How to remove the cache of applications on Xiaomi: a complete guide with photos

The app cache on Xiaomi, Redmi, and POCO smartphones are temporary files that help programs load faster and run smoother. However, over time, they accumulate, taking up gigabytes of precious memory, slowing down the system and even causing crashes. If your phone starts to slow down, apps suddenly close or give out errors, and free disk space melts in front of your eyes - it's time to clean the cache.

In this article, we will discuss all the current methods of decache removal on Xiaomi devices (including the models of 2023-2026 on MIUI 14/15 and HyperOS), explain how cache cleaning differs from data reset, and give recommendations on how to keep the phone in optimal condition, you will learn how to remove cache for individual applications, how to do it in large numbers, and what hidden MIUI settings allow you to automate the process without manual intervention.

Why the cache needs to be cleaned regularly

Cache is not garbage, it's a useful tool, and it speeds up the loading of data that you often use, like pictures in messengers, YouTube previews, or maps in the navigator, but when you get too many of these files, you get problems.

• 📉 Busy memory: cache can take from 500 MB to 10+ GB (especially in games and social networks).
• 🐢 Slowdown: the system spends resources on processing outdated temporary files.
• 🔄 Application failures: A damaged cache can cause errors such as “App has stopped".
• 🔋 Increased battery consumption: background cache cleaning wastes charge.

On Xiaomi devices, the cache is divided into two types:

1. Application cache – temporary files of specific programs (for example, Telegram or TikTok).
2. System cache – MIUI/HyperOS shell files that are responsible for animations, themes and other visual elements.

Clearing the cache is recommended every 1 to 3 months, and for heavy applications (games, video editors) more often, but do not do it daily: constant cleaning can, on the contrary, slow down, as programs will have to re-download data.

Method 1: Clearing the cache for a separate application

If a particular program is slowing down (for example, Instagram or Google Chrome), just clear the cache for it. This will not delete your data (photos, messages, bookmarks), but can solve performance problems.

Instructions for MIUI 14/HyperOS:

1. Open Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Select the app you want (such as WhatsApp).
3. Slip on Warehouse.
4. Click Clear Cache (not to be confused with Clear Data – it will delete all settings!).

For convenience, you can sort applications by cache size:

• 🔍 In the Application Management section, click on three dots in the upper right corner.
• 📊 Select Sort. → By size.
• 🗑️ The programs with the largest cache will be at the top of the list.

Close the application in the multitasking menu

Check if it is currently being updated.

Make sure you have enough space (minimum 500MB)

Backup important data (if you clear the messenger cache)-->

⚠️ Warning: After clearing the cache, some applications (such as Google Maps or Spotify) may take longer to load on the first run – this is normal).

Method 2: Mass cleaning the cache of all applications

If you have cache accumulated in many programs, it's not effective to clean them one at a time. MIUI/HyperOS has a built-in tool for mass cleaning:

1. Go to Settings → Memory (or Storage in new versions).
2. Click Clean in the Garbage Files section.
3. Check the Cash item of the applications (you can also select Downloads, Residual files, etc.).
4. Slip Clean and confirm the action.

This method removes the cache of all applications at once, but does not affect user data. However, it does not clear the system cache - this requires another method (see section 4).

💡 A useful tip: after mass cleaning of the cache, restart the phone, which will help the system correctly reassemble temporary files and avoid lags.

Method 3: Clearing the cache with Recovery Mode (for power users)

If the phone is slowing down or not responding to commands, you can clear the cache through Recovery Mode, which is also useful after updating the firmware when the system is unstable.

Instructions:

1. Turn off the phone.
2. Press the Power + Volume buttons up at the same time and hold for 10-15 seconds until the Mi logo appears.
3. From the Recovery menu, select the language (usually English).
4. Go to Wipe & Reset → Wipe Cache.
5. Confirm the action and wait for the completion.
6. Choose Reboot. → Reboot to System.

⚠️ Warning: Recovery Mode also has a Wipe Data item - don't confuse it with Wipe Cache! the first will reset the phone to factory settings, deleting all your data.

Method 4: Automatically cleans the cache in MIUI/HyperOS

Xiaomi firmware has hidden features that allow you to set up automatic cache cleaning. This will eliminate the need to do it manually.

How to turn on:

1. Open Settings → Memory → Settings (cog in the upper corner).
2. Activate the Auto Cleanup option.
3. Select frequency: Daily, Weekly or Memory Shortage.
4. Mark the file types to clean (it is recommended to leave only the application cache and residual files).

You can also use the built-in MIUI optimizer:

• 🔧 Go to Settings. → Special facilities → Optimization.
• 📊 Enable Deep Cleaning and Background Cleaning.
• ⏱️ Set up a schedule (such as cleaning at night).

🔹 Important: Auto-cleaning may conflict with some applications (such as Viber or Zoom) that store important data in the cache. If you have lost messages or settings after activating the function, add these programs to the exceptions in the Settings section. → Memory. → Exceptions.

Method 5: Cleaning the cache through ADB (for advanced users)

If standard methods don’t help (such as cache of “invisible” system applications), you can use ADB (Android Debug Bridge), which requires connecting the phone to your computer, but allows you to clear the cache even for those programs that are not displayed in the settings menu.

Step-by-step:

1. Download and install Google’s Platform Tools.
2. Turn on the phone Developer Mode (go to Settings → About Phone → MIUI version and tap 7 times on this item).
3. In Settings → Additional → For developers, activate debugging over USB.
4. Connect your phone to your PC and open the command prompt (cmd) in the adb folder.
5. Enter the command to clear the cache of all applications: adb shell pm trim-caches -1
6. To clear the cache of a particular application (e.g. Facebook): adb shell pm clear com.facebook.katana (replace com.facebook.katana with the desired application package).

⚠️ Attention: pm clear removes all application data, not just cache! To clear only cache, use:

adb shell run-as com.package.name rm -rf /data/data/com.package.name/cache/*

(where com.package.name is the name of the application package).

adb shell pm list packages | grep "appendix name"

For example, for WhatsApp, it would be com.whatsapp.-->

Frequent Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Clearing the cache seems like a simple procedure, but many users make mistakes that lead to data loss or performance impairment.

• 🚫 Confuse "Clear cache" and "Clear data": the first deletes temporary files, the second - resets the application to the factory settings (delete accounts, settings, saves).
• 🔄 Cleaning the cache too often: This causes applications to constantly reassemble temporary files, which increases the load on the processor and battery.
• 📱 Ignore the system cache: it also needs to be cleaned (for example, through Recovery), otherwise the shell MIUI may work unstablely.
• 🔌 Do not restart the phone after cleaning: some changes take effect only after rebooting.

Another common problem is that the cache doesn't clear, and this can happen for a number of reasons:

If the app started to work worse after cleaning the cache (for example, the Google Play Store does not update programs), try:

1. Clear the cache and data of Google Play Services.
2. Delete your Google account and add it again.
3. Check the date and time on your phone – incorrect settings can block the operation of services.

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions