How to see how much memory is left on the Xiaomi phone: all the ways

Did you notice that Xiaomi started to slow down, apps crashed and photos didn't save? 90% of the time, the reason is the lack of free space in internal memory. Even on top-end models like Xiaomi 14 Ultra or Redmi Note 13 Pro+, users are faced with this problem due to accumulated cache, duplicate photos and "heavy" messengers. In this article, we will analyze all the current methods of memory verification on Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones, from standard MIUI tools to hidden functions and third-party utilities.

It's important to understand that just knowing the amount of free space is half the battle, and we'll show you how to analyze the space you're occupying by category (applications, media, system files), identify "memory eaters" and clean it without risking data. The instructions are valid for all firmware versions, from MIUI 12 to the latest MIUI 14 (including HyperOS for new models). If your phone gives you an error of "No memory" or "Storage is almost full," you'll find a solution here.

1. Standard method: Memory verification via MIUI settings

The fastest and safest method is to use the built-in MIUI tools. It is suitable for all models, including the Xiaomi 13T, Redmi 12 and POCO X5, regardless of the firmware version.

1. Open the "Settings" (the gear icon on the home screen or in the application menu).
2. Go to About Phone (some versions of MIUI call it About Device).
3. Select the item "Storage" (or "Memory" - depends on the location).
4. Wait for the data to load (it can take up to 10 seconds on weak devices).

The screen will display a pie chart with the distribution of memory by category:

• 📱 Apps and games – up to 60% on littered devices.
• 📷 Photos and videos are often the culprits of space shortages (especially if you are shooting in the video). 4K or RAW).
• 🎵 Audio files – music and podcasts are forgotten by many.
• 📄 Documents — PDF, Excel and other files downloaded from messengers.
• 🗑️ Others – cache, temporary files and system debris (can reach the 5-10 GB!).

🔹 Important nuance: in MIUI 14 And the newer diagram shows the actual vacancy, not the "reserved" (as it was in the older versions). 1-2 GB, it's time to clean the device urgently - the system begins to brake already at less than 10% free-space.

Detailed analysis of memory through "Cleaning"

The built-in Cleanup utility (formerly called Security) not only shows the occupied space, but also helps to find junk files, a method that is useful if you suspect that memory is being eaten by unnecessary data:

1. Launch the Cleanup app (the broom icon on your desktop).
2. Click on Deep Clean (or Storage Analysis in New Versions).
3. Wait for the scan (may take 1-3 minutes).
4. Go to the Warehouse tab in the top menu.

Here you will see a detailed report with the possibility of sorting by:

• 📊 File size (from the largest to the smallest).
• 📅 Change date (useful for finding old, unnecessary files).
• 📂 Data type (APK, ZIP, cache.).

⚠️ Warning: Do not delete files with the.obb or.apk extension manually - these are game and application data. → Annexes.

3. Viewing memory through file manager

The MIUI file manager (or Google Files) allows you to see the exact folder structure and size, which is useful if you want to manually find and delete large files:

1. Open the Files app (Folder icon).
2. Go to the Category (or Analysis) tab.
3. Click on the internal memory (or device).
4. In the upper right corner, tap three points → Sort by size.

The list is sorted by the heaviest folders.

• 📁 DCIM/Camera — Here are stored all photos and videos from the camera.
• 📁 Download – downloaded files from the browser.
• 📁 Android/data — Application data (hand-cleaning is dangerous!).
• 📁 MIUI/Backup — System backups (can weigh gigabytes).

🔹 Tip: If you see a lost.dir folder, don't manually delete it, because it's recovered files after crashes. You'd better transfer it to your PC and check for important data.

💡

To quickly find files larger than 100MB, type size:>100MB (works with MIUI File Manager and Google Files) in the file manager.

4.Use of ADB for Advanced Analysis (for experienced)

If standard methods don’t show the full picture (for example, the system displays 5 GB of free, but in fact 15 GB), you can use ADB, a developer tool, which is suitable for Xiaomi with an unlocked bootloader or USB debugging enabled.

