Budget smartphone owners often face a shortage of space, and the Redmi 6A is no exception: built-in 16 or 32 GB of memory quickly fill up with system files, app updates and personal content of the user. When free space runs out, the device starts to run slower, and some programs may stop running altogether.
Timely cleaning allows you to return the gadget to its former frolicness and make room for new photos. In this article, we will examine in detail all available methods of freeing up disk space, from built-in MIUI tools to manually deleting hidden files, you will learn to distinguish system debris from important data.
Analysis of storage occupancy through settings
Before you delete files, you need to know exactly what takes up the most space. The MIUI shell provides a handy tool for visualizing data. Go to the Settings menu, then select About Phone and click on Warehouse. Here the system will show the percentage of occupied and vacant space.
The interface is divided into categories, which makes navigation easier, and you'll see how much apps, images, videos, music and system files weigh, and the largest volume is usually taken by messengers like Telegram or WhatsApp, which store all the media files received.
Note the "Other" section, which often hides the remnants of deleted programs or temporary installer files, and if this category has grown to a few gigabytes, a deeper cleanup is required, which will be discussed below.
The statistics are updated in real time, so you can see the results immediately after you delete any file, which helps you control the process and not delete any extra.
Use of the built-in "Security" application
Xiaomi smartphones are equipped with a system optimization utility that is located in the Tools folder. The app is called Security. It can find garbage, residual files and duplicates. Run the scan by clicking on the large green button in the center of the screen.
Once you've done the analysis, the system will suggest that you remove the debris you find, but don't rush to accept it all at once. Click on "Clean up" to see the details, and you can selectively delete browser cache, temporary ad files, and empty folders.
⚠️ Note: Residual files may contain folders with names of remote games or programs. Make sure you don't plan on restoring those apps before erasing data.
And there's Deep Cleaning on this menu, which analyzes large files, unused apps, and APK installation packages, and it's a powerful tool for quickly winning space.
Cleaning the cache and data of popular applications
Social media and instant messengers tend to accumulate gigabytes of temporary data. Chat photos, voice messages and stories are stored in cache. To clear them, go to Settings → Apps → All apps.
Look for a heavy app like YouTube or Viber on the list, click on it and select Memory. There will be two buttons: Clear cache and Clear everything. The first one is secure and will only delete temporary files. The second one will reset the app to just installed, deleting logins and correspondence.
For instant messengers, it is better to use built-in cleaning tools. On Telegram, go to Settings → Data and memory → Memory Use. There you can set up autodelete media files, for example, 3 days or a week after viewing.
- 📱 WhatsApp: Settings → Data and storage → Storage management.
- 📸 Instagram: Phone settings → Annexes → Instagram → Memory. → Clear the cache.
- 🎵 Spotify: Settings within the app → Warehouse → Clear the cache.
- 🌐 Chrome: Settings → Confidentiality → Clear History (select Images and Other Files").
Regularly cleaning the cache of these programs can free up to 2-3 GB of space per month, which is critical for models with a small amount of internal memory.
☑️ Daily Memory Prevention
Working with the file system and the download folder
The Download folder is the default place where everything you download from the Internet gets to. Documents, app installers, browser images, everything is dead weight here. Open the standard Files Explorer or download Files by Google.
Go to the internal memory and find the Download folder. Often you will find forgotten.apk installation files from older versions of programs. You no longer need them, you can safely delete them. Also check the DCIM →.thumbnails folder. This is a hidden thumbnail folder that can grow to huge sizes.
To see hidden files, click three dots in the corner and select "Show hidden files." Be careful not to delete files that you don't know what they are, especially if they are in system directories.
| File type | Where to find | Can I remove it? | Weight. |
|---|---|---|---|
| APK | Download / MIUI | Yes, if the app is installed | 50-100 MB |
| Log | MIUI/log | Yes. | Different. |
| Temp | Android/data | Carefully. | Different. |
| Thumbnails | DCIM/.thumbnails | Yeah (recover) | Up to 1Gb |
Freeing up space in the Gallery and cloud services
Photos and video are the main memory consumers on any modern smartphone. High-resolution video takes up a particularly large amount of space. Do a gallery audit: delete blurred images, duplicates and failed shots.
Don't forget to check the Recycle Bin folder in the gallery. Deleted photos are stored there for another 30 days, continuing to occupy space. Clear the cart so that the changes take effect. Use cloud storage for important photos.
Google Photos allows you to free up space on your device with a single click. If your photos are already uploaded to the cloud, click on the profile avatar in the app and select "Free space." The app will delete local copies, leaving them in the cloud.
What to do if you need a photo but there is no room?
It's also worth checking the Screenshots folder. We often take screenshots for one piece of information and then forget about them. They accumulate over the years and weigh a lot.
Transfer applications to memory card
The Redmi 6A supports microSD card installation, which is a lifesaver for owners of the 16GB version. Although modern versions of Android do not allow you to port all applications completely, some of the data can be downloaded.
In the storage settings, you can select the memory card as the default recording location for photos, videos and music. → [Annex selected] → Memory is available with the "Change" button. If it's active, select SD-map.
But Google's system applications and important services won't be portable, they'll always be in the internal memory, so the memory card is an add-on, not a panacea.
- 📂 Move music and podcasts first.
- 🎮 Heavy games often allow you to download additional resources to the SD-map.
- 📹 Set the camera to record video immediately on the memory card.
⚠️ Note: Do not remove the memory card while the phone is running without first turning off the settings.This can damage files or corrupt the file system of the card.
Radical measures: Resetting to factory settings
If nothing helps and the phone is slow even after cleaning, a full reset will return the Xiaomi Redmi 6A to the "out of the box" state.All data will be deleted, so be sure to back up contacts and important files.
To reset, go to Settings → About Phone → Settings Reset → Erase all data. The phone will reboot and begin the cleanup process. It will take a few minutes.
Once turned on, you'll get a clean system without the garbage you've accumulated over the years, and that's the most efficient way to speed up your old smartphone, and installing just the right apps will tell you how much space you really need.
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A complete reset is a last resort measure that is guaranteed to remove all software debris and return maximum performance to the system.
Remember that after the reset, the system will upgrade to the latest available version, which may also temporarily take up space.