How to Clean Android on Xiaomi: Complete Cleanup of Rubbish and Viruses

Why Xiaomi Smartphone Begins to “Slow Down” and How to Fix It

Even the most productive Xiaomi smartphones eventually start to work slower: applications open longer, the system “hangs”, and the battery goes down faster than usual. 90% of the time it is not “wearing” of iron, but a clogged operating system. MIUI – the Xiaomi brand shell – is known for its functionality, but it is not immune to the accumulation of digital garbage: cache of applications, remnants of deleted programs, duplicate files and even hidden viruses.

Compounding the problem, many users install dozens of apps but rarely delete them completely. The remnants of these programs continue to take up space in memory, and the background processes continue to load the processor. For example, popular messengers (Telegram, WhatsApp) and social networks (TikTok, Instagram) can “weigh” gigabytes due to accumulated media files. But cleaning up Xiaomi’s garbage is not only freeing memory, but also optimizing the system to return the smartphone to its previous speed.

In this article, we’ll look at all the cleanup methods, from standard MIUI tools to hidden features and third-party utilities, learn how to delete unnecessary files without risking damage to the system, which applications can be safely uninstalled, and how to prevent re-clogging. And if your Redmi or POCO is already “breathing”, at the end of the article there is a guide to completely reset, while saving important data.

Xiaomi Cleanup Methods: From Simple to Complex

Before you start taking drastic measures (like factory resets), try a phased cleanup. Start with the safest methods and move on to deeper ones if the problem is not solved. Here is the sequence of actions that Xiaomi engineers recommend:

• 🧹 Cleaning up cache and debris through built-in tools MIUI.
• 🗑️ Removal of unnecessary files and duplicates (photos, videos, documents).
• 🔍 Virus and malware testing.
• 📱 Optimizing Autoboot and Background Processes.
• ⚙️ Resetting the settings of individual applications (if they “glutch»).
• 🔄 Complete reset (if nothing helps).

It is important to understand that not all methods are equally effective. For example, cleaning the cache will give a temporary increase in speed, but if the problem is overloaded memory or viruses, the effect will not last long. So we will analyze each stage in detail, with an explanation of which Xiaomi models are more susceptible to certain problems (for example, the budget Redmi 9A suffer from memory shortages, and the flagship Xiaomi 13 Pro from background processes).

Step 1: Cleaning up cache and debris through MIUI

MIUI has a built-in cleaning tool called Security (formerly Optimization) that deletes temporary files, application cache, and remnants of deleted programs to take advantage of:

1. Open the Security app (the shield icon).
2. Go to the Cleanup tab (or Accelerate in older versions of MIUI).
3. Click Check and wait for analysis.
4. Select categories to clean (cache, garbage, large files) and confirm the action.

Note that in MIUI 14 and later, Deep Clean can delete some application data (e.g., saved passwords in your browser).

If the built-in tool doesn’t find garbage, try manually cleaning the cache for individual applications:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Select an app (like Facebook or Google Chrome).
3. Press Warehouse. → Clear the cache.

⚠️ Note: Do not clear the cache for system applications (e.g. com.android.systemui or com.miui.home) This may cause interface failures.

Step 2: Delete unnecessary files and duplicates

One of the biggest memory eaters on Xiaomi is media files: photos, videos, music and documents, and many users don't even realize that their Redmi Note 11 is packed with thousands of unnecessary screenshots, chat memes and duplicate photos.

• 📸 Use the built-in gallery → Albums. → Duplicate to find repetitive photos.
• 🎵 Check out the Music folder – there are often songs downloaded years earlier.
• 📄 Remove old documents in Files → Categories → Documents.
• 🗑️ Clear the Download folder (downloads from the browser and messengers).

For deep cleaning, use Files by Google (available on the Play Market) to automatically find:

• 📁 Large files (>100 MB) that has not been opened for a long time.
• 🗃️ Empty folders and temporary files.
• 📎 Duplicates and blurry photos.

⚠️ Note: Before mass deletion of files, check the folder DCIM/.thumbnails. It stores photo miniatures, and cleaning them will not free up much space, but may slow down the Gallery at the next opening.

