Owners of Xiaomi and Redmi smartphones sooner or later face an unpleasant situation: the device’s memory is full, and the lion’s share of it falls on the mysterious “Other” section. This item in the system settings can take up tens of gigabytes, slowly but surely turning the gadget into torture. The MIUI or HyperOS system tends to accumulate temporary files, remnants of remote applications and messenger cache, which standard cleaning tools do not always see.
Understanding what is hidden under this name is the first step to freeing up valuable space, often users mistakenly believe that these are system files that will cause a phone to break and simply put up with a lack of memory, but in most cases, Others are safe digital garbage that can and should be removed.
In this article, we will explore proven cleaning methods, from simple built-in tools to advanced ways to work with the file system, and learn how to safely free up space without risking losing important data or disrupting the operating system.
What is hidden in the “Other” section on Xiaomi
Xiaomi’s Other is a black box where the system puts all files that are not in the standard categories like Photos, Videos, Apps or Audio. The main culprit behind the overflow is usually the social media and messenger cache. Telegram, Viber and WhatsApp store the photos and videos viewed into hidden folders that the standard memory analyzer does not always correctly classify.
And there may be remnants of remote programs, temporary update files, and system logs, and logs are error and action logs that are created by the Android operating system to debug, and normally they take up a little space, but they can grow to gigabytes when they crash.
⚠️ Note: Do not attempt to delete files from system folders manually unless you are sure of their purpose. MIUI They will stop working properly.
And we also have something called orphan files, which are data that was left behind after the apps were deleted, but the links to which are preserved in the system's database, and they're deadweight, occupying space and falling into the category of "Others."
Cleaning the cache through built-in MIUI tools
The safest and first method that every Xiaomi user should try is using the regular Security app, which is designed for HyperOS and MIUI architecture and can find hidden temporary files. Start the app and select Cleanup, and the system will scan and suggest removing debris.
But standard cleaning is often superficial. For a deeper analysis, click on the garbage icon or go to Deep Clean, where you'll see a more detailed breakdown. Pay attention to the app cache section, which is where most of the data is often hidden.
It’s important to understand the difference between cleaning the cache and cleaning the data. Cache cleanup removes temporary files, speeding up the application, but does not touch your logins and correspondence. Data cleanup resets the application to the “just installed” state, removing all settings and authorizations.
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Use the “Accelerate” function in the Security app before each deep cleaning – this closes the background processes and allows the scanner to work more efficiently.
After the procedure is completed, it is recommended to restart the device, which will allow the system to recalculate the file index and correctly display the vacant space in the storage settings.
Manual deletion of files through File Manager
If the automatic tools don't work, you'll have to manually do it. Open the standard Explorer or Files app on your Xiaomi. You'll need to go to the root folder of internal memory. You'll need to be very careful to delete only directories that you know are intended.
Check the messenger folders first. For example, the Android/media/org.telegram.messenger directory (or similar to other versions of Android) can contain gigabytes of media from Telegram. It’s also worth looking at the DCIM/.thumbnails folder, a miniature gallery cache that often grows to huge sizes.
- 🗑️ Find the Tencent folder – here is the WeChat cache stored and QQ, which can be safely removed if you do not use these services constantly.
- 🗑️ Look for files with the.log or.tmp extension at the root of the memory – these are temporary files that the system no longer needs.
- 🗑️ Check the Download folder – users often forget about downloaded app installers (APK) documents that are no longer relevant.
When you delete large amounts of data, the process can take time. Don't interrupt the operation and wait until it's done to avoid file system errors.
☑️ Checking for manual removal
Using Developer Mode and Debugging
For advanced users who want to know what exactly takes up space, you can use the developer mode. This will not clear the memory directly, but will help to accurately identify heavyweights. Enable the developer mode by clicking on the build number several times in the About Phone section.
Once activated, a new option will appear in the settings menu, "Developers For," and search for "Run Services" or "Memory Use," and here you will see what processes are consuming resources right now, and if you see an application that you are not using, but it is hanging in memory and generating cache, you should force it to stop.
Also in this section, there is a function called Don't Keep Activities or limit background processes. Be careful: turning on these features can make the phone unstable for the average user. Use them only for diagnostics.
⚠️ Warning: Changing the settings in developer mode can lead to unpredictable system behavior.Write down your actions so that everything can be returned as it was.
Power users can use the adb command via a computer to analyze logs, but for most cases, built-in diagnostic tools are enough.
Analysis of storage using third-party snails
Xiaomi’s standard analyzer doesn’t always show a detailed memory card, but it’s better to use specialized applications like Files by Google, DiskUsage, or Total Commander, which build a visual memory card where the size of the rectangle corresponds to the file size.
With these tools, you can instantly see which file or folder has eaten your place, often a forgotten movie, an archive of photos, or a navigator cache that has saved the maps offline.
| Annex | Type of analysis | Security | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Files by Google | Visual + Cleaning | Tall. | For basic cleaning |
| DiskUsage | Tree map | Tall. | To search for large files |
| Total Commander | File manager | Medium | For manual removal |
| SD Maid | Searching for app "bodies" | Tall. | To remove residual software |
Using third-party file managers gives you more control, but requires the user to understand the structure of Android folders.
Why can’t DiskUsage see all the files?
Radical measures: Resetting and reflashing
If no methods are working and the Others section continues to grow, there may be critical errors in the file system, in which case the (most effective) solution is a factory reset, guaranteed to remove all debris, but also delete all your personal data.
Before the procedure, be sure to back up your contacts, photos and important documents in the Xiaomi Cloud or on your computer. Go to Settings → About Phone → Reset and select “Erase All Data”.
In particularly difficult cases, when even a reset does not help (which is rare, but happens when partitions are damaged), you may need to flash the device through the computer using the Mi Flash Tool utility, which will return the phone to the “out of the box” state at the code level.
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Wipe Data is the only 100% solution if the Other partition is caused by a logical error in the file system that cannot be fixed software.
Once you're back to factory settings, don't rush to install all the apps at once. Try using a clean phone for a couple of days to see if a particular app is causing overflow.
Prevention of memory overflow
To prevent the “other” problem from returning, you need to implement a habit of regular digital space hygiene: do not wait until the memory is full, this slows down the processor and speeds up the wear and tear of the drive.
- 📅 Check the download folder once a week and delete the unnecessary ones.
- 📅 Set up autodelete media files in messengers (for example, in Telegram you can configure autodeletion of the cache).
- 📅 Clean the cart regularly in the Gallery, as deleted photos also take up space for 30 days.
Also keep an eye out for system updates. MIUI. Xiaomi engineers are constantly optimizing memory algorithms, and new firmware versions often contain bug fixes that lead to cache proliferation.
⚠️ Warning: Don’t install the dubious accelerator apps from the Play Market. Often they are a source of advertising and junk, slowing down your phone instead of speeding up.
Using cloud storage for photos and videos is the best way to keep your internal memory free. Set up sync with Google Photos or Yandex.Disk with the “free up” function.