How to remove “Other” from memory Xiaomi Redmi 6A: complete cleanup without risk

The “Other” section in Xiaomi Redmi 6A memory is a real headache for budget smartphone owners, and over time it grows to a few gigabytes, taking up precious space, even though you haven’t installed new applications. What’s the reason? It’s the cache of system processes, remnants of remote programs, logs and temporary files that MIUI doesn’t always clean automatically.

In this article, we’ll look at 5 proven ways to free up memory from “junk,” including hidden methods through developer settings and third-party utilities. Importantly, some actions require super-user rights, but the basic techniques work without them. If your Redmi 6A slows down, gives out an error “not enough memory” or just “choked” from 1-2 GB of free space, this is the guide for you.

We warn you beforehand that not all files in the Others section can be deleted, some of them are critical to the system, and we will show you how to distinguish garbage from important data and avoid the "bricking" of the phone.

What is the “Other” in Xiaomi Redmi 6A memory and why it takes up so much space

The Others (or Others) section of MIUI memory analysis is a dump for files that the system cannot categorize (photos, videos, apps, etc.) and includes:

• 🗑️ System App Cache – Temporary Data from Google Services, MIUI System and other services that are not cleaned during standard cleaning.
• 📄 Logs and dumps are error reporting files (.log,.dmp) that are created when crashes occur.
• 👻 Remnants of remote applications – folders and files that remain after uninstallation of programs (especially relevant for games and social networks).
• 🔄 Temporary update files – downloaded but not installed packets MIUI or Google Play.
• 📁 Hidden user folders – for example,.thumbnails (image miniatures) or.data from instant messengers.

On the Redmi 6A with its modest 16 GB of memory (of which ~10 GB is available), the “Other” section can grow to 3-5 GB. The reason is the peculiarities of MIUI 9/10 (current for this model): the system actively caches data to speed up work, but does not always delete them. In addition, the budget processor Helio A22 and low RAM (2 GB) make Android more often create temporary files to offload memory.

⚠️ Note: If the “other” section is more 6-7 GB, this may indicate a virus or file system failure, in which case, first check the phone with an antivirus (such as Malwarebytes), and then proceed to clean up.

Method 1: Standard cleaning through “Safety” (no root)

Start with the simplest, the built-in MIUI tool, which removes some cache and temporary files, but doesn’t touch deep system data.

1. Open the Security app (the shield icon).
2. Go to the Cleanup section (or Acceleration → Deep Cleanup).
3. Click on “Scan” and wait for the analysis to be completed.
4. Check all items, especially “Cash”, “File Remains” and “Unnecessary APKs”.
5. Click "Clean" (at the bottom of the screen).

This method will release 200-800 MB, but no more. For deep cleaning, move on to the following methods.

If the “Other” section has not decreased after cleaning, check:

• 🔍 Download folder – there may be old folders APK-file-book.
• 📂 folder DCIM/.thumbnails — Photos and videos that are not automatically deleted.
• 🎮 Game folders (e.g, Android/obb) — post-installation.

Method 2: Manual cleaning through file manager (for experienced)

To remove hidden files that are not visible in the standard interface, use a file manager with root rights (for example, Solid Explorer or FX File Explorer). If root is not available, the built-in Explorer from MIUI will also work, but some folders will not be available.

Here's what can be safely removed:

Instructions:

1. Open the file manager and enable the display of hidden files (in the settings).
2. Go to /storage/emulated/0/ and delete the folders from the table above.
3. System folders (e.g. /data/) will require root rights.
4. After removing, restart the phone.

⚠️ Note: Do not delete files with.odex,.apk extensions (except manually downloaded) or system, vendor folders!

💡

Before you delete system files, back up your system files via Settings → Additional → Backup. This will save your data if something goes wrong.

Method 3: Cleaning through Developer Settings (hidden method)

MIUI has a hidden feature that allows you to cache all applications at once, which helps if the standard cleaning doesn't work.

How to turn on the developer mode:

1. Go to Settings. → The phone.
2. Click 7 times in a row on the item "Version" MIUI». You will receive a notification saying, “You are a developer».
3. Return to the main settings menu and open a new section for developers.

How to drop the cache:

1. In the “For Developers” section, find the “Do Not Save Actions” item and turn it on.
2. Next, select “Limit background processes” and set the value “No background processes”.
3. Reboot the phone. Once you turn on, the cache of all the apps will be reset.
4. Return the settings to the original state (turn off "Do not save actions").

This method frees up to 1-1.5 GB, but has a side effect: after restarting, applications will run longer (the cache will have to be restored again).

💡

Cleaning through Developer Settings is the safest way to remove the cache without root rights, but it will temporarily slow down the phone.

Method 4: Using ADB for deep cleaning (for advanced)

If previous methods didn’t work, try removing garbage through ADB (Android Debug Bridge) which requires connecting your phone to your computer, but doesn’t need root rights.

What you need:

• 🖥️ A computer with installed Xiaomi drivers and ADB (download).
• 📱 Included debugging by USB (In Settings → For developers).
• 🔌 Cable USB Type-C (original so that there are no connection problems).

Cleanup commands:

adb shell pm clear com.miui.securitycenter #Cleaning up the Security cache


adb shell pm clear com.android.vending # Clearing Google Play cache




adb shell rm -rf /data/local/tmp/* # Delete temporary files




adb shell rm -rf /cache/* # Cleaning system cache

Step-by-step:

1. Connect Redmi 6A to your computer and allow debugging over USB.
2. Open the command prompt (Windows) or terminal (Linux/macOS) in the folder with ADB.
3. Enter commands one by one, waiting for each to be completed.
4. Reboot the phone.

⚠️ Attention: Command rm -rf If you don't specify the correct path, you can delete critical files!

Method 5: Reset to factory settings (last resort)

If none of the methods worked, and the Others partition still takes a few gigabytes, it's a hard reset, which will delete all the data from the phone, including apps, photos and settings, but return the memory to its original state.

How to reset:

1. Back up important data (photos, contacts, messages) through Settings → Additional → Backup or manually copy files to your computer.
2. Go to Settings → Additional → Recovery and Reset.
3. Select “Reset” → “Delete all data”.
4. Enter the password (if installed) and confirm the action.
5. Wait for the process to be completed (it will take 5-10 minutes).

After discharge:

• 📱 The phone will return to the state of “out of the box” with clean MIUI.
• 🔄 The “Other” section will be reduced to 100-300 MB (this is the norm for the system).
• ⚠️ The first day after resetting the phone can work slower – this is normal (the system restores the cache).

⚠️ Note: If the "Other" section grows again quickly after reset, this may indicate a hardware problem (memory wear) or a virus.

How to prevent the “Other” from being refilled

To prevent the “Other” section from growing again, follow these rules:

• 🔄 Clean the cache regularly through “Security” (1 time per week).
• 🚫 Do not install apps from unknown sources – they often leave debris behind.
• 📁 Use cloud storage (such as Google Photos) to automatically upload photos and videos.
• 🔍 Check your phone with an antivirus (such as Avast or Kaspersky) once a month.
• 🛠️ Update. MIUI Up to the latest version – in the new firmware optimized work with memory.

You can also limit the background activity of applications:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Select an app (like Facebook or Instagram).
3. Click on “Limit background activity”.
4. Turn off “Stop” and “Show notifications”.

These measures will reduce the memory load and reduce the number of temporary files created.

FAQ: Frequent questions about cleaning up 'Other' on Redmi 6A