How to completely delete unnecessary files on Xiaomi Redmi Note 5: 7 working ways

Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 is one of the most popular budget smartphones with expandable memory, but even 64 GB of internal storage is littered with garbage in a few months of active use. The problem is not in the volume, but in the system limitations of MIUI: app cache, duplicate photos, residual files after deleting programs and hidden data from Google Services take up to 30% of the memory. In this article, we will discuss how to safely clean Redmi Note 5 from unnecessary files, including those that are not visible in the standard file manager.

The model features a hybrid memory card slot (instead of a second SIM), so many users face a shortage of space on the internal drive. We tested all methods on MIUI 9-12 firmware (including global and Chinese versions) and identified those that actually free up 2 to 8 GB of memory without root rights. Importantly, some methods require a connection to a PC or use ADB, which we noted separately.

If your smartphone already shows a notification “Memory is full” and the standard cleaning in Settings → Memory does not help – this guide is for you. Let’s start with simple ways and get to the advanced ones, including working with hidden folders and optimizing system processes.

1. Standard cleaning through MIUI: what removes and what is missing

The built-in cleaning tool in MIUI is the first step, but it only removes surface debris.

1. Open Settings → Memory → Cleaning.
2. Click Scan and wait for analysis.
3. Select categories to remove: app cache, unnecessary APKs, downloads.

What's removed:

• 🗑️ Application cache (temporary files that can be restored the next time you run programs).
• 📁 Empty folders and thumbnails of images.
• 📥 Download files if they haven’t been used for more than 30 days.

What is missing in standard cleaning:

• 🔍 Residual files after deleting applications (folders) /data/data/ and /obb/).
• 📸 Duplicate photos and videos (MIUI Does not analyze the contents of the gallery).
• 📦 System logs and dumps (/data/tombstones/), pre-existing 1 GB.

One important thing is, if you see Clear Memory in gray, MIUI can't find any files to delete, so you can move on to the following.

2 Manual removal of hidden folders and system debris

Many files on Redmi Note 5 are hidden from the user, but they can be manually deleted through the root or ADB file manager. If there is no root, use Total Commander or FX File Explorer with the hidden file mode enabled.

Folders that can be cleaned safely:

• 📂 /sdcard/Android/obb/ — game cache files (e.g, PUBG Call of Duty can leave gigabytes of data here).
• 📂 /sdcard/Android/data/ — residual files of remote applications.
• 📂 /sdcard/DCIM/.thumbnails — Photo and video miniatures (can be removed without consequences).
• 📂 /data/log/ — System Logs (root rights required).

Delete the.thumbnails folder in DCIM| Clear the game cache in /obb/| Check the Download folder for old files | Delete the APK from the /sdcard/Download folder (if already installed)

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Warning: Do not delete /system/, /vendor/ or files with the.odex extension – this will lead to system failure!

⚠️ Warning: If after manual cleaning the smartphone began to slow down, restart it. MIUI Re-indexing the file system, which can take up to 5 minutes.

3. Clear the cache of Google Play Services and other system applications

Google Play Services and Google Play Market are the main memory eaters on the Redmi Note 5. Their cache can take up to 2-3 GB, but standard cleaning through settings doesn’t always work. Here’s how to remove it completely:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Find Google Play Services and click Storage.
3. Choose Clear Cache and Delete Data (the latter will reset your Google account settings!).
4. Repeat for Google Play Market, YouTube, Chrome.

After clearing the Google Play Services data, the smartphone may request a re-entering of the password from the Google account and temporarily lose sync (e.g., no updates to email and calendar).

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If after cleaning the cache, the application began to slow down - restart it or restart the smartphone. MIUI will automatically restore the necessary temporary files.

4. Removal of duplicate photos and videos using third-party applications

The gallery on Redmi Note 5 can't find duplicates, but there are specialized utilities for this.

• 📸 Files by Google – the built-in Cleanup tool finds duplicate photos and suggests removing them.
• 🔍 Duplicate Files Fixer scans memory by file content, not by name.
• 📁 SD Maid (requires root) – removes duplicates and empty folders in system directories.

Instructions for Files by Google:

1. Install an app from the Play Market.
2. Open the Cleanup section → Duplicate files.
3. Select files to delete (you can view the preview).
4. Click Delete and confirm the action.

Important: Before mass removal of duplicates, check if they are backups (for example, photos from Google Photos or Mi Cloud).

5. Cleaning through ADB: for advanced users

If standard methods don't work and root rights don't, you can use ADB (Android Debug Bridge), which removes system debris that you can't see in the MIUI.

What you need:

• 🖥️ A computer with installed Xiaomi drivers and ADB.
• 📱 Included debugging by USB on a smartphone (Settings) → The phone. → Version. MIUI — Press 7 times, then return to Additional → For developers → Debugging by USB).
• 🔌 Cable USB (preferably original).

Cleanup commands:

adb shell pm clear com.google.android.gms # Google Play Services Cleanup


adb shell pm clear com.android.vending # Clean up Play Market




adb shell rm -rf /data/local/tmp/* # Delete temporary files




adb shell rm -rf /cache/* # Clearing the system cache (requires a restart)

⚠️ Attention: Command rm -rf If you don't specify the correct path, you can delete critical system files.

6. Memory optimization through developer settings

Redmi Note 5 has hidden options that help reduce memory usage by system processes.

1. Activate the developer mode (see previous section).
2. Go to Settings → Additional → For developers.
3. Find and turn on: 🔄 Do not save actions (reduces the amount of cache of applications). 📉 Limit background processes (select “Maximum 2 Processes»). 🗑️ Shut down. MIUI Optimization (reduces memory load, but can impair interface smoothness).

These settings will reduce the background activity of applications, but some features (such as real-time notifications) may run slower.

7 Final touches: what to do if memory still runs out

If you have less than 10% of the free space left after all the manipulations, try:

• 📲 Transfer applications to SD-card (if it is installed instead of the second one) SIM). For this: Go to Settings → Applications. Select the application → Warehouse → Change. → SD-map.

Google Photo

Mi Cloud

🔄 Reset the smartphone to factory settings (the last option, if the garbage has accumulated in the system partitions).

FAQ: Frequent Memory Cleanup Questions on Redmi Note 5