How to remove excess memory Xiaomi POCO X3 Pro

The POCO series, and in particular the X3 Pro, were originally marketed as powerful devices with enough internal storage. However, over time, even 128 or 256 gigabytes can become crowded. MIUI and its modern version of HyperOS are actively using space for data caching, which ultimately leads to slowdown of the interface and the inability to install new applications.

Users often experience a system reporting a lack of space, even though manually deleted photos and videos do not produce tangible results, because a significant portion is occupied by hidden files, remnants of deleted programs and bloated messenger cache. Understanding the structure of the Android file system is necessary to effectively manage the resources of your gadget.

In this article, we will examine not only standard cleaning methods, but also advanced ways to free up space available to Xiaomi owners, learn how to find “hidden memory eaters” and safely delete them without disrupting the stability of the system.

Analysis of the occupancy of the storage with standard means

The first step to freeing up space is diagnostics. The built-in MIUI tools provide pretty detailed statistics that many people ignore, preferring third-party apps. To access this information, you need to go to the Settings menu, then select About phone and click on Warehouse, and here you will see a color diagram showing the distribution of data by category.

The system automatically sorts files into apps, images, videos, audio, and documents. However, the Other category often raises the most questions, as it can take up tens of gigabytes, and it gets temporary files, streaming cache, error logs, and data that the system failed to classify automatically, and ignoring this category leads to a rapid exhaustion of free memory.

Importantly, the built-in analyzer sometimes shows irrelevant data until it is fully indexed. If you just deleted a large amount of files, wait a few minutes or restart the device to update the statistics. The accuracy of the display is critical to deciding on further cleanup actions.

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The built-in storage analyzer is the most secure tool for initial evaluation, as it does not have access to delete system-critical files, unlike third-party utilities with extended rights.

Working with app cache and junk files

The most efficient way to quickly free up space is to clear the cache. Cache is temporary data that apps save to speed up their work, but over time it grows to giant sizes, especially with social networks and instant messengers such as Telegram, WhatsApp and VK.

To clean up, you can use the standard Security app, which is preinstalled on all Xiaomi smartphones. Click on the Cleanup button and the system will scan the device for temporary files. However, for deeper cleaning, you better go to the settings of a particular application through the Applications menu → All apps, select the desired one and click Clear → Clear cache.

Be careful when choosing the option “Clean all” or “Clean data”. If the first deletes only temporary files, the second completely resets the application to the state after installation, removing logins, passwords and correspondence. Always specify what type of cleaning you are doing so that you do not lose important authorization data.

⚠️ Note: Clearing the map cache in navigation applications (such as Yandex.Maps or Google Maps) will remove downloaded offline maps.

After cleaning the cache of heavy applications, the amount of free memory can increase by several gigabytes instantly. Regularly performing this procedure (every 1-2 weeks) helps to keep the system in good shape and prevents the accumulation of a critical mass of temporary files that can cause malfunctions in Android.

Cleaning up the download folder and hidden directories

Download is the default location for all files, documents and APK installation packages. Often users forget about downloaded files that lie dead for months, taking up valuable space. Use a file manager, such as the built-in Explorer or the more advanced Material Files, to access them.

Inside the MIUI directory, folders from remote applications that were not automatically deleted when the program was uninstalled are often hidden, and it’s also worth checking the Android/media and Android/data folder, where some applications (especially streaming services like Spotify or YouTube Music) can store a cache of music and video that is not deleted by standard cache cleaning.

The.thumbnail files are also worth noting: these are the thumbnails of photos and videos that the gallery creates to quickly display previews. Over time, the thumbnail folder can grow to several gigabytes. It is safe to clean, but the next time the gallery opens, the system will be forced to regenerate the preview, which can temporarily load the processor.

Removing duplicates and unnecessary media files

Over time, a lot of duplicate photos accumulate in the memory of the smartphone, especially if you used the function of synchronization with the cloud or transferred data from another device. MIUI There's a built-in tool for finding similar and identical images, and it's in the Gallery app under Albums» → «Similar photos».

Using this tool, you can quickly identify and delete serial images, leaving only the best frames. You should also pay attention to video files, which take up the lion's share of memory. High-resolution videos (4K or 1080p at 60 frames) can take 200-400 MB per minute of recording. Ruthless removal of unsuccessful videos is the fastest way to get free space.

Remember to check the Voice Recorder folder and messenger folders, where all received videos and voice messages are automatically saved, often containing commercials and unnecessary postcards that are automatically downloaded from chat rooms.

Using Developer Mode and ADB for Deep Cleaning

For advanced users who want to remove system debris or applications that are not removed in the standard way, there is an ADB tool (Android Debug Bridge), which requires connecting the smartphone to the computer and enabling debugging mode via USB. To activate this mode, go to Settings → About phone and quickly click on the MIUI build number 7 times.

After enabling debugging in the Advanced Settings menu → For developers, you can connect the phone to a PC and use commands to delete packets. For example, the adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 name.packet command allows you to delete the system application for the current user without affecting the system partition. This frees up space and removes unnecessary processes from memory.

adb shell pm list packages | grep "xiaomi"


adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.miui.videoplayer

However, using ADB requires extreme caution: Removing critical system components (such as a batch installer or system UI) can lead to a bootloop (cyclic reboot) or phone inoperability.Be sure to check its destination online before removing any package.

⚠️ Attention: Use of teams ADB To remove system applications, voids the warranty in case of software failures.

Resetting settings as a radical solution method

If no methods are working and the memory is constantly filled with incomprehensible data, it is possible that the file system has accumulated errors or corrupted system logs, in which case the most effective solution is a complete reset to factory settings, which will return the POCO X3 Pro to the “out of the box” state, removing all user data and applications.

Before starting the procedure, you should back up all important data to the Mi Cloud service, computer or external drive. Reset can be done through the Settings menu → About phone → Resetting → Erase all data. The device will restart and begin the cleaning process, which can take from 10 to 30 minutes.

After resetting, it is recommended not to restore all applications from the backup at once, but to install them again as needed, which will help to avoid returning junk files and settings that could cause memory problems. Clean installation is the best way to ensure that Android works consistently for the long term.

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After resetting, don’t install all the apps at once. Give the system 15-20 minutes for background optimization and indexing, otherwise the smartphone will warm up and slow down.

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