Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco smartphones often face situations where the device’s internal memory is mysteriously filled. Android shows that a significant portion of the device’s internal memory is occupied by files of the “Other” or “System Data” category, which is puzzling because the user did not download as much content manually.
The Other section is a storage for system files, application cache, temporary data, and residues of remote programs, which can grow to tens of gigabytes over time, significantly slowing down the gadget, and cleaning this section is necessary for the stable operation of the operating system and installing new updates.
In this article, we will discuss safe and efficient ways to free up space, how to use the built-in MIUI and HyperOS tools, and manual methods for advanced users, and how to act consistently to avoid deleting critical system data.
Analysis of the occupied space and diagnosis
Before you start deleting files, you need to understand what exactly takes up space. The standard storage analyzer in the settings of the smartphone gives only a general idea. For detailed diagnosis, you should use specialized utilities or built-in memory analyzer.
Go to Settings → Memory and wait for analysis to be completed, and the system will show the distribution of space between apps, images, videos and thus the “Other” section, often the lion’s share of this volume is accounted for by the cache of messengers and streaming services.
For more in-depth analysis, you can use Files by Google or Explorer, which allows you to visualize the folder structure and find hidden heavy files that are not displayed in the gallery, and diagnostics helps you avoid deleting system libraries.
- 📱 Open the settings and select About Phone, then Storage for a quick review.
- 🔍 Use the Cleanup feature in the standard Security app for the initial scan.
- 📂 Check the folder. Android/data through the file manager to search for the remnants of remote games.
- 📉 Pay attention to the apps with the most data, often social media.
Understanding the structure of files is key to successful cleaning. Don't blindly delete everything, hoping for a chance. Android is logical, and each file has its own purpose.
Use of built-in MIUI and HyperOS cleaning tools
The MIUI and HyperOS shells have a powerful built-in optimization tool that is located in the Security app, which can find temporary files, advertising debris and remnants of remote applications.
Launch the Security app and click on the Cleanup button. The system will scan and suggest removing secure files. However, standard cleaning often only affects the surface layer. To access the deeper cleanup, click on the Garbage icon or go to the appropriate menu section.
Deep Clean, which contains large files, duplicate photos and rarely used apps, provides a secure way to remove browser cache and temporary packet installation files.
☑️ Checklist of standard cleaning
The big files section is a big one, and often you'll find forgotten video files from messengers or downloaded archives, and if you delete them, it won't affect the system, but it will free up gigabytes.
⚠️ Note: When using Deep Cleanup, carefully look at file previews. The system can flag stored documents or important attachments from work chats as trash.
Regular use of the built-in optimizer helps keep the Other section within reasonable limits, but it doesn’t always see the cache inside specific apps like Telegram or Spotify.
Cleaning the cache of applications and messengers
The main source of the Other section’s growth is messengers and social networks. Telegram, WhatsApp, Viber and Instagram retain huge amounts of media files and cache for fast download.
To clean up, go to Settings → Apps → All apps. Find a heavy app (like Telegram) and go to its properties. Select Storage and click Clear Cache. It is important not to confuse it with the Clean All button, which will reset the app to the installation state.
Telegram itself has a built-in memory management tool. Go to Settings → Data and memory → Memory Use. Here you can set the cache autodeletion in, say, 3 days or a week, this automates the process and prevents overflow.
Similar settings are available on WhatsApp (Settings → Data & Storage → Storage Management) and YouTube, and clearing the cache of these apps often frees up 2 to 10 GB of space instantly.
- 💬 In Telegram, use the “Quick Deletion” function in the memory section to select the type of files.
- 📸 On Instagram, cleaning up cache through Android settings is safer than reinstalling the app.
- 🎵 Spotify and Yandex.Music store offline tracks in cache, check the download settings.
- 🗑️ Regularly check the folder "Favorites" in instant messengers, it often inflates the database.
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Turn on the “Cache Autodelete” function in Telegram settings and set a timer for 3 days, which will prevent the accumulation of gigabytes of garbage in the future.
