How to Clean “Other” on Xiaomi: A Complete Memory Freeing Guide

Why does the “Other” section take up so much space on Xiaomi?

Have you ever looked into your Xiaomi, Redmi, or POCO memory settings and found that the Others partition is 10, 20, or even 30GB? This is one of the most common problems MIUI users have. Unlike obvious categories like Photos, Videos, or Apps, the Other folder hides dozens of file types that the system cannot automatically categorize as standard.

In this article, we'll look at what's underneath the "Other," why MIUI doesn't clean those files itself, and how to safely delete unnecessary data without breaking your smartphone. Spoiler: 80 percent of the time, the cache of apps, update residues, system logs and duplicate media files that can be manually deleted, but there are deeper reasons, like hidden MIUI folders that don't show up in the standard file manager.

Before you start cleaning, it's important to understand that "other" is not garbage in the usual sense.

• 📁 App cache (including Google Play Services data that weighs gigabytes)
• 🔄 Remains of updates MIUI (folder MIUI and OTA memory-root)
• 📊 Logs and dumps of the system (files.log,.dmp,.trace)
• 🖼️ Duplicates and miniatures (folder.thumbnails, cache gallery)
• 🤖 Virtual machine files (if you use Xiaomi HyperOS or MIUI 14+)

Method 1: Cleaning the application cache through settings

The easiest and safest method is to remove the app cache, which often inflates to incredible sizes. For example, Google Play Services can take 2-5 GB, and Mi Video or Mi Gallery can take another one. MIUI allows you to clear the cache without deleting the application data.

How to do this:

1. Open Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Click on the three dots in the top right corner and select "Sort by size."
3. Scroll down the list – you’re interested in apps with a cache of 500MB.
4. Put it on the app → “Storage” → “Clean the cache”.

Clear the Google Play Services cache | Delete the data from Mi Gallery | Check the Telegram/WhastApp cache | Clear the browser cache (Chrome/MIUI Browser)

-->

⚠️ Warning: Do not confuse “Clear cache” and “Clear data”; the second action will delete all the settings of the application (for example, chats in Telegram or bookmarks in the browser); the cache contains only temporary files – their removal is safe.

💡

If the cache swells again quickly after cleaning, check the app for background activity. For example, Facebook or TikTok can cache videos even when you're not using them. Limit background work in battery settings.

Method 2: Remove the remnants of MIUI updates

Each MIUI update leaves behind junk files — firmware archives, temporary folders, and installation logs — that can take up to 5 to 10 GB over time, stored in hidden folders and not deleted automatically.

Cleaning instructions:

1. Connect your smartphone to your PC and enable File Transfer (or use a file manager with root access, such as FX File Explorer).
2. Go to the root folder of internal memory and find: 📂 folder MIUI (It weighs 1-3 GB, contains old firmware) 📂 folder OTA (Here are stored downloaded updates) 📂 Download folder (check for old ones) APK-file)

except for the current firmware

miui_HMNote10Pro_V12.5.3.0.RKFCNXM_...

Once a month |Only when critical bugs appear |Never update |Only via Fastboot

-->

⚠️ Note: If you delete the current firmware from the folder MIUI, The smartphone will not be able to boot in Recovery mode.Before cleaning, make sure you have a backup of important data.

Method 3: Cleaning the system’s logs and dumps

MIUI maintains detailed logs that help developers debug bugs. These files are useless to the average user, but they can take anywhere from 500 MB to 3 GB. Especially many logs appear after crashes, updates or using features like Game Turbo.

Where to look and how to remove:

• 📜 folder /sdcard/MIUI/debug_log — contains MIUI (You can remove everything).
• 📜 folder /sdcard/log — system logs (delete files with the extension.log,.txt).
• 📜 folder /sdcard/bugreport — Error dumps (can be completely removed).
• 📜 folder /sdcard/bluetooth — Bluetooth logs (remove everything except current paired devices).

Use Total Commander or Root Explorer to delete it (if you have root rights). If there are no folders, then there are few logs and no cleaning is required.

Method 4: Removing duplicates and cache of media files

The Other folder is often inflated by duplicate photos, videos and thumbnails, like Mi Gallery making copies of each image in the.thumbnails folder, and Google Photos can store local backups, and there are also accumulations of:

• 🖼️ Miniatures (folder.thumbnails, weighs up to 1 GB)
• 🎥 Video cache (Movie or Video folder at the root of memory)
• 📸 Duplicate photos (created when editing in Mi Gallery)
• 🎵 Music cache (Music folder or Mi Music cache)

How to clean:

1. Install a duplicate search app like Files by Google or CCleaner.
2. Run a scan for duplicate photos/video. Delete unnecessary copies.
3. Manually check the DCIM/.thumbnails folder – it can be completely cleaned (miniatures will be restored automatically).
4. Clear the Mi Gallery and Google Photos cache in the app settings.

💡

The.thumbnails folder is the main memory eater, and it contains thumbnails of all your photos and videos, even those you deleted long ago, and you can clean it up, and the system will restore thumbnails the next time you view the gallery.

Method 5: Reset the cache of the system (without data loss)

If previous methods didn’t work, try resetting the system cache via Recovery Mode.This will delete temporary MIUI files but won’t affect your data, apps or settings.The method is especially effective after updates or if the smartphone has started to “slow down.”

Step-by-step:

1. Turn off your smartphone.
2. Press the Power button + Volume up until the Mi logo appears.
3. From the Recovery menu, select the language (if you have a choice), then: Wipe & Reset → Wipe Cache → Confirm
4. After cleaning, restart the device (Reboot → Reboot to System).

⚠️ Warning: Don't confuse "Wipe Cache" and "Wipe Data"! The second option (Wipe Data) will completely reset the smartphone to factory settings, deleting all your files.

Additional methods: for experienced users

If you’re ready to go further, here are a few advanced ways:

• 🔧 ADB-Cleaning commands: Connect your smartphone to your PC and execute: adb shell pm trim-caches 256m This command will forcefully clear the cache of all applications, limiting its size to 256 MB.
• 🛠️ Root Access: With Superuser Rights, System Logs Can Be Deleted via Root Explorer /data/log or /cache. But it is risky – an error can lead to a system failure.
• 📦 Transfer of applications to SD-Card: If you have a hybrid slot (like in the Redmi Note 10 Pro), transfer heavy apps to the memory card via Settings → Annexes → Move it to SD.

⚠️ Attention: Use ADB Or root rights require experience. Wrong commands can lead to a device blink (completely inoperable.

FAQ: Frequent questions about cleaning up "Other" on Xiaomi