Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco smartphones often face a frustrating situation: the device’s memory is full, and when analyzing the storage in detail, the lion’s share is taken by the mysterious category “Others”, which can grow to tens of gigabytes, occupying up to 40-50% of all available space, which leads to slowdown of the system and the inability to install new applications.
The problem is that standard Mi Explorer doesn’t always correctly classify files by sending remnants of remote programs, messenger cache and system logs to this folder. You need to understand that this is not a single physical directory, but a hodgepodge of various data that the system cannot uniquely identify.
In this article, we will discuss safe and effective ways to clean this section, learn how to find hidden files, use special utilities and apply advanced cleaning methods that will help return your gadget to performance.
What is hidden in the category "Others" in fact
Before we start radical action, we need to understand the nature of this data: the category “Other” (sometimes referred to as “System” or simply unclassified files) is generated automatically, which includes the cache of applications that were not deleted after uninstallation of programs, as well as temporary update files.
Telegram, WhatsApp and Viber have a habit of saving media files in their own hidden directories, which the system perceives as an unknown type of data, and there may be error logs and crash reports accumulated over the entire time of using the smartphone.
- 📁 Residual files of remote games and applications that take up gigabytes of space.
- 📸 Photo miniatures and videos created by the gallery for quick viewing.
- 📡 Downloaded files from browsers that were not recognized as documents.
- 🛠 System Logs and Error Reports MIUI, months-long.
It is important to understand that mindlessly deleting the contents of system folders can lead to unstable operation of the operating system, some files are necessary for the correct running of applications, so the approach should be selective and conscious.
⚠️ Warning: Never delete files from system folders prefixed with Android or data unless you are 100% sure of their purpose.This can result in resetting or a complete failure of application settings.
Basic cleaning with built-in MIUI facilities
The easiest and safest way to start the fight for space is to use the standard tools of the MIUI shell. Xiaomi has provided a built-in optimizer that can find obvious garbage. To start, go to the Settings → Memory menu or use the desktop security application.
In the Cleanup section, the system will scan the device and suggest that you delete unnecessary files. However, a standard scanner often ignores the deep cache, leaving the Others category virtually intact. For a deeper cleaning, go to application management.
Find the most "heavy" programs, such as social networks or browsers, go to their properties and select "Memory" where the "Clear Cache" button is available, which is often the operation that frees up several gigabytes that were previously listed in the "Others" section.
☑️ Verification by built-in means
Remember that once the cache is cleared, applications can take a little longer to load on their first run, as they will have to re-form temporary files. This is normal operating system behavior that stabilizes quickly.
Use of Third-Party File Managers
Mi is minimalist and often hides the folder structure from the user, and to see the real picture of what is happening in the storage, it is recommended to install a specialized file manager, such as Total Commander, Files by Google or X-plore.
These applications have disk space analysis, and they visualize the storage as a diagram, showing which folders are taking up the most space, and often it turns out that the Others folder is a specific directory, like Android/obb or DCIM/.thumbnails.
| Annex | Advantage | Difficulty of use |
|---|---|---|
| Files by Google | Automatic garbage sorting | Low. |
| Total Commander | Medium | |
| X-plore | Tall. | |
| SD Maid | Medium |
When working with third-party managers, turn on the display of hidden files. This is usually done through the application settings menu (check "Show hidden files"). You will be surprised how much garbage is hidden in folders with a dot at the beginning of the name.
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Use the Storage Analyzer feature in the Files by Google app, which shows you the largest files that can be safely deleted.
Manual cleaning of messenger cache
The main source of growth of the category “Others” are messengers. Telegram, for example, by default does not limit the size of the cache, saving all the photos and videos viewed on the device. This can take up to 10-20 GB of memory, which the system does not see as “Photo” or “Video”.
To clean up, go to the settings of the app itself. In Telegram, the path looks like this: Settings → Data and memory → Memory Use. Here you will see the Cache slider and the Cleanup button. Moreover, you can set automatic cache deletion, for example, after 3 days or a week.
On WhatsApp, the situation is similar. Go to Settings → Data and Storage → Storage Management. The app sorts files by size, allowing you to remove heavy video files, which often form the basis of “Other” files.
- 🗑 Remove the cache regularly, once a week to avoid accumulation.
- ⏱ Set autodelete the cache in the Telegram settings for "1 week».
- 📹 Turn off auto-save media in gallery for group chats.
⚠️ Note: Clearing the cache in messengers does not delete your correspondence, they are stored on the server. However, if you delete the application itself without a backup, the message history will be lost.
Advanced methods: ADB and cleaning of logs
If standard methods have failed and the Others category is still a critical area, more serious measures will have to be taken, and debugging logs and error reports are one of the reasons for the system’s inflatedness, and can be deleted via a computer using the Android Debug Bridge (ADB) tool.
To do this, you need to turn on the developer mode on your smartphone. Go to Settings → About your phone and quickly press 7 times on the MIUI version. Then activate “Debugging by USB” in the advanced settings.
Connect your smartphone to your PC and enter a command to clean system logs.This is secure and does not affect the user’s personal data, but effectively compresses the Others section.
adb shell pm trim-caches 999999999999This command forcibly trims the cache of all applications to the lowest possible value, and you can also use the command to clean specific system logs, but it requires caution.
What if the ADB can’t see the phone?
Cardinal measures: Reset to factory settings
When file system software errors cause deleted files to continue to be logged in, only a complete reset helps, which is an extreme measure that will return the smartphone to a store-like state.
Before you do this, make sure you back up all your important data. After you reset, you don't have any photos, contacts, or apps on your phone. The Other category is guaranteed to disappear as the file system is recreated.
Path to reset: Settings → Phone → Settings Reset → Erase all data. The process takes 10 to 30 minutes depending on the memory capacity and device model (Redmi Note, Poco F, etc.).
- 🔋 Charge your phone to at least 60% before resetting.
- ☁️ Check the synchronization of contacts with Google account.
- 📸 Save important photos to the cloud or computer.
⚠️ Warning: If your device has two-factor authentication installed on important services, make sure you have access to your phone number or recovery codes, or you may lose access to your accounts after a reset.
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A complete reset is the only solution that guarantees 100% clearing of the Other category if the cause is file system errors.
Prevention of memory filling
To keep the problem from returning in a month, it's important to develop a habit of keeping an eye on the storage, and regular prevention takes a couple of minutes, but saves you from having to reset the system completely.
Use cloud storage for photos and videos. Google Photos or Xiaomi Cloud allows you to store originals on the network, leaving only compressed copies on the device or deleting them after downloading, which frees up a huge amount of space.
Also keep an eye out for system updates. Xiaomi engineers are constantly releasing patches that optimize the file system. Updating to the current version of MIUI or HyperOS can fix bugs that display incorrect memory capacity.