Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco smartphones often face a situation where the device starts to work slower and free space in memory disappears for no apparent reason. MIUI or HyperOS, despite its functionality, tends to accumulate large amounts of temporary files, residual data from remote applications and social network cache. Conventional cleaning through standard tools is often not enough to fundamentally solve the problem.
In this article, we will explore not only the basic methods, but also deep cleaning of the system, which allows you to free up gigabytes of space, you will learn to find hidden folders, clean the system cache and delete data that usually goes unnoticed, which will return the performance of your gadget and prolong its comfortable life.
Before taking drastic measures, it is important to understand the structure of files on your device.The Android system partition is protected from deleting critical files, so a secure cleanup will not damage the operating system. However, it is worthwhile to exercise caution when dealing with user data so as not to accidentally delete personal photos or documents.
Analysis of occupied space and diagnosis
The first step is always to diagnose, to determine exactly what takes up the lion's share of memory, built-in Xiaomi tools provide basic information, but for deep analysis, better to use more detailed tools, often it turns out that 80% of the space is occupied by the cache of messengers and video files from garbage folders.
The standard way to do this is to go to Settings → Memory, and you'll see a big picture of resource allocations here, but this tool doesn't show the contents of individual folders in detail, and you'll need a third-party software or file manager with extended rights to work more accurately.
Notice the Apps section, which is where the main eaters of the place are hidden, and social networks like Telegram and WhatsApp tend to grow to unimaginable sizes, storing every photo and video they see in their local storage.
For a detailed analysis, I recommend using specialized tools that visualize the file system, which build a disk map where the square size corresponds to the file size, and this allows you to instantly find forgotten movies or archives that have been dead for months.
Use of the built-in "Security" application
To start with, every user has an out-of-the-box security app in the MIUI/HyperOS shell, which is a powerful harvester to maintain the system. Despite the criticism from enthusiasts, its cleaning algorithms are quite efficient for daily use.
Launch the app and select Cleanup, and the system automatically scans the device for temporary files, junk, and uninstall residues, taking 10 to 30 seconds depending on the amount of data it has accumulated.
Once you scan, you'll see a list of categories. Click on "Clean" to remove safe debris. But don't stop there. Scroll down to "Deep Clean" where the system will suggest removing large files, duplicate photos and rarely used apps.
☑️ Basic Cleaning Through Security
It is important to note that the function “Accelerate” (closing background processes) in the same menu gives only a short-term effect. Android RAM is designed so that empty RAM is bad RAM. The system itself effectively manages background tasks, so constant forced memory cleaning can even increase battery consumption.
⚠️ Note: When using Deep Clean, carefully watch which files you delete, often there are saved documents from the browser or offline map of the navigator that you will have to download again.
Manual cleaning through the file manager
Automatic systems don't always understand context. What's a piece of junk to an algorithm can be an important file for you. So manually checking through built-in Explorer or an alternative file manager (like Solid Explorer or FX File Explorer) is a must.
The first thing we're interested in is root folders, which inflate over time, and open up your internal memory and look at the following directories:
- 📂 /Android/data — It stores cache and application data, and you can safely clean folders of remote games or programs, but you don't have to touch system packages.
- 📂 /DCIM/.thumbnails — It can weigh a few gigabytes, and its contents can be deleted, and the system will recreate the thumbnails if necessary.
- 📂 /MIUI/Gallery/cloud/cache — Xiaomi Cloud Gallery cache, often containing copies of photos already deleted.
Browsers and instant messengers often save APK installation files that are no longer needed after installing programs, and deleting them is completely safe and frees up a lot of space.
How do I find hidden folders?
Special attention should be paid to the Tencent folder (if you use Chinese versions of games or specific software) and social network folders. In the Telegram structure, for example, the cache is stored in /Android/data/org.telegram.messenger/cache. You can delete the contents of this folder, but inside the application, the cache autodeletion settings work more efficiently.
Cleaning the cache of messengers and social networks
The biggest garbage is not created by system files, but by user applications. Telegram, WhatsApp, Viber and TikTok are the main culprits of memory overflows, and they store every video and image you see, even if you just flip through the tape.
