mi Cloud.
Slip on the synchronization item.
Turn off switches near unnecessary categories: 📷 Photo (most voracious item). 🎵 Music (unless you use the cloud for audio files). 📄 Documents (if you store files locally).

If you want to keep synchronization but reduce the amount of data you download:

🔄 Enable photo upload only over Wi-Fi (Settings) → Mi Cloud → Photo Photo → Download only over Wi-Fi).
📉 Set a limit on the size of uploaded videos (e.g., up to a maximum of one). 720p).
⏳ Set up a night sync schedule (Settings) → Mi Cloud → Synchronization → Schedule).

What happens if you turn off contact synchronization?

If you turn off the contacts sync, they will remain on the device, but will stop updating in the cloud. If you drop your smartphone or lose it, it will be impossible to restore phone numbers (unless there was a local backup).

Method 4: Clearing cache and temporary files

Application cache and temporary files also take up space in Mi Cloud, especially if you use backup features to delete them:

Open Settings → Applications → Application Management.
Find the Mi Cloud list and tap it.
Select Warehouse. → Clear the cache.
Return to Mi Cloud and check the Others section – there may be temporary files that can be deleted.

If you are using MIUI 13/14, the system offers a Deep Clean feature that removes unnecessary data from the cloud.

Go to Settings → About the phone → Memory.
Slip the Deep Cleanup.
Select Mi Cloud and follow the instructions.

This method removes:

🗑️ Cash miniature photo and video.
📂 Empty folders and incorrect files.
🔄 Synchronization logs (do not affect the operation of the cloud).

Method 5: Transfer data to another cloud

If you don't want to lose files, but Mi Cloud is full, move your data to another storage, like Google Drive for free, and Yandex Drive for 10 GB.

Instructions for transfer:

Download files from Mi Cloud to your PC: Open i.mi.com in your browser. Sign in and go to Files. Select the folders you want and click Download.

For Google Drive: Go to drive.google.com and click Create → Download files.
For Yandex Drive: Use disk.yandex.ru and Download.

After the transfer, delete files from Mi Cloud to make room. If you are afraid of losing data, use the Export function in Google Photos, which will automatically transfer all media files to Google Drive.

💡

Moving data to another cloud is the most reliable way to free up space in Mi Cloud without losing files, but remember that free rates for other services also have limits on the scope.

What to do if the Mi Cloud is not cleaned

Sometimes, when files are deleted, the cloud memory is not released, due to sync delays or Xiaomi server failures.

🔄 Update: In the Mi Cloud app, pull the screen down to update the stats.
📱 Reboot your smartphone – it will reset the synchronization cache.
🌐 Check your Internet connection: without a stable connection, files are not deleted from servers.
🔧 Clear the app cache (Settings) → Annexes → Mi Cloud → Warehouse → Clear the cache).

If the problem is not solved:

Sign-out and re-enter: Settings → Mi Account → Exit Settings → Add Account → Sign in again
Resetting sync settings: Settings → Mi Account → Mi Cloud → Sync → Reset settings

⚠️ Note: If memory is still not released after all the manipulations, contact Xiaomi via the official website. In rare cases, the problem is due to a server-side error, and only technical specialists can solve it.

FAQ: Frequent questions about Mi Cloud

Can I increase the memory of the Mi Cloud for free?

Officially, no. Xiaomi only provides 5GB for free, but sometimes runs promotions where you can get extra gigabytes (for example, inviting friends or participating in feature testing).

What happens to the files if you don’t renew the paid rate?

If your paid rate expires, the files will remain in the cloud, but you will not be able to download new data. 30 days after the end of the subscription, Xiaomi can begin to delete files starting with the oldest ones until the volume returns to the free limit (5 GB).

How to disable backup for specific applications?

Go to Settings → About Phone → Backup → Settings → App Backup. Uncheck the boxes for unnecessary apps (like games or instant messengers that don’t store important data).

Can I recover deleted files from Mi Cloud?

Yes, but only within 30 days of deleting, go to i.mi.com, open the Recycle Bin and recover the files you want, and after that, the data is deleted without recovery.

Why is the Mi Cloud not synced to the new phone?

Check out the following: Both devices share a Mi Account. Mi Cloud settings enable category synchronization; the new phone has enough free space to download data; the device is connected to the Internet (preferably via Wi-Fi); if the problem persists, try manually running sync in the cloud settings.