How to effectively clean the memory of messages on Xiaomi and Redmi smartphones

Owners of Xiaomi and Redmi devices often face a situation where the system notifies about the overflow of internal memory, blocking the reception of new SMS or MMS. This is a common problem, since multimedia messages, attachments and accumulated cache of applications can take up hundreds of megabytes, quietly eating up free space.

Free space is critical to the stability of MIUI or HyperOS. If storage is clogged, the phone starts to run slower and some functions may stop responding. In this article, we will take a look at all available methods of freeing up space, from standard tools to advanced settings.

You will learn how to safely delete old correspondence, clear the cache of system services and use built-in utilities for optimization. Regular maintenance of the device memory extends its life and ensures the speed of the interface.

⚠️ Before mass deleting messages, make sure they don’t contain important information, such as bank confirmation codes or personal data that may be needed in the future.

Analysis of Message Storage in MIUI and HyperOS

Before you start deleting, you need to understand what exactly occupies space. In modern Xiaomi shells, the main memory eaters in the message section are not textual messages. SMS, MMS-messages with photos, videos and voice recordings.

The Messages system app stores data in a hidden database that is restricted, but you can visually estimate the volume through the settings. Go to Settings → Applications → All applications and find in the list of "Messages" or "Mi Messages".

This shows the overall size of the application, which includes itself. APK-File, user data and cache, and that's what user data is, is what you're sending and attaching, and if that number is more than 500 MB, you need to clean it.

Often users forget that messages can sync with the Mi Cloud. Check the sync status so that important data is not accidentally deleted if it is not stored in the cloud.

• 📊 The total amount of data includes text, MMS attachment.
• 📁 App cache may inflate due to temporary files.
• ☁️ Sync with Mi Cloud can hide the real volume on the device.
• 📲 Third-party message launchers have their own cache folders.

Standard cleaning through the Messages app

The easiest and safest way to free up space is to use the built-in functionality of the messaging app. The standard Mi Messages app or Google Messages, which are preinstalled on Xiaomi, has convenient tools for managing memory.

Open the app and go to settings (usually three dots in the corner or a profile icon) and look for "Storage settings" or "Message management" where the system will suggest removing messages older than a certain period or large files.

You can choose a dialogue with a specific contact and clear the entire history of the correspondence, which is especially useful if you have long been communicating with someone, exchanging "heavy" media files, deleting is instant, freeing up space in the database.

To selectively delete, open the desired chat, press and hold the message, then select "Delete." For mass removal, you can use the multiple element selection mode, highlighting a whole group of messages at once.

Using the Security Application for Cleaning

Xiaomi smartphones pre-installed the system app Security, which is a powerful tool for maintaining the system, and it is able to find and remove garbage, including the remnants of deleted messages and cache applications.

Launch the Security app and click on the Cleanup button, and the system will scan the device and suggest that you delete temporary files. For more in-depth analysis, go to the Cleanup or Deep Cleanup section.

In the Applications section, look for the category associated with messages, which can show large files received through MMS that are no longer needed, and MIUI algorithms automatically identify files that can be safely deleted without losing important data.

Also in the application "Security" is a function "Accelerate", which closes the background processes and clears the RAM, which indirectly helps the system to work faster when processing new incoming messages.

Cleaning of cache and system service data

If standard methods didn’t work and the memory is still full, the messaging system may have crashed, requiring cache and data clearing through the Android settings menu.

Go to Settings → Applications → All apps. Find Messages (or “Mi Services Framework” if the problem is more global) and click on the app and select Memory.

Here you'll see two buttons: Clear cache and Clear all data. Clearing cache is safe and only deletes temporary files. Cleaning all data will delete all application settings and can reset the SMS database, so use this method with caution.

Once the data is cleaned, the app will return to factory status. SMS-messages as the default application if the system asks for it on the first run.

⚠️ Warning: Cleaning up all Messages app data may result in deleting the entire history SMS and MMS Make a backup before you do this.

In some cases, resetting network settings helps. Go to Settings → Connection and Sharing → Reset Wi-Fi, cellular networks and Bluetooth. This will not delete messages, but will correct transmission protocol errors that may have caused the accumulation of errors in logs.

Working with MMS and multimedia attachments

The main burden on memory is created by MMS. Unlike modern messengers, MMS It is stored in a format that may be less optimized. On Xiaomi, there is often a situation where remote in the Internet is not used. MMS Photos remain in gallery or hidden folders.

Check the file manager. Go to MIUI → gallery → cloudcache or DCIM. Sometimes old attachments from messages are saved here in duplicates. Deleting these copies will free up a significant amount of space.

If you’re using Google Photos or Mi Cloud, check to see if the automatic MMS download is configured. If so, the originals can be stored in the cloud and can be safely removed from the device, freeing up local storage.

To automate the process, you can use third-party SMS management applications that have the function "Smart Delete" that analyze the content and suggest removing expired messages or containing only advertising spam.

Setup to Automatically Delete Old Messages

To avoid the problem of overcrowded memory in the future, it is recommended to set up automatic deletion of old messages.This is an integrated feature that is often ignored by users.

In the Messages app, go to the settings and find “Delete old messages” or “Limit messages.” Activate this function. The system will automatically delete the oldest messages in the dialog when they exceed the set limit (for example, 1000 pieces).

You can also limit the storage period of MMS. Set a setting, for example, "30 days" or "1 year", all media files older than this period will be deleted automatically, keeping the memory clean.

Check the Spam and Blocked folder regularly, messages from advertising agencies and scammers can accumulate over the years, taking up space, and cleaning these folders should become a habit.

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Set up automatic cart cleanup in the Messages app if such a feature is available in your version of MIUI so that deleted messages don't take up space for another 30 days.

Advanced Methods and Working with ADB

For power users who aren’t afraid of the command line, there is a way to clean through ADB (Android Debug Bridge) which allows you to delete messages selectively or completely without using the interface, which is useful if the phone freezes due to an overflow of the SMS base.

You'll need to enable USB debugging in the Developer menu and connect the phone to your computer. Once you install the ADB drivers and tools, you can execute a command to reset the SMS counter or clean the database.

adb shell pm clear com.android.mms

This command completely clears the message application data, similar to the "Clear all data" button in the settings, but it is executed remotely. This is useful if the phone's interface is not responsive.

You can also use commands to delete specific files in the directory /data/data/com.android.mms/databases/, but this requires root rights and carries high risks of system damage.

⚠️ Attention: Use of teams ADB And accessing system partitions without proper experience can lead to data loss or system instability.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

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Regularly setting up auto-delete old messages is the best way to prevent memory problems in the future.