How to remove the “Other” from the memory of Android Xiaomi Redmi

Xiaomi and Redmi smartphone owners often face the unpleasant situation of internal storage overflowing with the mysterious “Other” category.This is not a system bug, but accumulated “digital garbage” that includes app cache, temporary files, remnants of deleted programs and system logs. Cleaning up this partition can free up gigabytes of valuable space, but requires a cautious approach.

Unlike standard photos or music files, the content of the Other category is hidden from the eyes of the average user. MIUI and Android do not always correctly display the real size of this data, and the standard Clean button in the storage menu often proves powerless against deep-seated temporary files.

In this article, we will take a detailed look at all known ways to solve a problem, from simple actions in settings to using computer utilities. Android/data, without damaging the operation of installed games and programs. Follow the instructions carefully to return your gadget to performance.

What’s in the “Other” section of Xiaomi

Before we take any drastic action, we need to understand the nature of the extra files, and the Other category is a hoard of data that the system cannot uniquely classify, which includes messenger cache, browser boot files and, most importantly, application data left over after they are deleted.

A special place on this list is cache files. When you browse social media feeds or play online games, the device saves graphics and scripts for quick downloads. Over time, this data grows to huge sizes. Xiaomi's system sometimes labels it as system, protecting it from accidental deletion through a standard Explorer.

Also, the Other may hide firmware update files that were not automatically deleted after installing the new version of MIUI. If you haven’t done a full cleaning in a long time, there may be error logs and crash reports that are completely useless for everyday smartphone use.

⚠️ Warning: Before you start any manipulation of system files, be sure to back up important data. Deleting system caches is safe, but interfering with folder structure can lead to resetting application settings.

Cleaning through standard storage settings

The safest and first step for every Redmi user is to use built-in cleaning tools, which, despite their limited effectiveness as a nasty garbage disposal tool, allow you to delete some temporary files without risking the system.

Go to the Settings menu, then select About Phone and click on Warehouse. Here you will see a visualization of the occupied space. The system will prompt you to clear the cache, but often this is not enough. You need to click on the Clean button in the recommendations section to start a deep analysis.

If the standard utility didn’t help significantly reduce the size of the Other category, try clearing the cache of specific “heavy” applications manually. Find messengers or browsers in the list of applications, go to their properties and select Clear the cache. Don’t confuse it with the “Clear All” button, as this will delete your logins and correspondence.

After you do this, restart your device. Reboot is necessary for Android to recalculate the file index and update the display of occupied space. Often, after restart, the volume of "Other" is visually reduced.

Using a File Manager for Deep Cleaning

The standard MIUI Explorer has hidden features that allow you to access files that are invisible in the gallery. To get started, open the Explorer app and activate the hidden files in the settings (usually hidden in the hamburger menu).

You need to go to the root directory of internal memory. Pay special attention to the folders Android/data and Android/obb. This is where the game caches and application data are stored. In new versions of Android, access to these folders is limited, but through the file manager Xiaomi or third-party solutions like Total Commander, you can access.

Inside the data folder, you'll see a lot of folders with packet names (e.g., com.whatsapp or com.tencent.ig). If you delete an app but it's still there, you can delete it. This is guaranteed to make room in the "Other" section.

Be very careful when deleting files inside these directories, delete only what you are sure of or folders from already deleted programs, and do not touch system files so as not to disrupt MIUI.

Clearing data through the application menu

One of the most effective ways to reduce the size of the Other category is to force the data of specific applications that have swelled to an exorbitant size. Often instant messengers like Telegram or WhatsApp take up tens of gigabytes, which the system classifies as Other.

Open Settings, select Apps, and click All Apps. Sort the list by memory size. Select the lead app and go to the menu. Here you need the Clean button and then Clear the cache or Clear everything.

Using Clear Everything is like reinstalling an app: you log out and all local data is deleted. Use this method only if you are ready to re-sign in. For social networks, it is often the best way to quickly free up 1-2 GB of space.

After cleaning the data of heavy applications, be sure to restart the smartphone, which will allow the system to correctly redistribute the free memory blocks and update the statistics in the Storage section.

Use of debugging mode via USB and ADB

For advanced users who have not been helped by standard methods, there is a way to clean through a computer using USB debugging.This method allows you to delete files that are hidden from the average user, including the system cache.

First, activate Developer Mode. Go to Settings → About Phone and quickly click on MIUI seven times. After you have become a developer, go to Additional → For Developers and enable USB Debugging.

Connect your phone to your computer with a cable. The computer must have an ADB platform installed. Open the command line and enter a command to access the shell:

adb shell pm clear com.android.cache

This command clears the system cache, and you can use the command to delete temporary files:

adb shell rm -rf /data/local/tmp/*

⚠️ Attention: Working with ADB Incorrect commands, especially those containing rm -rf» In system directories, it can cause a smartphone to fail completely (bootloop.

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Use the original cable to connect to your PC. Cheap cables can only charge the device, but not transmit data, leading to an ADB connection error.

Once you've done the commands in the terminal, turn off the cable and restart the device, and you'll be surprised at how much space is available, which is particularly effective for older Redmi models, where accumulated system debris interferes with work.

Radical method: complete reset to factory settings

If none of these methods has helped to get rid of the bloated “Other” section, the last and most effective option is a full reset, which is guaranteed to remove all the garbage, as the phone will return to the “store-like” state.

Before starting the procedure, make sure that all important photos, contacts and documents are stored in the Mi Cloud or on your computer.In the process of resetting, internal memory will be fully formatted, and it will be impossible to recover data without a backup.

To perform the reset, go to Settings → About Phone → Reset. Select Erase All Data. The system will ask you to enter the unlock password and the password from your Mi Account for confirmation. After that, the process will begin, which will take 5-10 minutes.

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A complete reset is the only way to remove 100% of the garbage from the Other section, but it requires a full backup of the user’s data.

Once turned on, the phone will be clean. The Other category will be as small as possible. Restore applications gradually, watching which ones start to actively fill the memory again.

Preventing memory overflow in the future

To keep the Other problem from coming back in a month, you need to change your smartphone usage habits, regular prevention is more important than emergency cleaning, and make a rule: check the storage once a week and remove the unnecessary.

Set up automatic cache cleanup in Xiaomi’s Security app. Go to the cleaner settings and set the frequency or add a widget to your desktop for quick access. It’s also helpful to disable auto-save media in instant messengers.

Keep an eye out for system updates. Xiaomi engineers are constantly improving memory algorithms in new versions of MIUI. Sometimes a firmware update itself corrects memory accounting errors and compresses the "Other" partition.