Owners of the popular Xiaomi Redmi 3 smartphone often face a situation where the device’s internal memory is rapidly filling up, and the lion’s share of space falls on the mysterious “Other” section. This system debris can take up gigabytes of usable space, slowing down the interface and preventing new applications from being installed. Understanding the nature of these files is the first step to freeing up space on your Android device.
The MIUI system installed on Redmi 3 has the ability to accumulate temporary data, remnants of remote programs and messenger cache in this category. It just doesn't work out to remove everything through a standard Explorer, because some files are protected by superuser rights. But there are safe and effective ways to return gigabytes of free space without risking damage to the operating system.
In this detailed guide, we’ll take a look at all the current cleaning techniques, from built-in tools to third-party utilities, and learn to distinguish between system files that you can’t touch and digital debris that you need to dispose of regularly for your Redmi 3 to work smoothly.
Memory analysis and the nature of the Others section
Before we start taking drastic measures, we need to understand what exactly takes up space. The Others section on Xiaomi Redmi 3 is a collection of various data that the system cannot classify as photos, music or videos, including archives, documents, APK installation files, and browser and social media cache.
Apps like Telegram or WhatsApp tend to store huge amounts of media files in hidden folders that appear as “Others.” A standard memory analyzer doesn’t always see the structure of that data, so the user has to act manually or use specialized tools to deep-clean.
Importantly, part of this volume is system logs and error reports, and if your smartphone has been unstable in the past, these files could have grown into obscene sizes, and deleting them is safe and often solves the problem of not having enough space to update the system.
⚠️ Note: Never delete files with the.apk or.obb extension from system folders unless you are 100% sure they belong to remote games.
For initial diagnosis, you can use the built-in analyzer. Go to Settings → Memory and wait for the scan to finish. The system will show an approximate distribution, but only a manual view through the root file manager or a PC connection will give a detailed picture.
Use of the built-in “Cleanup” application
The easiest and safest way to start your fight for space is to use Xiaomi’s regular utility, which is built into the MIUI shell and has access to the main directories with garbage. Run the Security app on the home screen and select Cleanup.
Once scanned, the system will prompt you to delete temporary files, installer packet residues, and junk. This is a basic cleanup that rarely affects deep "Other" partitions, but allows you to quickly free up several hundred megabytes. Regular use of this feature prevents critical memory overflow.
For a deeper analysis, the Security app has a Deep Clean tool that allows you to view large files, rarely used apps and duplicates. Be careful when selecting files to delete: the system can flag some important documents or installers as trash.
☑️ Checklist of basic cleaning through "Safety»
Don't just rely on automatic mode. Manually browse the Big Files and Documents tabs, often with forgotten videos or heavy presentations you downloaded months ago, and transferring them to your computer or cloud storage is a great solution for Redmi 3 with its limited internal storage.
Cleaning the cache of messengers and social networks
The main culprit behind the inflated “Other” section on Xiaomi Redmi 3 are messengers. WhatsApp, Viber, Telegram and Instagram store every picture and video viewed in cache. Over time, this volume can reach 5-10 gigabytes, which is a critical indicator for a budget smartphone.
Unlike other apps, messengers have their own built-in memory management tools. WhatsApp needs to go to Settings → Data and Storage → Storage Management. There you will see a list of chats, sorted by space, and you can delete media files selectively or completely.
For Telegram, the situation is even more relevant, as the app caches everything you view by default to speed up the load when you reopen. Go to Settings → Data and memory → Memory Use and set a cache limit, such as 512 MB or 1 GB. Also enable auto-delete so that old files are erased automatically.
- 🗑️ Open the settings of a specific messenger and find the section "Storage».
- 📉 Set a cache size limit so it doesn’t grow uncontrollably.
- 🧹 Regularly clear up your download history in channels and groups.
- 📸 Delete sent and received video files that are not valuable.
Social networks like VK or Facebook also accumulate a huge amount of temporary data. Their settings often do not have a fine-cleaning feature, so the only way out is to use the “Clear Cache” function in the Settings → Apps → All apps. This will delete temporary files, but will not affect your personal correspondence or saved passwords.
Why is the messenger cache growing so fast?
