Xiaomi Memory Cleanup: From Cache to System Garbage

Your Xiaomi has started to slow down, apps spontaneously close, and noticing “Insufficient memory” appears more often than messages in messengers? The problem is familiar to most users of smartphones on MIUI — even flagship models are eventually clogged with unnecessary files. But do not rush to buy a new phone or memory card: in 90% of cases, it is enough to competently clean internal storage.

In this article, 7 working methods for cleaning memory on Xiaomi, from basic to advanced, including hidden MIUI features that are not written in the official instructions. We will discuss how to free up space without losing data, which files can be deleted without risk and which should not be touched.

Important: The methods are suitable for all Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO models on MIUI 12-14 (including HyperOS).If you have a device older than 2018, some items may not be available, we will warn you about this separately.

1. Built-in cleaning MIUI: What is missing and what is missing

Let's start with the obvious, the Cleanup tool that Xiaomi puts on the desktop or in the Settings menu → About phone → Memory. This tool removes:

• 🗑️ Application cache (temporary files that are created to speed up the operation of programs)
• 📁 Downloads (files from the Download folder if they haven’t been used for more than 30 days)
• 🎵 Music and video (cache of multimedia applications, miniatures)
• 📊 Journals and reports (system logs that are created for diagnostics)

However, this method has 3 critical drawbacks:

1. It does not remove deep cache system applications (such as Mi Video or Mi Browser), which can take up to 1-2 GB.
2. Does not affect residual files after deleting applications (lib folders, cache in /data/data).
3. Ignores duplicate photos that are created when editing in the Xiaomi Gallery.

How to use the built-in cleaning as efficiently as possible?

Click on “Deep Clean” (not a quick scan)

Mark all categories except "Journals" (they are needed for debugging)

Check the “Big Files” section – often forgotten videos are there.

Start cleaning and restart the phone.

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After the procedure, check how much memory is freed up in the Settings → Memory section. If less than 500 MB, proceed to the following methods.

2. Manual cache cleaning: which apps are "eating" memory

Cache is the main memory eater on Xiaomi, for example, Facebook can accumulate up to 500 MB of cache, and TikTok can accumulate up to 1 GB. But not all apps are equally harmful. Here are the TOP-5 culprits of clogged memory (according to an analysis of 1000 Xiaomi devices):

How to clean the cache manually:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Select an app (such as YouTube) and click Storage.
3. Tap “Clear Cache” (not “Clear Data” – it will remove the settings!).
4. System applications (such as Mi Browser) may need to click Clear All Data, but this will reset all settings.

⚠️ Note: Do not clear the cache of Google Play Store and Google Play Services at the same time - this can lead to account sync errors.

3. Removing duplicates and junk files: hidden MIUI folders

Xiaomi creates duplicate photos in three cases:

• 📸 When editing in the Xiaomi Gallery (the original is saved) + edited).
• 🔄 When using the “Cloning” function in Dual Applications.
• ☁️ Synchronize with Mi Cloud (sometimes temporary copies are created).

How to find and remove duplicates:

1. Open the Gallery → Click on three dots in the upper right corner → Control → Duplicates.
2. The app will automatically find the duplicate photos. Check them manually (sometimes they are different shots with similar content!).
3. Remove unnecessary copies, leaving the best quality.

In addition to duplicates, Xiaomi’s memory accumulates garbage folders that are not visible through a standard conductor:

• 🗃️ /MIUI/sslocal — Cache of the themes (may weigh up to) 500 MB).
• 🗃️ /MIUI/sound_recorder — microphone-recording.
• 🗃️ /Android/data/com.miui.gallery — miniatures and gallery previews.

To see them, use a root Explorer (like FX File Explorer) or connect your phone to your PC. Delete the contents of these folders only if you are sure that they are not needed!

Once a week.

Once a month

Only when the phone starts to brake

Never cleaned it up.

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Cleaning up system debris: ADB-team-up

If standard methods don't work, it's time to move to deep cleaning through ADB (Android Debug Bridge).

