Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones often face a mysterious situation: system memory is full, and a standard analyzer can not explain exactly where gigabytes went. In the column “Other” or “System files” can hide from 5 to 20 GB of data that can not be deleted with the simple press of a button, a phenomenon characteristic of the shell MIUI and the new HyperOS, where aggressive caching of applications and accumulation of junk files create the illusion of space shortage.
The problem is that Android labels files that are not standard categories (photos, videos, music, documents) as “Other” — this includes messenger cache, temporary update files, remnants of deleted programs and error logs. Cleaning this section requires a comprehensive approach, since simple deletion can disrupt the system, and ignoring the problem will lead to constant notifications of memory shortages.
In this article, we will discuss safe and advanced ways to free up space, find hidden files, clear the cache of specific applications and use special tools for deep cleaning. It is important to understand that the Others section often contains a cache of Telegram and WhatsApp messengers, which takes up to 80% of the space, so it is worth starting the diagnosis from them.
Memory Occupancy Analysis and Hidden Files Search
Before taking drastic measures, you need to make a detailed diagnosis. Xiaomi’s standard conductor often hides the real amount of space occupied by showing averaged data. To get an accurate picture, it is recommended to use specialized analyzer utilities such as Files by Google or DiskUsage. These applications visualize memory in the form of a map, where the squares are the size of the files.
When you run the analysis, you might find that the lion's share of Others is Android/data and Android/obb. They store game data and app settings. You should also look at social media folders. For example, Telegram stores all the media files viewed in the device's memory by default, creating giant archives.
⚠️ Note: When using third-party memory analyzers, be careful not to delete.apk files from system folders or files with names containing system, vendor or boot unless you are sure of their destination at 100%.
To manually search for large files, go to the Settings → Memory menu, where the system will offer to clean up the garbage, but often this tool works superficially. Manually walk through directories through the built-in MIUI Explorer is more efficient. Sort files by size and date - this will help identify heavyweights who have been forgotten for months.
Clearing the messenger cache: Telegram, WhatsApp, Viber
The fastest way to free up space is to work with messengers. These apps create a huge number of temporary files. In Telegram, cleaning is most effective through built-in settings that do not require deleting chats. Go to Settings → Data and memory → Memory Use and click Clear Cache. This is secure and will not delete your correspondence.
WhatsApp is more complicated because it stores backups and media files in a shared file system. Go to Settings → Data and Storage → Storage Management. Here you will see a list of chats sorted by place you occupy. Deleting large video files from specific dialogs can instantly free up a few gigabytes.
- 📱 Turn off autoload media in mobile networks in the settings of each messenger.
- 🗑️ Use the Clean Up feature inside the app, rather than manually removing folders through a Explorer.
- 📅 Set up automatic deletion of media files older than 3 months in privacy settings.
It is also important to check the status saving settings on WhatsApp and Viber. Often users do not even suspect that the viewed statuses are saved to a hidden.Statuses folder, taking up valuable space. Regular cleaning of this directory through the file manager helps maintain order.
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Turn on the “Auto-Delete Media” function in Telegram: set a timer for 3 days or 1 week, which will prevent the accumulation of cache in the future.
Use of the built-in Cleanup tool and its hidden functions
The MIUI and HyperOS shells have a Security app preinstalled, which contains the Clean tool. Many users use only the basic function, without knowing what the hidden features are, and if you press and hold the Clean button or go to the janitor's settings, you can find additional settings.
It is available to clean the "app cache", "unused packages" and "large files" and the system will prompt you to delete it. APK-installer files that are left over after the software update. It is also worth checking the recent tab in the Security app itself - screenshots and downloaded documents often accumulate there.
☑️ Daily Memory Hygiene
But remember, the built-in tool is sometimes too aggressive or oblivious to deep debris, and it does a good job of surface cleaning, but it often requires manual intervention to deal with the bloated "Other" section. Combine automatic cleaning with manual folder analysis.
Delete the Android/data folder and work with the game cache
Starting with Android 11, access to the Android/data folder is restricted to third-party applications for security purposes. However, this is where the caches of games and heavy apps are stored. To clear this section, you can use Xiaomi's built-in file manager, which has special access rights, or connect the smartphone to your computer.
When you connect to your PC in file transfer mode (MTP), you get full access to the file system. Find the Android/data folder and sort the content by size. Folders with names like com.tencent.ig (PUBG) or com.ea.gp.fifamobile can weigh 5-10 GB. If you delete the game but the folder is still there, feel free to delete it.
| Type of folder | Can I remove it? | Effects of consequences |
|---|---|---|
| com.google.android.gms | No. | Google services failure |
| com.whatsapp | Only inside (media) | Chat photos will be missing |
| com.tencent.mm | Careful. | Losing WeChat history |
| Remote game folders | Yes. | No (freeing up space) |
If you don't want to connect your phone to your computer, you can use Files by Google, which can correctly request access to system daddies and show which ones take up the most space, a safer way than manually wandering through the root directory.
What to do if the Android/data folder is not deleted?
Cleaning system debris through engineering menu and ADB
For advanced users, there is a way to clean through USB debugging (ADB), which allows you to delete files that are hidden from the average user. First, you need to activate the developer mode: go to Settings → About phone and 7 times click on the version of MIUI.
Then, turn on USB debugging in the developer menu. By connecting the phone to a PC with ADB installed, you can execute a command to clean the dalvik cache and system cache.
adb shell pm trim-caches 999999999This command forcibly cuts the cache of all applications to the lowest possible value, which can be useful if the "Other" partition is inflated due to temporary files of the system. Once the command is executed, the phone can run slower in the first minutes until the cache recovers to its optimal level.
⚠️ Attention: Use ADB-Incorrect deletion of system files can lead to a "bootloop" (cyclical reboot), use this method only if you understand what you are doing and have backed up the data.
Also on the engineering menu (access via code ##6484##) you can check the memory status, but there are usually no deep cleaning functions, the main emphasis is on the diagnosis of hardware components.
Radical measures: Resetting settings and flashing
If none of the methods worked and the Others section continues to grow, occupying a critical volume, the last option is a complete factory reset. This is guaranteed to remove all debris, file system errors and hidden logs. Be sure to back up important data to the cloud or PC before doing so.
Go to Settings → About Phone → Settings → Settings Reset → Erase all data. The process will take a few minutes. Once turned on, the phone will be like new. It is recommended not to restore the backup of the applications immediately, but to install them again from Google Play to avoid returning old erroneous files.
- 💾 Make a full backup of photos and contacts before resetting.
- 🔋 Charge your phone to at least 60% before the procedure begins.
- 📱 Make sure you know the password from your Mi Account, otherwise your phone will be locked.
In extreme cases, when even resetting does not help (which happens when a partition is damaged), flashing the device through the computer using the Mi Flash Tool utility is required. This is a complex procedure that requires an unlocked bootloader, and it is recommended only for advanced users.
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Full reset is the only 100% way to delete the Other if it is caused by file system errors but requires a full backup of the data.
Preventing memory overflow in the future
To prevent the problem from returning in a month, you need to change your smartphone usage habits: first of all, set up cloud sync for photos and videos. Google Photos or the Mi Cloud can automatically delete local copies after downloading, freeing up space.
Also, check the Downloads folder and the gallery cart regularly, at least once a week, and the files in the cart take up space for another 30 days if not forcibly deleted. Using lighter versions of apps (Lite) also helps reduce cache volume.
Do not install applications from unknown sources. Third-party programs often contain advertising modules that generate hidden files. Watch for application permissions: do not give access to the file system to programs that do not need it to work.