Xiaomi and Redmi smartphone owners often face a cryptic memory shortage notice, and storage analysis reveals that the lion’s share is in the “Other” or “System Files” category, which can be as large as tens of gigabytes. This is not a bug, but a system feature of the MIUI and HyperOS shell that accumulates application cache, error logs, temporary update files, and remnants of remote programs in this section.
The accumulation of such debris leads to a noticeable slowdown in the interface and the inability to install new applications or take photos. Cleaning the “Other” section requires a competent approach, since blindly deleting system files can lead to unstable operation of the operating system. In this article, we will discuss proven ways to free up space, ranging from regular tools to advanced methods for power users.
You don't have to be a programmer to manage your device's file system effectively, but we'll look at which folders you can touch safely and which ones you can leave alone, and we'll also look at the specific files that the system creates to make things faster, but which eventually turn into ballast.
Causes of the System Partition Expansion
The Others section is a kind of black box of the Android file system, which includes data that the system cannot uniquely classify as photos, videos, music or documents. The main culprit behind this bloating section is the cache of messengers and social networks. Apps like Telegram, Viber or WhatsApp store media files and temporary data in their hidden directories, which the standard analyzer often refers to as system.
Another reason is the logs of the system and applications, which developers use to debug, but on the user device they only take up space. Also, when updating the firmware or individual components of MIUI, old installation packages can remain in memory. Data fragmentation also plays a role: when files are scattered in different sectors, the system marks them as “Other” so as not to violate the integrity of the structure.
⚠️ Note: Some files in the Others section are critical to operating system operation. Deleting system libraries or configuration files can result in endless bootloop or loss of functionality of individual modules.
Understanding the nature of these files helps you choose the right cleaning method. If you're a navigator, the cards can take up gigabytes in cache. Do you like to shoot 4K video? The camera clipboard can also grow into obscene size. Analyzing your smartphone usage habits is the first step to bringing order.
📊 What most often takes up space in the “Other” section of your phone?
Cash of messengers (Telegram, WhatsApp)
System Logs and Errors
Remnants of remote games
Cash maps and navigation
Cleaning with MIUI and HyperOS facilities
The safest, though not always the most efficient, way is to use the built-in Security app, which was designed by Xiaomi engineers specifically to maintain the system. Launch the app, go to the Cleanup section and wait for the analysis to be completed. The system will suggest removing obvious debris: ads, installer packages and temporary files.
For a deeper cleaning, go to the storage settings. The path usually looks like: Settings → About Phone → Storage. Here you can see a detailed breakdown by category. By clicking on "Other" or "System Files", you can access more detailed information, although direct deletion from here is often limited by access rights.
Use Deep Clean within the Security app to scan your device for duplicates, similar images, and large files that are forgotten in download folders, but this tool rarely touches the system logs that make up the bulk of the Other.
Don't forget to manually parse installed applications. Go to Settings → Apps → All apps. Select heavy programs (social networks, browsers) and click Memory. The Clear Cache button is secure, it will only delete temporary data, saving your logins and passwords. The Clear All button will reset the application to a state immediately after installation, which will require re-authorization.
Delete logs and temporary files via ADB
For advanced users who want to access hidden corners of the file system without Root rights, the Android Debug Bridge tool is ideal (ADB). This method allows you to delete system logs that you can't erase by conventional means, USB-cable and installed Xiaomi drivers.
First, activate debugging mode. Go to Settings → About Phone and quickly click on MIUI seven times until the notification “You’ve become a developer” appears. Then, in the Advanced Settings menu, turn on “Debugging on USB.” Connect your phone to your PC and launch the command prompt with administrator permissions.
adb shell pm clear com.android.browser
This command clears the browser cache at the system level. You can use the logcat-c command to clean the system logs, but it will only clear the current buffer. You can more effectively delete old crash report logs. You can type a command to go to shell mode:
adb shell
Then find the folder with the logs. They are usually in /data/log/ or /data/tombstones/. Deleting them will require superuser rights, which are difficult to obtain through ADB without Root, but you can clear the Dalvik cache, which often frees up space in the Others section:
adb shell pm trim-caches 999999999
⚠️ Attention: Working with ADB Incorrect commands, especially those related to the removal of system packets (pm uninstall), can cause important smartphone functions such as the camera or sound to fail.
The good thing about ADB is that it doesn't require third-party software to be installed on the phone itself, which reduces the risk of infection. However, it requires a computer and basic command line skills. After you do the work, be sure to restart the device so that the system can recalculate the file index.
What if your computer can’t see your phone on ADB?