Telegram cleans up very cleverly. Go to Settings → Data and memory → Memory usage. Here you will see the amount of cache you have occupied. Click Clear cache. This will not remove your correspondence or media files from the cloud — they will be rebooted when you re-watch, but the space will be freed up instantly.
WhatsApp is more complicated because the backups and media files are local. Go to Settings → Data and Storage → Storage Management. The app will show files larger than 5MB and chat rooms that take up the most space. Delete videos and GIFs - they weigh the most.
| Annex | Cache location (pathway) | Security of removal | Recommended method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Telegram | Inside the app | High (media in the cloud) | Settings → Memory |
| /Android/media/com.whatsapp | Medium (requires a backup copy) | Storage management | |
| TikTok | Inside the app | Tall. | Settings → Free up the place |
| Phone settings | Medium (will be logged out of the account) | Cleaning the application data |
YouTube and TikTok also have a built-in cache cleanup in the app’s settings, and doing this routine (once a week) will prevent critical memory filling and system performance from falling.
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Enable the “Cache Removal” feature in Telegram settings (e.g., in 3 days or 1 week) and this will save you from having to do manual cleaning in the future.
Removal of system debris and logs
Android keeps logs of events that developers need to debug, but the average user doesn't need them, and over time, these files can take up hundreds of megabytes, and you can clean them through the developer menu or special commands.
To access advanced features, activate the developer mode. Go to Settings → About Phone and quickly click on MIUI or HyperOS 7 times. After that, a new section “Additional” → “Developers” will appear in the settings menu.
In the developer menu, find the item "Debugging by USB» (You can turn it on not necessarily for cleaning, but for advanced methods, and scroll down to the "Journals" or "Error Reports" section, where you can find the log clean button. → Advanced settings → For developers → Debugging by USB and make sure there are no active logging processes.
adb logcat -cThis command (executed via a computer with an ADB connected) completely clears the log buffer. It is easier for the average user to use the application Security → Battery → Use History, where sometimes it is proposed to optimize background activity, which indirectly affects the logs.
⚠️ Note: Do not delete files with the extension.obb from the folder Android/obb, If you want to play games with high graphical settings, it's not garbage, it's the resources you need to play games.
Resetting settings as a last resort
If none of the above methods worked and the phone is still slow and the memory is filling up on its own, there may have been a critical file system failure or viral activity, in which case a complete reset helps.
Resetting to factory settings (Wipe data) deletes absolutely all user data, returning the phone to the state "from the store" guaranteed to remove all debris, hidden viruses and erroneous configurations.
The procedure is done via the menu: Settings → About Phone → Settings Reset → Erase all data. The process will take from 5 to 15 minutes. Once turned on, the phone will be clean, as on the first day of purchase.
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A complete reset is a radical but most effective way to deal with software errors and accumulated system debris that cannot be manually removed.
There is also a deeper reset via Recovery Mode (pressing the power and volume button when the phone is off). This is a method you need if the system is not booting. Select Wipe Data from the Recovery menu. Be careful: this step is irreversible without a pre-created copy.
Prevention and automation of cleaning
So, to avoid going back to cleaning every month, you need to have automatic smartphone hygiene, and Xiaomi's modern shell allows you to customize automation scenarios, like, "If you have 100 percent charge and your phone is connected to Wi-Fi, start cleaning up the memory."
Use cloud storage. Set up a gallery sync with Google Photos or Xiaomi Cloud and enable Free Space, which automatically removes photos and videos that are already securely stored in the cloud.
- 🔄 Turn off autoboot for rarely used apps in battery settings.
- 📵 Remove unused apps right away, don’t store them “just in case».
- ⚙️ Check the Downloads folder and the Recycle Bin in the Gallery (files are stored there for 30 days) regularly).
Remember that a full memory (over 90%) significantly reduces the speed of flash memory. Try to keep at least 10-15% of the free space for the correct operation of the system and background processes.