How to Free Up Your Memory on Android Xiaomi Without Deleting Apps: The Complete Guide

Xiaomi’s internal memory (including the Redmi and POCO lines) has a nasty feature: even with the minimum number of installed applications, it is clogged with garbage, cache and system files. Users often face a situation where only 1-2 GB of free space remains on the device, although everything possible has been removed from the applications, the reason lies in the architecture of the MIUI firmware, which aggressively caches data, creates duplicate media files and hides part of the system folders from the user.

In this article, we will discuss 10 proven ways to free up memory on Xiaomi without removing applications - from basic (cleaning cache) to advanced (working with the software) ADB All methods tested on current versions MIUI 14/15 and are suitable for models from Redmi Note 10 Xiaomi 14 Ultra, we'll focus on unique chips. MIUI, which are not found in pure Android, such as duplicate photos in a folder MIUI or a hidden cache of system applications.

1. Cleaning the cache of applications and systems

To start with, the most obvious, but often ignored, method is that the application cache in MIUI can take up to 5-8 GB, some of which is dead data from long-deleted programs. Unlike pure Android, here the cache is divided into three types:

• 📱 Custom cache – temporary application files (for example, YouTube or Telegram cache).
• 🤖 System cache - data MIUI, including launcher cache, themes and widgets.
• 🗑️ Residual cache - "tails" from remote programs that MIUI does not clean automatically.

To remove all the excess:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Slip on the three dots in the upper right corner and select Sort by size.
3. Open each major app (from 100MB) and click Clear cache.
4. For system cache: Settings → Memory → Clear (button at the bottom of the screen).

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After cleaning the cache, restart the smartphone – this will allow MIUI to recalculate the free space and delete “ghost” files that take up space but are not displayed in the storage.

⚠️ Note: Do not clear the cache for banking applications (such as SberBank Online or Tinkoff) - this can lead to authorization errors. Also avoid cleaning the cache of Google Play Services, otherwise push notifications will be disrupted.

2. Removal of duplicate photos and videos

One of the most annoying features of MIUI is the automatic creation of duplicate media files, which stores copies of photos in several places:

• 📸 DCIM/Camera — camera-record.
• 🔄 MIUI/Camera — reduced previews (weighing to 30% original).
• ☁️ Pictures/Screenshots — screenshots that are also duplicated in MIUI/ScreenShot.
• 🎵 MIUI/Music — album covers, even if there is no music on the phone.

To find and remove duplicates:

1. Install Files by Google (it is better than standard Xiaomi Files finds duplicates).
2. Open the Cleanup section → Duplicate files.
3. Sort by size and remove all copies except the originals from DCIM.
4. For deep cleaning, use the ADB command: adb shell pm clear com.miui.gallery It will drop the cache of the galleries where the thumbnails are stored.

3. Cleanup of downloads and temporary files

The Download folder and temporary files are another hidden memory eater, and unlike other firmware, MIUI not only stores your downloads, but also:

• 📄 Update files MIUI (weigh up to 3GB and are not automatically removed).
• 🎮 Game Turbo cache (even if the game has been deleted long ago).
• 📦 Archives of themes and wallpapers (daddy) MIUI/Theme).
• 🔗 Web browsing cache from Mi Browser (even if you don’t use it).

How to clean:

1. Open Files → Categories → Downloads.
2. Sort by date and delete everything older than 3 months (especially files with the.zip or.apk extension).
3. To delete the Game Turbo cache, go to Settings → Special Options → Game Turbo → Clear the data.
4. Delete the MIUI/Theme folder if you are not using custom themes.

Once a week.|Once a month|Only when memory ends|Never clean.-->

⚠️ Note: Do not delete files with names miui_HM...zip or update.zip, If they are fresh (the date of change is the last) 2 These may be files of the current system update, and their deletion will cause a failure in the next update.

4.Storage optimization through ADB (for advanced)

If standard methods don't work, it's time to move to the "heavy artillery" commands of ADB (Android Debug Bridge), which allows you to remove system debris that is not available through the MIUI interface.

