Owners of the popular Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Pro smartphone often face a situation where the built-in storage is overflowing, which leads to slowdowns in the interface, inability to install app updates and problems when shooting photos or videos. Android itself requires free space for the correct operation of temporary files and virtual memory.
Effective cleaning of the device requires a comprehensive approach, including deleting temporary files, analyzing large folders and setting system parameters. In this guide, we will look at safe and proven methods of freeing up space that will help return your gadget to its previous speed.
Analysis of vault occupancy
Before you start deleting data, you need to understand what exactly takes up space. The MIUI shell has a powerful memory analysis tool built in that allows you to visualize file distribution. Go to Settings and select Memory or use the Security app.
The system will show you a breakdown by category: apps, images, videos, documents and system files. Notice the “Other” section, which is often inflated by the cache of messengers and residual files of remote programs. Point removal of large objects is often more effective than mass cleaning of small things.
Use a built-in analyzer to find duplicates and rarely used programs, which will help to identify hidden consumers of disk space that are not visible when you view a gallery.
- 📱 Open the Security app and click Cleanup».
- 📊 Study the memory allocation schedule in the storage settings.
- 🗑️ Remove files from the gallery cart if they take up a lot of space.
⚠️ Note: When analyzing the System Files section, do not manually delete unknown files with the.apk or.obb extension, if you are not sure of their origin, this may disrupt the operation of installed games.
Regular monitoring of occupancy prevents critical overflows, and if the system partition is more than 90% occupied, the phone may start to work irregularly.
Cleaning the application cache and system
Cache is temporary data that apps save to speed up loading, which accumulates over time and can take up gigabytes. The Redmi Note 8 Pro is characterized by active caching in social media apps and browsers.
To clear the cache of a particular application, go to Settings → Apps → All apps. Select the program you want (like YouTube or Chrome) and click Clear Cache. It is important not to confuse this button with the Clear All button, which will delete your logins and settings.
System cache can be cleaned through recovery mode (Recovery), but for everyday use, standard MIUI tools are enough. Regular cleaning of the browser cache is especially useful if you actively use web versions of social networks.
☑️ Checklist for cache cleanup
Some users use third-party utilities to clean up, but Xiaomi's built-in tools are often safer and more efficient, knowing the specifics of the MIUI file system and not removing critical configurations.
- 🧹 The browser cache can take up to 1-2 GB of disk space.
- ⚙️ The system cache is updated automatically, but requires periodic checks.
- 🚫 Do not use accelerators from unknown sources, they often contain ads.
Once the cache is cleared, applications can load a little longer on the first run, but that's OK. The system will recreate the necessary temporary files.
Working with garbage in messengers
The biggest memory consumer on a modern smartphone is often WhatsApp, Telegram or Viber. These apps automatically store all the photos and videos you receive to the gallery, even if you didn’t open them. In Redmi Note 8 Pro, instant messenger folders can weigh tens of gigabytes.
Each messenger has its own storage settings inside it, for example, Telegram can go to Settings → Data and Memory → Memory Use and Clear Cache, which will not delete your correspondence, but will remove downloaded media from the phone’s memory.
It is recommended to disable auto-save media in the gallery, which will prevent duplicate files: they will remain inside the messenger, but will not take up space in the shared storage of Android.
⚠️ Before deep cleaning of messengers, make sure that important documents and photos are saved in the cloud or on your computer, as clearing the cache can remove access to them without the Internet.
Where to find hidden messenger folders?
Disabling autoload video on mobile networks will also save space significantly: Video files have a high bitrate and quickly fill up free space.
- 💬 In WhatsApp, the cleanup takes place through the “Storage and Data” section in the chat settings.
- 📉 Disabling auto-save in the gallery saves up to 40% of the space occupied by the messenger.
- 📂 Periodically check the Documents folder inside messengers for the presence of old files.
Removing old group chats where there is active media sharing is also an effective way to free up space.
Removal of duplicates and large files
On the Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Pro with a high-resolution camera, photo shoots quickly take up space. Often users take multiple identical pictures or save images from the Internet without forgetting them. Search and remove duplicates is an important step in optimizing.
Use the Explorer app or third-party copy search tools. Pay attention to files with a resolution of 4000x3000 and above, they weigh the most. 4K or 1080p at 60fps videos are also priority candidates for deletion or portability.
Transferring archival photos and videos to a computer or cloud storage (Google Photos, Yandex.Disk) allows you to free up local memory by saving access to files over the network, this is especially true for a model with a basic version of 64 GB memory.
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Use the Compressed Photos feature in Google Photos or similar clouds to store the originals in the archive, and leave compressed copies on your phone that take up 3-4 times less space.
Remember to check the Downloads folder, which often accumulates installation files. APK, PDF-Documents and promotional images that are no longer needed.
- 🎥 Video files take up the most space, check them first.
- 📸 Screenshots of the screen are often forgotten and lie in the gallery for years.
- ☁️ Cloud storage is the best friend of a smartphone owner with limited memory.
Regularly auditing the gallery once a month will help keep things in order, and removing blurry images and failed frames is a good way to get started.
System settings and removal of applications
In MIUI, many pre-installed applications can be removed or disabled, not only freeing up space, but also reducing the load on RAM. Go to Settings → Applications → All applications and carefully study the list.
Some system components, such as Google Play Services or system, cannot be touched, but unnecessary games, test apps, and duplicate software (such as two browsers) can be safely removed. To remove system applications that are not removed as standard, root or ADB, But it takes care.
It's also worth checking the system settings, and turning off unnecessary desktop widgets and live wallpaper can slightly reduce the system load, although it does not affect the storage volume, the main thing is to make room for the system partition so that the OS can function.
| Type of data | Where to find out. | Can be removed | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash app. | Settings → Applications | Yes. | Low. |
| Download folder | Conductor → Download | Yes. | Low. |
| System Logs | MIUI Debug Logs | Carefully. | Medium. |
| Files.obb | Android/obb | Only if the game is deleted. | Tall (breaks the game) |
⚠️ Note: Never delete files from folders Android/data and Android/obb manually through a conductor, if you don't know exactly which application they belong to, this will result in loss of progress in games or malfunction of programs.
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Securely removing applications through a standard controller is the best way to avoid system errors, as opposed to manually deleting files through the root explorer.
Use the Background Activity Limit feature for rarely used applications. This won't free up space, but will improve the overall performance of the device.
Use of memory card and cloud services
Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Pro features a microSD card slot, which is a great solution to space shortage. You can transfer all photos, videos and music to an external medium. To do this, insert the card, then select formatting as portable storage in the storage settings.
Once you set up the memory card, you can change the default save path in the camera and voice recorder, and many applications also allow you to specify the way to save files in your settings. SD-This automatically offloads the internal memory.
Cloud services like Google One or Mi Cloud offer automatic sync, and by setting up Wi-Fi-only sync, you can store your original photos in the cloud, and only leave thumbnails on your phone.
- 💾 Class memory card U3 or V30 Provide fast video recording without delay.
- ☁️ Cloud services often give 15GB for free, which is enough for thousands of documents.
- 🔄 Check your sync status regularly so you don’t lose important data.
Using external drives is the most reliable long-term solution for owners of multimedia smartphones.