How to Free Memory in Xiaomi Phone: A Complete Guide to Secret Chips

Your Xiaomi, Redmi or yours. POCO Does it constantly give out a notification, "Not enough memory"? Are apps slowing down and photos are not saved? The problem is not that you shoot too much or install games - it's about hidden debris that accumulates unnoticed. Even on new models with 256 GB of memory after a year of use of free space may remain less than 10%.In this article, we will discuss 7 working ways to free up memory, including little-known chips for advanced users.

The main mistake of most owners is to delete only visible files (photos, videos, music). 30-40% memory is occupied by the system cache, residual files of remote applications, duplicates and temporary data MIUI. We're going to show you how to find and safely remove this ballast without having to reset, and for those who are willing to go further, there's a bonus: a hidden cleaning feature on the engineering menu that's not even written about in the official documentation.

1.Analysing Occupied Space: Where to Look for Memory Eaters

Before you remove something, you need to understand what exactly takes up space. MIUI There's a built-in analyzer, but it doesn't show everything:

Open the Settings. → The phone. → Memory. Here you'll see a diagram of the distribution by category: System, Applications, Media, Files, etc. Click on each category to expand the details. For example, in the Apps section, you can sort programs by size and see what Facebook or TikTok is up by size. 2-3 GB all – even if you haven’t used it in a long time.

• 📊 System data: usually used 10-15 GB, if there's more here. 20 GB is a reason to clean the cache (more on this below).
• 📷 Media files: photos in.HEIC (Apple format can weigh 2 times less than.JPG, But many galleries don't optimize them.
• 🗑️ Garbage: temporary files, downloads, APK-installers. They're often hiding here. 1-5 GB of unnecessary data.

For in-depth analysis, use third-party utilities like Files by Google or SD Maid, they'll show:

• 🔍 Duplicate photos (especially important after transferring data from another phone).
• 🗃️ Large files (>100 MB) that has not been opened for a long time.
• 🧹 Residual files of remote applications (for example, WhatsApp or Telegram cache).

⚠️ Attention: Do not delete the folder MIUI Or Android manually through the file manager! This can cause system failure.

2.Cache cleanup: Why it doesn't work the way you think

Many people advise clearing the cache through Settings → Applications, but this method is inefficient. It only removes the cache of individual applications, whereas the main garbage is in the system cache and Dalvik cache (residual data from updates and installations).

Here's how to clean the cache correctly:

1. Regular app cache: 📱 Go to Settings. → Annexes → Application management. 🔍 Sort by size (click on three dots in the upper right corner). 🧹 Select cache apps >500MB (e.g. YouTube, Chrome, social media) and click Clear Cache».

System cache (requires rebooting)

• 🔧 Go to Settings. → Additionally. → Warehouse → Clean up.
• 🔄 Select “Clear System Cache” (on some models, this item is called “Clear Cache Data»).
• 🔁 Confirm and restart the phone.

Once you clear the cache, you'll get 1GB to 5GB of free space, but there's a caveat: some apps (like Google Maps or Spotify) will start to run slower until the cache is restored. That's normal and temporary.

Close all applications|Connect your phone to charge.|Make a backup copy of important data|Check the free space before and after cleaning.-->

3. Removal of unnecessary applications and their residues

Even after you delete the app via Settings or Google Play, the phone still has:

• 🗑️ Folders with data in /Android/data/ and /Android/obb/ (particularly).
• 📁 Cash and settings in /data/data/ (available only with root rights).
• 🔗 Symbolic links that can weigh up to 100MB each.

How to remove everything completely:

1. Use it. SD Maid (CorpseFinder section) or Files by Google to search for residual files.
2. For games: delete the folders com.name of the game in /Android/obb/ manually (e.g. com.tencent.ig for PUBG Mobile).
3. For system applications (such as Mi Browser or Mi Music) that cannot be removed by standard methods, use the command: adb shell pm uninstall. -k --user 0 name.package (you can find out the name of the package through the App Inspector in Google Play).

⚠️ Note: Removal of system applications may lead to errors in the work MIUI. Before that, make a backup copy through Settings. → Additionally. → Backup and reset.

List of safe to remove system applications (checked for MIUI 14):

• 🌐 Mi Browser (com.android.browser) can be replaced with Chrome.
• 🎵 Mi Music (com.miui.player) – if you use Spotify or YouTube Music.
• 📺 Mi Video (com.miui.videoplayer) – if you watch videos in other players.
• 📰 Mi News (com.miui.news) – if you don’t read Xiaomi news.

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Before removing system applications, check them with the App Inspector (available on Google Play).If the description contains the word "system", remove carefully, only if you are sure that it is not necessary for the work. MIUI.

4. Media Files Optimization: How to Compress Photos and Videos Without Losing Quality

Photos and videos are the main memory eaters. One photo in format.JPG weight 3-5 MB, and a minute video in 4K — before 400 MB, but there are ways to reduce their size in 2-5 once without apparent loss of quality.

