How to clean Xiaomi phone memory from garbage: 7 proven ways

Why clean up Xiaomi’s memory and what counts as “junk”?

Xiaomi Android smartphones slow down over time, not because of the “aging” of iron, but because of the accumulation of digital junk. App cache, remnants of deleted programs, duplicate photos, temporary MIUI files and even traces of system updates – all this takes up precious gigabytes and slows down the device. For example, after a year of use on the Redmi Note 12 or POCO X5, up to 5-7 GB of unnecessary data can accumulate in memory that is not visible in a standard file manager.

The problem is compounded by the features of MIUI firmware: it aggressively caches data to speed up work, but rarely cleans it automatically, which results in users experiencing “lags”, sudden reboots and a notification “Memory is full”, although at first glance there is free space. On devices with 64-128 GB of memory, garbage takes up to 15-20% of the total volume – this is critical for budget models like the Redmi A2 or POCO M6.

Method 1: Integrated cleaning in MIUI – fast but superficial

The easiest method is to use Xiaomi's built-in Cleanup tool, which removes the app cache, temporary files and debris from the browser, but doesn't touch the deep system data.

1. Open the settings → About the phone → Memory.
2. Click "Clean" in the "Junk" section.
3. Confirm the removal (the system will show how much space will be freed).

⚠️ Note: This method does not remove:

• 📁 Remnants of Remote Applications (Folders) /data/app-lib).
• 🔄 Duplicate photos and videos (e.g. from Google Photos and Gallery) MIUI).
• 📱 System Logs (/data/log), weighable 1–2 GB.

For deep cleaning, you will have to use other tools or manual methods, for example, after such a “surface” removal on the Xiaomi 13 Lite, an average of 1-1.5 GB is released, whereas a full cleaning can return up to 5-8 GB.

Method 2: Manually clean the application cache – without data loss

Cache speeds up programs, but over time grows to giant sizes, for example, Facebook or TikTok cache can take 2-3 GB, and Google Play Services can take up to 1 GB. To clear it without deleting accounts or settings:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Select a program (such as Instagram) and click on “Storage”.
3. Tap “Clear Cache” (not to be confused with “Clear Data” – it will delete logins!).

📱 Social media (VK, Telegram, WhatsApp)

🎮 Games (PUBG, Genshin Impact, Call of Duty)

🌍 Maps (Google Maps, Yandex.Maps, 2GIS)

📷 Photo editors (Snapseed, Lightroom, PicsArt)-->

⚠️ Note: Do not clear the cache of system applications like com.miui.home or android.process.media – this can cause malfunctions. MIUI. Also avoid clearing the cache from banking applications (such as SberBank Online) as they may require re-authorization.

To automate the process, you can use SD Maid (available on Google Play), which finds and removes cache even those programs that do not appear in the standard Xiaomi manager.

Method 3: Remove Remnants of Remote Applications

When you delete the program through Google Play or MIUI, Its main files disappear, but folders with settings and data often remain. /data/data/ and /sdcard/Android/data/ And it can take hundreds of megabytes. So, for example, after you uninstall Genshin Impact, you have a folder that's weighing. 1–1,5 GB.

To find and remove these residues:

1. Install a file manager with access to root folders (such as Solid Explorer or FX File Explorer).
2. Go to /sdcard/Android/data/ and delete folders with the names of the remote applications.
3. Access to /data/data/ will require root rights (not recommended for beginners!).

⚠️ Attention: Deleting folders in /sdcard/Android/obb/, You risk losing your game saves (such as Brawl Stars or Clash of Clans) before cleaning up, check if it stores important data.

Method 4: Cleaning system logs and dumps

MIUI maintains detailed logs that help with debugging, but are useless to the average user. These files are stored in /data/log/, /data/tombstones/ folders and can take up to 1-2 GB.

• 🔧 Use it. ADB-Google (requires Platform Tools from Google):

adb shell pm clear com.miui.analytics


adb shell rm -rf /data/log/*

For beginners, it’s easier to use the 1Tap Cleaner app (available on Google Play) that finds and deletes logs without having to enter commands manually, but even after cleaning, logs will reappear in a few days — that’s normal Android behavior.

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If after cleaning the logs, the phone became faster, but after a week it brakes again, install the Logcat Reader application and set up automatic log cleanup once every 3 days.

Method 5: Search and remove duplicate photos/video

One of the most voracious places on Xiaomi is media files.

• 📸 Automatic backup in Google Photos and Mi Cloud.
• 🔄 Photo editing in applications (original) + copy).
• 📱 Moving files between folders (for example, from DCIM at Pictures).

To search for duplicates:

1. Install Files by Google or Duplicate Files Fixer.
2. Run folder scanning /DCIM/, /Pictures/, /Download/.
3. Remove unnecessary copies (check first if they are originals!).

For example, on Xiaomi. 12 Pro after a year of use can be found 3–5 GB of duplicates, including screenshots, chat memes and copies of stories from Instagram. Especially a lot of garbage accumulates from users who actively use WhatsApp - the application saves all media files in the app. /WhatsApp/Media/, Even if you didn't open them.

Method 6: Reset the partition cache (wipe cache partition)

If the phone is slowing down a lot, but there's enough memory, the problem could be in the damaged cache, and then resetting the cache through recovery mode will help, which is not a method that deletes personal data, but requires rebooting.

Instructions for Xiaomi:

1. Turn off the phone.
2. Press the Power button + Volume up until the Mi logo appears.
3. From the recovery menu, select Wipe & Reset → Wipe Cache.
4. Confirm the action and restart the device.

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Resetting the partition cache helps with “endless” downloads, frequent application errors and sudden overheating, but it does not clear user data – it requires a full reset.

⚠️ Note: On some models (Redmi Note 11, POCO F4) after the cache is dumped, regional firmware may be lost (MIUI Global → MIUI To avoid this, check the current version in Settings before the procedure. → The phone. → Version. MIUI.

Method 7: Complete reset to factory settings (last resort)

If all previous methods failed, and the phone still brakes and shows "Memory is full," the last resort is hard reset, which deletes all data, including apps, photos and settings, so first:

• 🔄 Make a backup copy through Settings → Additionally. → Backup.
• 📁 Save your photos/video to your PC or cloud (Google Photos, Mi Cloud).
• 📋 Export contacts to.vcf file.

For discharge:

1. Go to Settings → About the phone → Reset settings.
2. Select “Erase all data”.
3. Confirm the action (you will need to enter a password from your Mi Account).

Once reset, the phone will be “like new,” but you’ll have to reset accounts, install apps, and restore media files. On models with MIUI 14 (such as the Xiaomi 13T), the recovery process takes 1-2 hours, as the system downloads updates and optimizes work.

FAQ: Frequent questions about Xiaomi memory cleanup