Xiaomi’s smartphones are famous for their speed and functionality, but over time, even the most powerful models start to slow down. Users often notice that free space on the drive mysteriously disappears, and the MIUI or HyperOS interface responds to latency touches. It is a natural process of accumulating system debris, app cache and temporary files that requires intervention.
Complete cleaning is not just about removing photos, but a comprehensive approach to optimizing the Android operating system. In this article, we’ll look at everything from safe cleaning with built-in tools to radical measures like Hard Reset. You’ll learn which folders can be manually deleted and which ones are strictly forbidden to touch so as not to turn the phone into a brick.
There is a myth that good cleaning requires third-party antivirus software, which is often the source of advertising. In fact, Xiaomi's built-in tools are much more effective if you know how to use them correctly. We'll look at proven algorithms that will return your gadget to factory speed.
Use of the built-in "Security" application
The first and most reliable step is to use a standard tool from developers: every Xiaomi smartphone has a Security app preinstalled, which has access to system files that are not available to third-party utilities, and analyzes the structure of the files and determines what is garbage and what is important data of the system.
Launch the app and select Clean up, and the system will automatically scan the device and prompt you to delete temporary files, remnants of deleted applications and cache. However, do not blindly trust the automation: after scanning, click on the Clean up button, but pre-check the list so that you do not accidentally delete important documents.
⚠️ Note: In the cache section, you can display instant messenger files (such as Telegram or WhatsApp), deleting the cache of these applications will not affect your correspondence, but will re-download avatars and thumbnails of images, which will temporarily increase traffic consumption.
For a deeper analysis, go to Accelerate, where you can force the background processes that eat away at RAM to stop, and using this feature regularly helps keep RAM offload, which is especially true for models with 4 or 6 GB of RAM.
- 📱 Start scanning regularly once in a while. 2-3 day-time.
- 🚀 Use the “Accelerate” function before launching heavy games.
- 🗑️ Check the “Big Files” section carefully before deleting.
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The built-in Security app has the highest access rights and removes garbage safer than any third-party cleaners from the Play Market.
Manual cleaning through the Conductor: removal of hidden debris
Automatic tools don't always see the specific debris left by applications. You need to use System Explorer. Go to the root folder of the internal drive and look at the directories with the names of the installed programs. Often, after you delete the application, its folder with settings remains dead weight.
Pay special attention to the Android folder. It contains data and obb subfolders. It stores game and program cache files. If you deleted a heavy game but forgot to clean obb, it can take several gigabytes. You can boldly delete folders with the names of remote applications, but be careful with Google or Xiaomi system services.
/storage/emulated/0/Android/data/
/storage/emulated/0/Android/obb/Another place of garbage accumulation is a folder MIUI -> debug_log. Here, the system saves error reports. Unless you're a developer and you're sending error reports to Xiaomi, the contents of this folder can be painlessly deleted. Also check the Download folder, where installation files often accumulate. APK, which are long gone.
Should I delete the folder.thumbnails?
Manual cleaning requires care. Do not delete files that you do not know the purpose of, especially if they are in the root directory or the System folder. It is better to double-check the purpose of the file through the search engine than to lose important system configurations.
Cleaning up application memory and cache management
Social media and instant messengers are the most voracious consumers of memory. Apps like Telegram, Viber or TikTok accumulate gigabytes of temporary files. Standard cleaning through phone settings may not be deep enough, so it’s better to use the built-in features of the apps themselves.
For example, on Telegram, you need to go to Settings → Data and Memory → Memory Use and click Clear Cache, where you can set a cache size limit or autodelete files that have not been opened for more than a month, which will free up a huge amount of space without losing correspondence.
| Annex | The path to cleanup | Is it safe to remove? |
|---|---|---|
| Telegram | Settings → Data and memory | Yes, the correspondence will remain. |
| YouTube | Settings → General → Clear the history | Yeah, it'll take the viewing history off. |
| Chrome | History → Clear history | Yes, passwords and cache will be deleted. |
| Account settings → Cash (Android) | Yes, it's safe. |
For Xiaomi system applications, the cleaning path is standard: Settings → Applications → All applications. Select the desired application, click Memory and select Clear Cache. It is important not to confuse this button with the Clean All (or Reset) button, as it will delete all your data inside the application, including logins and saves.
