How to Free Memory on Xiaomi Phone: The Complete Guide

Xiaomi’s modern smartphones are highly functional, but even the powerful hardware is running out of space over time. Users often notice that space shortage notifications appear at the most inopportune moment, slowing down the device, due to the accumulation of temporary files, app cache and forgotten downloads.

MIUI and the new HyperOS have powerful storage management tools, but not everyone knows how to use them properly. Simply removing photos doesn't always solve the problem, as system debris continues to grow. In this article, we'll look at proven ways to get gigabytes of free space back.

You can do a deep cleanup yourself without having to use paid software. It's important to understand the structure of files so you don't accidentally delete important data. Let's start with the simplest and most effective method, which is to use a built-in tool.

Use of the built-in "Security" application

The first place that you should look at a Redmi or Poco smartphone is the Security system app, which is pre-installed on all the brand's devices and contains a Cleanup module that scans the device for temporary files, and it analyzes not only the cache, but also large files that you may have forgotten to delete.

Run a scan and look at the results carefully. The system will suggest removing the garbage, but be careful: sometimes it gets thumbnails from messengers or saved documents. Better manually go through categories than blindly clicking "Clean it all" to save important data.

Inside the app, there's a Deep Clean section that finds duplicate photos and rarely used apps. Deep Clean is especially useful for finding forgotten APK installation packages left over after a software update.

It's worth noting that regular use of this tool helps keep the system on track, but standard tools alone may not be enough to make a major difference.

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The built-in cleaner removes up to 80% of temporary debris, but does not affect the cache of heavy apps like Telegram or YouTube.

Storage analysis and search for large files

To understand what's taking up space, you need to use the analysis function, you can see a visual memory occupancy chart in the settings menu or through the Files app, and it often turns out that the lion's share of space is occupied by video files or archives that you've forgotten about.

Note the Download folder. Browsers and instant messengers often save everything from presentations to commercials. Sorting files by size allows you to instantly identify heavyweights that can be safely removed or moved to the cloud.

Pay special attention to multimedia. Videos in 4K or 1080p quickly eat gigabytes. If you captured a big moment, but you no longer need it on your phone, transfer it to your computer or external drive.

Don't ignore the possibility of sorting. Once you sort files by date, you can easily find old backups or correspondence archives, and it's a simple but effective way to clean up your mess.

Cleaning the cache of messengers and social networks

The most voracious apps on any Android smartphone are messengers. Telegram, WhatsApp and Viber store every photo and video they receive in the memory of the device, and over time, this cache can grow to incredible sizes, taking up 10, 20 and even 50 GB.

Telegram cleans the most convenient way. Go to Settings → Data and memory → Memory Use. There you will see the “Storage Media” slider and the “Clear Cache” button. Importantly, deleting the cache in Telegram does not delete your correspondence, photos and videos will disappear only from the device, but will remain in the cloud and download again if necessary.

WhatsApp is more complicated. There's no cloud cache as we know it, all files are stored locally. You need to go to Settings → Data and Storage → Storage Management. Here you can select the chat rooms with the largest attachments and delete media selectively.

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Set a time limit (for example, 3 days or 1 week), and the application will clean old files by itself, freeing up space.

Social media like Instagram and TikTok also aggressively cache videos they’ve watched.These apps often don’t have a full-clean button in their settings, so it’s sometimes easier to reinstall the app to dump all the accumulated trash.

Removal of duplicates and similar photos

Xiaomi's camera of modern smartphones takes great shots, but we often shoot a series of ten frames to choose the best. The other nine just lie dead weight. The MIUI gallery is able to find similar shots, but for deeper cleaning, it's better to use specialized algorithms or manual brute force.

Duplicates can occur not only from serial shooting, but also from synchronization with the cloud or from sending files through the cloud. Bluetooth/ NFC Sometimes they make copies with names like this. IMG_2023_copy.jpg. These files are not valuable, but take up space.

Use the Albums feature in the gallery. There's a category called Screenshots. Oftentimes we take a screenshot of important information, use it, and then forget to delete it. Go through this album, there might be a gigabyte of extra information.

Remember video. A single, high-resolution video can weigh more than a thousand text documents, and removing failed videos is the fastest way to free up a significant amount of memory.

Configuring cloud services and synchronization

Xiaomi Cloud ecosystem and Google Photo integration allow you to store media files online, freeing up local memory. Google Photos’ “Free space” feature finds images that have already been uploaded to the cloud and deletes them from the device.

It is important to set up sync correctly. If you have little internal memory (for example, 64 GB), it makes sense to disable the saving of original photos on the device, leaving only compressed copies, or stop saving photos to the gallery altogether if this is not urgently necessary.

Cloud services are in the background. Make sure the sync is complete before manually cleaning so you don't lose any important points. Check the download status in your account settings.

Using the cloud turns your phone into a terminal for accessing data, rather than a single storage location, a modern approach to using smartphones with little internal storage.

Removal of unused applications and their residues

Often, we install apps for a one-time or just for fun, and then forget about them. Each application takes up space not only with its installation file, but also with the data it accumulates. Go to Settings → Apps → All apps and sort the list by size.

You'll be surprised to find games or services that haven't been used in six months. You can delete them boldly. However, just uninstalling an app is sometimes not enough. Some programs leave behind folders of data at the root of internal memory.

Check the file manager for folders with remote program names. Also, look for preinstalled software. Some MIUI system applications can be disabled if you don't need them, which will make the system a little easier, although it won't free up much space.

⚠️ Note: Do not remove system applications that you are not sure of (e.g., the purpose of the application, MIUI Service Framework, System Components) This can lead to unstable phone operation or endless restarts.

For advanced users, there is the option of removing system debris via ADB, but this requires a computer connection and caution.

Expanding memory by means of SD-maps USB-OTG

If internal memory is overcrowded, consider physical expansion, and many Xiaomi models support microSD cards, which can be used as portable storage for photos, videos and music, freeing up internal space for the system and applications.

There's also USB-OTG technology, and if you plug a USB flash drive in through an adapter, you can then transfer backup data to it, which is a great way to create quick backups before cleaning.

When using a memory card, set the camera and voice recorder to save files immediately to it. This will prevent the main memory from clogging in the future. SD-card as default storage.

Do not forget that the speed of applications running with SD-The cards may be lower than the internal memory, so it's better to download only media files and documents to the map.

Radical measures: Resetting to factory settings

When no methods help and the phone keeps writing that memory is busy, the last argument is that a full reset will return the device to the “out of the box” state, guaranteed to remove all debris, hidden file system errors and unnecessary data.

Before this procedure, make sure to make a full backup. Use a Google Account or Xiaomi's built-in backup. Save important files to your computer.

To perform the reset, go to Settings → About Phone → Settings Reset → Erase all data. The process will take a few minutes, after which you will get a clean system.

⚠️ Warning: Reset will delete ALL data, including contacts, photos and passwords, if they are not synced to the cloud. Make sure you remember the password from your Mi Account and Google account to activate after the reset.

After reset, take your time to install all the applications at once, install only the necessary ones and monitor how the memory is filled, which will help you understand what actions lead to a fast filling in the future.

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A complete reset is not only a cleanup of the place, but also a way to speed up the work of an old smartphone, getting rid of accumulated system errors.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)