How to clean the memory of the Xiaomi Redmi 8 phone: step-by-step instructions

Budget smartphone owners often face a shortage of internal storage, and Redmi 8 is no exception. Despite having a memory card slot, the system partition quickly fills with apps, photos and temporary messenger files. When the free space runs out, the device starts to run slower, and some programs stop running.

Memory cleaning on Xiaomi Redmi 8 requires a comprehensive approach, as the standard button “free everything” in the MIUI system may not be enough for deep cleaning. In this article, we will discuss effective methods for removing excess software, hidden debris and optimizing the drive without losing important data.

You don't have to be a tech person to do this, but we've developed a detailed guide to help you get your gadget back up and free up gigabytes of space for new files.

Analysis of vault occupancy

Before you delete files at random, you need to understand what exactly takes up space. There is a built-in tool for detailed analysis in the MIUI shell. Go to Settings → Memory or run the Security app, which is preinstalled on all Xiaomi smartphones.

The system will show the distribution of space between apps, images, videos and system files, and it often turns out that the lion’s share is not taken by installed programs, but by the cache of social networks and WhatsApp or Telegram folders.

⚠️ Warning: Before deleting system files or folders with unknown names, make sure they are not used by the operating system, otherwise the phone may stop booting.

Use a visual diagram to find the heaviest sections, which will help you focus on removing the content that gives you the most space gain.

Removal of unused applications and their residues

The first step to freeing up space is to review installed programs, and many users forget about apps that they haven't used in months, but they keep taking up space and updating in the background.

Go to Settings → Apps → All apps. Sort the list by size. Remove anything you don't use. Pay special attention to games, as they can weigh several gigabytes with cache.

• 🗑️ Click on the app and select “Delete” to erase it completely.
• 📉 For system applications that cannot be removed, use the “Clean” button to erase their data.
• 🔄 Check the Auto Start section and disable unnecessary programs so they don’t load the processor.

After removing the program, it is recommended to restart the device, which will allow the Android system to correctly redistribute the freed memory blocks and update the file system indexes.

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Removing heavy games and their cache is the fastest way to get a few gigabytes of free space in a couple of minutes.

Cleaning cache and temporary files

As applications work, they create a lot of temporary files, and over time, this digital garbage accumulates and can take up a lot of space, and the standard cleaner in the Security app does a good job of basic cleaning.

However, for a deeper cleaning, you should use a built-in analyzer. Click on the Cleanup icon in the security application. The system will scan the device and suggest removing the cache, advertising files and remnants of remote programs.

Remember to clear your browser cache. In Chrome or MIUI Browser, the accumulated site data can take up hundreds of megabytes. Go to your browser settings and find the "Site History and Data" item to delete them.

⚠️ Cache clearing does not delete your personal logins and passwords, but it can reset settings inside some apps, so be prepared to log in again.

For advanced users, it is possible to manually clean folders in the file manager, but this requires caution not to delete important configuration files.

Working with multimedia and folder Downloads

The Download folder is where chaos most often accumulates, including APK installation files, saved documents, and forgotten images from messengers.

Open Explorer and go to the downloads section. Carefully review the content..apk files are no longer needed after installation and can be deleted.

Also worth checking is the messenger folders: Android/media/com.whatsapp or Tencent/MicroMsg (for WeChat) store all the received media files, which can be transferred to a computer or to the cloud.

Use of cloud storage and SD cards

The Redmi 8 supports microSD cards up to 256 GB, which is the perfect solution for storing photos and videos that take up the most space in internal memory.

Configure the camera so that new pictures are saved immediately to the map. To do this, in the Camera app, click on the settings gear and select "Save on" SD-map".

For existing files, use the move function. In the file manager, select the desired photo or video, click "More" and select "Move to". SD-map".

Cloud services such as Google Photos or Yandex.Disk allow you to set up automatic upload of images. Once you download originals, you can remove from the device, leaving only thumbnails.

Specificity of cleaning messengers

Messengers like Telegram and WhatsApp have their own caching mechanisms that ignore the system’s standard cleaners, and they store all the videos and photos they’ve watched in hidden folders.

In Telegram, it is better to clean up through the settings of the application itself. Go to Settings → Data and memory → Memory Use. Here you can clear the cache with a single click, and this will not delete your correspondence, they will remain on the server.

WhatsApp is more complicated because files are stored locally. Go to Settings → Data and Storage → Storage Management. The app will show the largest chats and let you delete heavy video files selectively.

• 📱 Turn off autoload media in the settings of messengers so that memory does not clog automatically.
• 🗣️ Regularly delete voice messages that often weigh a lot, but rarely need after a while.
• 📂 Check the "Sent" folder in the gallery, where all photos you send are duplicated.

⚠️ Note: When you clean your messenger data through your Android settings (not inside the app), you may lose your entire correspondence history if you don’t make a backup copy.

Resetting to factory settings as an extreme measure

If none of these methods worked, and the phone keeps signaling that it's running out of space, the radical but effective method is a complete reset, and that's going to bring the device back out of the box.

Before you do that, make sure to back up all your important contacts, photos and documents to your computer or the cloud, and the process is irreversible and will destroy all your user data.

To reset, go to Settings → About Phone → Settings Reset → Erase all data. The device will restart and begin the cleanup process, which can take 10-15 minutes.

Settings -> About Phone -> Resetting -> Erase All Data

Once turned on, configure the phone as new without restoring all apps from backup at once so as not to clog the system again.

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Use the Files by Google app to find duplicate photos and large unused files that you may have forgotten to delete.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)