How to Clean Memory on Xiaomi Redmi 4: A Complete Guide to Freeing Up a Place

Xiaomi Redmi 4 is one of the most popular budget smartphones, but its 16 or 32 GB of internal memory is quickly clogged with unnecessary files. If your phone starts to slow down, issue notifications about space shortages or refuse to install updates, it’s time to do a general cleaning. In this article, we will discuss 7 proven ways to clean up memory without risking losing important data.

Redmi 4 (codenamed prada) has a limited built-in storage capacity and no microSD slot in the base version, even if you have a memory card-enabled model, system files and app cache still take up internal memory, and we'll show you how to delete unnecessary data, optimize the system and prevent fast storage in the future.

1. Analysis of occupied space: what exactly is the memory?

Before you start cleaning, you need to understand which files are eating precious megabytes. Redmi 4 has built-in tools and third-party utilities for this.

Open Settings → Memory. Here you will see a diagram of the allocation of memory by category: System, Applications, Images, Video, Audio, and Other. Click on any category to see details. For example, the App section displays a list of programs sorted by place.

• 📊 System system (10-15 GB: firmware MIUI, Android kernel and pre-installed services. You can't delete them, but you can reduce the cache.
• 📱 Apps: you can see which programs are taking up the most space, often the fault of messengers (Telegram, WhatsApp) and social networks.
• 🖼️ Media files: photos, videos and music, even if you didn't download them, they could have been saved from chat rooms or browser cache.
• 🗑️ Others: temporary files, logs, remnants of deleted programs, and this is where the most common "garbage" is hidden".

For a more detailed analysis, install Files by Google (free in Play Market) and it will show:

• 🔍 Duplicate files (e.g., same photos in different folders).
• 🗃️ Large files (>100 MB) that has not been opened for a long time.
• 📁 Folders with garbage (for example, Download, DCIM/.thumbnails).

⚠️ Note: If the Others are more than 5GB occupied, this is a sign of severe memory fragmentation, in which case only a complete reset will help (see section 7).

2. Cleaning up app cache and system debris

Cache is a temporary file that creates applications to speed up work, accumulates over time and takes up gigabytes of memory. On Redmi 4, the cache can be cleared in two ways: manually for each application or globally for the entire system.

Method 1: Clearing the cache for individual applications

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Select a program (such as YouTube or Facebook).
3. Press Warehouse. → Clear the cache.

Method 2: Mass cleaning of the cache

1. Open Settings → Memory → Cleaning.
2. Click Clear cache (the system will prompt you to delete unnecessary files).
3. Confirm the action.

It is also useful to remove residual files from remote applications.

1. Install SD Maid (root rights required) or CCleaner.
2. Start scanning for “junk” files (orphaned files).
3. Delete everything except Android, DCIM, and Downloads folders (which are best checked manually).

⚠️ Note: Do not clear the cache for Google Play Services, MIUI System and Android System WebView can cause phone malfunctions, and don’t delete the Android folder at the root of the storage, which is where the application data (e.g. game saves) is stored).

Delete the messenger cache (Telegram, WhatsApp)| Clear Downloads| Check the DCIM folder for duplicates photo | Delete the log files via MIUI Cleaner| Clear the browser cache (Chrome, MIUI Browser)

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3. Removal of unnecessary applications and their residues

Redmi 4 has a lot of system and third-party apps, many of which are never used, such as Mi Video, Mi Music, Mi Community or Google duplicate services, and removing the redundant software will free up to 1-2 GB of memory.

How to remove pre-installed apps without root:

1. Go to Settings → Applications.
2. Select an unneeded app (such as Mi Pay).
3. Click Remove or Disable (if deletion is blocked).

If the Remove button is inactive, use ADB (computer required):

adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.xiaomi.payment

Replace com.xiaomi.payment with the application package you want (you can find it in the App Inspector or on the APKMirror website).

List of safe apps to remove on Redmi 4:

• 🎵 Mi Music (com.miui.player) – if you use Spotify or YouTube Music.
• 📺 Mi Video (com.miui.videoplayer) – if you watch videos on YouTube or VLC.
• 💬 Mi Community (com.xiaomi.forum) is a Xiaomi forum that is rarely used by anyone.
• 📡 Mi Remote (com.duokan.phone.remotecontroller) – if you don’t use the remote control for TV.
• 📦 GetApps (com.xiaomi.mipicks) – a proprietary app store (duplicates Play Market).

