How to Clean Up Your Space in Xiaomi Cloud and Free Up Space

Modern Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones are using cloud technology to save user data, ensuring its security in case of loss of the device. However, free space in Xiaomi Cloud is limited to only 5 gigabytes, which when you use the camera and messengers, fills up very quickly. When the limit is exhausted, the system stops creating new backups, and you get constant notifications about the lack of space, requiring immediate intervention.

Many users mistakenly believe that cleaning requires deleting files directly from the phone gallery, which often results in the loss of important images without real freeing up space in the cloud. The right approach requires understanding the synchronization structure and managing storage through special web or account interfaces. In this article, we will discuss in detail how to safely delete excess data, clear the cache of old backups and optimize the use of your personal space.

Before we start taking drastic measures, it's important to understand what exactly takes up the most volume, usually high-resolution photos and videos, and full copies of the system that can be stored for years. Deleting a backup system frees up to 90% of the space, but makes it impossible to completely roll back the phone's settings in the event of a reset. Let's look at the step-by-step algorithm for each type of data.

Analysis of cloud storage occupancy

The first step is to make sure you know which sections are consuming your limit. The standard settings menu doesn't always give you a detailed picture, so the most reliable way to log in to your account is through a browser, which allows you to see the real weight distribution between the photo gallery, contacts, notes and, most importantly, hidden system archives.

Go to the official Mi Cloud website and log in using your Mi Account. On the dashboard homepage, you'll see a color chart that clearly shows what percentage of images are taken up and what percentage are taken up by device backups. Users are often surprised to find that old backups from long-sold or lost phones are still hanging dead weight, taking up precious gigabytes.

Note the "Storage Management" section in your smartphone settings on the Settings path → Mi Account → Cloud → Storage Management. Here the information may be less detailed, but it is useful for quickly assessing the situation on the fly. If the scale is filled in red, then the synchronization of new data is completely stopped before cleaning.

⚠️ Warning: Do not delete files directly through the Android file manager in the hope of freeing up space in the cloud. If sync is active, deleting the file on the phone will automatically remove it from the cloud, and recovering data will be extremely difficult.

Cleaning the gallery and removing duplicates

The most obvious but time-consuming way to free up space is to work with the media library. Xiaomi Cloud stores the original photos even if the device is enabled storage optimization, which means that the cloud contains heavy files that create the main load on the limit of 5 GB.

Use built-in sorting tools to clean effectively. Go to the Gallery app and look at the folders of screenshots, uploaded images from messengers and serial shooting, and often that's where digital trash accumulates, which is not a pity to lose, but takes up space.

• 📸 Open the album "Recently Deleted" and clean it up, as the photos there take up space in the cloud for another 30 days before the final erasure.
• 🎬 Check the video folder, as one minute clip in the 4K It can weigh more than a thousand photos, and it is the videos that most often cause overflow.
• 🗑️ Use the Cleanup function in the Security or Gallery app to find similar images and blurry images that you can delete without regret.

After deleting a large number of media files, be sure to check the cart in the cloud web interface. Files deleted from your phone first enter the cloud basket, continuing to occupy space. Only a complete cleanup of the cart on i.mi.com guarantees real free space.

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Use Google Photos or Yandex.Disk to store an archive of old photos, leaving only the most important and fresh images in Xiaomi Cloud, so as not to overflow the main limit.

Removal of old system backups

The most powerful argument in the fight for space are full backups of the device. Local backups created through a standard phone app and uploaded to the cloud can weigh from 10 to 50 gigabytes or more, instantly overflowing the free rate.

To delete them, you need to go to the web version of the service. In the management interface, select the tab "Backup" or "Device." Here you will see a list of all gadgets ever associated with your account. Select a device that you no longer need backup (for example, from an old phone), and click the delete button.

Delete path: i.mi.com → Cloud → Backup → Select device → Delete

It's important to distinguish between types of backups. There's contact synchronization and SMS that takes up a minimum of space, and there's a full cast of the system. Deleting a full cast won't affect your contacts or notes if they're synchronized separately. It's a safe operation if you have a current copy of important data on another medium.

⚠️ Note: Before removing the system backup, make sure you remember passwords from all important apps and bank accounts, as it will be impossible to restore them through the cloud backup after resetting the phone.

Managing Application and Data Synchronization

In addition to media files and system archives, a place in Xiaomi Cloud can consume data from specific applications, such as voice recorders, files from the Explorer, browser history or data from system applications like Calendar and Alarm clock.

Go to the cloud settings on your smartphone via the Settings menu → Mi Account → Cloud. This is a list of all the services that have access to sync. Carefully analyze each item. For example, synchronizing recordings of the recorder may not be necessary if you do not use the phone for lectures, and the files occupy a significant amount of space.

Disabling sync for specific items does not delete data already downloaded instantly, but prevents new ones from downloading. To delete existing data, you often need to go to the web interface of the corresponding service (for example, in the "Notes" or "Dictorney" section of the site) and delete files there manually.

Also worth paying attention to is the synchronization of Wi-Fi settings and screen savers. Although they weigh a little, in combination with other trifles, they create a "memory effect" that interferes with accurate diagnosis. Turn off all points, leaving only Contacts, Messages and possibly the Gallery (with restrictions).

Use of the storage optimization function

Modern versions of the MIUI and HyperOS have smart algorithms that help manage space, and the optimization feature allows you to automatically remove photos and videos that are already stored in their original quality on the device from the cloud, or vice versa, free up space on the phone, leaving only thumbnails in the cloud.

But if your goal is to clean up the cloud, not your phone, you have to do the opposite: you have to find files that you don't need anywhere. You have to find files that you don't need anywhere. You can tell the big files, but the final decision is made by the user. Use a built-in storage analyzer that ranks files by size and date of last use.

Keep in mind hidden albums. Photos and videos placed in a hidden album on your phone can also sync to the cloud unless the backlash is set. Check the contents of hidden folders, as users often forget about the heavy video files there.

Frequent questions and problem-solving

The cleanup process can raise questions, especially when it comes to data security and error recovery, and here are the answers to the most common questions users have when working with a crowded Mi Cloud storage.

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Regularly checking cloud storage every 3-4 months avoids a critical situation with overflow and loss of important data due to synchronization stoppage.

To sum up, managing Xiaomi Cloud requires periodic attention and understanding the difference between synchronization and backup. By regularly removing unnecessary system archives and controlling the media library, you will ensure the stable operation of the Xiaomi ecosystem without having to pay for additional gigabytes.