Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones often face the unpleasant situation when the system storage suddenly becomes crowded. Notification of a shortage of space can appear at the most inopportune moment, slowing down the device and blocking the installation of new applications.
It’s not always easy to figure out what’s behind this mysterious section, as standard diagnostic tools don’t always give a detailed report. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at the reasons for this category’s inflating and suggest proven ways to safely clean your smartphone, learn how to distinguish the system cache from important documents and return the device to its previous speed.
Ignoring the problem of overcrowded memory can lead to unstable operation of the MIUI or HyperOS operating system. Therefore, regular revision of the contents of internal memory is a mandatory procedure for any user who wants to extend the life of his gadget. Let's start with an analysis of what exactly occupies space.
Analysis of the occupied space in settings
The first step to freeing up space is to have detailed diagnostics. Xiaomi's standard interface provides basic tools for viewing storage, but they're often hidden in deep menus. You need to go to Settings → Memory to see the visualization of the occupied volume. Here, the system divides files into categories: applications, images, video, audio, documents and those very "Other" files.
The Others category usually includes app cache, temporary system files, remnants of remote programs, and instant messenger archives. Storage analytics helps identify the most voracious applications that can store gigabytes of temporary data. Often, the user is surprised that a regular messenger takes up more space than the entire photo gallery.
It's worth noting that the built-in analyzer doesn't always show the real structure of folders. For deeper immersion, it's recommended to use the built-in Security app or third-party file managers. Only by understanding the structure of the data can you start active cleanup actions without removing important system components.
⚠️ Note: Do not delete files from Android system folders unless you are 100% sure of their purpose, as this can cause a malfunction in the interface.
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Accurate diagnosis is the key to successful cleaning, avoiding the removal of important system files.
Cleaning the cache and temporary files of the system
The safest and most effective way to reduce the volume of the Others category is to clear the cache. Cache is the temporary data that applications store for fast content loading. Over time, this data accumulates, taking up a huge amount of space, but is not critical to the operation of programs.
Launch the Security app and select Clean up. The system will analyze the device and suggest removing unnecessary files. However, for more thorough verification, use Deep Cleanup, which finds large files, duplicate photos and forgotten APK installation packages that are often hidden in the Others section.
You can also clean the cache of specific heavy applications manually. To do this, go to Settings → Apps → All apps, select the desired program (such as a browser or social network) and click Clear → Clear the cache. It is important not to confuse this with the Clean All button, which will reset the application to a state after installation, removing your logins and settings.
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Regularly cleaning the browser cache and social media can free up up to 2-3 GB of space monthly without losing personal data.
After doing this, the system will recalculate the occupied space, and if the volume of “Other” files has decreased slightly, then the problem lies in the deep archives of messengers or residual files of remote programs.
Work with garbage in messengers and social networks
The main source of the “Others” category growth in modern smartphones are Telegram, WhatsApp and Viber messengers, which store all the photos, videos and documents viewed in internal storage, often duplicating them in different formats. Standard cleaning of the system does not always see the contents of the folders of these applications as garbage, considering them as user data.
To clean Telegram effectively, you need to go to the settings of the app itself: Settings → Data and memory → Memory Use. Here you will see the “Clear Cache” button. Moreover, you can set up automatic deletion of media files after a certain time (for example, after 3 days or 1 week), which will prevent future memory problems. This freeing up of space occurs automatically and does not require your intervention.
WhatsApp is similar, but files are often hidden in folders. Use the file manager to find the Android/media/com.whatsapp or WhatsApp/Media folder. Inside the WhatsApp Video and WhatsApp Images folder, thousands of unnecessary forwarded files are often stored that take up gigabytes. Deleting them through the file manager will give instant results.
Remember to check your favorites folder on Telegram if you use cloud storage there. Although files are stored in the cloud, their previews and downloaded copies take up space on your device. Regularly auditing the chats and channels where you are on will help maintain order.
