Xiaomi phone deep cleaning: 5 ways to restore speed and free up memory

Your Xiaomi smartphone has become slow, discharged quickly or emitted "Not enough memory" errors? The reason most often lies in accumulated digital garbage: the remnants of deleted applications, fragmented cache, duplicate photos and system logs that MIUI does not always clean automatically. Deep cleaning is not just the removal of several files, but a set of measures to restore factory performance without losing important data.

In this article, you will find proven methods for Redmi phones, POCO and Xiaomi on the base MIUI 14/15 (including models with HyperOS that work even if the standard Cleanup function in the settings does not help. 30% memory, but not displayed in storage, and learn to safely reset settings without the risk of "bricking" the device. 2026 year-end.

1. Deep Cleaning Preparation: What to Do Before You Start

Before you start cleaning, be sure to follow 3 steps to avoid data loss or system failures:

• 📱 Create a backup through Settings → The phone. → Backup or using Mi Cloud (Xiaomi Cloud). Especially important to save: Contacts and SMS (Export to.vcf file Photos and videos (copy to PC or Google Photos) Wi-Fi and Bluetooth settings (save in backup) MIUI)
• 🔋 Charge your phone to minimum. 50% — When cleaning the system, the battery consumption increases in 2-3 once.
• 📡 Connect to stable Wi-Fi – Many methods require downloading updates or syncing with the cloud.

If you are using a POCO Launcher or custom firmware (like Pixel Experience), note that some system cleaning tools may work differently, in which case you should use the generic methods in the section on manual cleaning through ADB.

⚠️ Note: Do not clean your phone immediately after the update MIUI! Wait 24-48 hours – the system optimizes the background processes itself.

2.Standard MIUI Tools: What Can Be Cleaned Without Risk

Start with built-in MIUI features — they’re secure and don’t require root rights. Most users skip these steps, though they let you free up 3 to 7GB of storage without deleting personal files.

Clearing cache and debris through "Safety"

The fastest way to delete temporary files:

1. Open the Security app (the shield icon).
2. Go to the Cleanup section. → Deep cleaning.
3. Select categories for cleaning: 🗑️ Application cache (can be removed completely) 📁 Unnecessary APK (remnants of remote programs) 📄 Logs and reports (system error logs)

Clean up

After cleaning, restart the phone – this will allow the system to recalculate the free space and close the background processes that may have used the deleted files.

Optimization of storage through "Files"

The File Manager application in MIUI can find duplicates and large unnecessary files:

• 🔍 Open the files. → Cleanup → Analysis of the vault.
• 📂 Check the sections: Photo duplicates (especially relevant for Redmi Note with 108 MP cameras - takes can take up to 1-2 GB) Large files (video in resolution) 4K, Failed screen recordings) Downloads (APK, archives, outdated documents)
• 🗑️ Remove unnecessary, but be careful with folders DCIM (Photos, Downloads (downloads) and MIUI (system-file).

💡

If you see a file in the "Large Files" section, com.miui.gallery.cache is a few GB of cache, and you can delete it, and it will be restored automatically the next time you open the photo.

Background cleaning

Often the brakes are not caused by a lack of memory, but by a process that is suspended.

1. Press the menu button (or swipe up and hold it on gesture screens).
2. Click on the icon Close everything (cross or trash can).
3. For deep cleaning, go to Settings → Applications → Application Management → sorting by Memory Use.
4. Select apps that take >500MB and click Stop (Do Not Delete!).

3. Reset to factory settings: when and how to do it right

If standard methods didn’t work and the phone still slows down, a full reset could be a solution, which deletes all data, including accounts, settings, and installed apps, but returns the device to a “clean” state.

When to do the reset:

• 🐢 The phone is stuck on the logo. MI or cyclically reboot.
• 📉 Productivity fell by more than 40% compared to the new state.
• 🔒 You suspect a virus infection (despite antivirus).
• 📱 Plan to sell or transfer your phone to another user.

How to make a reset without losing IMEI data and licenses:

1. Create a backup copy (see Section 1).
2. Go to Settings → About the phone → Reset settings.
3. Select to erase all data (restore factory data).
4. Enter the password from your Mi Account (if linked).
5. Confirm the action and wait for the reboot (it will take 5-15 minutes).

⚠️ Attention: On Xiaomi models 12/13 series K50/K60 After reset, re-activation may be required IR-lock (infrared port). for this go to Settings → Connection and sharing → Infrared port and perform calibration.

4.Manual cleaning through ADB: for advanced users

If you are not afraid of the command line, ADB (Android Debug Bridge) will allow you to delete files that are not available through the standard menu.

• 🗃️ System garbage in folders /data/local/tmp and /cache.
• 📱 Residual data after deleting applications (folders) /data/data/com.name-pack).
• 🔄 Fragmented files that take up space but do not appear in the Explorer.

Instructions for Windows/macOS/Linux:

1. Enable Developer Mode: Settings → About Phone → MIUI Version (click 7 times)
2. Activate USB Debugging in Settings → Additional → For developers.
3. Connect your phone to your PC and install it. ADB-driver.
4. Open the terminal (or command line) and type: adb devices If the device is displayed, run: adb shell pm list packages -f to see a list of all installed packages.
5. To clear the cache of all applications: adb shell pm trim-caches 1G (where 1G is the desired amount of freed memory).

To delete specific files, use:

adb shell rm -rf /path/to/file

Examples of safe teams:

• Gallery cache removal: adb shell rm -rf /sdcard/Android/data/com.miui.gallery/cache/*
• Cleaning temporary system files: adb shell rm -rf /data/local/tmp/*

5. Post-cleaning optimization: how to keep productivity running

Even after deep cleaning, the phone can start to brake again if you don't set it up correctly. Follow these tips to keep it running:

• 🚀 Turn off the autoload of applications: Go to Settings → Annexes → Application management. Select the application. → Auto-start → turn off.

This is especially true for instant messengers (Telegram, WhatsApp) and social networks (TikTok, Instagram), which consume up to 30% of resources in the background.

Set up a limit on background activity

Settings → Battery and Performance → Battery Management → Background Limitation

Enable for all applications except system ones.

Disable unnecessary MIUI services

• Settings → Notifications → MIUI Recommendations (disables spam notifications)
• Settings → Additional → Special features → mSafe (if not used)

For models with AMOLED-screens (Xiaomi 13 Pro, Redmi) K60 Pro is also recommended:

• 🌗 Include a dark theme (Settings) → Screen. → Dark topic – this will reduce heating and battery consumption.
• 🔍 Reduce screen wait time to 15 seconds (Settings) → Screen. → Sleep after).

This method is especially effective after failed MIUI updates, when the system creates duplicate firmware files.

6.2. Use of third-party utilities (with caution!)

Applications like SD Maid or Files by Google can find files that are skipped by the standard MIUI manager.

• ✅ Safe to use for scanning: Duplicate photos/video Large files (>100 MB) Residual APK
• ❌ Not recommended: Delete files from /system or /data/data Clear the cache of system applications (MiuiSystemUI, SecurityCenter).