Xiaomi Redmi 4X, released in 2017, has long been considered one of the best budget devices due to its metal body and long battery life. However, as time goes on, even the most powerful Snapdragon 435 processor begins to struggle with modern versions of applications and the MIUI interface. Users often notice that the system is starting to run slower, applications are opening longer, and notifications of space shortages appear more often.
The main reason for slowing down is not only the physical wear of the battery, but also the overflow of internal memory. The Android operating system, when used actively, generates a huge number of temporary files, error logs and residual data from remote programs. If you ignore regular cleaning, free space runs out, which leads to a critical slowdown in writing and reading data. In this article, we will discuss effective and safe methods of freeing up space.
Before you start a radical reset, you should try a comprehensive software cleaning that allows you to remove up to several gigabytes of unnecessary information without losing personal photos or contacts. The Redmi 4X’s robust approach to maintenance can extend the life of a device for another year or two of active use. Let’s look at where to start the optimization process.
Memory Occupancy Analysis and Hidden Files Search
The first step in the struggle for space is detailed diagnostics. Standard notifications often say that memory is 90 percent occupied, but they don't explain what it is. Xiaomi owners need to go to the storage settings themselves to understand the structure of the space occupied. Often it turns out that the lion's share of the volume is occupied by messenger cache or forgotten video files.
To start, go to Settings → Memory, where the system will provide a general summary. However, more detailed information can be obtained through the built-in Security app. This is a system tool that has deep access to the file system. Click on the Cleanup icon and the smartphone will scan. Don't be in a hurry to delete everything you've suggested, first study the categories.
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Pay attention to the Download folder – it often stores installations for years. APK-Update files and saved images from browsers that can be safely deleted.
The MIUI shell often hides application data that the system cannot automatically classify, such as offline maps, streaming cache, or temporary editor files, and memory analysis is not a one-time activity, but a habit worth developing to keep things running.
- 📂 Check the amount of messengers (WhatsApp, Telegram, Viber) as they store media files in shared memory.
- 🗑️ Find the folder. MIUI/Gallery/Cloud/cache, where miniatures of deleted photos can accumulate.
- 📱 Use the built-in storage analyzer to visualize the heaviest folders.
Use of the built-in "Security" application
The MIUI shell installed on the Redmi 4X has powerful built-in system maintenance tools. The Security app is the central node for performance management. Unlike third-party utilities, it has system-level rights that allow you to delete files that are not available to the average user.
When you start Cleanup, the system will prompt you to delete temporary files. After you finish the initial scan, you should scroll down to find Deep Cleanup, where the algorithms will analyze the contents of folders for duplicates, large files, and rarely used applications. Be careful: some files may be labeled as garbage but are important to your work.
⚠️ Note: When using Deep Clean, carefully look at file previews. The system may suggest that you delete old screenshots or downloaded documents that you may still need.
Also in the Security app is Acceleration, which forces the background to close the processes, freeing up RAM. For Redmi 4X with its 2 or 3 GB of RAM, this is a critical feature. Regular use of the accelerator before launching heavy games or navigation helps avoid micro-freeze interfaces.
☑️ Daily cleaning through the Security app
Manual cleaning of the cache of messengers and social networks
The most voracious memory consumers on any Android smartphone are instant messengers. Telegram, WhatsApp and Viber by default store all received photos and videos in the phone gallery, dubbing them in their internal cache. On Xiaomi Redmi 4X with its limited built-in storage capacity (16 or 32 GB), this becomes the main problem, and you need to solve it through the settings of the applications themselves.
In Telegram, for example, you can set up automatic cache deletion. Go to Settings → Data and memory → Memory usage. There you will see how much space the cache takes up. Set a limit, for example, 500 MB or 1 GB, and select a media storage period (3 days, 1 week), which will allow the application to automatically delete old files, making room for new ones.
On WhatsApp, the situation is similar, but files are often in the shared Android/media/com.whatsapp folder.To clean Redmi 4X effectively, it's better to use the built-in storage management feature inside WhatsApp itself: Settings → Data and Storage → Storage Management. Here you can massively delete files larger than 5MB or media from specific chats that inflate volume.
| Annex | Where to look for settings | What's taking the most | Recommended action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Telegram | Settings → Data and memory | Video and video. GIF-animation | Enable auto-cache removal |
| Settings → Storage | Photos sent | Delete files > 5 MB | |
| Viber | More. → Settings → Memory. | Stickers and media | Clear the media cache |
| Phone settings → Applications | Cash tapes and storis | Clear the cache in Android settings |
Removal of system debris and residual files
Even after removing applications, the system often has tails — folders with settings, logs and temporary files. To properly clean the Xiaomi Redmi 4X, it is recommended to use a file manager. The standard “Conductor” from Xiaomi is quite functional, but for deep cleaning you can use more advanced tools or a built-in analyzer.
Go to the file manager and sort by size. Look for folders with names of remote games or applications. Often, the backbone of the internal memory is folders with names like com.game.name or just brand names. If you're sure that the program is deleted, you can erase it. But be careful with the system directories.
The Android/obb and Android/data folder are specially designed to store game caches and app data; you only need to delete files from here if you want to reset a particular game or app to factory settings; and the accidental deletion of important files can cause programs to malfunction and require reinstallation.
⚠️ Warning: Never delete folders with the names of system services Google (for example, com.google.android.gms) or Xiaomi (com.miui), even if they take up a lot of space.
For advanced users, there is a possibility of cleaning through Recovery mode, but on Redmi 4X with a locked bootloader, this can be risky. It is better to limit yourself to software methods. If you use browsers like Chrome or Yandex, remember to go to their settings and clear the history and cache, which can take hundreds of megabytes.
What to do if the folder is not deleted?
Optimizing Autoboot and Background Processes
It's not enough to just free up space, it's important to provide Xiaomi Redmi 4X with enough free RAM. Many applications are prescribed for autoboot and run in the background, consuming CPU resources. This is especially noticeable on budget devices. Disabling excess is the key to smooth interface.
MIUI has a hidden developer menu, but we'll use standard tools first. Go to Settings → Apps → Autoboot. This will show you a list of programs that start with your phone. Leave only essentials: messengers (to get notifications) and perhaps an alarm clock. The rest — marketplaces, games, store services — safely turn off.
Also check the energy saving settings for each application. From the Apps menu → All apps, select a heavy program, go to “Charge Savings” and select “No Limits” only for those that need an instant reaction, or “Background Activity Limitation” for others, which will prevent their parasitic resource consumption.
- 🚀 Turn off window animations in the Developer Menu for visual acceleration.
- 🔋 Set the "Economic" mode in the standard power balance to limit background synchronization.
- 📉 Remove live wallpaper and widgets from the main screen, they load GPU and CPU.
Radical measures: Resetting to factory settings
If the software cleansing didn't work and the Redmi 4X is slow, the final argument is a full reset, which will put the phone back out of the box, removing all the data, settings and debris, and it's the most efficient way to clean the phone, but it requires preparation.
Make sure to back up before you start. Sync your contacts with your Google or Mi Account, copy photos and videos to your computer or the cloud. Remember, you can't recover data without a backup. Make sure you have at least 50 percent battery power.
To do the reset, go to Settings → About Phone → Settings Reset → Erase All Data. The phone will request an unlock password and confirmation. The process will take 10-15 minutes. Once you reboot, you'll get a clean system. The first 30 minutes the phone can warm and run slowly -- file indexing is going on, that's OK.
⚠️ Warning: Before resetting, be sure to remove the microSD card, if installed.In the process of formatting internal memory, there is a risk of accidentally formatting the external card, if it was mounted as part of internal memory.
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Full reset (Factory Reset) returns the performance of the smartphone to the level of a new device, eliminating all software errors and accumulated over the years garbage.