For photos:

• 📸 Use the format.HEIC (available MIUI 12 and newer. It compresses the photo 2 times stronger.JPG Included in camera settings. → Format of conservation → HEIF.
• 🖼️ Reduce resolution: if you do not print photos on posters, 12 MP instead of 48 MP is enough. → Photo permission.
• 🗃️ Use Google Photos with Free Space. The app will automatically compress the photo to “high quality” (free) or “original” (paid), freeing up to 50% of the memory.

For the video:

• 🎥 Take it down. 1080p@30fps instead 4K@60fps, If you don't need a professional shot, the difference in weight is 3-4 once.
• ✂️ Cut the video right on your phone with CapCut or InShot. 10 It saves a few seconds. 100-200 MB.
• 📦 Archive old videos in the.ZIP or.RAR (This will reduce their size by a small amount of 20-30%.

5. Transfer data to a memory card or cloud

If you have less than 10 percent of the space left on your phone, it starts to slow down, so the solution is to move some of the data to a memory card or to the cloud, but there are pitfalls.

Memory card (microSD):

• 📁 Not all applications support the transfer to SD. To check, go to Settings. → Annexes → select the application → Warehouse → Change.
• 🚫 Don't put it on. SD applications that require fast work (such as games or instant messengers) will lead to lags.
• 🔄 Use class cards A2 or UHS-I (So, for example, SanDisk Extreme, cheap cards are slowed down in the middle of the market. 5-10 harder.

Cloud storage:

• ☁️ Google Drive gives you 15GB for free, but only syncs selected folders. Enable autoload photos in Google Photos (Settings) → Backup and synchronization).
• 🇨🇳 Xiaomi's Mi Cloud gives 5GB for free, but runs slower than Google Drive. MIUI.
• 🔒 For sensitive files, use Proton Drive or Mega (out-of-the-box encryption»).

⚠️ Note: If you are moving the application to SD-You take the map and you pull it out, the apps stop working. Always back it up before you pull it out!

How to transfer data as efficiently as possible:

1. For photos/video: Use Google Photos with the “Free Space” function (remove local copies after uploading to the cloud).
2. For music: upload it to YouTube Music or Spotify (if you have a premium subscription).
3. For documents: Move them to Google Drive and mark as “Offline Available” only the most important ones.

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Transfer of applications to SD-The card doesn't always solve the problem. Many games (such as Genshin Impact or Call of Duty Mobile) require an internal memory setup, in which case it's better to clear the cache or delete unnecessary games.

6. Hidden functions MIUI: engineering menu and ADB-team

If standard methods don't work, it's time to use hidden tools, which require caution, but can free up up to 10GB of extra space.

Method 1: Engineering menu (without root)

1. Open the Phone app and enter the code: ##4636###
2. Go to the “Storage” section.
3. Click Clear cache to remove system debris that is not available through normal settings.

Method 2: ADB-Teams (for advanced teams)

If you have a PC, connect your phone to USB with debugging enabled (Settings) → The phone. → Version. MIUI → Press 7 times, then Settings → Additionally. → For developers → Debugging by USB). Then execute the commands:

adb shell pm trim-caches 500M # Clears up to 500MB of cache


adb shell cmd package bg-dexopt-job # Optimizes background processes




Adb shell sm set-force-adoptable true # Allows you to format SD as internal memory (caution!)

Method 3: Removing unnecessary localizations (language packets)

System system MIUI It installs language packages for all regions, even if you only use Russian. ADB:

adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.miui.systemAdSolution # Removes advertising modules


adb shell cmd locale remove-locale en_US # Removes English localization (replace with the desired language)

⚠️ Attention: Misuse of the right ADB Before experimenting, make a backup copy through Settings. → Additionally. → Backup and reset → Local backup.

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If the phone is slower after cleaning through the engineering menu, restart it. The first boot after cleaning the cache can take up to 5 minutes - this is normal.

7.Extreme measures: reset to factory settings

If nothing works and there's less than 1GB of space left on the phone, you'll have to do a hard reset, which will delete all the data, including photos, messages and apps, so first:

• 🔄 Make a backup copy through Settings → Additionally. → Backup and reset → Backup in Mi Cloud or on PC.
• 📎 Save photos and videos to a memory card or cloud.
• 📝 Write down logins/passwords from important accounts (they will not be saved after resetting).

How to reset:

1. Go to Settings → Additional → Backup and Reset → Reset settings.
2. Select “Erase all data” (Erase all data).
3. Confirm the action and wait for the reboot (it will take 5-10 minutes).

After discharge:

• 📱 Do not restore backup immediately – first check how much free space has appeared.
• 🔧 Install only the necessary applications (avoid junk utilities like memory cleaners).
• 📈 Set up automatic cache cleanup in Settings → Warehouse → Auto-cleaning.

Resetting to factory settings will free up to 80 percent of memory, but that's a last resort. If the problem recurs in a month or two, you're accumulating garbage again, go back to the first steps of this article.

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After reset, do not install applications from unknown sources (Settings) → Confidentiality → Special permits → Install unknown applications. They often contain hidden debris and viruses that will fill up the memory again.

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions