Xiaomi’s current smartphones are using cloud services to store important user data. Mi Cloud becomes a storage facility for thousands of photos, contacts, notes and voice recorders. Over time, the amount of information accumulated reaches the limit of 5 GB, which is provided free of charge.
When the space runs out, the system stops backing up and syncing new files, a critical situation that requires immediate intervention, and in this article we will detail how to clean Xiaomi’s Mi Cloud, delete the redundant and free up space for important documents.
You'll learn about standard cleaning tools, manually deleting files through your browser, and gallery specifics. Deleting photos from the Xiaomi cloud when synchronized automatically erases them from your phone's memory, a key point that many beginners forget about.
Analysis of cloud storage occupancy
Before you take any drastic action, you need to accurately assess the scale of the problem. The standard smartphone interface does not always give a complete picture of what exactly occupies space. For detailed analysis, the best way to use the web version of the service or the account settings menu.
Log into your phone's settings, go to Mi Account and select Cloud, which shows the total amount of space you've used and categorize it, and you'll see how much space photos, contacts, notes, and other data take up.
Users are often surprised to find that the bulk of data is not taken up by modern images, but by old videos or duplicate files. Storage analytics reveals these heavyweight categories. If photos are the bulk of the data, you should consider migrating the archive to a computer.
- 📸 Gallery – typically takes up to 80% of the available space in the cloud.
- 📞 Contacts and calls take up minimal space, but cleaning them requires caution.
- 📝 Notes and voice recorder – text files are light, but audio recordings can weigh a lot.
- 📱 Backups of apps – often forgotten and stored for years.
⚠️ Before mass cleaning, make sure to check if sync is enabled on your other devices.Deleting a file on one device while actively syncing will cause it to disappear everywhere.
Once you've identified the top category for seat consumption, you can plan a cleanup strategy, don't delete everything, hope it's a chance, and make sense of it, saves important memories and work documents.
Cleaning gallery and photos through the web interface
The most effective way to manage media files is to use the full web version of the service. The mobile application often has limited functionality for bulk operations. The computer version of the site allows you to work with files as conveniently as with folders on your hard drive.
Open your browser on your PC and go to the official i.mi.com website. Sign in using your Mi Account. After you log in, select the Gallery icon. Here is a complete list of all photos uploaded to the cloud from all your devices.
The interface of the web gallery allows you to select files in groups. You can select an entire album or range of photos for a certain date. To do this, click on the first file, press the Shift key and click on the last file in the range. All intermediate pictures will be highlighted.
Once highlighted, press the delete button, and the files will be moved to the bin, where they will be stored for another 30 days, which gives you time to recover if you accidentally delete something important, and the complete release of space only occurs after cleaning the basket.
- 🗑️ Mass allocation – allows you to delete thousands of photos at a time.
- 📅 Sorting by date – convenient for deleting old archives.
- 🔄 Recycle Bin - Safety buffer area before final removal.
Pay special attention to video files. They weigh significantly more images and fill the quota faster than you do. In the web interface, you can sort files by type and quickly find heavy videos to delete.
Delete data through smartphone settings
If you don’t have a computer at hand, you can clean it directly through the menu of Xiaomi’s smartphone, a method that is less convenient for working with thousands of files, but is suitable for point deleting or working with small amounts of data.
Go to Settings -> Mi Account -> Cloud. Here you will see a list of services that use sync. By clicking on a specific item, such as Gallery, you will be taken to the cloud management menu for this category.
The menu that opens often offers a storage management option, and the system may suggest removing old backups or files that take up too much space, but deep cleaning will still require you to click on a link to the web version or use a file manager.
What to do if the removal button is inactive?
You can also turn off sync for certain applications in the settings, which will prevent new files from entering the cloud, but will not delete those that have already been downloaded.
⚠️ Note: Disabling sync before deleting files can result in data being desynchronized.Make sure you understand the difference between deleting a local copy and deleting from the cloud.
Use the built-in MIUI cleaner, which can find duplicate photos that take up space in both the cloud and the phone's memory, but remember that the cleaner works with local storage, not directly with Mi Cloud servers.
Working with backup copies and voice recorder
Photos are not the only source of garbage: Old backups of system settings, call lists and messages can take up a significant amount of space, especially for users who often change smartphones.
To manage backups, go to the Backup section of the cloud menu, which shows all saved backups, and remove old copies created for devices you no longer use.
And if you use a recorder a lot of conversations or lectures, these files can weigh hundreds of megabytes, and unlike photos, they can't be viewed quickly in a gallery, so they often go unnoticed.
☑️ Checking before cleaning
The recordings are synced separately from the gallery, and to delete them, you need to go to the appropriate section through the web interface or the Notes app, where you can select specific audio files and delete them irrevocably.
Regularly checking these partitions helps keep things in order, and it is recommended to audit your backups every six months, ensuring that only the current data on your current device is stored in the cloud.
Specificity of removing contacts and notes
Contacts and notes are minimal, but loss can be the most painful. Clearing requires maximum accuracy. Users often confuse local contacts with those stored in a Google or Mi Account.
When you remove a contact from the cloud, it disappears from all your synced devices, and if you use multiple phones or tablets, changing the address book on one of them will affect all the others, which is a feature of cloud sync.
Mi Note notes are also synced instantly, deleting a note with text or a to-do list will cause it to disappear everywhere, and it is recommended to export important text data to a separate file or send it to your own mail before cleaning.
| Type of data | Impact on memory | Risk of loss | Recovery method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Photos and videos | High. | High (autosynchronization) | Basket (30 days) |
| Contacts | Low. | critical | Recovery from backup |
| Notes | Low. | Medium. | A basket of notes. |
| Recorder recordings | Average. | Medium. | Only from a local copy. |
To work with contacts safely, you'd better use a web interface where you can see the full list, where it's easier to pick out duplicates or old numbers that are no longer relevant and delete them point by point.
Cleaning the basket and final removal
Many users forget that the Recycle Bin in Mi Cloud exists, and even after deleting files, the space is not immediately released, and the files are moved to a buffer zone where they are stored for 30 days in case of mistaken deletion.
To actually clean up the Mi Cloud and get back the megabytes, you have to clear the cart. In the web interface, this section is on the side menu or at the bottom of the file list. In the mobile application, access to the cart can be limited.
Once the bin is cleaned, the files are permanently deleted, and it will be impossible to recover them with standard means, so this step must be final and conscious.
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Tip: Before cleaning the cart, make a local copy of the most important files to your computer or external hard drive.This will create an additional layer of protection against accidental data loss.
Check the vault is full immediately after this operation, the indicator should update to show the vacant space, if this does not happen, try to reload the page or re-enter the account.
What happens if you run out of space in the Mi Cloud?
Can Xiaomi Cloud Boost Increase?
Will the photos be removed from the phone if you clean the cloud?
Regular maintenance of cloud storage is the key to the safety of your digital data, and following these instructions, you will be able to effectively manage the space and be confident in the security of your information.
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The main principle of cleaning Mi Cloud is to first disable sync on your phone if you want to save files locally, and only then delete them from the cloud through the web interface.