Here's how to do it:

1. Turn on Developer Mode: Go to Settings → About Phone and tap the MIUI version 7 times.
2. Return to Settings → Additional → For developers and enable USB debugging.
3. Connect your phone to your PC, install ADB Tools and execute the command:

adb shell df -h

You'll get a table with partitions. Notice the lines:

• /data is user data (where the place usually ends).
• /sdcard is the internal memory (displayed as /storage/emulated/0).
• /cache is the system cache (you can clear the adb shell su -c 'rm -rf /cache/*' command, but root rights are required).

⚠️ Attention: teams ADB With su rights, you can damage the system. Don't do them unless you understand the consequences. /system will lead to the device's brik.

5. Third-party applications for memory analysis

If Xiaomi's built-in tools don't suit you, you can use third-party tools that offer more detailed analysis and additional cleaning features.

• 📊 Google Files is a simple and secure Google Files Manager with the Cleanup feature, which not only shows the occupied space, but also offers to remove duplicates, old screenshots and large files.
• 🔍 SD Maid (requires root for full functionality) – finds residual files after uninstalling applications, empty folders and cache.
• 🛡️ CCleaner is a classic cleaner, but be careful with its “optimizations” (can delete the necessary data).
• 📈 DiskUsage – visualizes the occupied place in the form of an interactive map (useful for finding hidden “eaters” of memory).

🔹 For most users, Xiaomi will have enough Google Files – it is free, without advertising and integrated with the Internet. MIUI. If you need advanced features (like looking for duplicates by content rather than by name), try SD Maid.

⚠️ Warning: Avoid cleaners with aggressive advertising (such as Clean Master or Clean Master) DU They often display false warnings about a “memory state critical” and collect user data.

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The application side may show files that MIUI hides (such as system application cache or virtual memory data), but root rights are often required to delete them.

6. Hidden Reasons for Xiaomi’s Memory Lack

Sometimes users are faced with a situation where memory "disappears" for no apparent reason. Here are 5 non-obvious factors that eat up space on Xiaomi:

1. Virtual memory (Swap): in MIUI 12+ Memory Extension technology is used to reserve 1-3 GB under swap file (virtual) RAM). It's not shown in standard reports, but it takes up space. ADB The team: Adb shell swapon --show
2. System Updates: Before Installation OTA-update MIUI download the package (up to) 3 GB) in a hidden folder /cache. If the update is interrupted, the file will remain there.
3. Logs and dumps: After a crash, the system creates.dmp or.log files in /data/anr or /data/tombstones. These can weigh hundreds of megabytes.
4. Preload apps: Some games (such as Genshin Impact or Call of Duty Mobile) download data in advance, even if you don’t use them.
5. Encryption: Some models (such as Xiaomi 12S Ultra) have hardware encryption enabled, which reserves up to 5% of memory for service needs.

🔹 How to fight?

• 🔄 Reboot your phone regularly – this cleans up temporary virtual memory files.
• 🚫 Turn off auto-update apps on Google Play (especially games).
• 📱 Use the "Light Mode" function in MIUI (in battery settings) to limit background activity of applications.

7 What to do if your memory is running out too quickly?

If you notice that memory on Xiaomi fills up unusually quickly (for example, 5-10 GB is eaten in a week), follow this algorithm:

1. Check the messengers: Telegram, WhatsApp and Viber cache media files. Go to the settings of each and limit the size of the cache or turn off the auto download.
2. Clear the cache of cards: apps like Google Maps or Yandex.Navigator download offline maps that can weigh gigabytes.
3. Remove unused applications: Even lightweight programs (such as Photo Editors or QR Scanners) take up the updates.
4. Move the files to SD-map (if supported): in Settings → Warehouse → Data portability.
5. Use cloud services: Google Photos (compression of photos) or Mi Cloud (for backups).

⚠️ Warning: If the memory is filling up quickly after cleaning, check the phone for viruses using Malwarebytes or Dr.Web Light.

🔹 Last resort: if nothing works, reset to factory settings (but back up first!) This will delete all data, but return the "clean" system:

1. Go to Settings → About the phone → Reset settings.
2. Choose to erase all data.
3. Confirm the action (a password will be required).

FAQ: Frequent questions about memory on Xiaomi