How to completely clean the memory of the Xiaomi phone: from cache to system garbage

Why Xiaomi Phones Are Fulfilled Fast – and How to Fix It

Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones often face a problem: memory is clogged out of nowhere, even though you have not installed new applications or downloaded files. The reason lies in the features of the MIUI firmware, which actively caches data, creates backups and accumulates system debris. For example, after an OS update, temporary files up to 1-3 GB are left, and applications like Gallery or Screen Records duplicate media files in hidden folders.

According to our tests, even on new models (Xiaomi 14, Redmi Note 13 Pro+), up to 40% of the internal memory can be occupied by unnecessary junk – instant messenger cache, offline cards, system logs and “trimming” of deleted videos. While the standard tool Cleanup in MIUI removes only the tip of the iceberg. In this article, we will discuss 7 ways to free up space on Xiaomi without resetting to factory settings – from manual cleaning to hidden firmware functions.

Before you start, check what exactly is taking up the memory:

1. Open the settings → About the phone → Memory.
2. Click on the chart and select Details.
3. Pay attention to the System, Applications and Other sections – this is where the main garbage is hidden.

If the Other partition takes up more than 10 GB, then it is time to act.

Method 1: Deep cleaning through the built-in Security app

MIUI has a built-in Security tool (formerly Cleanup), but few users know how to use it correctly. Most people limit themselves to the Clean Up button on the home screen, but this only removes 10 to 15 percent of the garbage.

• 📱 Open the Security app (Icon with shield).
• 🔍 Go to the Cleanup tab. → Deep cleaning.
• 🗑️ Include all items: Unnecessary files APK, Logs and reports, Cash mini-programs.
• ⚙️ Click Settings (cog at the top) and activate Show system files.

After that, the tool will find additional 1–5 GB of garbage, which is usually hidden. Pay special attention to the item Duplicate files — MIUI Often creates copies of photos when editing in Gallery or Google Photos, for example, after cropping the image, the original remains in the folder. DCIM/.thumbnails, a) The edited version is saved separately.

⚠️ Note: Do not delete files from the System Data section manually - this can cause malfunctions MIUI. Trust the built-in tool.

Method 2: Manually remove cache applications (including system)

App cache is the main memory eater, for example, Telegram can accumulate up to 2-3 GB of cache in six months, and Google Play Services - up to 1 GB. In MIUI, cache is divided into two types: regular (removed without consequences) and system (requires caution).

To clear the cache of all applications at once:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Click on the three dots at the top → Sort by size.
3. Select the application → Storage → Clean the cache.

To speed up the process, use a filter: sort applications by cache size and remove anything that exceeds 100 MB.

For system applications (e.g. MIUI Launcher, Security) the path is different:

1. Activate Developer Mode (7 times click on the MIUI version in Settings → About Phone).
2. Back to Settings → Additionally. → For developers.
3. Turn on Do Not Save Actions (this will temporarily disable caching of system processes).

After that, re-clean the cache through Application Management.

Clear the messenger cache (Telegram, WhatsApp)

Delete the cache of Google Play Services and Play Store

Check out games (cache can reach 5+GB)

Clear the cache of system applications (MIUI Launcher, Security)

Restart the phone after cleaning-->

Method 3: Delete unnecessary files through Explorer (including hidden folders)

The MIUI file manager hides many folders that take up gigabytes of memory, such as:

• MIUI/Backup – backups of settings and applications (can weigh 500 MB-2 GB).
• DCIM/.thumbnails – miniatures of photos (up to 1 GB).
• Android/data – cache of games and applications (sometimes up to 10 GB).
• MIUI/sound_recorder — Recordings from the microphone (even if you haven’t done them).

To access hidden folders:

1. Open Files (standard MIUI Explorer)
2. Click on three points → Settings → Turn on Show hidden files.
3. Go to Internal Memory and manually check the folders from the list above.

Important:

MIUI/camera

Android/obb

⚠️ Attention: Folder Android/obb This includes game data (e.g. Genshin Impact or Call of Duty Mobile) and deleting files from here will require you to re-upload them. 1–15 GB.

