Xiaomi smartphone owners often face a mysterious situation where the device’s internal memory is rapidly filling up, even though the user did not download heavy files. Particularly alarming is the “Other” section, which can take up tens of gigabytes on the Redmi Note 8T model. This storage accumulates temporary files, system logs, application cache and remnants of remote programs that the standard analyzer does not always correctly identify.
Ignoring this problem leads to a critical slowdown in Android, errors in installing updates and the inability to take new pictures. The MIUI system installed on the Redmi Note 8T has its own features of working with the file system, so standard cleaning methods are often ineffective.
In this article, we will discuss proven ways to safely remove excess data and return the device to its previous performance, learn how to work with system folders, what developer tools will be useful for deep cleaning, and how to prevent the “Other” section from re-inflating.
The nature of the “Other” section in MIUI
The Other section is not a virus or counting error, but a system category where MIUI puts files that are not in the standard groups (photos, videos, apps), which on the Redmi Note 8T is often generated by a cache of messengers such as Telegram and WhatsApp, which store the received media files in hidden directories, as well as streaming services, offline maps of navigators and system error logs.
Particular attention should be paid to the mechanism of operation of the EXT4 file system used in the smartphone. When you use the device actively and write/delete files often, so-called “tails” can remain – pieces of data that are formally deleted but occupy space until the sector is completely rewritten, the system sees these reserved areas and classifies them as “Other”.
⚠️ Warning: Before you start any manipulation of system files, be sure to back up important contacts and photos. Cleaning up the system cache may cause some applications to reset.
Another source of debris is debugging logs and error reports, which the Redmi Note 8T can accumulate for months if the diagnostic function is active by default. These text files weigh a little separately but add up to a significant amount of storage. Understanding the storage structure is the first step to successfully fighting for space on your device.
Basic cleaning through standard Xiaomi tools
The Redmi Note 8T has a Security app that has a Cleanup module that scans the device for obvious debris, but often skips the deep files of the Other section, but it is necessary to start this procedure to remove the surface cache.
For more detailed analysis, use the built-in Storage Analyzer. Go to Settings → Memory → Analyze. Here, the system visualizes memory and allows you to delete large files, duplicates and rarely used applications. Often, it is in the Big Files list that forgotten videos or archives are hidden that are mistakenly classified by the system.
- 🗑️ Open the Security app and click the Clean button to delete temporary files.
- 📂 In the Memory section, select “Clean” opposite to “Junk” to remove the system cache.
- 📱 Go to the Appendices» → «Application management" and manually clean the cache of heavy programs (social networks, browsers).
It is important to understand that standard methods can’t always get to hidden folders. Android/data, where most of the messaging is stored, so if the "Other" section still takes up more 5-7 GB, you need to move to more advanced methods, and you should not ignore regular prevention, because it prolongs the life of flash memory.
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Clear the cache of the Settings and Google Play Services apps once a month to prevent the buildup of system debris that will later end up in the Other section.
Deep Cleaning Through File Manager
The standard MIUI Explorer has a hidden feature that allows you to manually delete files that are invisible to the average user. To see them, you need to activate the display of hidden files. In the Explorer app, click three dots in the corner of the screen, select Settings → Display hidden files. After that, folders that start from a dot will appear in the root directory.
Special attention should be paid to the folder.thumbnails, which stores thumbnails of all images and videos viewed. 8T This file can grow to a few gigabytes, and if it's safely deleted, it frees up space instantly, although the system can recreate it the next time you view the gallery. MIUI/debug_log, debugging logs.
| Folder/File | Description of the contents | Security of removal |
|---|---|---|
| .thumbnails | Cash miniature photo and video | Safe (restored) |
| MIUI/debug_log | System logs for debugging | Safe. |
| Android/obb | Game data cache | Only if the game is deleted |
| Tencent/MicroMsg | Cash WeChat (analogue of WhatsApp) | Careful (the media will disappear) |
When manually cleaning folders at the root of the Android system, be extremely selective. Deleting system files can lead to a bootloop. If you are not sure about the purpose of a file with an obscure name, it is better to leave it alone or pre-copy it to your computer. Remember that the goal is to make space, not to disrupt the OS.
