How to effectively clean memory on Xiaomi Redmi 8T: a step-by-step guide

Xiaomi Redmi 8T, launched in 2019 on the Snapdragon 665 processor, initially offered decent storage volumes, but modern applications and multimedia files quickly fill the available space. When internal memory fills up, the device starts to work slower, photos stop being saved, and messengers can freeze when trying to download attachments. Understanding how to clean memory becomes a critical skill for extending the life of the gadget.

The MIUI system on board has built-in optimization tools, but they don't always remove everything that's superfluous. Often users are faced with a situation where after a standard cleaning of "Cleanup" the free space is almost unchanged. In this article, we will discuss deep methods of garbage removal, work with the cache of applications and analysis of hidden folders that take up gigabytes.

Before you start taking radical measures like resetting settings, you should try a comprehensive approach "thumbnail_cache.db" In the.thumbnails folder, it can weigh more 5 GB, hiding from the standard scanners. Let's go through all the steps of freeing up disk space on your device.

Storage analysis: Finding the heaviest files

The first step is always to diagnose. You can't delete files at random, hoping for luck. The built-in storage analyzer in Redmi 8T shows the distribution of data by category, but often hides the details. To get the full picture, you need to go to the Settings → Memory menu and carefully study the graph.

Note the app section, which often takes up the lion's share of space, even if you don't use it very often; social media sites like Telegram or WhatsApp tend to accumulate cache over the years; cached data can swell to incredible sizes, turning into digital ballast.

It is important to distinguish between the size of the application and the size of its data. Deleting the application will clear both, but sometimes it is enough to remove only the cache. Go to Settings → Apps → All applications, select the desired one and click “Clean”.

• 📂 Check the Download folder, where installations often accumulate APK-file.
• 📸 Analyze the gallery: deleted photos often stay in the cart for 30 days, taking up space.
• 🗣️ Voice messages in instant messengers can take hundreds of megabytes without your knowledge.

⚠️ Note: Before removing files from the folder Android/data Make sure they don't contain game saves or important work application documents.

Cleaning the cache and temporary files of the system

Xiaomi's standard Security app is the first tool worth using. It can find temporary files, deleted app remnants, and junk. Run a scan and press the "Clean" button. But it's a surface-based technique.

To clean it up, you need to use a file manager. Go to the root directory and find the MIUI folder. There are often bug logs and crash reports hidden inside. If you're not a developer and you're not debugging the system, you can delete files with the.log extension.

It's also worth checking the Android/media folder, where some apps store offline maps, music, and video for playback, and if you stop using your navigator or streaming service, you don't need those gigabytes anymore.

The path to manually check: /storage/emulated/0/Android/media

Don't forget the Dalvik/ART system cache, although on modern Android versions, access to it is restricted without root rights. The user can influence this by manually clearing the cache of each application through the settings menu. This is long, but effective for the most "heavy" programs.

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Use Full Screen mode in the file manager to better see the folder structure and avoid missing hidden directories starting from a dot.

Working with multimedia: photos, videos and miniatures

The Redmi 8T camera takes good pictures, but JPEG files and MP4 videos quickly eat up memory. The main problem is not so much the originals as the thumbnails. The system creates previews for each image to quickly display them in the gallery, and these files can weigh more than the photos themselves.

The hidden.thumbnails folder inside the DCIM directory is a classic place eater. It's not visible in normal file browsing. To access it, turn on the hidden files in the Explorer settings (usually the three-dot button or view settings).

If you find a file that's huge, it can be deleted, but the system will create it again, and to prevent that, some users create a text file called.nomedia in the thumbnail folder, or even replace the.thumbnails folder itself with a file with the same name and no write, but that requires caution.

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Regularly cleaning the.thumbnails folder can free up 1 to 5GB of space, which is critical for models with 64GB of storage.

Optimization of messengers: Telegram and WhatsApp

Memory consumption leaders are rightly considered messengers. Telegram stores the entire history of correspondence and media files on the server, but caches them on the device for quick access. In the settings of the application itself, there is a powerful cleaning tool: Settings → Data and memory → Memory Use.

You can set a cache limit or clear it completely, and it's also recommended that you turn off auto-save media to the gallery if it's active, and that will prevent duplicate files from being in the Telegram cache and the phone's shared gallery.

WhatsApp is a more complex business, stores databases and media files locally, and WhatsApp/Media/WhatsApp Images folder is often giant, and use the built-in Storage Management feature inside chat settings to see the heaviest dialogs.

• 🗑️ Remove old voice messages, they take up little space one by one, but a lot in total.
• 🚫 Turn off autoloading video in mobile networks in the settings of each messenger.
• 📦 Export important chats to the cloud or PC and then remove them from your phone.

⚠️ Attention: Clearing WhatsApp app data through Android settings will remove all chats and need to re-register.Use only built-in cleaning tools inside the app itself.

Removal of system debris and residual files

When you delete Android apps, you often have tails — folders with settings, logs, or temporary data — that don't automatically delete, and you can find them in the root folder, often called the names of the developers or the remote programs.

Use the Deep Clean feature in the standard MIUI security app, which scans the system for residual files, and if you can't find anything with standard tools, you can use proven utilities like Files by Google that have security certificates.

Don’t go into /system or /data folders without root rights and a deep understanding of Android’s structure. Trying to delete an “unnecessary” system file can result in a cyclic bootloop of your Redmi 8T.

Use of cloud services and external drives

If the Redmi 8T's internal memory is crowded, the logical solution is to move data, microSD card support allows you to store photos, videos and music externally, and in the camera settings, you can immediately choose to save pictures to the card.

Cloud storage, like Google Photos or Mi Cloud, offers a "Free Space" feature, and once the originals are uploaded to the cloud, they're removed from the phone's memory, leaving only thumbnails, which is a safe way to save the archive.

To transfer large amounts of data to your computer, use MTP mode. Connect your phone with a cable, select File Transfer mode on your phone screen, and copy the DCIM and MIUI folder to your hard drive. After successfully copying, delete them from your phone.

Recommended algorithm of actions:


1. Connect Wi-Fi and charger.




2. wait for Google Photos to sync.




3. Click "Free space" in the Photo app.




4. Check the result in the vault.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)