Using File Managers for Deep Cleaning
When standard tools are powerless, advanced file managers come to the rescue. Xiaomi’s built-in Explorer has a file sorting feature by type, but third-party solutions like Total Commander or Files by Google provide more flexible tools, allowing you to see hidden folders and system files that are usually hidden from the user’s eyes.
Special attention should be paid to the Download folder. Often users forget about downloaded game installers, PDF-Sorting files by size will help you quickly find heavyweights. Files larger than 100 MB that you don't need can be easily deleted or transferred to your computer.
It's also worth checking the MIUI/Gallery/cloud folder or DCIM/.thumbnails. The.thumbnails folder stores thumbnails of your photos. If you have a large gallery, this file can grow to several gigabytes. It can be safely deleted - the system will create it again, but smaller when you open the gallery again.
What is a folder.thumbnails?
When working with a file manager, be extremely careful with Android/data and Android/obb folders. Deleting data from there can lead to loss of progress in games or settings in applications.
Specifics of cleaning on MIUI and HyperOS
MIUI shells and the new HyperOS have their own memory features. In recent firmware versions, the system more aggressively manages background processes, but also creates more logs and error reports. These reports can accumulate in hidden memory areas.
HyperOS has improved its memory algorithm, but the Others category can still be big because of the way virtual memory works. The system reserves some space for its needs, and sometimes this reserve is displayed incorrectly. Rebooting the device often helps the system to recalculate the real amount of data occupied and update the statistics.
Another feature is the Memory Extension feature, where part of the internal storage is used as RAM. If this feature is activated, the system can reserve a significant chunk of space that will show as occupied. Disabling this feature in the settings (Additional → Memory Extension) can return you several gigabytes if your phone has enough physical RAM.
| File type | Where to find | Can I remove it? | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash app. | Settings → Applications | Yes. | Low (you will have to log in to your accounts again) |
| File.thumbnails | DCIM/.thumbnails | Yes. | Low (the gallery will be slower to open for the first time) |
| Android/obb folder | Android/obb | No. | High (games will stop working) |
| Downloads (Download) | Download folder | Selectively | Medium (you can delete the required document) |
⚠️ Note: Before large-scale file deletion, it is strongly recommended to back up important data in the cloud or on PC.
Cardinal measures: resetting and formatting
If none of the above methods worked, and the Others category continues to take up absurd volume (e.g., 20-30GB on a 64GB phone), it may be that the file system is corrupted or has accumulated indexing errors, in which case the most effective, albeit radical, method is a complete factory reset.
Before performing this procedure, be sure to save all contacts, photos and documents. Reset will delete all data from the device, returning it to the “out of the box” state. To perform the reset, go to Settings → About Phone → Settings Reset → Delete all data.
☑️ Preparation for full discharge
After resetting and initially configuring the phone (without installing any unnecessary apps), check the memory. If the system shows adequate value, then the problem was a software failure. If the other files take up a lot of space again immediately after reset, this may indicate a hardware malfunction of flash memory.
An alternative to a full reset might be to try to clear the Dalvik/Cache partition cache through Recovery mode, but it requires some technical knowledge and login to Recovery mode (clutching the volume button up + power button when the phone is off).
Prevention of memory overflow
To keep the Other Files problem from returning in a month, you need to implement a few good habits: First, install automatic garbage cleanup once a week; second, transfer photo and video storage to cloud services like Google Photos or Yandex.Disk, and enable the Free Space feature, which deletes local copies after uploading to the cloud.
Check the installed list regularly, if you haven't used it for more than a month, you'd better delete it, and many apps continue to collect data and cache content even in the background when you're not using it, and this storage optimization will help keep the system on track.
Also keep an eye out for system updates. Xiaomi engineers are constantly releasing patches to fix memory errors. The current version of the software often contains improved compression and cleaning algorithms.
Why does my memory fill up again every other day?
Keeping these simple rules in mind will allow you to forget about the lack of space and enjoy the fast work of your smartphone for years to come. Remember that digital hygiene is as important as the physical cleanliness of your device.