How to Clean Xiaomi of Garbage: A Complete Guide to Optimization

Xiaomi and Redmi are known for their excellent price-performance ratio, but even the most powerful models eventually start to work slower. The main reason for the slowdown is the accumulation of system “garbage”, app cache and residual files that take up precious space in internal memory. If your phone has become long responsive to commands or games have begun to “hang”, then it’s time for a general cleaning.

In this article, we will discuss how to properly and safely clean a device running MIUI or a new HyperOS without deleting important data. We will look at both the built-in system tools and advanced methods for power users that allow you to get to the very depths of the file system.

Regular maintenance of a gadget is not just about removing unnecessary photos, but a comprehensive approach to managing resources. Understanding where unnecessary files hide will help you extend the life of the device and keep it fast even a few years after you buy.

Use of the built-in "Security" application

The easiest and safest way to start cleaning is to use the standard system application, which is preinstalled on every smartphone made in China, called Security, and has a green icon with a shield, which is designed specifically for working with the Xiaomi and Poco file systems, so using it will not lead to critical errors.

When you start up, the app automatically scans the device for malware and estimates the amount of debris it occupies. However, for deep cleaning, you need to go to the Cleanup section, where the system will suggest removing temporary files, remnants of deleted applications and advertising debris. It is important to understand that a standard scanner does not always find everything superfluous, especially in the messenger folders.

⚠️ Note: Before using the Deep Clean feature, carefully review the file list.The system may suggest removing old screenshots or downloads that you may still need.

For more detailed analysis, click on the Clear button, and then a list of categories appears. You can selectively delete data from specific applications, such as clearing your browser cache or temporary YouTube files, which allows you to free up space without touching personal correspondence or saved passwords.

• 🗑️ Automatic deletion of system and application cache without loss of personal data.
• 📦 Removal of installation packages APK, remaining after programme updates.
• 📸 Search and remove similar or blurred photos in the gallery.
• 📂 Cleaning large files that take up more than 100MB of space.

Regular use of this tool at least once a week will help keep the smartphone on track, but if memory problems are acute, built-in features alone may not be enough.

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The built-in Security app is the most reliable tool for daily maintenance, which does not require the installation of third-party software and is guaranteed not to disrupt the system.

Manual cleaning through Conductor and storage management

When automatic tools fail, manual file management comes to the rescue. File Manager allows you to see the real structure of folders and find the heavyweights that hide from surface scanning. Often users do not even know how much space is occupied by saved documents from work chats or cache cards.

To start, go to the storage settings via Settings → About Phone → Memory (the path may vary slightly depending on the HyperOS version). Here you will see a colored space distribution chart. Click on the "Other" or "System Files" category to detail the search. Often, this is where gigabytes of unused data are hidden.

Pay special attention to the folders of social networks and messengers. Telegram, WhatsApp and Viber tend to accumulate media files in their directories. Even if you delete a message in a chat, a copy of it can remain in the memory of the phone. Find the folders Android/media or Tencent to manually delete unnecessary content.

Use size-sorting to instantly identify the largest files, and it often turns out that half of the memory is occupied by a forgotten high-resolution movie or an archive of old photos that have already been uploaded to the cloud.

• 📂 Search for folders with names Cache, Temp, Log to delete temporary data.
• 🎵 Check Download and Bluetooth folders for older installers.
• 🗺️ Cleaning offline maps in navigators if you don’t plan to travel.
• 📹 Removing long screen videos made by accident.

⚠️ Note: Never delete files from system folders with names like MIUI, Android (whole), Data, if you're not 100% sure of their content. This can cause interface failures.

Cleaning cache and data of specific applications

The most voracious applications are usually social networks and browsers, which store thousands of thumbnails of images, video previews and scripts on the device, and cache cleaning is the most efficient way to quickly free up several gigabytes of space without losing accounts.

To do this, follow the Settings → Apps → All apps. Select the app you want (like TikTok or Instagram) and find Memory. Here you will see two buttons: Clear Cache and Clear Everything (or Reset), the first button is secure and only deletes temporary files, the second one returns the app to state immediately after installation, removing logins and settings.

