Xiaomi Redmi Phone Cleanup: A Complete Guide to Freeing Memory and Speeding Up

Xiaomi Redmi smartphones are known for their price-performance ratio, but even the most powerful models start to slow down over time, the main reason is filled memory, accumulated system debris and fragmented files. If your Redmi Note 12, Redmi 10 or other model of the series began to work slowly, often overheat or issue notifications about memory shortages, it’s time to do a general cleanup.

In this article, we will not only look at the standard methods (cleaning cache, deleting unnecessary files), but also the hidden MIUI features that will help restore the speed of the phone. You will learn how to safely remove duplicate photos, optimize the work of background applications and even reset to factory settings — if other methods did not help. Importantly, all instructions are adapted to the latest versions of MIUI 14/15 and are relevant to the models of Redmi 2020-2026 release.

Why Xiaomi Redmi phone is starting to slow down?

Before you start cleaning, you should understand the reasons for the slowdown.

• 📱 Overflowing memory: when less than 10% of the total is free, the system starts to hang. On Redmi, 64GB is the critical mark — about 6GB of free space.
• 🗑️ App cache: temporary files that should speed up programs but eventually turn into digital garbage, such as TikTok or Instagram cache can take up to 1-2 GB.
• 🔄 Background processes: MIUI It aggressively caches data and keeps apps in memory, and even after it's closed, messengers and social networks continue to consume resources.
• 🦠 Viruses and Advertising Software: If You Have Installed APK From untested sources, there's a high risk of infection, symptoms -- sudden banner ads, quick battery drain.
• 🔧 Older versions: in older versions MIUI (Below 12.5) were memory management bugs that were patched in the new updates.

Fun fact: on Redmi with Snapdragon processor (for example, Redmi Note 11 Pro+), the brakes are more often associated with overheating, and on models with MediaTek (for example, Redmi 10A) – with unoptimized caching.

⚠️ Warning: If the phone starts to brake sharply after falling or getting moisture, the problem may be the damage to the flash memory.

Method 1: Cleaning cache and debris through built-in MIUI tools

MIUI has a built-in cleaning tool called Security → Cleanup, which deletes temporary files, residual data from remote applications, and cache. Here's how to use it:

1. Open the Security app (the shield icon).
2. Press Clean (the tab at the bottom of the screen).
3. Wait for the scan to be completed (usually 10–30 seconds).
4. Click Clean - the system will show how much space will be freed up.
5. For deep cleaning, tap Deep Cleaning (remove the cache of system applications).

This method is safe and does not delete personal data (photos, contacts, messages), but it only cleans surface debris. For more serious optimization, move on to the following methods.

Application cache |Temporary files |Residual data of deleted programs |System logs (not always) |Duplicates of photos (only in MIUI 14+)

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Tip: If your phone is still slowing after cleaning, check Settings → Apps → App management. Here you can manually clear the cache for specific programs (for example, YouTube or Facebook often accumulate gigabytes of garbage).

Method 2: Manually remove unnecessary files and duplicates

Built-in cleaning doesn't delete user files -- photos, videos, documents -- to make room, you'll have to manually audit them. Start with the heaviest folders.

• 📸 Photo and video: Open the Gallery → Albums. → Videos. Videos in Full HD (1080p) occupy ~100 MB/min, and in 4K — up to 400 MB/min Remove unnecessary videos or transfer them to PC.
• 📁 Downloads: Download folder is often crammed with outdated APK, PDF Check it through the files. → Categories → Downloads.
• 🎵 Music and podcasts: apps like Spotify or Yandex Music cache tracks. Clear the cache in the settings of these apps.
• 📄 Documents: Old presentations, Excel files and scans take up space.Use Files → Search → Size: Large to find files >100MB.

MIUI 14+ has a feature for duplicate photos: open Gallery → Tools → Duplicate Search. The system automatically finds duplicate photos and prompts them to be deleted, especially for users who often take a series of photos (for example, in the Redmi Note 12 Pro with a 200 MP camera).

⚠️ Attention: Do not delete the folder MIUI Or Android in the root directory are system files. Also avoid cleaning the folder. DCIM/.thumbnails, Otherwise, the miniatures in the gallery will disappear (they will recover over time, but this will take up resources).

