How to Clean Storage on Xiaomi: A Complete Memory Freeing Guide

Noticing that your Xiaomi, Redmi or POCO is slowing down, apps are loading for a long time, and the system gives a notification “Not enough memory”? The reason most often lies in clogged storage. Even if you have a model with 128 GB or 256 GB of memory, over time it fills with cache, temporary files, duplicate photos and “junk” from applications. In this article, we will discuss 7 proven ways to clean up storage — from standard MIUI tools to hidden functions and third-party utilities.

Xiaomi smartphones are particularly aggressive in their caching to speed up work, and on the one hand, it's a plus: apps open faster, and on the other hand, it's a downside: it can take up to 10 to 15 GB of invisible garbage that isn't displayed in the standard file manager, and we'll show you how to find and delete these files without risking the system, and we'll teach you how to distinguish secure data from mission-critical data.

1. Standard cleaning through "Safety"

The easiest way is to use the built-in Security utility (formerly called Cleanup), which analyzes the device and suggests that you delete unnecessary files in a few taps.

• 📱 Open the Security app (Icon with shield).
• 🧹 Select the “Cleaning” or “Accelerating” section».
• 🔍 Click "Check" and wait for analysis (it will take 10–30 seconds).
• ✅ Check the categories for cleaning: Application cache, Advertising files, Residual files.
• 🗑️ Click “Clean” and confirm the action.

This method removes up to 1-3 GB of debris, but does not touch deep system files. For example, the cache of Google Play Services or messenger data (Telegram, WhatsApp) will remain intact.

2. Manual cleaning of the app cache

Many apps (especially social networks and instant messengers) accumulate gigabytes of cache, for example, TikTok can take up to 500 MB only on temporary files, and Instagram can take up to 1 GB.

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Select an app (such as YouTube or Facebook).
3. Slip "Storage" → "Clear the cache."
4. For a complete application data reset, click “Clear Data» (⚠️ Warning: This will delete all settings and files of the program, including logins!).

List of the most “gluttonous” applications by cache:

⚠️ Note: Do not clear the cache of system applications called com.android. or com.miui. – this can lead to malfunctions MIUI.

3. Removal of duplicate photos and videos

Photos and videos take up the lion's share of memory, especially if you're using Google Photos, Xiaomi Gallery or instant messengers that automatically save media, to find and remove duplicates:

• 📸 Use the built-in function in the Gallery → Albums. → Duplicates (available on MIUI 12+).
• 🔍 For in-depth analysis, install Files by Google (free in Play Market) which finds not only duplicates, but also blurred/failed images.
• 🗑️ Before deleting, check if important photos are saved in only one copy!

Tip: turn on Settings → Storage → Free up the option “Delete screenshots over 30 days” – this will free up to 1-2 GB automatically.

Sync with Google Photos enabled|Important photos saved in the cloud|Duplicates checked manually|Backup copy on PC created-->

4. Cleanup of downloads and temporary files

Download folder is a real dump of unnecessary files: old APKs, documents, archives, images from the Internet. Often users forget to clean it, and it takes 5-10 GB.

1. Open Files → Categories → Downloads.
2. Sort files by date (⋮ → Sorting → By date) and delete everything older than 6 months.
3. Note files with extensions:.apk – outdated versions of applications;.tmp – temporary files;.zip/.rar — Archives that have already been opened.

To automate, install SD Maid (requires root permissions for deep cleaning) or CCleaner. These applications will find temporary files even in system folders.

⚠️ Note: Do not delete files with names miui_* or persist in a folder /data — This can disrupt the firmware.

5. Transfer data to a memory card or cloud

If the cleanup didn’t work, consider moving some of the data to a microSD or cloud storage.

• 📁 For applications: Settings → Annexes → Select an application → Warehouse → Change. → Memory card (not working for all programs).
• ☁️ For photo/video: enable autosynchronization in Google Photos or Mi Cloud (gives 5GB for free).
• 🔄 For music: transfer the Music folder to the memory card through Files → Select → Move it.

Important: ExFAT memory cards support files larger than 4GB, but can run slower than internal memory. For games and applications, it is better to use A2 cards (for example, SanDisk Extreme).

6. Reset to factory settings (last resort)

If none of these methods worked, and there is a critically small amount of free space (less than 500 MB), you will have to do a hard reset, which will delete ALL data, including apps, photos and settings, so:

Create a backup in Mi Cloud|Copy photo/video on PC|Record logins from accounts|Make sure that SIM-map extracted-->

1. Go to Settings → About Phone → Resetting → Erase all data.
2. Enter the password from the Mi Account (if linked).
3. Confirm action. The phone will reboot and return to "clean" status.

After discharge:

• 🔄 Restore data from backup (if you did).
• 🚫 Don’t install all apps at once – add them gradually to avoid new littering.
• 📱 Turn off autoload media in messengers (WhatsApp, Viber).

⚠️ Note: On models with a locked boot loader (Redmi Note 10, POCO X3 And newer, resets may require you to enter a password from your Mi Account, even if you haven't tied it!

7. Hidden Ways: ADB and Engineering Menu

For advanced users, there are ADB (Android Debug Bridge) cleaning methods and an engineering menu that allow you to remove system debris that you can't see in standard settings.

• 🖥️ Cache removal ART/Dalvik (Accelerated system: adb shell pm clear --user 0 com.android.art
• 🗑️ Cleaning the folder. /data/log (System logs: adb shell rm -rf /data/log/*
• 🔧 Reset battery statistics (if the phone is discharged quickly): adb shell dumpsys battery reset

To work with ADB you need:

1. USB Debugging enabled (Settings → About Phone → MIUI Version → 7 taps by version number → For developers → Debugging by USB).
2. Installed Xiaomi and ADB drivers on PC.
3. Knowing commands – Incorrect input can disrupt the system!

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Before using ADB, create a restore point in TWRP (if installed) to help roll back changes if you make an error.

FAQ: Frequent questions about cleaning up storage

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Regularly cleaning the cache and removing duplicate photos frees up to 30% of memory. For deep cleaning, use a combination of standard MIUI tools and third-party utilities (Files by Google, SD Maid).