Owners of Xiaomi smartphones sooner or later face a mysterious situation: internal memory is full, although photos and applications take up very little space. The culprit is often the “Other” section, which can grow to tens of gigabytes, blocking the installation of updates and normal operation of the system, this category combines system files, application cache, error logs and remnants of remote programs.
Understanding the structure of MIUI or HyperOS storage is the first step to solving the problem. Standard cleaning tools do not always cope with deep system folders, requiring more advanced methods. In this article, we will discuss safe ways to free up space without risking damage to the operating system.
The memory overflow should not be ignored, as this can lead to a critical slowdown of the device. The Other section often contains debugging logs and temporary update files that can be manually deleted. Let's take a look at what exactly lies behind this designation and how to effectively manage storage.
What is hidden in the “Other” section
The “Other” system partition on Xiaomi smartphones is not a single file, but a collection of data that the operating system cannot classify as media, documents or applications, including browser cache, temporary messenger files, remnants of remote games and system logs, often inflated by streaming services that store buffered video.
The MIUI and HyperOS firmware files are a special feature. Once the system is updated, the old installation packages can remain in memory, taking up space, and data from the Android/data folder, which stores the cache of heavy games and navigation maps, also comes in.
It is important to distinguish between system cache and user data. While the former can be removed relatively freely, the latter may contain important information, such as draft messages or offline maps. Always check the contents of folders before cleaning to avoid losing the desired files.
⚠️ Warning: Deleting system files from Android root folders can lead to unstable interface performance or loss of application data.
Use of the built-in "Security" application
The easiest and safest way to start cleaning is to use Xiaomi’s regular tool.Security has access to the main system directories and can remove obvious debris without risk to the system. Run the program and select Cleanup.
Once scanned, the system will prompt the removal of temporary files and advertising debris, but this method is often superficial and does not affect the deep cache of applications, which makes up the lion's share of the "Other" section. For a more thorough cleaning, click on "Rescue" inside the application and wait for the analysis to be completed.
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Run a standard cleanup through the Security app once a week to prevent a large amount of temporary files from accumulating.
To access deeper cleaning settings, go to the app menu and find the Deep Clean section, where you can analyze large files and duplicates. Remember that Xiaomi algorithms sometimes flag important files as junk, so always check the list before deleting.
- 🗑️ Click on the broom icon to start a quick scan.
- 📂 Select “Dumpster Cleanup” for detailed analysis.
- ✅ Only mark safe to remove categories.
Manual cleaning through the file manager
For advanced users, manual cleaning is available through standard File Manager, which allows you to visually estimate the size of folders and delete specific files that take up space. Go to the root directory of internal storage.
First, pay attention to the folder. MIUI. Inside it are folders. debug_log (Debugging logs and gallery logs can be deleted safely, only developers need to diagnose crashes, and check the backup folder if you don't plan to restore data.
☑️ Checklist for manual cleaning
Another important directory is Android/data, which stores app data, and be careful that removing the folders with the names of messengers or games will result in loss of progress and media within these applications, and only clean the contents of the cache folders, not the application folders themselves.
⚠️ Note: When removing files from the folder Android/data Applications may stop running or require re-authorization.
Cleaning the cache of messengers and social networks
The leaders in filling the Other section are traditionally Telegram, WhatsApp and Viber, which cache all the photos and videos you see, even if you haven't saved them to the gallery. Standard cleaning often doesn't see that content as junk.
In Telegram, you need to go to Settings → Data and Memory → Memory Use. Here you can clear the cache and set up automatic deletion of old files. This action is safe and will not delete your correspondence, since they are stored on the server.
WhatsApp is more complicated. Cache is shared, and cleaning through phone settings can be less efficient. Better use the built-in function: Settings → Data and Storage → Storage Management. Here you can select chats with a lot of data and delete media selectively.
| Annex | Path to cache (example) | Security of removal | Impact on data |
|---|---|---|---|
| Telegram | Application settings | Tall. | Without losing correspondence. |
| Android/media/com.whatsapp | Medium | Can remove media from chat rooms | |
| TikTok | Application settings | Tall. | No loss of drafts |
| YouTube | Application settings | Tall. | Offline video reset |
Why is the cache growing so fast?
Removal of logs and system debris
Android system based MIUI log files can take up a significant amount of space, especially if the system has recently crashed. ADB-Teams, but there is an easier way.
Try clearing the system services cache through the developer menu. Enable the developer mode (7 times click on the build number in About Phone), then go to Advanced Settings → For Developers. Find Download Services or similar and clear the data.
It's also worth checking the.Thumbnail folder in the gallery. It's a hidden folder where you store thumbnails of photos. If you have a lot of photos and videos, this file can weigh a few gigabytes. It can be safely deleted, the system will create a new one when you need it.
- 🔍 Enable the display of hidden files in the Explorer.
- 📁 Find the folder.thumbnails in the root or DCIM.
- 🗑️ Remove the contents of the folder to free up space.
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Regularly cleaning the folder.thumbnails can free up up to 5-10 GB of space on devices with a lot of photos.
Resetting settings as a radical method
If neither method worked and the Other continues to grow, there may have been a build-up of errors in the file system, in which case a complete factory reset is an effective but radical method, which will bring the phone back to the out-of-the-box state.
Before you do this, make sure to back up all your important data to your cloud service or computer, reset will delete everything: contacts, photos, apps and settings, and make sure that your battery is at least 50%.
To reset, go to Settings → About Phone → Settings Reset → Erase all data. The process will take a few minutes, after which the phone will restart. This is guaranteed to remove all accumulated system debris and file system errors.
⚠️ Warning: After resetting settings, recovering data from a backup can return some of the “junk” again if you set up system settings for applications.
Prevention of memory overflow
To prevent the problem from returning to the “Other” section, you need to develop a habit of regular maintenance of the smartphone: Do not allow the memory to be filled “on the back”, leave 10-15% free space for the normal operation of the system and recording mechanisms.
Use cloud storage for photos and videos. Services like Google Photos or Yandex.Disk allow you to free up space on your device by storing originals in the cloud. Set up automatic sync and Free up space.
Should I use third-party cleaners?
Also keep an eye out for system updates. With newer versions of HyperOS and MIUI, Xiaomi often optimizes memory and fixes bugs that cause partitions to bloat, and regular updates are the best prevention.