• 🖥️ Computer with installed ADB Tools.
• 📱 Included debugging by USB on a smartphone (Settings) → The phone. → Version. MIUI — Tap 7 times, then return to the additional → For developers → Debugging by USB).
• 🔌 Cable USB (preferably original).

Cleaning commands (input in turn in the command line):

adb shell pm clear com.miui.cleanmaster # Cleaning the built-in cleaner


adb shell pm clear com.android.providers.media # Reset media cache




adb shell rm -rf /data/local/tmp/* # Delete temporary files




adb shell rm -rf /data/system/package_cache/* # Cleaning the packet cache

Install ADB Tools on PC| Enable USB debugging on Xiaomi| Connect your phone with the original cable | Run the command line on behalf of the administrator-->

⚠️ Attention: Rm teams -rf If you don't specify the correct path, you can delete critical system files. Always check the path twice before running. If you have problems after cleaning up, such as missing contacts or SMS), execute:

adb shell pm clear com.android.providers.contacts

This will restore the contact database from the backup (if any).

5. Transfer of applications to a memory card (with restrictions)

MIUI allows you to migrate applications to microSD, but with serious limitations:

• ✅ It only works for a part of the application (not system).
• ❌ Not supported on new models with UFS 3.1 (e.g. Xiaomi) 13T or Redmi K60).
• ⚠️ After the transfer, applications can work slower.
• 🔄 When you remove the memory card, the applications will stop working.

How to transfer (if the function is available):

1. Insert a memory card (preferably UHS-I Class 10 or higher).
2. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
3. Select the application and tap Transfer to SD-Card (not active for all programs).
4. Confirm the transfer and wait until the completion (may take up to 5 minutes).

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Transfer to SD-The card is only suitable for rarely used applications (such as games you run once a month), system applications and instant messengers can not be ported, this will lead to errors.

An alternative is to link folders using the FolderMount app (requires root), which allows only part of the application data (such as a game cache) to be transferred to the memory card, leaving the main files in internal memory, but this method is risky: if the mounting error is made, the application can stop running.

6.Cache cleaning Google Play Services and other system applications

Google Play Services, Mi Account and Security systems applications take up to 3-4 GB of cache, which is not visible in a standard file manager, and cleaning this data requires caution, as it can disrupt services.

Safe course of action:

1. Open Settings → Applications → Application Management → Three Dots → Show all processes.
2. Search Google Play Services and click Clear Cache (not data!).
3. Repeat for: 🔒 Mi Account (authorization cache) 🛡️ Security (antivirus and scanner) 📊 Analytics (Telemetry data from Xiaomi)

Reboot the phone.

⚠️ Warning: Do not clear the data (only cache!) from Google Play Services, this will lead to loss of communication with Google servers, and you will have to reconfigure your account, restore contacts and calendars. If push notifications stop coming after cleaning the cache, follow the instructions:

adb shell cmd jobscheduler run -f com.google.android.gms 1

7. disable unnecessary MIUI system functions

MIUI is overloaded with functions that are running in the background and occupy memory, and turning off some of them will not only free up space, but also increase battery life.

Second Space, the second desktop creation feature, takes up a lot of space, and even if you're not using it, MIUI can create hidden files for it, so that you can completely delete Second Space:

1. Go to Settings. → Second Space.
2. Select Remove Second Space.
3. Confirm the removal and wait until it is completed (may take up to 10 minutes).
4. After deleting, check the MIUI/SecondSpace folder – if it remains, manually delete it.

Example of working with SD Maid:

1. Install the app from Google Play.
2. Run the scan (CorpseFinder will find the remnants of the remote programs).
3. Go to the AppCleaner section and clear the cache for all applications.
4. In Database, optimize your databases (this will reduce their size by a few minutes). 10-30%).

⚠️ Warning: Don’t use “accelerate” or “optimize RAM” features in cleaners — they only load the processor and don’t give you any real effect. DU Speed Booster – These display false warnings about “critical errors” and can delete important files.

FAQ: Frequent questions