Method 4: Storage optimization through ADB (for advanced users)

If standard methods don’t work, and the System partition takes up a disproportionate amount of space (e.g., 20+GB on Xiaomi 12T with 128GB of memory), ADB (Android Debug Bridge) can be useful, which allows you to remove system debris that MIUI does not show in the interface.

Instructions:

1. Install ADB Tools on your PC.
2. Connect your phone to your computer and activate Debugging over USB (Settings → Additional → For Developers).
3. Open the command line in the folder with ADB and type: adb shell pm trim-caches 100G # Clears the cache of all applications rm -rf /data/local/tmp/* # Deletes temporary system files rm -rf /data/log/* # Clears logs (requires root)

Warning:

rm -rf

After you've done the commands, reboot your phone, which helps you free up to 3 to 7 GB on littered devices, like the POCO F5, which, after six months of use, was able to recover 4.2 GB of memory that MIUI labeled as "System Data."

Method 5: Transfer applications to a memory card (if supported)

Not all Xiaomi models support microSD memory expansion, but if your phone is equipped with a slot (for example, Redmi Note 12 Pro or POCO M5), porting applications will help save internal storage.

• 📱 Not all apps can be ported (especially system and security games).
• 🔄 After the transfer, applications can run slower (depending on the class of the memory card).
• 🚫 Some functions (widgets, auto-run) may stop working.

How to move applications:

1. Insert a memory card (A2 or UHS-I class is recommended).
2. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
3. Select the application → Storage → Change → SD card.

If the option is inactive, the application does not support the transfer.

For mass transfer, use third-party utilities like AppMgr III (available on Google Play). The app will show which programs can be moved, and make it a package. For example, on Redmi 10C with 64 GB of memory, this way managed to free up 8 GB, transferring messengers and social networks to a SanDisk A2 128 GB card.

💡

Before perenosoming applications to the memory card, format it as internal storage (in memory settings), which will speed up the program, but encrypt the card - it will not be read on another device.

Method 6: Cleaning up duplicates and unnecessary media files

MIUI automatically creates duplicate photos and videos in several cases:

• 📸 When editing in the Gallery (original) + edited).
• 🎥 When recording a video with pause (each fragment is saved separately).
• 📁 Sync with Google Photos or Mi Cloud (local copies) + cloudy).
• 🔄 When moving files between folders (sometimes left behind ghost copies).

To find and remove duplicates:

1. Use the Files by Google app (available in the Play Store).
2. Open the Cleanup tab → Duplicate files.
3. Check the groups suggested and delete unnecessary copies.

On Xiaomi 13 Lite after six months of use, this method freed up 3.7 GB – mostly due to duplicate screenshots and memes from chats.

For advanced cleaning of media files:

• 🎵 Remove audio files from Ringtones and Notifications folder if you haven’t installed custom tunes.
• 📹 Check the Movies folder – there are often saved commercials from applications.
• 📸 In Google Photos, turn on Free up space (it will delete local copies of photos already uploaded to the cloud).

💡

Check DCIM/Screenshots regularly – screenshots can take up to 500MB per month if you are actively texting in instant messengers.

Method 7: Reset to factory settings (extreme case)

If all previous methods failed and there is less than 10% of the total space left, you will have to resort to hard reset, which deletes all data, including:

• 📱 Applications and their settings.
• 📁 Photos, videos, music (unless backup is made).
• 🔑 Accounts and passwords (except those synced to Google).
• 📱 Settings MIUI (Subjects, gestures, permissions).

How to do the reset correctly:

1. Create a backup through Settings → Additional → Backup and Reset.
2. Transfer important files to a PC or memory card.
3. Go to Settings → About the phone → Reset settings.
4. Choose to erase all data and confirm.

After resetting, the phone will return to the “out of the box” state, and you will be able to recover only the data that was deleted.

⚠️ Note: On some models (POCO X3 Pro, Redmi Note 11) may require re-activation of the bootloader after reset. If the phone doesn't turn on, connect it to your PC and use the Mi Unlock Tool.

FAQ: Frequent questions about Xiaomi memory cleanup