💡

If you often take screenshots, enable automatic deletion of old ones in Settings → Additional → Screenshots → Autoclean (available in MIUI 13+).

Step 3: Check for viruses and malware

Android viruses are less common than PC viruses, but they do exist — especially if you install apps from unknown sources (APK-Symptoms of infection:

• 🔋 Quick battery discharge even in standby mode.
• 📱 Unauthorized opening of advertisements or installation of unknown applications.
• 🌐 Redirecting in the browser to suspicious sites.
• 💰 Debiting money from the account (if the virus is associated with the virus) SMS-fraud).

Use:

1. Built-in MIUI: Security → Virus Scanner.
2. Third-party antiviruses: Malwarebytes, Bitdefender or Kaspersky Mobile (free versions are quite effective).

If the antivirus finds a threat, delete the infected application and clear the browser cache (viruses often masquerading as extensions for Chrome or Mi Browser).

Settings → Applications → Application Management → [Select browser] → Storage → Clear data

⚠️ Note: Some “optimizers” from the Play Market (e.g. Clean Master or the Play Market) DU Speed Booster) contain advertising software. Use only proven high-rated antiviruses.

Step 4: Optimizing Autoboot and Background Processes

MIUI is known for aggressively controlling background processes, which saves battery life, but sometimes causes applications to freeze. On the other hand, some programs (especially Chinese ones) are added to the startup and consume resources to fix this:

1. Open Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Select an app (such as AliExpress or UC Browser).
3. Go to AutoRun and turn it off.
4. In the Battery section, select the mode Limit background activity.

For advanced users, there is a hidden setting to unlock background processes (it is useful if MIUI closes applications too tightly):

Settings → About Phone → MIUI version (shap 7 times to turn on Developer Mode)


Settings → Additional → For developers → Limit background processes → Standard Limitation

⚠️ Warning: Do not disable auto-run for system applications (e.g. com.miui.securitycenter) This may disrupt the virus scanner and optimizer.

Step 5: Reset application settings or completely reset

If cleaning and optimization didn’t help, and the smartphone still “slows down”, there are two radical methods:

1. Reset the settings of a separate application (if only it is glitching).
2. Full reset to factory settings (if the problems are global).

Resetting an app erases its data, but does not delete the program itself, which is useful if, for example, WhatsApp has stopped sending messages or Google Play does not update the application:

Settings → Applications → [Select App] → Storage → Clear Data

A full reset will bring the smartphone back out of the box. On Xiaomi models with an unlocked bootloader (for example, after a firmware through Fastboot), a reset can result in a device lock. Before the procedure, check the bootloader status in Settings → About Phone → MIUI Version → bootloader Status.

Resetting instructions:

1. Back up your data (via Settings → Additional → Backup or Mi Cloud).
2. Go to Settings → About the phone → Reset settings.
3. Choose to erase all data and confirm.
4. After restarting, perform the initial setup.

⚠️ Note: On some models (POCO F3, Redmi K40) You may need to re-link your Mi Account after the reset!

💡

Full reset is a last resort, and 80 percent of the time, cleaning the cache, removing debris, and optimizing the boot.

How to prevent re-clogging Xiaomi

To make your smartphone stay clean for longer, follow the simple rules:

• 📥 Delete unnecessary files immediately after downloading (especially if you are not downloading them). APK archives).
• 🗑️ Clean the cache once a month through Security → Cleanup.
• 🔒 Install apps only from Play Market or GetApps (Xiaomi official store).
• 📵 Turn off auto-start for unnecessary programs.
• 🔄 Update regularly MIUI (In new versions, memory leaks are corrected).

It's also useful to use cloud storage for photos and videos, for example, Google Photos automatically uploads media files to the cloud and lets you delete them from your device, freeing up space.

Google Photos → Settings → Backup and Synchronization → Enable

If you install games frequently, use a memory card (on supported models) or an external drive via OTG. This will preserve the smartphone’s internal memory.

FAQ: Frequent questions about Xiaomi cleanup