Owners of the popular Xiaomi Redmi 8 budget smartphone often face a sudden shortage of internal storage, even if there are few photos in the gallery. Android, combined with the MIUI shell, has the property of accumulating hidden data that appears in the memory analyzer as a mysterious category “Other” This section can take up tens of gigabytes, significantly slowing down the device and limiting the installation of new applications.
Understanding what is behind the tag is the first step to freeing up valuable space, usually with temporary update files, remnants of deleted programs, messenger cache and system error logs, which, unlike standard photos or videos, are not always visible when you browse folders, causing users to bewilder and frustrated.
In this article, we will discuss in detail how to clean your system safely without losing important data. We will look at both the built-in tools of Redmi 8 and advanced methods of working with the file system. A competent approach to memory management will allow your device to work faster and more stable, eliminating constant notifications about overflowing storage.
Analysis of the contents of the hidden partition
Before we start radical action, we need to understand the nature of file occurrence in the “Other” category. Android operating system based on MIUI 11 or 12 classifies files by type, but some data does not fall into any of the standard categories, most often residues after unsuccessful application updates or system error reports.
Special attention should be paid to messengers such as Telegram or WhatsApp, which often save the received media files in their own secure folders, which the memory analyzer does not recognize as “Images” or “Video” by sending them to “Other”, and there may be cache of navigation system maps and temporary browser files.
⚠️ Note: Before deleting any system files, make sure they are not critical to operating the system. Deleting the wrong data may cause malfunctions in the Xiaomi Redmi 8.
You can use the built-in analyzer to get a precise location. Go to Settings → Memory and wait until the scan is finished. The system will show an approximate distribution, but for detailed study, you'd better use file managers with extended rights or a PC connection.
Cleaning through built-in MIUI tools
The safest and easiest way to free up space is to use the regular Security app preinstalled on Xiaomi Redmi 8.This tool is designed specifically for working with the MIUI shell and knows which files can be deleted without risking system stability. Launch the application and select Clean up.
Once scanned, the system will prompt you to remove the obvious debris: advertising files, remnants of deleted applications and temporary installer packages. However, to deep clean the "Other" section, you need to go to the "Deep Clean" section, where the algorithm will analyze large files and duplicates that are often hidden from the user.
☑️ Checklist of standard cleaning
It’s important to note that standard tools don’t always see the cache of some third-party apps. So after automatic cleaning, it’s recommended to manually check the settings of individual programs. For example, YouTube or Spotify has a cache clearing feature that doesn’t affect your personal playlists, but frees up space.
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Reboot your smartphone regularly after cleaning. Reboot helps Android system correctly recalculate the occupied space and update the memory display.
Manual deletion of files through Explorer
For more advanced users of Xiaomi Redmi 8, a method of manual cleaning through the standard Explorer is available. This method requires care, since you get direct access to the file structure. Open the Explorer application and go to the root folder of internal storage.
First, look at the Android/data folder, which stores app data, including game cache and messenger media, and inside the packet name folders (e.g. com.whatsapp), you can find cache or files subfolders, whose contents can often be safely deleted.
| folder | Description of the contents | Security of removal |
|---|---|---|
| DCIM/.thumbnails | Miniatures of gallery images | Safe (recover) |
| MIUI/debug_log | Logs of system debugging | Safe. |
| Android/obb | Heavy game cache files | Only if the game is deleted |
| Download | Files from the browser | Requires a check-up. |
Another hidden folder that often grows to huge sizes is.thumbnails inside the DCIM directory, which contains thumbnails of all the photos and videos you've viewed, and deleting this folder is safe: the next time you open the gallery, the system will recreate it, but it'll be smaller because the old thumbnails will be deleted.
⚠️ Note: Do not delete files with the.apk extension unless you are sure you don’t need them, and avoid deleting folders with the names of Google or Xiaomi system services.
Use of the Files app by Google
If standard MIUI tools aren’t enough, Google’s official Files app is a great alternative, available on Google Play and often preinstalled on certified versions of Xiaomi Redmi 8, which has a smarter algorithm for analyzing duplicates and temporary files.
Once installed, launch the app and go to the Cleanup tab, and the algorithm will prompt you to remove unused apps, blurred photos, and large files you may have forgotten, and the tool’s feature is that it better recognizes files in the Others section by classifying them by content type.
A key advantage is the function of searching for duplicates. Often users download the same document or image several times, and they settle in different folders, ranking in the category "Other". Files by Google will find them and offer to leave only one copy.
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Third-party analytics apps from Google often see more junk files than built-in MIUI tools, thanks to deeper file system scanning.
Cleaning the app cache manually
A significant part of the “Other” section is the cache of installed applications, which is temporary data that speeds up programs, but over time can take up gigabytes. On Xiaomi Redmi 8, you can clean the cache selectively for the most “heavy” applications without removing them completely.
To do this, go to Settings → Apps → All apps. Sort the list by memory size. Select an app (like a social network or browser) and click Memory. There you will see the Clear Cache button. It is important not to confuse it with the Clear Everything button, since the second one will delete your logins and settings.
Pay special attention to messengers. In Telegram, for example, the cache can be cleaned directly inside the application through Settings → Data and memory → Memory Use → Clear the cache. This is the most effective way, since the built-in MIUI cleaner does not always have the right to clean protected folders of messengers.
What to do if the “Clear Cache” button is inactive?
Radical measures: resetting and formatting
If none of the above methods helped significantly reduce the “Other” partition, it is possible that there are errors or damaged sectors in the file system.In this case, a deeper intervention may be required on Xiaomi Redmi 8.The first step may be to reset network and application settings, but not a complete reset.
The most effective but time-consuming method is a full reset to the factory settings (Hard Reset), which is guaranteed to clear the "Other" section, as the entire file system will be reformatted.
The reset process is as follows: go to Settings → About Phone → Settings Reset → Erase all data. The device will reboot and start the cleanup process, which can take up to 15-20 minutes. Once turned on, you will get a clean system where the Other section will occupy the minimum possible volume.
⚠️ Warning: A full reset will remove ALL data from your phone, including contacts, photos and installed apps. Make sure you have an up-to-date backup before starting the procedure.
Prevention of memory overflow
To prevent the problem with the “Other” partition on Xiaomi Redmi 8 from returning too often, you should adhere to several rules of operation. Regular prevention takes less time than dealing with the consequences of memory overflow. Try not to store files on your device that are already stored in the cloud.
Set up automatic cache cleanup in apps that allow it. For example, Instagram or TikTok can reinstall the app periodically, which completely clears their bloated cache. It is also useful to review the Download folder once a month and delete old.apk installation files.
Use an SD card to store media files. While this won't reduce the system partition "Other", it will free up space for the system and applications, preventing critical overflow of the main storage. In the settings of the Redmi 8 camera, you can immediately specify saving photos and videos to an external card.