How to Clean Memory on Xiaomi Phone: A Complete 2026 Guide

Xiaomi smartphones are known for their performance, but even they eventually start to slow down due to overcrowded memory: photos, videos, apps and system debris take up precious gigabytes, and users are faced with a notification “Memory is full”, This problem is especially relevant for budget models with 32-64 GB of internal memory, where every megabyte counts.

Unlike flagships with 256 GB or more, owners of Redmi Note 10, POCO X3 or Mi A3 have to clean their memory regularly to keep the phone running. But how to do this correctly without deleting important data? In this article, we will discuss 7 proven ways – from simple (cache removal) to radical (factory reset), and also explain how to avoid re-clogging memory.

Special attention will be paid to hidden MIUI features that allow you to free up to 3-5 GB of memory without deleting personal files, which work on all current versions of firmware (including MIUI 14 and HyperOS), but some steps may differ depending on the model of the phone.

1. Analysis of occupied memory: what exactly takes place?

Before you start cleaning, you need to understand which files and applications are eating up memory, and MIUI has a built-in tool called Storage that shows the memory allocation by category.

How to open a memory analysis:

1. Go to Settings → About the phone → Storage.
2. Wait for the scan to be completed (it may take 10 to 30 seconds).
3. Click on the category (such as “Apps” or “Media Files”) to see the details.

The typical memory distribution on Xiaomi is as follows:

Note the “Other Files” section, which often hides unnecessary downloads, log files, and remnants of deleted applications, and if this partition takes more than 1 GB, it should be manually cleaned (discussed in Section 4).

⚠️ Note: If the System Files category is more than 15 GB, this may indicate a work error MIUI. In this case, only resetting settings or flashing will help.

2.Cleaning App Cache: A Quick Way to Free 1–3 GB

Cache is a temporary file that applications create to speed up work. Over time, they accumulate and can take several gigabytes. Cache cleaning does not delete personal data (logins, save in games), but can slow down the first download of applications after cleaning.

How to clear the cache:

• 📱 For one application: Settings → Annexes → Select an application → Warehouse → Clear the cache.
• 🧹 For all applications: Settings → Warehouse → Cache data. → Clear (confirmation required).
• 🔄 Auto Cleanup: Include in Settings → Warehouse → Autocleaning (we recommend setting the interval 1 time per week).

After clearing the cache, some apps (like Instagram or TikTok) can take longer to load on the first run - that's OK. It's also worth noting that the cache of Google Play Services and MIUI System can be restored automatically.

If the memory was not free for long after cleaning the cache, the problem may be in “junk files” – the remnants of deleted applications, incorrectly deleted updates or corrupted downloads, which can be found manually through the file manager (section 4) or using third-party utilities like SD Maid.

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After cleaning the cache, restart the phone - this will help the system correctly recalculate the free space.

3. Removal of unnecessary applications and transfer to SD-map

Apps are one of the biggest memory eaters, and even if you haven’t installed games, Xiaomi’s pre-installed services (e.g. Mi Video, Mi Music, GetApps) can take up to 500MB each, and many apps download additional data (e.g., maps on Google Maps or cache on Telegram).

How to make room:

• 🗑️ Remove pre-installed applications: Some system applications (Mi Pay, Mi Home) can be disabled: → Annexes → Choose. → To completely remove, you need root rights or commands through ADB: adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.xiaomi.payment
• 📦 Transfer to SD-map: Not supported by all applications. Check in Settings → Annexes → Choose. → Warehouse → Change. SD-The card must be formatted as internal memory (set up when you first connect).
• 🎮 Games: Remove the game cache through Settings → Annexes → Game. → Warehouse → Clean up the data (Warning: This will reset progress!).

If you use SD-It's like internal memory, remember that it's faster than the built-in storage, and it can slow down applications that are transferred to the card. SD Media files only (photos, videos, music).

⚠️ Note: Not all Xiaomi models support mobile applications SD-In the map. POCO F3, Redmi Note 11 and later this feature is often disabled at the firmware level.

Remove unused games|Disable pre-installed Xiaomi services|Clear the cache of messengers (Telegram, WhatsApp)|Transfer media files to SD-map|Check the "Other Files" in the vault-->

4 Manually remove junk files through file manager

MIUI system tools can't always find garbage, for example, they can't see:

• 📁 Remnants of Remote Applications in the Folder /Android/obb/.
• 📄 Log files in /sdcard/Logs/ or /sdcard/MIUI/debug_log/.
• 🎵 Duplicate music or photos in folders Download/, DCIM/.thumbnails/.
• 📥 Incorrectly downloaded files from browsers or messengers.

