How to increase memory on the phone Android Xiomi: the complete guide

The problem of lack of free space on Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones is familiar to many users, especially owners of budget models with drives of 32 or 64 gigabytes. MIUI system or its more recent version of HyperOS over time overgrow a huge number of temporary files, duplicate photos and cache of messengers, which leads to a critical slowdown of the device.

When the storage is full, the phone starts to work unstable: apps fly out, the camera refuses to shoot videos, and new programs simply do not want to install. In this article, we will discuss proven methods that will help to safely increase the amount of memory available without losing important data.

You'll learn how to use built-in cleaning tools correctly, transfer data to external drives, and apply advanced settings to optimize your file system, and it's important to understand that you can't physically increase memory, but you can effectively manage memory allocation.

Storage occupancy analysis and search for hidden files

Before you start taking action to remove data, you need to make a detailed diagnosis of what exactly occupies space in your device. Standard visualization tools allow you to see the big picture, but often hide the details.

To start, use the built-in analyzer. Go to Settings → Memory (or Advanced Settings → Memory in older versions of MIUI). Here you will see a color diagram showing applications, images, videos and system files in different colors. Click on each sector to see the detail.

Special attention should be paid to the Other folder, which often grows to tens of gigabytes, which can hide error logs, remnants of remote programs and cache of streaming services. Using third-party utilities such as Files by Google or Total Commander, provides a deeper understanding of the folder structure.

There is a common misconception that clearing the cache removes your personal correspondence or saves in games. In fact, the cache is temporary data that speeds up the operation of applications that can be deleted painlessly, but cleaning the application's Data will completely reset it to factory.

⚠️ Note: When using third-party root-access file managers, be extremely careful. Deleting system folders that you don't know the names of can lead to a bootloop (cyclic reboot) of the device.

Analysis should be done regularly, at least once a month, to monitor the growth of the amount of data occupied, which will help to avoid situations where the phone is locked due to lack of space for system operations.

Use of the built-in "Security" application

The MIUI and HyperOS shells have a powerful system application called Security, which includes an effective garbage cleaner, and it works at the system level, so using it is the safest way to free up space.

To start the cleaning process, open the Security app (green icon with a shield) and select Clean. The system will automatically scan the device for temporary files, ad residues and unnecessary APK installation packages.

After scanning, you will see a list of categories that can be cleared. It is recommended to carefully review the section "Large files", where often forgotten downloads or old video files are located.

Inside the Security app, there's also Deep Clean, which allows you to find duplicate photos, similar images, and rarely used apps, and it's a great way to find hidden reserves of space that you can't see when you're viewing a gallery.

Don't just rely on automatic cleaning. Go to the Application Management section of the security settings every once in a while and check the list of the hardest programs. Social media often takes up more space than the operating system.

Transfer applications and data to the SD memory card

Many modern Xiaomi smartphones lack a memory card slot, but if your model supports MicroSD, this is the best way to physically expand storage.The card can be used for both storing media files and installing apps.

To transfer applications, go to Settings → Annexes → All applications. Select the program you want, click Memory, and select Change or Move to SD-It is worth noting that not all applications support this feature due to the limitations of Android developers.

To transfer photos and videos, the best way to change the camera settings is to open the Camera app, click on the three bars in the corner of the screen, select Settings, and find Save on SD-All new images will now be automatically recorded on an external medium.

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Buy only trusted brands (Samsung, SanDisk, Kingston) and cheap marketplace cards often have a real volume of 10 times less than claimed and quickly fail, losing your data.

When formatting a memory card as an internal storage function (Adoptable Storage function), data is encrypted and unavailable on other devices without re-formatting, which increases security but reduces the versatility of the drive.

Cleaning up garbage in messengers Telegram and WhatsApp

Messengers are the main “eaters” of memory on any Android smartphone. Telegram and WhatsApp store all viewed photos, videos and voice messages in cache, which can take from 5 to 50 gigabytes or more.

In Telegram, cleaning is most convenient. Go to Settings → Data and memory → Memory Use. Here you will see the button "Clear Telegram cache." Importantly, after cleaning your media files will not be deleted from the cloud servers, you can view them again if necessary, but they will only take up space when you reopen them.

WhatsApp is more complicated because it doesn't have the same cloud cache. Go to Settings → Data and Storage → Storage Management. You'll see a chat list sorted by volume, you can select a specific dialog and delete only the video or only the GIFs, leaving the text.

⚠️ Warning: Before a mass cleanup of WhatsApp, make sure to back up your Google Drive. If you delete the database locally, it will be impossible to restore the correspondence.

It is recommended to set a timer for the cache life (for example, 3 days) on Telegram, after which the old files will be deleted automatically, which keeps the memory clean without your involvement.

Working with Google Cloud Storage and Services

If physical memory expansion is not possible, cloud technology comes to the rescue. Google Photos, Google Drive and Mi Cloud allow you to store files on remote servers, freeing up local space on the phone.

Google Photos offers a "Free Space" feature, which, once synced and checked that all photos have been uploaded to the cloud, will prompt the app to delete local copies of already stored images, which instantly frees up gigabytes of space.

For documents, music and videos, it's convenient to use Google Drive or specialized applications like Dropbox, and the files are uploaded to the cloud, and only their shortcuts are left on the phone, and the document is downloaded again if necessary.

Xiaomi ecosystem users should pay attention to Mi Cloud, which is integrated into the system and allows you to back up contacts, notes, voice recorder and desktop settings. 5 GB is available for free, but this is often enough for mission-critical data.

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Cloud storage is not a replacement for physical memory, but a way of archiving, and a phone should have at least 15-20% of the total memory available locally to run fast.

Resetting to factory settings as a radical method

When software cleaning methods stop helping and the system is slow even after deleting files, the last resort is a full reset (Wipe Data), which returns the phone to the “out of the box” state, removing absolutely all data.

Before performing this procedure, make sure you have an up-to-date backup of all important data.Reset will delete contacts, photos, apps and settings without the ability to recover through the cart.

To perform the reset, go to Settings → About Phone → Settings Reset → Erase all data. The system will request an unlock password and a password from the Mi Account (if enabled). The process will take 5 to 15 minutes depending on the storage capacity.

Once rebooted, you’ll get a clean system without the accumulated digital trash over the years, which often works wonders with the performance of older smartphones, returning them to their previous interface response speed.

⚠️ Warning: Make sure the battery is at least 40-50% Interrupting the formatting process due to discharge can damage the system partition and turn the phone into a brick".

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)