Remember that once the cache is cleared, applications can take a little longer to load on the first run, which is normal, because the system needs to recreate temporary files.
Working with Android folder and hidden files
In newer versions of Android, access to the Android folder is limited by security policies. However, it is often required to clean the Other, and the standard Explorer may not show the contents of that folder in full.
You can use file managers with extended rights, such as Total Commander or MT Manager, or connect your smartphone to your computer. Android/data Stored application data, including game cache and offline maps.
Deleting folders with packet names (e.g. com.tencent.ig for PUBG or com.spotify.music) will clear the data of the respective applications. Be careful: deleting the folder of the system application may cause it to malfunction.
How to get full access to Android folder on Android 11+?
It’s also worth checking the root of internal memory for folders from long-deleted applications, and developers often leave empty or log-filled directories with their studio names.
⚠️ Warning: Never delete the entire obb folder unless you want to lose game progress or offline navigation data.
Another source of garbage is the.thumbnails folder in the DCIM directory, which stores thumbnails of your photos. If you have thousands of photos, this folder can weigh a few gigabytes. It can be safely cleaned, but it will refill the next time you open the gallery.
Comparison of cleaning methods: efficiency and risks
There are many ways to free up space, but they vary in efficiency and security. Below is a table comparing the basic methods of cleaning the “Other” section on Xiaomi smartphones.
| Cleaning method | Efficiency | Security | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard cleaning (Safety) | Low. | Tall. | Low. |
| Cleaning up the app cache | Medium | Tall. | Low. |
| Delete folders in Android/data | Tall. | Medium | Medium |
| Reset to factory settings | Maximum | Low (data loss) | Tall. |
As you can see from the table, the safest method is the least effective. The trade-off is manually cleaning the cache of heavy applications. Factory reset is a radical measure that is guaranteed to clean up all the excess but requires a full backup.
The use of third-party cleaning applications (Clean Master and analogues) is often discouraged, and they can aggressively unload processes from RAM, leading to increased battery consumption and re-accumulation of garbage.
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The optimal strategy is a combination of regular cleaning of the messenger cache and periodic manual check of the folder Android/data.
If you need to release 100 MB, you need to clean it up as a standard, if you need to free up 20 GB, you have to work with files manually.
Radical measures and resetting settings
If none of the soft methods helped and the Other continues to occupy a critical volume (for example, 40-50 GB per 64 GB of memory), it is possible that the file system is corrupted or indexing errors have accumulated in it.
In this case, resetting all settings helps. Before you do this, be sure to back up all important data to your computer or to the Google Drive / Xiaomi Cloud. Go to Settings → About Phone → Reset → Erase all data.
Once reset, the smartphone will return to the “out of the box” state. The “Other” section will be minimal. When recovering data from the backup, try not to restore the entire application settings, but only photos, contacts and documents.
- ☁️ Check that your copy in Google Photos or Mi Cloud is up to date before resetting.
- 🔑 Remember the password from your Google account, otherwise the phone will be blocked after the reset (FRP).
- 🔋 Charge the device to at least 60% before starting the reset procedure.
- 📲 Make sure that SIM-card taken out or pin code known to avoid blocking the network.
⚠️ Warning: Setting reset deletes ALL data, including gallery photos, contacts (if not synced), Wi-Fi passwords and banking app settings.
The alternative to a full reset might be to reinstall a problem app that generates garbage, so if you notice that the Other grows right after you use a particular program, remove it completely and install it again.
Prevention of memory overflow
To keep the problem from coming back, you need to change your smartphone usage habits, regular maintenance is more important than one-time cleanings, set up automatic uploads to the cloud and delete local copies.
Use the “light” versions of apps (Lite) if you have little memory, they take up less space and consume less resources, and it is also worth turning off auto-save media files to the gallery for channels in messengers that you rarely read.
Take 5 minutes to check the storage once a month, and prevent the phone from slowing down due to lack of space for system operations.
Why does the memory re-energize immediately after cleaning?
By following these simple rules, you can keep your Xiaomi in great shape. File system cleanliness is the key to a long and fast operation of your device.