How to Clean the “Other” folder on Xiaomi Redmi: The Complete Guide

Xiaomi and Redmi smartphone owners often face the unpleasant situation when the built-in storage suddenly becomes crowded. The system notifies the lack of space, although the user is sure that he did not download bulk files. When a detailed memory check turns out that the lion’s share is occupied by a section called “Other.” This mysterious drive can take up tens of gigabytes, significantly slowing down the device and blocking the installation of updates.

Understanding the nature of this partition is key to successful cleaning. In fact, the Other category is a collection of cached application data, residual files of deleted programs, temporary messenger records and system logs. MIUI, a Chinese manufacturer’s proprietary shell, tends to aggressively accumulate this data to speed up application launches, but rarely deletes it automatically. Ignoring the problem leads to a constant shortage of resources for the Android operating system.

There are several proven ways to combat bloated storage, from regular system tools to the use of specialized software. It is important to act consistently so as not to damage important personal data or system files. In this article, we will detail the safe cleaning algorithms that will help return your gadget to speed and free space without having to reset to factory settings.

Analysis of the contents of the “Other” section

Before you start taking drastic measures to remove data, you need to understand what exactly occupies space on your Redmi. The standard memory analyzer does not always show a detailed breakdown, hiding different types of files under the generic name “Other”, most often it hides social network cache, offline maps of navigators, temporary browser files and streaming services. Caching is designed to speed up work, but its volumes can reach absurd values.

And we've got to focus on messengers like Telegram or WhatsApp, which store every photo, video, and document you see into their internal database, and over time, that database grows to a gigantic size, and it's invisible to the average user in the gallery, and the system classifies that data as "other" because it's not standard media files in the conventional sense.

Another source of debris is system logs and error reports, and if an application crashes frequently or doesn't work properly, Android creates debugging logs that normally have to be deleted automatically, but in practice, these files can accumulate for months, and voice assistant data and backups that haven't been synced to the cloud also come in.

Use of the built-in cleaning tool

The safest and first step for a Xiaomi owner is to use the regular Security app, a system tool designed specifically to optimize the MIUI shell. It has access to system directories that third-party programs often cannot access without superuser rights, and running a deep cleanup through this tool allows you to delete a significant portion of temporary files.

To get started, open the Security app and select Clean up. The system will scan and suggest removing obvious debris. However, to work with the Other section, this may not be enough. You need to go to the Deep Cleanup section, where the algorithm will ask you to analyze large files, duplicate photos and, most importantly, data from specific applications.

In deep cleaning mode, you'll see a list of apps that take up the most space. When you click on a particular app, like YouTube or Instagram, you can see the detail of how much cache is used and how much user data. Clearing the cache here is absolutely safe and will not lead to loss of logins or correspondence. Clearing the data will require re-authorization in the application, so this method should be resorted to only when urgently necessary.

⚠️ Note: When using the Cleanup function inside the app settings, you delete all local information, including saved passwords and settings. Make sure you remember the login details before performing this operation.

Manual cleaning of the cache of messengers and social networks

The main culprits of memory overflow are almost always messengers. Telegram, WhatsApp, Viber and Discord store media files in their closed folders, which the system classifies as “Other”. Simply deleting chat in the program interface does not always free up space on the disk, since files can remain in the cache. The most effective way to manage storage is through the internal settings of the applications themselves.

In Telegram, you need to go to Settings → Data and Memory → Memory Use. Here you will see the exact size of the cache. By clicking Clear Cache, you will instantly free up gigabytes of space. It is important to note that this action will not delete your correspondence or media files from the server; they will simply be re-downloaded when you re-watch. This is the most effective way to combat bloating the Other section.

For WhatsApp, the procedure is a little different. Go to Settings → Data & Storage → Storage Management. The system will show you the most space-consuming chats, broken down by file type (photos, videos, documents), you can selectively remove heavy video files from specific dialogs without deleting the correspondence itself, which allows you to spot-free space by storing important text messages.

Social networks like VK or Facebook also accumulate huge amounts of temporary data. These apps often don’t have a full cache clearing button in their settings, so you have to go to the phone’s settings: Settings → Apps → All apps → [Name of the social network] → Memory → Clear the cache. Regularly doing this procedure will prevent the Other folder from growing uncontrollably.

Delete residual files and work with Android folders

When you delete apps from your phone to Android, they often have tails — folders with settings, cache and temporary files — that are usually located along the /Android/data/ path or at the root of the internal memory with the name of the developer. Over time, many folders accumulate, and they are all counted as “Other” by the system.

Starting with Android 11 and up, access to /Android/data/ for third-party file managers is restricted for security reasons. Standard MIUI Explorer may not show the contents of these folders in full. In this case, it is recommended to use specialized tiets such as Files by Google or Total Commander, which request special permission to access system files.

When manually cleaning, it is important to be careful not to delete the folders of system services. If you are not sure about the purpose of the directory, you better leave it. The bulk of the garbage is folders with the names of remote games or applications. Check the list of installed programs and safely delete the directories of those applications that are no longer on the device. The file system does not always automatically remove these traces.

⚠️ Note: Do not delete folders with system component names such as com.android.vending or com.google.android.gm. This will cause the Play Market store and email client to run unsettled.

Application of specialized snails for deep cleaning

When Xiaomi’s regular funds fail, third-party analytics apps come to the rescue, with Clean Master or SD Maid being the leader in finding “orphaned” files left behind after deleting apps and detecting hidden cache invisible to a standard analyzer, using such software to clean up to 90% of the content of the “Other” partition.

SD Maid is particularly effective because of its CorpseFinder module, which scans the file system for folders belonging to remote applications, compares the list of installed packages to existing directories, and suggests removing all the excess, a safe and time-tested method recommended by many mobile experts.

💡

Use Analyst mode in file managers to visualize disk occupancy. Graphics helps you find giant files that are hidden in the back of folders faster.

Also worth considering is the use of cloud storage to unload memory: Services like Google Photos or Yandex.Disk can automatically upload photos and videos to the cloud, removing local copies of them from the device, which will free up a significant amount of space that the system previously classified as media files, but once synchronized, the balance will shift, and the impact on the “Other” partition will become less critical.

Only choose proven solutions with a good reputation. Avoid applications that promise to “speed up the Internet” or “cool the battery” – often empty promises that mask the collection of user data. Real cleanup requires file structure analysis, not just closing background processes.

Radical measures: Resetting to factory settings

If none of the above methods helped reduce the size of the Other folder and it continues to occupy a critical volume (for example, more than 20-30 GB on an empty phone), there may have been a file system error or damage to the system tables, in which case the only effective solution is to completely reset the device to factory settings, this action will completely clear the internal memory, returning it to its original state.

Before you do this, make sure to back up all your important data. Reset will delete everything: contacts, photos, apps, Wi-Fi settings and passwords. It is recommended to use the Sync function in your Google account or make a local backup to your computer via Mi PC Suite or simply copy files. Once reset, the phone will be as new, and the Other section will occupy the smallest possible volume.

The reset process is done via the menu: Settings → Phone → Settings Reset → Erase all data. The device will reboot and start the cleanup process, which can take 5 to 15 minutes. Once turned on, you will have to reconfigure the phone and install applications. Statistics show that after such a reset, the amount of memory occupied in the System Files and Other section usually returns to factory standards (3-5 GB).

💡

A complete reset is a last resort, but often the only one that can correct file system logic errors that result in incorrect memory display.

⚠️ Warning: Make sure the battery is over 50% before starting a reset. interruption of the formatting process may result in the inability to boot the operating system ("brick»).

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)