How to Clean the “Other” Category on Xiaomi Redmi 6

Owners of the popular budget smartphone Xiaomi Redmi 6 often face an unpleasant situation when the internal memory of the device suddenly runs out.The system reports a shortage of space, but a detailed analysis of the storage reveals that the lion’s share is occupied by files classified in the mysterious category “Other”, which can grow to several gigabytes, occupying up to 40-50% of all available space, which significantly slows down the MIUI operating system.

The accumulation of junk data occurs unnoticed by the user during active use of the gadget. Browsers save temporary files, messengers cache images, and update systems leave old installation packages. Understanding the nature of these files is the first step to successfully optimize your device.

In this article, we will discuss in detail what exactly is behind this designation and how to safely remove excess without damaging important personal data. You will learn about the regular cleaning tools, working with a file manager and advanced methods of removing hidden system debris that will return your Redmi 6 to its previous speed.

Nature of the “Other” category in Xiaomi’s storage

The Other category on Xiaomi smartphones is a collection of files that the system cannot uniquely classify as images, videos, music or documents. Sorting algorithms often include app cache, remnants of deleted programs, error logs and temporary update files, and social networks and instant messengers such as Telegram and WhatsApp are especially active in this section.

System processes also contribute to filling this section: Dalvik Cache files, which speed up application launches, can take up a significant amount of time, and often include files left over from failed software installations or updates, as well as streaming services.

It's important to understand that not all of the contents of this folder are garbage, because there may be important game data, offline maps of navigators or stored messages, so before you clean it, you need to manually analyze the contents of the largest folders so that you don't delete the information you need.

Basic cleaning with MIUI staff funds

The first and safest step to free up space on Redmi 6 is to use the built-in Security app, a standard tool from Xiaomi that has access to system partitions and can delete secure temporary files. To run the procedure, you need to find the application icon with a green shield on your desktop or in the Tools folder.

Once you start the app, click on the Cleanup button. The system will scan and suggest removing the debris found. However, the standard mode often skips deep caches. For more thorough processing, go to the Cleanup section inside the app and scroll down to Deep Cleanup. Here you can find large files, duplicates and rarely used applications.

Note the App Cache section of the cleanup menu, where you can selectively delete temporary files of heavy programs. The operating system will warn you that this may reset some application settings, but personal data (correspondences, photos) will remain intact. Regularly performing this procedure will help keep the volume of the Other partition under control.

Manual analysis through file manager

For more advanced memory management, you need to use the built-in Mi File Manager or download a third-party, such as Total Commander. Go to the root of internal storage and notice the folders that take up the most space. Often, large data is hidden in folders Android/data and Android/obb.

The Android/data folder stores specific application data. For example, YouTube cache or offline tracks Yandex.Maps can take gigabytes. You need to delete the content carefully: if you delete the application folder, it may reset its settings or require re-uploading of data. Android/obb usually contains heavy game files, and deleting them will make it impossible to run the relevant games without downloading the data again.

The.thumbnails folder (which is hidden, you need to turn on hidden files in the Explorer settings) holds thumbnails of all the images and videos you see, and it can grow to a huge size, and you can clean it, but the system will recreate it the next time you view the gallery.

Cleaning the cache of messengers and social networks

The main memory eaters in the Other category are messengers. Telegram, Viber and WhatsApp store all the photos and videos you viewed in cache, even if you didn't save them to the gallery. Standard system cleaning often doesn't see these files as junk, considering them important app data.

To clean Telegram, you need to go to the settings of the app itself: Settings → Data and memory → Memory usage. Here you can see the cache volume and clear it with a single button. It is also recommended to install automatic cache cleaning, for example, every 3 days or week, this will prevent the accumulation of gigabytes of temporary files in the future.

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Turn on the “Auto-Delete Media” function in the Telegram settings so that the application itself deletes old files from the cache, freeing up space on Redmi 6 without your participation.

On WhatsApp, the situation is similar, but the approach is different: Go to Settings → Data and Storage → Storage Management. The app will show a list of chats sorted by place you occupy. You can selectively delete media files from specific dialogues without deleting the correspondence itself, which allows you to save text history of communication, but get rid of heavy video and voice messages.

Use of Developer Mode and ADB

For users who are not afraid of more complex manipulations, there is a method of cleaning through debugging. USB And this is a way to delete the system cache and files that are not available to the average user, USB-cable and installed drivers ADB (Android Debug Bridge).

First, activate the developer mode on Redmi 6. Go to Settings → About Phone and quickly click on the MIUI build number seven times. After the message “You became a developer” appears, go to Advanced Settings → For Developers and turn on “Debugging by USB”.

⚠️ Be careful when deleting files through ADB. Deleting system files can cause unstable device operation or cyclical restart. Only delete the one you are 100 sure of%.

Connect your smartphone to your computer and open the command line. To clear the Dalvik cache (which often inflates the Other section), you can use the command:

adb shell pm trim-caches 99999999999

This command forcibly trims the cache of all applications to a minimum, and you can manually delete the contents of folders through the root file manager if the device is unlocked, but for the average user, the ADB method is the safest option for deep cleaning without losing warranty.

Prevention and optimization of storage

To prevent the problem of overflowing category "Other" from returning, you need to adhere to certain rules of operation Xiaomi Redmi 6. Regular prevention takes less time than dealing with the consequences. Try not to install applications from unknown sources, as they often create hidden processes that generate garbage.

Use cloud storage for photos and videos. Google Photos or Mi Cloud allows you to free up space on your device by storing originals in the cloud. Set up your library automatically so that new images do not take up precious gigabytes of internal memory.

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Regular cleaning of messenger cache and the use of cloud services are key factors in stable memory performance on Redmi 6.

It is also recommended to periodically check the list of installed applications, delete programs that you have not used for more than a month, often forgotten applications continue to work in the background, accumulating data and logs, which then fall into the “Other” section.

Radical measures: Resetting to factory settings

If none of the above methods helped significantly reduce the size of the Other partition and the memory continues to fill up rapidly, there may be critical errors in the file system, in which case the most effective solution would be to completely reset the device to factory settings.

Before performing this procedure, be sure to back up all important data: contacts, photos, documents and settings. Reset will remove absolutely all information from the internal memory of the phone, returning it to a state of “shop-like”.

⚠️ Warning: Before resetting, make sure the battery is at least 50-60%, Untie your Google account (or remember your password) to prevent theft protection from working. FRP (Factory Reset Protection).

To perform the reset, go to Settings → Advanced Settings → Restore and Reset. Select “Reset” and confirm the action. Once the reset is done, the phone will be clean and the “Dother” section will take up the minimum amount necessary to run the system.