- 🧹 Clear your browser cache after every active surfing session.
- 📸 Check your camera cache regularly if you’re shooting a lot of video in the video. 4K.
- 📉 Cache Deletion Does Not Delete Accounts and Personal Settings.
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Install automatic cache cleaning every 3 days in the messenger settings. This will save you the need to do it manually and save space.
Deep Cleanup: Delete Duplicates and Large Files
Often, the space is not occupied by system files, but by forgotten videos, duplicate photos and forgotten downloads. In the Explorer app on Xiaomi, there is a convenient sorting function. Click on the menu (three dots or stripes) and select sorting by size. Files that occupy more than 100 MB will immediately go to the top of the list.
Duplicate photos are a common problem, especially if you've used multiple cloud services or recovered data from a backup. There are special applications for finding duplicates, but you can do with built-in search. Type in the file extension.jpg or.mp4 and look carefully at the results.
Special attention should be paid to the DCIM ->.thumbnails folder (if visible) or similar hidden folders in Pictures. Sometimes the gallery creates previews for thousands of photos, and this file can weigh 2-3 GB. Its removal is safe, the system will recreate it again, but already smaller if you do not open the gallery en masse.
⚠️ Before mass deletion of photos and videos, be sure to back up on your computer or in the Google Photos / Xiaomi Cloud cloud. Recovering manually deleted files without a backup is almost impossible.
Use the Recycle Bin function in the gallery and explorer. Once deleted, files don't disappear forever, but move to a 30 day shopping cart. To make room completely now, remember to clear the Recycle Bin after the primary deletion of files.
Full reset to factory settings (Hard Reset)
If the software cleaning doesn't work and the phone keeps slowing down, the only radical solution is a complete reset, which returns the device to the "out of the box" state by removing all the data: contacts, photos, apps and settings, the only guaranteed way to remove hidden viruses or fix critical system errors.
Before starting the procedure, make sure that the battery charge is at least 50-60%. The process of resetting energy-intensive, and suddenly turning off the phone during formatting, can damage the bootloader. SIM-MicroSD card and memory card, if used to avoid accidentally formatting external media.
To start the reset, go to Settings → About Phone → Reset. Select “Erase All Data.” The system will ask you to enter the screen unlock password and the Mi Account password to verify your identity. Once confirmed, the phone will restart and the cleanup process will begin, which can take 5 to 15 minutes.
☑️ Preparation for full discharge
Once the reset is complete, the phone will turn on as new, you will need to reset your initial setup, connect to Wi-Fi, and enter your Google account details, and you will have to download all the apps again, which is useful, but you will only install what you really need.
Prevention: How to maintain cleanliness of the system
To keep the question of “how to clean Xiaomi completely” from getting too often, it’s important to keep digital hygiene in mind: Don’t install apps from unknown sources (.apk files from questionable sites), programs that often contain ad modules that generate garbage in the background even after you’ve closed the app.
Check the installed app list regularly. If you haven't used it for more than a month, delete it. Many pre-installed Xiaomi and Google apps can be disabled if you don't need them, preventing background activity and cache accumulation.
- 📅 Once a month, you will review the “Downloads” folder».
- 🚫 Turn off autoloading videos on social media to save cache.
- ☁️ Set up sync photos with the cloud and store the originals there, not in your phone’s memory.
Use desktop cleaning widgets for quick access. On MIUI, you can add a Security or Memory Cleanup widget to the home screen. One tap on this widget will run a quick RAM cleanup, which is useful before you start a resource-intensive task.
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The best cleaning is prevention: monitor the apps you install and regularly remove the unnecessary ones to keep your phone from running out of memory.