It is recommended to regularly clean the browser cache (Chrome, Mi Browser), as they accumulate a history of visits and cookies, which can slow down the operation of Internet surfing. In some cases, a crowded browser cache causes sites to stop displaying correctly or loading correctly.

Photo and video editing apps deserve special attention. Programs like CapCut or VN save drafts of projects that can weigh a lot. If you're done with the video, be sure to go to the settings of the application itself and find a function to clean drafts or render cache.

• 🧹 Regularly clean up YouTube cache and streaming services.
• 📱 Resetting data from heavy games if they are not working properly.
• 🌐 Remove the download history in the browser to speed up work.
• 🛍️ Cleaning the cache of marketplace applications (AliExpress, Ozon).

Removing duplicates and hidden system files

When you use your smartphone, you inevitably get duplicate files, which can happen when you sync with your computer, you re-load the same documents, or you crash a camera that makes multiple copies of a single image, and you can't find them manually, so you'd better use specialized tools.

There's a category of files that are hidden from the average user, but take up space, such as debugging logs, error reports, and backups of system settings, which require more advanced tools like Total Commander or Files by Google, and these apps have duplicate search functions by content, not just by name.

It's also worth checking the.thumbnails folder in the hidden gallery directories, which stores thumbnails of all your photos and videos for quick previews, and over time, this folder can grow to a few gigabytes. It can be safely removed, the system will recreate it, but it's smaller when you open the gallery.

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Use the “Duplicate Search” feature in the Files by Google app – it’s smarter than the standard explorer and finds even slightly modified copies of files.

Using ADB for Advanced Cleaning

For power users who want to gain full control of their Xiaomi, there is an ADB (Android Debug Bridge) cleaning method that allows you to remove system debris and applications that cannot be removed by standard methods without the need to obtain Root rights.

First you will need a computer, USB-cable and on-debugging USB You can then go to the developer menu on your phone, and once you connect to your PC and install the drivers, you can send commands directly to the Android file system, and that allows you to access the partitions that are hidden from normal access.

adb shell pm list packages | grep "name packet"

With the command line, you can force the data of any application, even the system one. For example, the command adb shell pm clear com.android.browser will completely clear the browser. However, using such commands requires accurate knowledge of the names of the packages, since an error can lead to the failure of important functions of the phone.

⚠️ Attention: Use ADB-commands to remove system applications can lead to a device "brick" or loss of warranty!

This method is particularly useful for removing Chinese software, which is often pre-installed on global firmware versions but is not needed by the user. Cleaning through ADB goes deeper than through settings, and allows you to free up space in the system partition, which is impossible to do with conventional means.

• 🔌 Requires the activation of the debugging mode USB.
• 💻 You need to connect to your computer and install the platform ADB.
• ⚙️ Allows you to remove system applications without Root rights.
• 🚀 Provides access to hidden file system sections.

Prevention and automation of cleaning

So, to keep from going back to cleaning every month, you better set up automatic maintenance. Modern MIUI and HyperOS shells have task scheduler features that allow you to run the cleaning on schedule, so you don't have to remember to do manual cleaning.

You should also review your cloud storage habits: setting up automatic sync of photos and videos with Google Photos or Xiaomi Cloud with the “Free Space” function allows you to store originals in the cloud, leaving only compressed copies on the phone or completely removing them from the device’s memory.

An important aspect of prevention is controlling the applications that are installed. Many programs request unnecessary permissions and create a lot of background processes. Regular audit of installed applications and removing unused ones are the best protection against memory clogging.

Remember to reboot your smartphone regularly. A simple reboot clears your RAM and completes the hanging processes that can consume resources and create temporary files. It’s a simple but effective procedure that should be done at least once a week.

• ⏰ Set up automatic cleaning in the “Security” app».
• ☁️ Enable cloud sync for photos and videos.
• 🔄 Remove apps that you haven’t used in a month.
• 🔄 Reboot the device once in a while. 3-4 day-day.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)