How to Clean Xiaomi Phone From Unnecessary Files: The Complete 2026 Guide

Your Xiaomi is slowing down and your disk space is melting away? The reason most often lies in the accumulated unnecessary files: remnants of deleted applications, cache, duplicate photos and system debris. Even new models like the Redmi Note 13 Pro+ or POCO F6 after 6-12 months of use can lose up to 30% of performance due to clogged memory.

In this article, 7 proven cleanup methods that work on all current versions of MIUI 14/15 (including HyperOS) will be analyzed both standard system tools and third-party utilities that safely remove up to 15-20 GB of garbage without the risk of damaging important data. No root access or complex manipulations, only working methods with step-by-step instructions.

1. Built-in cleaning MIUI: What to remove and how to use correctly

Starting with MIUI 12, Xiaomi has integrated the Security → Cleanup tool into the system, which analyzes 4 key areas: app cache, residual files, duplicates and large unnecessary data. However, many users use it incorrectly - just click "Clean All" without understanding what is being deleted.

How to work effectively with the tool:

• 📱 App cache — safely deleted without consequences, but only clean it if the app really slows down. Regularly cleaning the YouTube or TikTok cache will lead to longer content loading the next time you run it.
• 🗑️ Residual files are “tails” from remote programs (for example, folders). /Android/obb/ They can be safely removed from games.
• 🖼️ Photo Duplicates – The tool looks for visually similar images, but often makes mistakes with collages or screenshots!
• 📁 Large files – important videos or backups can be found here, sort by date and extension (.apk,.zip are frequent candidates for deletion).

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If you don't get any more space after cleaning through MIUI, restart your phone. Sometimes, the system doesn't immediately update the space.

⚠️ Note: Do not manually clean the System Files section through this tool! MIUI may suggest removing before 1-2 GB is "system trash," but it often includes important update or configuration files, which can cause Google Services to crash or widgets to disappear.

Manual cleaning: which folders can be removed without risk

For power users, manual cleaning gives you more control, and the rule of thumb is, don't delete anything from /system/, /vendor/ or /data/app/, and it will cause the system to crash, and these directories can be safely cleaned.

To access these folders, use any file manager with root directory permissions (such as MiXplorer or Solid Explorer). In standard Xiaomi Files, many system folders are hidden.

Make sure the folder is not system-specific (/system/, /vendor/)

Check the date of file change (older than 6 months – candidates for deletion)

Backup important data to your PC or cloud

Use search by extensions (.apk,.tmp,.log)

After cleaning, restart the phone-->

⚠️ Note: If you see the folder /MIUI/DebugLog/ with.log or.txt files -- don't manually delete them! These are log files in the system that MIUI It cleans itself when you reboot. Forced deletion can lead to errors in the Google Play Services.

3. Clean up Google Play cache and system services

What many people don't know is that Google Play Services and Play Market are accumulating up to 3-5GB of cache that is not visible in standard cleaning tools.

• 📦 Remains of Remote Application Updates
• 🔄 Sync logs for Google account sync
• 📱 Cache of installation packages (APK)
• 🌍 Geolocation and map data

How to clean:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management
2. In search, type in Google Play Services and select the app
3. Click Warehouse → Clear cache (not data!)
4. Repeat to Google Play Store and Google Play Services for MIUI

After cleaning, you may experience a short-term sync error (the Google account icon will turn grey).This is normal - services will recover in 5-10 minutes. If the problem persists for longer than an hour, check your Internet connection or restart your phone.

Once a month

Once in 3 months

Only when the phone is slowing down.

Never cleaned.-->

4. Removing duplicate photos and videos: the best tools

The average user of Xiaomi is 1500-2000 Photos per year, of which 20-30% — These are little-changed screenshots, single-frame re-shots, instant messenger copies, and you can't manually search for them, you need specialized tools.