• 🧹 Residual files after uninstallation of applications.
• 📦 Unnecessary APK (update-file).
• 🔧 dalvik-cache (optimized code to speed up applications).

For this:

1. Install. ADB-PC drivers.
2. Turn on the phone Debugging over USB (Settings → About Phone → MIUI version → Press 7 times, then go back to Additional → For Developers).
3. Connect your phone to your PC and execute commands in the terminal:

adb shell pm trim-caches 500M # Clears the cache of all applications, leaving 500MB


adb shell rm -rf /data/local/tmp/* # Deletes temporary system files




adb shell rm -rf /data/dalvik-cache/*# Clears dalvik-cache (after this command, the phone will be rebooted!)

⚠️ Attention: Command rm -rf /data/dalvik-cache/* This can lead to a long reset (up to the end). 10 After cleaning the dalvik-cache, all applications will be optimized again, which will temporarily increase battery consumption.

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Before use ADB If after cleaning the dalvik-cache, the phone is stuck on startup the Xiaomi logo for more than 15 minutes, reset via fastboot. + Vol Down when switched on).

5. Transfer of applications to SD-Map: Why it doesn’t always work

Many users are trying to solve the problem of memory shortage, transferring applications to the Internet. SD-However, on Xiaomi, this does not work for all models and has limitations:

How to move applications (if the function is supported):

1. Put it in. SD-card (class 10 is recommended or UHS-I).
2. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
3. Select an app (such as Spotify) → Warehouse → Change. → SD-map.
4. Confirm the transfer. The process may take a few minutes.

⚠️ Note: If you are formatting SD-The card is like internal memory, it can't be retrieved without data loss, and it can slow down the phone if the card is slow (class below 10).

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Transfer to SD-The best way to do this is to use the card only for media files (photos, videos, music) and store the applications in internal memory.

6.Reset to factory settings: when justified

Hard Reset is a last resort, but sometimes the only one that helps bring Xiaomi back to factory speed.

• 🐢 The phone brakes even after cleaning memory and cache.
• 📱 System applications (such as Settings or Calls) are constantly crashing.
• 🔄 Update MIUI It was incorrect and the phone was “smoking».
• 🦠 Suspicion of virus (despite antivirus).

How to do the reset correctly:

1. Create a backup through Settings → Additional → Backup and Reset or Mi Cloud.
2. Go to Settings → About the phone → Reset settings.
3. Select “Erase All Data” (not “Reset” – this will only delete settings, not files!).
4. Confirm the action. The phone will restart and start the process (it will take 5-15 minutes).

After discharge:

• 🔧 Don’t restore data from a backup right away – check how the clean phone works first.
• 📥 Install applications gradually (5-10 per day) to avoid overload.
• 🔄 Turn off automatic app updates in Google Play for the first 2 days.

After Hard Reset, the phone can show less memory than before, which is normal, and some of the memory is reserved for system needs, and after reset, it becomes visible.

7.Memory optimization: how to prevent clogging

Cleaning up your memory is half the battle, so that the problem doesn't come back in a week, follow these rules:

Disable autoload media in messengers (WhatsApp, Telegram)

Set up automatic cache cleaning once a week (Settings → Memory → Autoclean)

Remove unused applications (use Settings → Applications → Unused)

Turn off synchronizing unnecessary data with Mi Cloud (Settings → Xiaomi Account → Mi Cloud)

Install easy alternatives to heavy apps (like Facebook Lite instead of Facebook)

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It is also useful to turn off the background activity of unnecessary applications:

1. Go to Settings → Battery and Performance → Background consumption management.
2. Select an app (such as AliExpress) and set the limit to “Limit background activity.”
3. For social media (such as Instagram), select “Optimize.”

Another secret: Xiaomi hides the Light Mode feature, which reduces the system's memory consumption, to enable it:

1. Activate Developer Mode (as in the ADB section).
2. Go to Additional → For developers → Light mode.
3. Turn on the option and restart the phone.

In this mode, the system will use less resources, and background processes will take up less memory.

FAQ: Frequent questions about Xiaomi memory cleanup