How to find and remove garbage:

1. Open the MIUI file manager (or install Solid Explorer from Google Play).
2. Enable the display of hidden files: Manager settings → Show hidden files.
3. Check the following folders: /Android/data/ — here are stored application data (you can delete folders of remote programs). /Download/ — Clean up old loads. /MIUI/ — There may be temporary update files. /DCIM/.thumbnails/ — Photo miniatures (can be removed without consequences).

Be careful with /Android/obb/, which stores game data, and deleting files from this folder can cause game crashes (e.g. Genshin Impact or Call of Duty Mobile) and if the game is already deleted, the folder with its data can be cleaned.

5.Photo and video optimization: how to save up to 50% of memory

Media files are the main culprits of memory shortages: One 4K video weighs 300-500MB, and RAW photos (available on the Xiaomi 12 Pro, 13 Ultra) can take 20-30MB each, and fortunately there are ways to reduce their weight without losing quality.

How to reduce the amount of media files:

• 📸 Photos: In camera settings (Camera settings) → Photo resolution) select 12 MP instead of MP 48/108 MP (difference as minimum, and savings up to) 40%). Turn off the save. RAW-Photos if you're not a professional photographer. Use Google Photos to compress: Settings → Free up the space (photos are compressed to 16 MP with preservation of visual quality).
• 🎥 Video: Shoot in Full HD (1080p) instead 4K, If you don't need the most detail, reduce the bitrate of the video in the manual settings of the camera (optional in Pro mode). To edit, use CapCut or KineMaster - they automatically optimize the final videos.

If you have Xiaomi with MIUI Gallery support, turn on the Storage Optimization feature (Gallery → Settings → Storage Optimization) and it automatically compresses old photos and videos, replacing them with lower resolution versions (the originals are saved in the cloud).

⚠️ Warning: When you compress video through third-party applications (such as Video Compress), you may lose the audio track or see artifacts. Always check the result before removing the original.

6.Use of cloud services and external drives

If the phone is constantly running out of space, it’s time to move some of the data to the cloud or to an external drive. Xiaomi offers several built-in solutions, as well as supports popular services.

Storage options:

How to set up automatic sync with Google Photos:

1. Install the Google Photos app from the Play Market.
2. Open Settings → Backup and Synchronization.
3. Choose “High Quality” (Free Compression) or “Original Quality” (counted for in the 15 GB quota).
4. Enable the option "Reserve when charging" to save battery.

For Mi Cloud, go to Settings → Xiaomi Account → Mi Cloud → Synchronization and select data types (contacts, notes, photos). Note that the free tariff is limited to 5 GB, and the download speed depends on Xiaomi servers (in Russia it can slow down).

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For maximum space savings, use the combination: Google Photos (for media) + Mi Cloud (for contacts/notes) + SD-card (for music and documents).

7.Reset to factory settings: a last resort

If all previous methods failed and the phone still brakes due to memory shortage, a hard reset remains, which removes all data, including apps, photos and settings, returning the phone to the "out of the box" state.

How to reset:

1. Back up important data (contacts, photos, messages) through Mi Cloud or Google Account.
2. Go to Settings → About Phone → Resetting → Erase all data.
3. Enter the password (if installed) and confirm the action.
4. Wait until it's finished (it'll take 5-15 minutes).

After discharge:

• 🔄 Restore data from the backup (do not install everything in a row - select only the desired one).
• 🚫 Do not restore system applications (Mi Video, Mi Music) – they will be reinstalled the first time you connect to the Internet.
• 📱 Install only the necessary applications, avoiding "junk" utilities (cleaners, boosters).

⚠️ Note: On some models (Redmi) 9A, POCO M3) after reset, the section for installing applications on the SD-To get it back, you'll have to re-form the card as an internal memory.

Factory reset is also useful if the phone is infected with viruses or is unstable after a MIUI update. However, remember: this is not a panacea. If the memory fills up too quickly, the problem may be a faulty flash memory (especially for budget models after 2-3 years of use).

FAQ: Frequent questions about memory cleanup on Xiaomi