How to Free Up Space on Xiaomi: A Complete Memory Cleanup Guide

Why Xiaomi is running out of memory and what to do about it

Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones often face the problem of lack of internal memory, even if the device is new, the reason lies in the features of the MIUI firmware, which actively uses cache, creates duplicate files and saves temporary application data. For example, instant messengers like Telegram or WhatsApp can take up gigabytes of memory to download media, and games like Genshin Impact or PUBG Mobile can take up to 5-10 GB per cache and updates.

Complicating matters is that many Xiaomi budget models (e.g. Redmi 9A or POCO M3) come with only 32-64 GB of memory, of which the user has 10-15 GB less available due to preinstalled firmware and system files, resulting in a few months of use notice: “Memory is full.” But the problem is solved – below we will discuss 7 proven ways to free up space on Xiaomi without losing important data.

It's important to understand that just deleting files is not enough, you need to optimize MIUI, disable unnecessary processes, and set up automatic cleaning, and let's start with the simplest of things: the built-in tools.

Method 1: Use the built-in MIUI cleaning

MIUI has its own memory cleaner tool — Security → Cleanup. It removes application cache, temporary files and debris, but it often works inefficiently to maximize the result:

1. Open the Security app (the shield icon).
2. Go to the Cleanup section and wait for the scan to be completed.
3. Press Deep Clean (bottom of the screen) – this will remove up to 1-3 GB of unnecessary files.
4. In the Big Files section, check and delete old videos, APKs, or archives.

Please note: the built-in cleanup does not touch the cache of system applications (such as Mi Video or Mi Music) to remove it:

• 📱 Go to Settings. → Annexes → Application management.
• 🔍 Select an app (such as Gallery) and click Clear cache.
• 🗑️ For a complete application data reset, use Clear Data (but this will remove all settings!).

⚠️ Warning: Do not clear the cache of Google Play Services or Miui System apps – this can cause malfunctions in the smartphone.

Method 2: Remove duplicates and unnecessary files in the Gallery

The Gallery app in MIUI automatically creates thumbnails, cache and duplicate photos, especially if you use cloud services (Google Photos, Mi Cloud) to free up 2-5 GB:

• 🖼️ Open the Gallery and go to the.thumbnails album. Delete all files - these are thumbnails that the system will automatically restore.
• 🔄 In the Albums section → Duplicate all duplicate photos and click Delete.
• 📂 Check the folders. DCIM →.trashes (basket) and Pictures → Screenshots (screenshots older than 30 days).

If you have Google Photos installed, turn off the automatic download in high quality:

1. Open Google Photos → Settings → Backup.
2. Choose High Quality over Original (saves up to 70% of the space).
3. Remove photos already uploaded to the cloud from the device (Free space option).

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Before mass deleting photos, turn on the display of hidden folders in any file manager (for example, in Files by Google or Mi File Manager). To do this, click on the three dots in the upper right corner and select Show hidden files.

Method 3: Clear cache and messenger data

Messengers are the main memory eaters on Xiaomi, for example, Telegram can take up to 10 GB on downloaded media, and WhatsApp can take up to 5 GB.

• 💬 In Telegram: Open Settings → Data and memory. Select Clear Telegram cache (deletes all downloaded files). Under Autoupload Media, disable photo/video downloads in mobile data.

WhatsApp

1. Go to Settings. → Warehouse.
2. Sort files by size and remove unnecessary videos/gifs.
3. Clean the WhatsApp → Media folder in the file manager.

Critical information: WhatsApp has a hidden WhatsApp/Databases folder that stores chat backups. If you don't plan to restore correspondence, delete files with the.crypt14 extension - they can weigh up to 2-3 GB.

⚠️ Attention: Do not delete the folder WhatsApp/Backups manually if you use Google Drive to back up.

Method 4: Move applications to a memory card (if supported)

Not all Xiaomi smartphones support via microSD memory extension, but if your model (like the Redmi Note 10 Pro or POCO X3 NFC) has a card slot, you can migrate some of the apps:

1. Insert a memory card (A2 or UHS-I class is recommended for speed).
2. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
3. Select an app (like Spotify or Netflix) and click Storage.
4. Click Change and select Memory Card.

Important nuances:

• 📱 Not all apps support portability (e.g. Google Play Services or Miui System).
• 🔄 After the transfer, the application may run slower if the memory card is slow.
• 🚫 Don’t carry system applications – it will cause errors.

Method 5: Remove unnecessary system applications (debloating)

MIUI is known for a large number of pre-installed applications (bloatware) that cannot be removed by standard methods, such as Mi Video, Mi Music, Mi Browser or Xiaomi games can take up to 1-2 GB and run in the background.

No root license (safe):

• 🔧 Disable applications through Settings → Annexes → Application management → Shut down.
• 📦 Use it. ADB (Android Debug Bridge for removal. Connect your phone to your PC, enable Debugging by USB and execute the command:

adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.miui.videoplayer

Replace com.miui.videoplayer with the package of the desired application (a list of packages can be found on the 4PDA or XDA Developers forums).

With Root Rights (for experienced):

• 🛠️ Install Root Explorer and manually remove application folders in /system/priv-app/ or /system/app/.
• 🔄 Use Titanium Backup to Freeze Unnecessary Services.

⚠️ Warning: Removing system applications may disrupt the work MIUI. Do not delete: com.android.systemui (system interface), com.miui.home (launcher), com.google.android.gsf (Google services).

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Even disabled system applications can take up space. Complete removal requires root rights or ADB-team.

Method 6: Optimize Google Play and Updates

Google Play Store and Google Play Services can take up to 3 to 5 GB per cache and temporary files to reduce their impact:

• 📥 Clear the cache of Google Play Market and Google Play Services in Settings → Annexes.
• 🔄 Turn off automatic app updates: Open Google Play → Settings → Auto-Update Applications. Choose Not to Auto-Update.
• 🗑️ Remove unnecessary APK-files from the Download folder or APK (if you manually install the applications).