Make sure the original cable is installed. Check if File Transfer mode is selected (MTP)» In the notification curtain. Try another one. USB-port, preferably USB 2.0, and install universal Google drivers USB Driver.> When regular funds are powerless, specialized disk space analyzers come to the rescue. Applications like DiskUsage, Solid Explorer, or Files by Google can visualize folder structure by showing which files are in the Other section. DiskUsage builds a memory card in rectangles, where the size of the figure is proportional to the weight of the file. This allows you to instantly find the heavyweights, and it often turns out that the "Other" section contains forgotten archives, old backups, or cache of streaming services like Netflix or Spotify. Application Access Type Files by Google User High Basic Cleanup, Solid Explorer Root duplicate search / User High Detailed folder viewing, access to system DiskUsage User Average Visualization, search for large files SD Maid Root / ADB Using Root-access file managers gives you maximum power but also maximum responsibility, and you can remove.thumbnails folders in the gallery that store thumbnails of the photos you viewed and can weigh several gigabytes. It's also worth checking the folder. Android/data, Deletion of the contents of folders of specific applications is safe, if you are ready to reconfigure these applications. Be careful with the accelerators and the cliners of unknown developers. They are often the source of advertising and mining, and their effectiveness is questionable. It is better to use time-tested tools with open source or from well-known vendors. Radical methods: Reset and flash If the volume of the "Other" partition has reached critical values (for example, 20-30 GB on a 64 GB device) and does not decrease after all manipulations, the file system may be damaged or there are unavoidable errors in it. In this case, the only reliable solution is a complete reset to factory settings. Before starting the Wipe Data procedure, be sure to create a full backup. Use the cloud service Xiaomi Drive, you can also fill out all the data from the computer, from the cloud, you can fill out the files from the files, from the files, from the files, from the files, from the files, and the files, and from the files, from the files, from the files, from the files, from the files, from the files, from the installations. Turn off the phone, then press the button combination Volume up + Power (to enter Recovery) or Volume Down + Power (for Fastboot, where you can go to Recovery). From the Recovery menu, select the language (English or Chinese) and click Wipe Data. → Wipe All Data. ⚠️ Warning: The process of complete reset is irreversible. Make sure the battery is charged at least to the maximum. 50-60%, so that the phone does not turn off at a critical moment, which can damage the bootloader. The alternative is to flash the device through the computer with the user data saved (the option “Clean all” without locking the bootloader sometimes helps to recreate the system partitions, but the option “Clean all” + Lock is guaranteed to remove everything. Clean firmware installation often solves the problem of “bloating” Other caused by partition structure errors after multiple “over-the-air” updates». 💡Full reset is the only way to guarantee 100% cleanup of Other, as it recreates the file table and removes all accumulated system errors. To prevent overflow of memory, to prevent the problem from returning in a month, you need to change your smartphone usage habits. Regularly check the Downloads folder and the shopping cart in the gallery. Automatically clean the cart after 30 days is a useful feature, but it is better not to wait for this deadline if you are sure that the files are no longer needed. Set up the options of messengers. Telegram can limit the size of the cache and configure autodeletion of media files. → Data and memory → Memory usage set a limit, such as 1GB or 500MB. This will prevent the cache from proliferation indefinitely. Avoid installing “cleaner” apps that promise to speed up the phone in one click. Often they just create the appearance of work, loading the processor, and take up space themselves. Android has the tendency to take up all the available memory to caching commonly used applications to run them quickly — this is normal behavior, not a mistake. Regularly update the system. In new versions. MIUI Xiaomi engineers are constantly improving memory algorithms and fixing leaks that may have caused garbage accumulation in previous versions. Why does the Other section increase immediately after the system update? After the system update, Android recalculates the file index, optimizes the application databases, and creates new system logs. 24-48 During active hours, the system should stabilize and the volume of "Other" can decrease after the first automatic cache cleaning. Can you delete the folder.thumbnails manually? Yes, it is safe. The folder contains thumbnails of the photos, but the system will recreate it once you open the gallery. To prevent it from spreading, some users create a stub file with the same name but no extension, preventing the system from writing data there, although in modern versions of Android this can lead to errors in the work of the gallery. Does cleaning the Other affect the warranty? Use of standard funds and cleaning through ADB However, obtaining Root rights for deep cleaning by file managers is officially considered a violation of the warranty conditions of most manufacturers, including Xiaomi, as it changes the software structure of the device. How much space in the "Other" is considered normal? Normal volume for the "Other" section on a modern smartphone with a "Other" 64-128 GB of memory is considered a range of 3 before 7 GB. Anything that exceeds 10GB for no apparent reason (such as downloaded offline maps or TV shows) requires attention and analysis.