How to Clean Xiaomi of Unnecessary Files: The Complete Guide

Modern smartphones line Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO have an impressive amount of internal memory, but over time even 256 or 512 gigabytes can be filled. the operating system MIUI or HyperOS in the process accumulates a lot of temporary data, residual files of remote applications and messenger cache, which significantly slows down the device.

Users often notice that the phone takes longer to open apps and notices of space shortages appear at the most inopportune moment, because standard cleaning mechanisms do not always cope with deep system folders and hidden debris that has been accumulating in the bowels of the file system for years. To return the gadget to its former agileness, you need to conduct a comprehensive cleaning using both built-in tools and proven third-party methods.

In this article, we will discuss how to safely delete excess data without damaging important data, and which folders can be touched without fear of disrupting the system, learn how to find hidden backups, clean the cache of system applications, and use advanced file manager functions to free up tens of gigabytes of space.

Memory analysis and search for hidden files

Before you start taking drastic measures, you need to understand what exactly takes up space on your device. The standard storage analyzer in the settings gives only a general idea, but does not always show the real amount of garbage. For a detailed study, you should use the built-in Security tool, which is part of the MIUI firmware.

Launch the app and select Cleanup. The system will automatically scan the device and suggest that you delete temporary files, but don't rush to agree to everything at once. Click on the Cleanup button, then go to Deep Cleanup (if available in your firmware version) or manually analyze the categories proposed. Often, old update logs and error reports are hidden here.

Special attention should be paid to the folders of messengers such as Telegram and WhatsApp. These applications by default save all received photos and videos to the gallery, creating duplicates that take up space. To find them, open the file manager and go to the Android/media or Internal storage path, where the folders with the names of the corresponding applications are located.

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Use the Analyzer feature in the Security app to find large files you forgot to delete, such as old videos or installations. APK-file.

Remember that system files take up a significant portion of memory, and deleting them can lead to unstable work. Focus on user-generated content and app cache. If you see a file with a.log or.tmp extension in the root folder, it can usually be safely deleted.

Use of the built-in Security application

Xiaomi smartphones have a powerful system app that should not be ignored, which not only removes viruses, but also effectively fights digital garbage, but many users use only the basic feature, without knowing about the additional cleaning capabilities.

Inside the Security app, there's an Application Management section where you can view the cache size of each program you install, find apps that you rarely use but take up a lot of space, and clean up their data, which is especially true for browsers, social networks, and news aggregators that inflate to a few gigabytes.

It's also worth using the "Acceleration" feature, which closes the background processes, and while it doesn't free up space in memory directly, it helps the system run more efficiently after cleaning files, and using these tools regularly prevents a critical mass of temporary data from accumulating.

• 📱 Open the Security app and click on the Cleanup icon».
• 🗑️ Wait for the scan to end and carefully review the list of files proposed for deletion.
• ⚙️ Go to the app settings to enable automatic cache clearing when a certain filling threshold is reached.

It's important to understand the difference between cleaning up cache and cleaning up data. Cache is a temporary file that speeds up applications, it's safe to delete them. Data is your logins, settings and saves inside applications, and deleting them will return the program to a post-install state.

Manual cleaning through File Manager

For those who prefer full control of the file system, manual cleaning through a standard Explorer or File Manager is the best solution, which allows you to see the real structure of folders and delete exactly what you need, without the risk of removing the system logs necessary for diagnosis.

First, check the Download folder. This is where the app installers accumulate, PDF-And often, people forget that they downloaded a heavy file months ago, and it's still dead weight.

The next step is to find duplicates. Xiaomi's file manager has a built-in feature to find similar images, but you can use third-party utilities to work more accurately, or manually go through the DCIM and Pictures folders. Delete blurry photos, screenshots of interfaces and old videos.

When working with the Android folder in new versions of Android, access may be restricted. The system will request permission to access files - confirm it. Be careful: deleting folders with the names of installed applications (for example, com.whatsapp) will lead to loss of correspondence if you do not make a backup.

Cleaning messengers: Telegram, WhatsApp, Viber

Messengers are the main memory eaters on any modern smartphone. Telegram, for example, stores the cache of all channels and chats viewed locally to speed up their reload. Without regular cleaning, this cache can grow to tens of gigabytes.

Telegram itself has a built-in cleaning tool. Go to Settings → Data and memory → Memory usage. Here you will see the amount of cache you have occupied. Click on Clear Telegram cache — your photos and videos won't disappear from chat rooms, they'll just be re-uploaded from the cloud if needed. This is the safest way to free up space.

For WhatsApp, the situation is different: media files are stored in the file system. Go to the chat settings and select Storage. You can delete large videos or files sent in specific dialogues without deleting the correspondence itself. It is also useful to turn off auto-save media to the gallery so that the phone does not clog with copies of pictures.

• 🗑️ In Telegram, use the “Auto-Deleting” function for cache, setting a period of, for example, 3 days.
• 📹 On WhatsApp, delete heavy videos through the Storage section in the app settings.
• 📂 In Viber, check ViberMedia folder manually, as automatic cleaning there works worse.

Remember the Archive tab in messengers, and archive chat files also take up disk space, and if you archived a correspondence a year ago and don't plan on recovering it, you'd better delete the chat entirely along with your media attachments.

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Regularly cleaning the cache of messengers through their internal settings is safer and more effective than deleting files through the explorer.

Delete residual files after deleting applications

When you delete an application in the standard way, it often leaves its tails — folders with settings, temporary files and logs — on the phone, and over time, hundreds of folders from long-deleted games and programs accumulate, which do not affect the system, but take up precious space.

You can use specialized cleaners to find these files, but you can also manually do it for real. Look for folders with the names of remote applications at the root of internal memory. If you remember that you deleted Asphalt and the Gameloft or Asphalt folder remained, you can safely delete its contents.

However, be careful with shared libraries: some applications use shared folders to store data (such as Android/obb), deleting files from here can cause the remaining games to stop running or require re-downloading resources.

⚠️ Note: Before deleting folders with unknown names at the root of internal memory, Google their name. Often a folder with a name like tencent or alibaba may belong to system services or essential libraries, even if you did not install the applications of these companies directly.

It is good practice to use cloud storage to back up important documents before cleaning. If you accidentally delete the desired configuration, you will have the ability to restore it from the cloud. Don't rely on the phone's shopping cart alone, as it also has storage time limits.

Advanced methods: ADB and system cache cleaning

For power users who want to make the most of their Xiaomi, there are cleaning methods that are not available through a regular interface. Using the ADB command line (Android Debug Bridge) allows you to remove system debris and disable unnecessary preinstalled applications (bloatware), which can not be removed standard.

To work with ADB, you need to enable Developer Mode and USB Debugging in your phone settings. By connecting the device to your computer, you can command to clear Dalwick's cache or delete system packets. For example, the adb shell pm trim-caches 9999999999999 command forces the aggressively system to clear the cache of all applications in an effort to free up a specified number of bytes.

adb shell pm trim-caches 999999999

This method is especially useful when the memory is full and the phone is extremely slow, not even allowing you to open the settings for a normal cleaning. The command is executed quickly and often allows you to free up several gigabytes, returning the device to responsiveness.

⚠️ Attention: Use of teams ADB Introducing the wrong command, especially when it comes to packet removal (pm uninstall), can cause the phone to “fill up” or lose important system features such as the camera or sound.

Another advanced method is to clean up Recovery Mode, which is when you download to Recovery, you can select "Wipe Cache Partition" and it won't delete your personal data, but it will clear the system cache of updates and temporary OS files.

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