What if the.thumbnails folder is constantly growing?
Using ADB to Forced Disposal of Waste
The most effective way to remove the “Other” on the Redmi Note 8T without obtaining superuser rights (Root) – use of debugging bridge ADB (Android Debug Bridge: This method requires connecting a smartphone to a computer via a computer. USB-First you need to activate the developer mode: go to Settings → About the phone and 7 times quickly click on the version MIUI.
Once you activate the developer mode, go to Advanced Settings → For developers and turn on “Debugging by USB.” Connect your phone to a PC that has ADB Driver installed. In the computer command line, enter the connection check command:
adb devicesIf you have a window on your smartphone asking for debugging permission, confirm it. Now you can run a command to clear the packet cache, which often takes up the lion's share of the "Other" section.
adb shell pm trim-caches 999999999This command forcibly removes the cache of all installed applications that the system considers to be inactive, which can take several minutes, and you can use the command to clean temporary files:
adb shell rm -rf /data/local/tmp/*- 💻 Install platform tools ADB computer (Windows/Mac/Linux).
- 🔌 Connect the Redmi Note 8T cable and allow debugging on the smartphone screen.
- ⌨️ Enter the adb shell pm trim-caches command to clean up the app cache globally.
⚠️ Attention: Teams in ADB They are executed instantly and without further confirmation. Be extremely careful when entering paths, especially when using the rm operator. -rf, The error may result in the deletion of system files.
☑️ Preparation for work with ADB
Radical measures: Resetting and reflashing
If the software methods didn’t help and the “Other” partition continues to occupy an abnormally large volume (over 20-30 GB), it may be that the file system is damaged or has accumulated critical errors, in which case the most effective solution is a complete reset to the factory settings (Wipe Data), which action will completely destroy all user data, so backup is mandatory.
To perform the reset, go to Settings → About Phone → Settings Reset → Erase all data. The device will reboot and begin the cleaning process. A deeper method is to enter Recovery mode. Turn off the phone, then press the Volume+ and Power buttons at the same time. From the Recovery menu, select Wipe Data → Wipe All Data.
Once reset, the system will be clean and the Other partition will take up as little space as possible, and this is the best way to get rid of hidden file system errors that are not visible to the user, but if the problem returns immediately after installing a minimum set of applications, this may indicate wear and tear on flash memory or a software bug of a particular version of MIUI.
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Full reset is the only way to ensure that you clean up your file system of all errors and hidden debris if other methods don’t help.
Prevention and optimization of storage
To prevent the problem with the “Other” section on the Redmi Note 8T from returning, you need to change your smartphone usage habits. Regularly check the settings of messengers: Telegram and WhatsApp can install automatic cleaning of the media cache (for example, delete photos older than 3 days), which will significantly reduce the speed of filling the memory.
It is also recommended to disable automatic saving of error reports in the developer settings, if you do not use them for debugging. Periodically, every 1-2 months, it is useful to restart the smartphone in safe mode or simply perform a full reboot so that system processes finish working with temporary files correctly.
Use cloud storage for photos and videos to keep local copies out. Set up sync with Google Photos with Free Space will automatically remove from your device those images that are already uploaded to the cloud. This is an easy way to keep the Other section under control without constant manual intervention.
- ☁️ Set up autodelete media in instant messengers (Telegram) → Data and memory → Use of memory).
- 🔄 Regularly reboot your smartphone to reset system processes.
- 📸 Use cloud synchronization of photos with the function of cleaning local copy.
Compliance with these simple rules will allow your Xiaomi to work quickly and consistently throughout its life. Memory is a valuable resource, and competent management of it directly affects the speed of interface response and battery life.