Method 3: Optimizing background processes and autoboots

One of the reasons for the brakes is that apps that start when you turn on your phone and run in the background, and in MIUI, you can limit their activity.

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Select an app (such as Facebook or AliExpress).
3. Press Battery and background activity.
4. Choose to limit background activity.
5. Turn off Auto Start (if the option is available).

For mass optimization:

1. Open Settings → Battery and Performance → Battery Management
2. Select the Applications Selection.
3. Mark apps that shouldn’t work in the background (like games or rarely used utilities).
4. Press Limit.

These actions do not delete data, but reduce the load on the processor and RAM, for example, after turning off the autoboot of VK and Instagram on the Redmi 9T, battery life increased by 15-20%.

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If you need to temporarily speed up your phone (for example, for a game), use Performance Mode: Settings → Special Features → Performance Mode. It turns off background processes and increases the clock speed of the processor.

Method 4: Reset to factory settings (hard reset)

If the phone brakes so much that conventional methods don't work, the last thing you can do is reset it to factory settings, and that will delete all the data, including photos, contacts and apps installed.

• 🔄 Make a backup copy through Settings → The phone. → Backup and reset → Local backup.
• ☁️ Sync contacts and notes with Mi Account (check in Settings) → Accounts. → Mi Account).
• 📱 Transfer photos and videos to your PC or cloud (Google Photos, Yandex Drive).

Resetting instructions:

1. Open Settings → About Phone → Backup and Reset.
2. Select Settings Reset.
3. Click Delete all data.
4. Enter the password (if installed) and confirm the action.
5. Wait for the reboot (it will take 5-10 minutes).

Once reset, the phone will be like new. You'll need to reconfigure the Mi Account, connect to Wi-Fi and restore data from the backup. On the Redmi Note 11 with 128 GB of storage, the reset takes ~7 minutes, on models with 64 GB, up to 5 minutes.

⚠️ Note: If you forget your Mi Account password and reset, your phone may be locked (Mi Cloud Lock function), in which case you will need to enter the account information associated with the device.

Method 5: Using third-party cleaning applications

If the built-in MIUI tools aren't enough, you can use third-party utilities.The best options for Xiaomi Redmi are:

• 🧹 CCleaner: deletes cache, temporary files and analyzes the occupied space. The free version has limitations, but for a one-time cleanup is enough.
• 🗑️ Files by Google: Shows junk files (duplicates, large folders) and suggests that they be deleted. Integrated with Google Photos for backup.
• 🔍 SD Maid (requires root): deep cleaning of system files, search for “orphan” folders (remaining after uninstallation of applications).
• 📊 DiskUsage: visualizes the occupied space in the form of a diagram - convenient for finding "heavy" files.

Warning: Some apps (like Clean Master) are aggressively advertised and may themselves become a source of garbage.We recommend using only proven utilities from Google Play that rank above 4.5.

Example of Files by Google:

1. Install an app from the Play Market.
2. Open the Cleanup tab.
3. Click Free Space – the program will show unnecessary files (cache, duplicates, old APKs).
4. Choose what to remove and confirm the action.

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The cleaning app side is convenient, but does not replace manual file revision. Always check what is being deleted to avoid losing important data.

How to prevent memory loss in the future?

To avoid having to clean your phone every week, follow these simple rules:

• 📲 Update regularly MIUI: New versions have optimized memory management. Check for updates in Settings → The phone. → Updating the system.
• 🚫 Limit cache for social networks: in Instagram, TikTok and Facebook set the cache limit in the app settings.
• ☁️ Use cloud storage: set up automatic uploading of photos in Google Photos or Mi Cloud.
• 🔄 Clean Downloads Once a Month: Download is the Main Garbage Source.
• 🛡️ Install antivirus: Dr.Web or Kaspersky will help you avoid infecting advertising software.

On Redmi models with microSD support (for example, Redmi 10C or Redmi Note 11S), you can transfer some applications to a memory card.

1. Insert microSD (recommended class – UHS-I U3 for speed).
2. Format it as internal memory in Settings → Memory.
3. Move apps through Settings → Apps → Select an app → Memory → Change.

Note: Not all applications support porting to SD. System utilities and high-demand games (such as Genshin Impact) will remain in internal memory.

FAQ: Frequent questions about Xiaomi Redmi cleanup