Top.-3 Duplicate search applications (tested for compatibility with the MIUI 14/15):

• 📸 Files by Google – Built-in Cleanup Tool → Duplicates even find similar pictures with a difference in 1-2 Minus: It doesn't work with video.
• 🔍 Duplicate Files Fixer – Searches for duplicates by content (not by file name), supports.HEIC and.RAW. The free version has a limit of 15 removals at a time.
• 🎥 Remo Duplicate Media Remover is the only app that finds duplicate videos (including replays from TikTok or Instagram Reels).

Algorithms for working with any of these tools:

1. Back up your photo on your PC or cloud (Google Photos, Mi Cloud).
2. Run scanning only on the DCIM/Camera folder – this will eliminate system images.
3. Sort the results by file size – first delete the heaviest duplicates.
4. Before mass removal, check 10-15 pairs manually (tools are wrong with collages or chat screenshots).

5.Storage optimization: What takes place unnoticed

Even after cleaning the cache and duplicates, many users wonder, "Where did the remaining 10-15 GB go?"

Top.-5 memory-eaters:

1. Local backups (/MIUI/Backup/ or /Android/data/com.miui.cloudbackup/) MIUI automatically creates backups every month and they can weigh 2-3GB. Delete copies older than 6 months.
2. Offline maps (Google Maps, Yandex.Maps) One area (e.g. Moscow) takes ~500 MB. Clear in the app settings.
3. Voice recordings (/Recordings/ or /MIUI/sound_recorder/). Records from meetings or lectures can weigh in 50-100 MBT each.
4. APK-file /Download/. Many save application installation files "just in case", but they take up the 1-2 GB.
5. System application logs (/Android/data/com.miui.securitycenter/log/) can be deleted, but they will reappear in 1-2 days.

To visualize the space you're occupied, use the DiskUsage app (free on Google Play), which shows you the space you're occupied in an interactive map, where you can see the heaviest folders.

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Check /Android/obb/ regularly – Games like Genshin Impact or Call of Duty Mobile can leave up to 5-8 GB of data there even after uninstallation.

6. Cleaning automation: settings for lazy

If you're too lazy to clean your phone manually regularly, set up automatic cleaning. In MIUI 14/15, it's done like this:

1. Go to Settings → Battery and Performance → Cleanup.
2. Activate the Auto Clean option and select the frequency: Daily or When locking the screen.
3. Enable Cache Cleanup of apps and Residual Files, but disable Duplicate Photos (automatic deletion can delete important pictures!).
4. Add to the exceptions messengers (WhatsApp, Telegram) – their cache is better to clean manually.

For advanced automation, use MacroDroid (free in the Play Market).

• 🔄 Trigger: Battery level below 30% + phone connected to Wi-Fi.
• 🧹 Action: Clearing the cache of all applications through ADB-command (one-time setup required).
• 📴 Restriction: No more than 1 time in 3 days.

⚠️ Warning: Don't set up automatic cleaning on "Every hour:

• 🔋 Increased battery consumption (constant operation of the background process).
• 🐢 Slowing down the phone (cleaning up takes processor resources).
• 📱 App crashes (e.g. Google Photos may stop syncing).

7.Extreme measures: reset partition cache and Dalvik-cache

If after all the manipulations the phone still brakes and the free space "melt" for no reason, the problem may be in the damaged partition cache (/cache) or Dalvik-cache (Android virtual machine cache), cleaning these partitions will not delete your data, but requires care.

Method 1: Recovery Mode (without root)

1. Turn off the phone.
2. Press the Power button + Volume up until the Mi logo appears.
3. From the Recovery menu, select Wipe & Reset → Wipe Cache.
4. Confirm the action and restart the phone.

Method 2: Through ADB (for Advanced)

adb shell


su




rm -r /data/dalvik-cache/*




reboot

⚠️ After cleaning Dalvik-cache, the first turn on the phone will take 5-10 Do not interrupt the process if the screen is stuck on the logo for a long time. MIUI, Wait a minute. 15 minutes before the forced reboot.

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Cleaning Dalvik-cache helps if the phone is slowing down after the MIUI update, which is due to the incompatibility of the old cache with the new version of the system.

FAQ: Frequent questions about Xiaomi cleanup