How to properly clean your Xiaomi smartphone: 7 proven ways

Xiaomi smartphones are some of the most popular devices on the market due to the combination of price and functionality. But even powerful models like the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ or Xiaomi 13 Ultra eventually begin to slow down: applications open for a long time, memory is clogged with unknown files, and the battery goes down in half a day. 90% of the time it is not hardware wear and tear, but digital debris that has accumulated in the system.

Cleaning a smartphone isn't just about removing unnecessary photos. It's about the system cache, the remnants of deleted applications, duplicate files, and even the hidden processes that load the processor. In this article, we'll look at the unique cleaning techniques for MIUI 14/15, including hidden features that aren't written in the standard instructions. You'll learn how to return the phone to the factory speed without resetting - while saving all the data.

1. Diagnostics: What exactly is stopping your Xiaomi?

Before you start cleaning, you need to identify the weak spots. Xiaomi has a built-in analysis tool — Security → Speed → Diagnostics. It shows:

• 📱 CPU loading (if constantly above 50% – the background process hangs in the system)
• 🗑️ Memory occupancy (critical if less than 10% of the total volume is free)
• 🔋 Battery consumption (if the screen eats less than 30% – a problem in the software)
• 🌡️ Overheating (temperature above 45)°C for simple tasks signals viruses or debris)

If the diagnosis shows problems but you haven’t installed new apps, it’s your fault:

• 🧹 Cash. MIUI — Temporary system files that are not automatically cleared
• 👻 Remnants of Remote Applications (they leave to the 300 MB of garbage in a folder /data/data)
• 📦 Duplicate media files (photos and videos copied into multiple folders)
• 🕵️ Hidden processes (e.g. com.miui.analytics, which sends data even when the statistics are disabled)

⚠️ Attention: If you see a high-load mediaserver process in your diagnostics, it's a sign of corrupted media files that you need to find and delete manually (see section 4).

2.Cache cleaning: why the standard method doesn't work

Most users know about cleaning the cache through Settings → Applications → Application Management → Clear the cache. But this method only removes the user's cache (for example, uploaded pictures in Telegram or videos in TikTok), but the MIUI system cache remains intact - it takes up to 1-3 GB and slows down the phone.

To clean up everything, you need to:

1. Go to Settings → Memory → Cleaning.
2. Click Deep Clean (not to be confused with Quick Clean!).
3. Check the boxes across the street: 🗑️ Unnecessary files APK (post-refreshment) 📁 Empty folders (there may be hundreds of them) 🔄 System logs (error logs, up to 500 MB)

Confirm the cleanup.

Remove unnecessary APK-file|Clear system logs|Check the Download folder for doubles|Disable Autocleaning for Important Applications-->

After deep cleaning, the phone can slow down for 5-10 minutes, which is normal: MIUI reassembles the cache for commonly used applications. If the brakes have not passed after an hour, then the problem is deeper (see section 5).

⚠️ Note: Do not clear the cache for apps like Google Play Services or Mi Account – this can lead to authorization and notification errors.

3. Delete application residues: hidden folders and files

When you uninstall an app through Settings or Play Market, it leaves behind:

• 📂 The data folder in /data/data/[name packet] (until 300 MB)
• 📄 Settings files in /sdcard/Android/data/[name packet] (game cache, downloads)
• 🔗 Symbolic references to /system/priv-app (if the application was a system)

To remove it manually:

1. Install a file manager with access to root folders (such as MiXplorer or Solid Explorer).
2. Enable the display of hidden files (Manager Settings → Show hidden files).
3. Go to /data/data and delete folders with the names of the remote applications (e.g. com.tencent.mm for WeChat).
4. Check /sdcard/Android/obb – it stores heavy game files (up to 2-4 GB per game!).

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Before deleting folders in /data/data, back up via Settings → System → Backup. This will save the data if you delete something important.

