Cleaning up the MI Cloud on Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Pro: the full guide 2026

Owners of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Pro often face the problem of crowded cloud storage MI Cloud, especially if you use it to automatically back up photos, contacts or notes. Even 5 GB of free space (the standard tariff for new accounts) quickly run out, and notifications about the lack of space begin to annoy. But not everyone knows that you can clean the cloud not only through your smartphone, but also from your computer – this is much more convenient for mass deleting files.

In this article, we will look at all the ways to free up space in the MI Cloud, from basic deletion of unnecessary data to hidden features that Xiaomi does not disclose in the official documentation. You will also learn how to turn off automatic synchronization so that the problem does not recur, and what to do if the cloud freezes and does not respond to commands.

If you've never cleaned the cloud before, start with the "Check Occupied Space" section, which explains which files are eating your space, and power users can immediately move on to massively delete or disable sync.

How to check what is in the MI Cloud

Before you delete something, you need to understand what data is stored in your cloud. On the Redmi Note 8 Pro, this is done through the MI Cloud app (white cloud icon on a blue background). If it's not on the home screen, search the app menu or search the system.

Open the app and log in (if you haven't done it before) and on the homepage you'll see a diagram of occupied space by category:

• 📷 Photos and videos — usually take up the lion's share of space, especially if auto-reservation is enabled.
• 📱 Backups are backups of settings, SMS and call logs.
• 📝 Notes – if you use the standard Notes app.
• 👥 Contacts are synchronized phone numbers.
• 📁 Files are manual downloads via a web interface or other applications.

Click on any category to see a detailed list of files, sorted by date or size. Notice the Trash folder — deleted files are stored there for another 30 days and take up space too!

Important! If the diagram shows that the space is occupied but the files are scarce, it may be that data from previously deleted devices remains in the cloud, for example, if you used another Xiaomi smartphone and backed up the same account.

Manual deletion of files via smartphone

The easiest way is to delete files directly from the Redmi Note 8 Pro. This method is suitable if you need to get rid of individual photos, notes or contacts, but is ineffective for mass cleaning.

Step-by-step:

1. Open the MI Cloud app.
2. Select a category (e.g., Photos).
3. Press and hold your finger on the file to activate the selection mode.
4. Check the unneeded files (you can tap on the thumbnails).
5. Click on the basket icon (🗑️) top-right.
6. Confirm removal.

To speed up the process, use sorting by size:

1. In the Photos section, click on the three dots (⋮) in the upper right corner.
2. Select Sort. → By size.
3. Delete the largest files (usually video or RAW-photo).

⚠️ Warning: The files deleted through the application are put in the recycle bin and stored there for 30 days. To make room immediately, go to the Recycle Bin section after you delete and manually clean it.

Check the occupied space in the MI Cloud

Backup important files on the PC

Disable autosynchronization of photos (optional)

Clean the basket after removal-->

Massive removal via the web version of MI Cloud

If you want to delete hundreds of files, it's much more convenient to do it through a web interface on your computer.

• 🔍 See all files on a big screen.
• 📂 Allocate entire folders in one click.
• 🔄 Use hotkeys (e.g., Ctrl+A to select all files).

Instructions:

1. Open your browser on your PC and go to i.mi.com.
2. Sign in under the same account as on your smartphone.
3. In the left menu, select the Photos, Files or other appropriate section.
4. For mass selection, press Ctrl+A (Windows) or Cmd+A (Mac).
5. Click on the basket icon (🗑️) and confirm the removal.

For convenience, use filters:

• 📅 By Date: Delete old files (e.g., older than 1 year old).
• 📏 By size: Sort by descending and remove the largest.
• 📁 By folder: Entire directories can be deleted in the Files section.

A critical feature of Redmi Note 8 Pro: when you delete it on the web, sometimes you get a "Server Unavailable" error, in which case you update the page (F5) or try another browser (Chrome or Firefox is recommended).

Turning off automatic synchronization

Even after cleaning, the cloud will quickly fill up again if you don't turn off autosynchronization. On the Redmi Note 8 Pro, it works for:

• 📷 Photographs (Appendix Gallery).
• 👥 Contacts (Contact Appendix)
• 📝 Notes (Appendix Notes).
• 📱 Backup copies (system settings).

How to turn off synchronization of photos:

1. Open the → Albums Gallery → Cloud.
2. Press three dots (⋮) → Synchronization settings.
3. Transfer the slider Autosynchronization to the position Off.
4. Choose Remove from the Cloud if you want to delete photos that have already been uploaded.

For contacts and notes:

1. Open the MI Cloud app.
2. Go to the Synchronization section.
3. Turn off the sliders opposite Contact and Notes.

⚠️ Warning: Disabling contact sync will prevent new numbers from being saved to the cloud. If you lose your phone, it will be impossible to restore them! VCF before the shutdown.

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If you take pictures often but don’t want to clog the cloud, use Google Photos with free image compression. Set up autoload only over Wi-Fi so you don’t waste mobile traffic.

Cleaning old backup copies

Backups are one of the main space eaters in MI Cloud. On the Redmi Note 8 Pro, they are created automatically when connected to Wi-Fi, if the feature is enabled in the settings. One copy can weigh between 500MB and 2GB, and older versions are not deleted by themselves.

How to find and remove backups:

1. Open MI Cloud → Backup.
2. You will see a list of devices (like the Redmi Note 8 Pro) and the dates of creation of copies.
3. Click on the device → select an unnecessary copy → Delete.

If there is no Delete button, the copy is active (last one) to erase it:

1. Create a new backup (even if you don’t need to).
2. Once the old copy is completed, the deletion option will be available.

On the Redmi Note 8 Pro, backups sometimes get stuck when you delete them. If the process is 0% hanging, restart your phone and try again.

Cleaning up the MI Cloud cache and resetting settings

If the cloud is unstable (does not load files, shows the wrong size of the occupied space), the problem may be in the cache of the application or the lost settings.

Cache reset:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Find MI Cloud in the list.
3. Press Warehouse. → Clear the cache.

Resetting of synchronization settings:

1. Open MI Cloud → Settings (⚙️) → Reset your sync settings.
2. Confirm the action.
3. Reboot the phone.

After resetting, you will have to re-enable sync for the data you want (contacts, notes, etc.), but this often solves problems with the “hung” files.

⚠️ Warning: Resetting sync settings does not remove files from the cloud, but can lead to data duplication if the phone and MI Cloud have different versions of the same files.

Alternatives to MI Cloud: Where to move data

If 5GB of MI Cloud is consistently under-resourced, consider alternative cloud services with more free storage or more flexible rates:

How to transfer data from MI Cloud to another service:

• 📁 Photo/Video: Download them via the web version of the MI Cloud on your PC, then upload them to the new service.
• 👥 Contacts: Export to VCF (Contacts → Settings → Export) and import to Google Contacts.
• 📝 Notes: Copy text manually or use export to PDF (if supported).

To automatically sync with an alternative cloud, install the appropriate app (e.g. Google Photos or Yandex Drive>) and set up the autoboot.

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Before mass data transfer, check if the new service supports background backup over the mobile network. Some applications (such as Google Photos) by default download files only over Wi-Fi.

Frequent questions about cleaning up MI Cloud