After deleting, check the /sdcard/Android/obb folder, which can leave heavy files of remote games (for example, the PUBG Mobile cache or Call of Duty) that can be deleted safely.

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Before mass removal of applications, back up via Settings → Additional → Backup and Reset. This will allow you to recover data if something goes wrong.

4. Optimization of media files: photos, videos and music

Photos and videos are the main memory eaters. Even if you don't shoot videos in 4K, instant messengers and social networks automatically save media files to the gallery. On Redmi 4 with a 13MP camera, one photo weighs 3-5 MB, and a minute video weighs up to 100 MB.

How to reduce the amount of media files:

• 📸 Compress Photos: Use Google Photos (automatic compression when downloading) or Resizer (manual quality setting).
• 🎥 Video Convert: Video Compress App Reduces Clip Size Without Severe Quality Loss.
• 🔍 Remove duplicates: Duplicate Files Fixer finds identical photos and videos (e.g. screenshots with the same content).
• 🗑️ Clear the gallery cache: Folder DCIM/.thumbnails It contains miniatures that can be removed.

Setup of auto-save in messengers:

• On WhatsApp: Settings → Storage → Media Autoupload → Turn off photo/video downloads.
• In Telegram: Settings → Data and Memory → Auto-Save Media → Select Never.
• In Viber: Settings → Media → Saving to the gallery → turn off.

If you store your photos in the cloud (Google Photos, Mi Cloud), set up automatic cleaning of local copies:

1. In Google Photos: Settings → Free up space.
2. In Mi Cloud: Settings → Synchronization → Delete after download.

5. Transfer data to a memory card or cloud

If your Redmi 4 supports microSD (Redmi 4 Pro and Redmi 4 Prime), you can transfer some of the data to an external drive, which will free up internal memory for system files and applications.

How to transfer data to SD-map:

1. Insert a memory card (class 10 or UHS-I is recommended for speed).
2. Go to Settings. → Memory. → Default storage and select SD-map.
3. To port applications: Open Settings → Applications. Select a program (e.g. Spotify). Click Storage → Change → Memory Map.

Limitations of SD transfer:

• ❌ Not all applications support portability (especially system applications).
• ❌ After the transfer, some programs may work slower.
• ❌ The memory card cannot store system updates.

The alternative is cloud storage:

⚠️ Attention: If you are using SD-card as internal memory (Adoptable Storage in Android), do not remove it without first turning it off in the settings. This can lead to data loss and system failure. To safely delete the card, go to Settings → Memory. → Map. SD → Extract.

6.Reset to factory settings (last chance)

If all previous methods failed, and Redmi 4 still lacks memory, it's a complete reset, a radical way to delete all data, including apps, settings and files, and use it as a last resort!

How to reset:

1. Create a backup copy of important data (contacts, photos, messages).
2. Go to Settings → Additional → Backup and Reset → Reset settings.
3. Select to erase all data (reset to factory).
4. Confirm the action (a password may be required).

What will be removed:

• 📱 All installed applications and their data.
• 📁 Photos, videos, music (if not saved) SD-map).
• 📋 System settings (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, wallpaper).
• 🔑 Google and Xiaomi accounts (you will need to log in again).

What's left:

• 📲 Pre-installed annexes MIUI.
• 📡 Files on SD-(if not used as internal memory).
• 🔄 System updates (but they will be re-downloaded).

After discharge:

1. Set your phone up as new (skip the recovery from backup if you want to start with a clean slate).
2. Install only the necessary applications.
3. Transfer the media files to SD-map.

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Resetting to factory settings is the only way to completely clear the /data partition where the system junk files accumulate. However, once reset, the phone will run faster, as after buying.

7. Prevention: how to prevent memory filling?

To avoid having to clean up every month, follow the following simple rules:

• 📵 Limit the cache: In Settings → For each application, set a cache limit (e.g., 50MB for the browser).
• 🚫 Block autoload: In messengers, turn off automatic photo and video saving.
• 🗓️ Regular cleaning: Start once a week MIUI Cleaner (built-in application).
• 🔄 Update the firmware: In new versions MIUI Optimized memory. Check for updates in Settings → The phone. → Updating the system.
• 📥 Control Downloads: The Download folder is often clogged with unnecessary files (APK, PDF, archive).

It is also useful to use easy alternatives to popular applications:

If you frequently install and remove applications, use APK Extractor to create backup copies APK-So you don't have to download them again, saving traffic and space.

FAQ: Frequent questions about cleaning Redmi memory 4