Manually delete files through file manager
For advanced users looking to clean up Xiaomi Redmi 3, an indispensable tool will be a file manager with access to the root system, such as Root Explorer or MiXplorer. Xiaomi’s standard Explorer also has hidden features, but is less flexible in working with system folders.
First thing you need to pay attention to the folder. MIUI/debug_log. It stores debugging logs that can take gigabytes. If you're not a developer and you're not debugging the firmware, you can delete the contents of this folder. Also check the tombstones folder, which stores reports of app drops.
Another often ignored directory is Android/obb and Android/data, where the caches of games and apps lie. If you delete a game but its tails are left, they'll hang dead weight. Find folders with the names of remote programs and delete them manually. This action requires caution: delete only what you're sure of.
| Folder/Directory | What does it contain? | Can I remove it? |
|---|---|---|
| MIUI/debug_log | System logs for debugging | Yeah, unless you're debugging. |
| MIUI/gallery/cloud | Cloud gallery cache | Yeah, the miniatures will recover. |
| Android/obb | Game data cache | Only from remote games |
| tombstones | Error Reports (Crash Reports) | Yes, it's safe. |
When working with the Android file system on Redmi 3, it is important to remember the folder structure. Do not delete files with unknown extensions from the root directories unless they are clearly junk.
Use of Analyzer and Cleaner Applications
If manual cleaning seems too difficult, Google Play’s specialized apps will come to the rescue, with Files by Google, SD Maid, and DiskUsage leading the way, providing memory visualizations that show which files occupy the most space.
The DiskUsage app builds a graphics memory card where each square is a file or a folder. On the Xiaomi Redmi 3 with its small screen, it may not be as convenient as on a tablet, but the efficiency of the method is worth it. You will immediately see huge blocks of "other" and can go through them for detailed analysis.
SD Maid is a powerful tool for professional cleaning, and it can find corpses and clean system logs, but newer versions of Android may require root rights to be fully functional, which Redmi 3 can easily unlock by downloading the bootloader.
⚠️ Warning: Avoid using aggressive accelerators and obtrusive cleaners, many of which not only fail to help, but also occupy memory by constantly hanging in the background and consuming processor resources.
Files by Google is the safest option for the average user, and it's an official Google app that's not super-functional and works very neatly, and it offers you the ability to remove duplicates, old screenshots and blurry photos that are often hidden in the "Others" section.
💡
Use Incognito mode in your browser or regularly clean up your download history so that temporary Internet files do not accumulate in hidden folders of the system.
Radical methods: Resetting and flashing
When software methods fail and the Others section continues to grow, taking up 20-30 GB on the 16GB Redmi 3, the only thing left is a radical method — a complete factory reset — that will completely clear the internal memory, returning the device to the out-of-the-box state.
Before performing this procedure, it is critical to back up all important data: photos, contacts, correspondence and documents will be irretrievably lost, use Mi Cloud or Google Drive cloud services, or copy the data to your computer.
To perform the reset, go to Settings → About Phone → Settings Reset → Clean Everything. The process will take a few minutes, after which the phone will restart. You will get a clean system without accumulated over the years of garbage, file registry errors and software conflicts.
- 🔄 Make a full backup of contacts and photos.
- 🔋 Charge the battery to at least 60% before the procedure.
- 📝 Write down important passwords from Wi-Fi and accounts as they may be reset.
- ⏳ Be prepared for the initial system setup to take time.
An alternative to a complete reset is to flash the device through the computer using the Mi Flash Tool, which allows you to install a clean version of MIUI without system debris, but this method requires technical skills and carries risks, so it is recommended only for advanced users.
💡
Full reset is the only way to ensure that you remove all system debris and file system errors that have accumulated over the years of using your smartphone.
Preventing memory overflow in the future
To prevent the problem with the “Other” section on Xiaomi Redmi 3 from returning in a month, you need to develop useful habits, first of all, this is a regular review of installed applications, remove what you do not use, and monitor the cache size of frequently used programs.
Use cloud storage for photos and videos. Google Photos’ automatic sync setting with Free Space allows you to store originals in the cloud, and leave only compressed copies on your phone or delete them after download, freeing up gigabytes of space.
Also, limit the background activity of applications. In the battery and autostart MIUI settings, disable unnecessary programs. This will not only save battery power, but also prevent the accumulation of temporary files in the background. Regularly rebooting your smartphone once a week also helps the system clear temporary buffers.