How to Remove Others from Xiaomi Phone: A Complete Cleanup Guide

Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones often face an annoying problem: the device’s memory suddenly runs out, even though the gallery has no unnecessary photos, and only the most necessary apps installed. When trying to analyze the storage, the system reveals a mysterious category “Other”, which can take up tens of gigabytes. This situation is critical, since crowded memory leads to interface freezes, camera slow operation and inability to install updates.

The phenomenon of inflating this category is associated with features of the MIUI shell or HyperOS, which do not always correctly classify cache files, remnants of deleted programs and temporary data of messengers. Unlike pure Android, system logs and hidden folders can accumulate for months if they are not forced to clean. Understanding the structure of this data is the first step to returning performance to your gadget.

In this guide, we will discuss safe and advanced cleaning methods that will free up space without losing personal photos or contacts. You will learn how to find hidden files, why the application cache is so dangerous for free space and what tools are best used for deep diagnostics. Follow the instructions carefully so that you do not delete the system files necessary for the OS to work.

Anatomy category "Other" in the storage Xiaomi

Before we start taking drastic measures, we need to be clear about what exactly is under this generic name: the Other category is a collection of files that the system has failed to attribute to either photos, videos or installed applications, most often hiding the remains of remote games, temporary browser files, error logs and, most importantly, instant messenger data.

Special attention should be paid to the social media cache: When you flip through a Telegram feed or watch a story on Instagram, media files are stored in memory for quick download. Over time, this data is not deleted automatically, turning into digital garbage, and this includes firmware update files that the system did not delete after installation, and backups created by cloud services.

⚠️ Warning: Never delete files from system folders manually unless you are 100% sure of their purpose.Deleting.so libraries or configuration files can lead to a cyclical smartphone reboot (bootloop).

It's important to note that the volume of Other is often artificially inflated by indexing errors. A file can be deleted, but the media database record remains, taking up a place in the statistics, which is why simply rebooting a device sometimes works wonders by forcing the system to recalculate the actual amount of space occupied.

Basic cleaning through standard MIUI and HyperOS tools

The way to start the gigabyte battle is with built-in optimization tools. Xiaomi preinstalles the Security app, which has storage analysis functionality. Although it's not always perfect, it's good enough to clean it up first. Launch the app and select Cleanup.

The system will suggest removing obvious debris: advertising files, remnants of deleted applications and APK installer packages. However, to work with the category “Other” you need to go to the section “Deep Clean”, where the algorithm scans folders in more detail, finding duplicate photos and large files in forgotten corners of the file system.

• 📱 Open the Security app and click on the broom icon.
• 🗑️ Wait for analysis to be completed and click “Clean” to remove safe debris.
• 📂 Go to the Deep Cleanup section to find large files.
• 🔄 Turn on the “Accelerate” function to clean RAM, which sometimes helps to reset the cache.

Don't just rely on automatic mode. Manually check the "Big Files" section, often with forgotten WhatsApp videos or downloaded maps from the navigator, which are formally "Other" because they are not system media, and removing such objects is safe and efficient.

Clearing the messenger cache: Telegram, WhatsApp and Viber

The lion’s share of the space in the “Other” category on Xiaomi smartphones is accounted for by instant messengers. Telegram, for example, by default saves all viewed photos and videos to a cache that is unlimited in time. If you are in dozens of channels, the app’s cache can easily grow to 5-10 gigabytes, taking up space in the “Other” section.

To clean up Telegram, go to Settings → Data and Memory → Memory Use. Here you will see the Cached Data slider. Click boldly on Clear Cache. This action will not delete your correspondence or media files, they will be re-downloaded from the cloud if necessary. WhatsApp is more complicated, where the cache is often mixed with local databases.

On WhatsApp, use the built-in storage management tool: Settings → Data and Storage → Storage Management. The system sorts chats by space occupied. You can select a specific dialog and delete all media files older than a week or a month, leaving only text.

⚠️ Before clearing WhatsApp data, make sure you have a fresh backup in Google Drive so you don’t lose your correspondence history forever.

Also, check your media autoload settings: Turn off saving photos and videos to the gallery for all chats except for favorite contacts, and this will prevent duplicates from being created, which the system also often writes to Other, confusing the user.

💡

Telegram can set a cache size limit (e.g. 500MB) and the app will automatically delete old files when the limit is exceeded, keeping space in the Prokhoh minimal.

Manual garbage removal through file manager

For more advanced users, the best solution is to manually audit the file system, and the standard MIUI Explorer or third-party solutions like Google Files allow you to look into hidden directories, and you need to go to the root of internal memory and pay attention to folders with application names.

Of particular interest are folders with names of remote games or programs. Often, after uninstallation of the game, its cache (Obb or Data folders) remains dead weight. Find the Android folder, then the obb and data. If there are folders with names of developers that are no longer on your phone, you can safely delete them.

Another risk area is the Download folder and root directory, where many apps reset temporary files. Look for files with the.tmp,.log or no extension that are large and oddly named. Often update residues or crash reports.

• 📁 Open the file manager and enable the display of hidden files.
• 🔍 Find the folders. Android/obb and Android/data.
• ❌ Remove the contents of remote application folders.
• 🗑️ Check the root folder for.log and.tmp files.

Be careful with the folders of Xiaomi system applications (for example, com.miui or com.android). These are not recommended to touch, as this can disrupt the work of system services.

Using PC and ADB for deep cleaning

If mobile doesn't work, a computer will come to the rescue, and connecting your smartphone to your PC in file transfer mode (MTP) allows you to see folder structure in a more convenient format, but the power comes from using USB debugging and the Android Debug Bridge (ADB) toolkit.

To work, ADB must activate the developer mode. Go to Settings → About Phone and quickly click on MIUI seven times. Then, in the advanced settings, turn on “Debugging USB.” By connecting the phone to your PC, you can use commands to remove the system cache that is not available to the average user.

adb shell pm clear com.android.browser

This command will completely clear the cache of a standard browser, which often inflates to giant sizes. Similar to what you can do with other applications, knowing their package ID. However, be very careful: the pm clear command deletes all application data, including logins and settings.

It's also easy to analyze folder sizes through a computer, and in Windows Explorer, you can sort folders by size and see which folder eats up the space in the Other section, often in the thumbnails folder, where you store thumbnails of images.

💡

Using ADB allows you to delete the cache of system applications, which is impossible to do through the standard Android settings interface without root rights.

Comparison of cleaning methods and their effectiveness

To help you choose the best way to deal with memory overcrowding, we have prepared a comparative table of methods, each of which has its own advantages and risks, and the choice depends on your technical background and the scope of the problem.

As you can see from the table, the best result is a comprehensive approach: start with messengers, then manually review files, and only if that is not enough, use ADB. Regular prevention (once a month) will avoid accumulating a critical amount of “others”.

Remember that after any deep cleaning, you need to restart the device, which will allow the Android system to re-index the file system and correctly display the vacant space in the statistics.

Prevention and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

To keep the “Other” problem from coming back, it’s important to maintain digital hygiene: Don’t store hundreds of unnecessary screenshots, clean up downloads regularly, and keep an eye on the autoload of media in messengers, and try not to install apps from questionable sources, as they often create hidden folders with advertising junk.

Below are answers to the most popular questions Xiaomi users have regarding memory cleanup.