Cleaning the ‘Other’ section on Xiaomi Redmi 7A: the full guide

Owners of budget smartphones like the Xiaomi Redmi 7A often face critical shortages of space. Android over time has become accreted with temporary files, which standard memory analyzer often refers to the mysterious category of "Other" This partition can take up gigabytes of valuable space, slowing down the device.

The Other section is not a system bug, but a collection of app cache, residual files after deleting programs, and instant messenger data. On models with 16 or 32 gigabytes of internal memory, ignoring this problem quickly makes it impossible to install updates or new applications.

In this guide, we will discuss proven safe cleaning methods. You do not need superuser rights (root), but you will need care when deleting system files.

What is hidden in the “Other” section on Android

Before we start taking drastic measures, we need to understand the nature of the data we store. MIUI is based on Android, where the file system is complex, and the Other category is automatically generated when the analyzer cannot uniquely classify files as photos, videos or music.

The bulk of this is the cache of browsers and social networks, such as videos viewed on YouTube or tracks listened to in streaming services are stored locally for quick download, and messenger databases are deposited here, which are not always correctly displayed in the Documents section.

Special attention should be paid to hidden folders of remote applications. When uninstallation programs often leave behind configuration files. This residual data is not useful, but continues to occupy space. Sometimes this section gets update bootloader files that are not deleted after installing a new version of the firmware.

Basic cleaning through standard MIUI facilities

The safest way to start the fight for gigabytes is to use the built-in Cleanup tool, which is pre-installed on all Xiaomi devices and has access to system areas closed to ordinary file managers.

To start the procedure, go to the Safety → Cleanup menu. The system will scan and suggest removing obvious debris. However, for a deep cleaning of the Other section, this is not enough. You need to click on the Garbage icon again or select the Deep Clean option if it is available in your version of the shell.

⚠️ Warning: Standard cleaning often ignores the cache of heavy apps like TikTok or Instagram, considering them important data.

An effective method is to clear specific application data through settings. Go to Settings → Apps → All apps. Find the most extensive programs (usually browsers or social networks) and select “Clear cache”; this is a safe action and will not delete your personal accounts or correspondence.

Manual deletion of files through Explorer

If the automatics fail, you'll have to do it manually, which requires access to the root directory of internal memory, and the built-in MIUI Explorer allows you to see hidden folders if you turn on the appropriate display mode.

Open the Explorer app, click on the menu (three dots or bars) and select Settings → Show hidden files. Now you will be able to access folders that start with a dot and system directories. Of particular interest is the Android/data folder, which stores game and application data.

Inside the data folder, you can find remote directories. The names usually contain the name of the package, such as com.instagram.android. If you're sure that the application is removed, you can safely destroy the folder. APK-files that are no longer needed.

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Before removing any files from your Android/data folder, copy them to your computer or the cloud to avoid losing progress in games.

Cleaning up messaging messaging: Telegram and WhatsApp

The leaders in filling the “Other” section are traditionally messengers. Telegram and WhatsApp store all the media files viewed in the memory of the device by default, and over time this “collection” can grow to several gigabytes.

In Telegram, it is better to clean up through the settings of the application itself, not through the file manager. Go to Settings → Data and memory → Memory Use. Here you will see the exact size of the cache. Press the "Clear cache" button. This action will not delete your correspondence, the files will be re-uploaded if necessary.

WhatsApp is more complicated. The app stores backups locally. Go to the file manager on the Android/media/com.whatsapp/WhatsApp/Databases route. It stores daily copies of chats. Leave only the latest (with the current date), and the rest can be deleted through the file manager.

Analysis of the occupied space: table and tools

To understand exactly what is taking up space, it is recommended to use specialized utilities such as DiskUsage or Files by Google, which visualize the file system by showing the heaviest objects in the form of blocks.

Below is a table of typical memory eaters in the "Other" section and methods for eliminating them:

The.thumbnails folder in DCIM directory is particularly noteworthy, where the system stores thumbnails of your photos for quick display in the gallery. With a large number of photos, this file can weigh several gigabytes. Deletion is safe: the next time you open the gallery, the system will recreate the thumbnails, but the space will temporarily vacate.

It's also worth checking the folder. MIUI/debug_log. If you have debugging enabled or the system has often failed, error logs could have accumulated here. 7A With limited memory, it is better to delete these folders regularly.

Using ADB for Advanced Cleaning

For users who are not afraid of the command line, there is a powerful tool ADB (Android Debug Bridge) that allows you to remove system debris that is not available by conventional methods, this will require a computer and enabled debugging over USB on your smartphone.

Connect the phone to the PC, open the command line and enter a command to access the shell:

adb shell

Then you can go to the cache directory and clean it. Be very careful: deleting the wrong files can lead to unstable operation of the system.

rm -rf /data/dalvik-cache

⚠️ Attention: Use ADB A mistake in one letter of the command can lead to loss of personal data or a "brick" of the device!

A safer option through ADB is to remove the cache of specific packets. For example, to clear the YouTube cache without logging into the phone's settings, you can use the pm clear command com.google.android.youtube. This is effective when the phone's interface is slow due to space shortages.

Prevention of memory overflow

After a successful cleanup, it is important to prevent the “Other” partition from re-growing. Regular maintenance is the key to the performance of the Xiaomi Redmi 7A. Make a rule to check the storage once a week.

Set up automatic cleaning in messengers. Telegram can install autodelete the cache in 3 days or a week, this will eliminate the need to manually clean gigabytes of video. WhatsApp disable autosave media in the gallery so that files do not duplicate in the system.

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Regularly restarting your smartphone (at least once every 3-4 days) helps the system automatically clean temporary files and reset the frozen processes.

Use cloud storage for photos and videos. Services like Google Photos or Yandex.Disk can automatically download media and delete them from the device, leaving only thumbnails, which dramatically solves the problem of memory shortage on budget models.

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