4. Search and delete corrupted media files

If your Xiaomi suddenly starts to overheat or run out in 2-3 hours, the damage to the videos or photos can be to blame, making the mediaserver process run 100%, which leads to:

• 🔥 Overheating to 50-60°C even on standby
• 🔋 Battery consumption 1-2% per minute
• 🐢 Slowing down the interface (scroll lags)

How to find and delete these files:

1. Install Files by Google (it can search for damaged media).
2. Open the Cleanup tab → Damaged files.
3. Delete anything the program finds (usually videos with broken codecs or photos with EXIF errors).
4. Reboot the phone.

If you have a problem after you delete it, check the /DCIM/.thumbnails folder, which stores thumbnails of photos that sometimes get stuck and load the system, and clean it completely (miniatures will recover automatically).

5. MIUI Optimization: Disabling Unnecessary Processes

MIUI is not just a shell, but a whole range of services, many of which run in the background and eat resources.

• 📊 com.miui.analytics – sends data about your phone usage (even if you have disabled statistics in your settings!)
• 📡 com.xiaomi.midrop – Wi-Fi Direct file transfer service (always works even if you don’t use it)
• 🎵 com.miui.player is a music player that scans files every 10 minutes.

To turn them off:

1. Activate Developer Mode (7 times click on Settings → About Phone → MIUI version).
2. Go to Settings → Additional → For Developers → Process Limit and select Without Background Processes.
3. Turn off the same menu: 🔄 Autosynchronization 📶 Wi-Fi is always on while sleeping 📱 Optimization MIUI (It is not optimization, but background activity!)

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Disabling background processes can delay notifications in instant messages. If instant messages are important to you, add apps to exceptions (Settings → Battery → Battery Optimization → All apps).

For advanced users: If you have root rights, you can freeze unnecessary system applications via Titanium Backup or Lucky Patcher, which will free up to 500 MB of RAM.

6.Reset to factory settings: when it really needs to

If all the previous methods have failed, there is a hard reset, and it is worth doing in three cases:

• 🐌 The phone brakes even after cleaning (loading the CPU) >70% in downtime)
• 📱 Applications are constantly being crashed with the error "Application is stopped"
• 🔒 You suspect a virus (for example, unknown apps or ads appeared)

How to reset Xiaomi without losing important data

1. Backup via Settings → System → Backup (select Local Backup).
2. Go to Settings → About the phone → Reset settings.
3. Choose to Erase All Data (not Settings Reset – it will only delete settings, not files!).
4. Confirm the action and wait for the reboot (it will take 5-10 minutes).

⚠️ Note: After reset, Xiaomi can request the old password from your Mi Account, even if you did not use it. If you forgot the password, restore it to account.xiaomi.com, otherwise the phone will remain locked!

After discharge:

• 📱 Do not restore data from the backup right away – first check if the phone is slowing down with a clean one».
• 🔄 Install apps one at a time, watching for performance.
• 🛡️ Turn off automatic app updates in the Play Market (they may clog the system again).

7.Prevention: How to Keep Xiaomi Clean

To avoid having to clean your phone once a month, follow these rules:

• 📅 Once a week, run Deep Cleanup in Settings → Memory.
• 🚫 Do not install applications from unknown sources (even if you do not have any). APK forum-wise 4PDA They may contain hidden debris).
• 📂 Store photos and videos in the cloud (Google Photos or Mi Cloud) and delete local copies over 3 months.
• 🔄 Turn off Auto Update for games and heavy apps (they can update at night and clog memory).
• 🛡️ Use lightweight alternatives to standard apps: Instead of Mi Browser, Chrome Lite or Brave instead of Mi Video — VLC or MX Player instead of Mi Music – BlackPlayer or Musicolet

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If you install/remove applications frequently, turn on the option to Cache Delete when you delete the application in Settings → Memory → Cleanup Settings. This will save up to 1 GB of space per month.

For models with a small amount of memory (32-64 GB), it is also recommended:

• 📱 Transfer applications to SD-card (if supported).
• 🎮 Disable downloading updates for games in the Play Market (Settings) → Auto-update → Only through Wi-Fi).
• 📷 Reduce the camera resolution to 12 MP (instead of 48-108 MP) in the camera settings → Permission.

FAQ: Frequent questions about Xiaomi cleanup