How to safely remove “Other” in Xiaomi storage: 7 proven ways

Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphone owners regularly encounter the mysterious “Other” section of storage analysis, which takes up gigabytes of memory but has no explicit content. Unlike photos, videos or apps, this section does not show specific files, raising questions about what the data is, can it be deleted and how to do it without harming the system?

In this article, we will explore what the Other is in MIUI storage, why it grows over time, and how to clean it up with built-in tools and third-party utilities. You will learn about hidden cache, system logs, remnants of remote applications and other “invisible” files that eat up precious space, and most importantly, get step-by-step instructions for each version of MIUI (including MIUI 14 and HyperOS).

What is the Other in Xiaomi’s Storage and Why Does It Take So Much Space?

The “Other” section of Xiaomi’s memory analysis is a collection category for files that the system cannot classify as standard (photos, music, documents, etc.).

• 🗑️ Application cache and systems are temporary files that should be deleted automatically but often remain due to crashes.
• 📜 Logs and dumps – records of system operation, errors and emergency terminations (for example, files with the.log or.dmp extension).
• 👻 Remnants of Remote Apps – folders and settings of programs that you have long uninstalled, but their traces remain.
• 🔄 Update files – downloaded but not installed packages MIUI or.
• 📁 Hidden system folders, for example, /data/local or /cache, rootless.

On devices with MIUI 12-14 and HyperOS, the Other can account for 15-30% of the total memory, especially if the smartphone has been in use for a long time without reset, due to aggressive data caching and the features of the F2FS file system that Xiaomi uses on most models.

It is important to understand that not everything from the Other can be safely deleted, for example, deleting files from the /data/dalvik-cache folder will cause the system to crash the next time you run, so you need to clean selectively, following proven methods.

Method 1: Clearing the cache of applications and systems through settings

The easiest and safest method is to delete temporary files through the built-in MIUI tools, which do not require root rights and is suitable for all models, including the Redmi Note 12, POCO X5 and Xiaomi 13.

How to clear the cache:

1. Go to Settings → Memory (or Storage).
2. Tap on the “Other” section (may be called “Other Files” in older versions of MIUI).
3. Select “Clear Cache” or “Delete Unnecessary Files”.
4. Confirm the action and wait for the process to be completed (may take 1-3 minutes).

For deeper cleaning:

• 🔍 Go to Settings. → Annexes → Application management.
• 📊 Sort programs by cache size (tap on three dots in the upper right corner).
• 🧹 Select apps with large cache (e.g. YouTube, Facebook, Telegram) and click Clear Cache for each.

⚠️ Warning: Don’t confuse “Clear Cache” with “Clean Data”! The second option will delete all settings and application files (such as saves in games or logins).

Method 2: Remove Remnants of Remote Applications

When you delete a program through Google Play or MIUI settings, its main files disappear, but folders with settings, cache, and data often remain. They take up space in the Other section and can weigh hundreds of megabytes.

To find and remove them:

1. Connect your smartphone to your PC via USB (select File Transfer mode).
2. Open the internal memory folder and go along the path: Internal Storage → Android → data Here are the remnants of all uninstalled programs.
3. Delete folders with app names you no longer use (e.g. com.facebook.katana for Facebook).

Alternative method (without PC):

• 📱 Install a file manager with support for hidden folders, for example FX File Explorer or Solid Explorer.
• 🔎 Enable the display of hidden files in the manager settings.
• 🗑️ Move to the /storage/emulated/0/Android/data and delete unnecessary folders.

⚠️ Note: If you delete the folder of an existing application, it will stop working and require reinstallation. Always check the folder name before deleting it!

Method 3: Cleaning the system’s logs and dumps

Log files (.log,.txt) and memory dumps (.dmp) are created by the system to diagnose errors, and can take up to 1-2 GB in the Other section, which can be deleted manually or with special utilities.

Manual cleaning (requires root-access file manager or ADB):

1. Open the file manager and go to /data/log/ /data/anr/ /data/tombstones/ /cache/
2. Delete all files with extensions.log,.txt,.dmp.

No root rights:

• 📲 Use the app. SD Maid (CorpseFinder section finds remnants of deleted programs, and SystemCleaner – logs).
• 🔧 V MIUI 14 and HyperOS added built-in log cleanup option: Settings → The phone. → Additionally. → Logs and reports.

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If they appear again after cleaning the logs, turn off the collection of debugging information in Settings → For developers → Turn off logging (if the option is available).

Method 4: Reset the partition cache (wipe cache partition)

If standard methods didn’t work, try resetting the partition cache via Recovery Mode, which will delete all temporary system files, including corrupted data that may be taking up space in Other, which works on all Xiaomi devices, including Redmi and POCO, but requires a reboot.

Step-by-step:

1. Turn off your smartphone.
2. Press the Power + Volume buttons up until the Mi logo appears.
3. In the Recovery menu, select the language (if required) then:
4. Go to Wipe & Reset → Wipe Cache.
5. Confirm the action and wait for the completion.
6. Reboot the device (Reboot → System)

⚠️ Warning: Don't confuse Wipe Cache with Wipe Data! The second option will completely reset the smartphone to factory settings, deleting all your data.

After the cache is dumped:

• 🔄 The first download can take 5-10 minutes – this is normal.
• 📉 Check the “Other” section in the storage settings: it should decrease by 500 MB-2 GB.
• 🔧 If the problem persists, move on to the next method.

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Resetting partition cache is the only way to remove corrupted system files that are not visible in a standard file manager.

Method 5: Using ADB for deep cleaning

For advanced users who are ready to work with Android Debug Bridge (ADB), there is a way to remove hidden files that are not available through conventional managers, which requires a PC and a developer mode enabled.

How to connect and clean:

1. Enable USB debugging: Settings → About Phone → MIUI Version (Tap 7 times) Settings → Additional → For Developers → Debugging on USB
2. Connect your smartphone to your PC and open Command Prompt (Windows) or Terminal (macOS/Linux).
3. Enter the commands in turn: adb shell su rm -rf /data/log/* rm -rf /cache/* rm -rf /data/tombstones/* rm -rf /data/anr/* (If su doesn't work - you don't have root rights.)

What these teams do:

• 🗑️ rm -rf /data/log/* — delete all logs of the system.
• 🧹 rm -rf /cache/* — Clears the cache of the partition (similar to Wipe Cache in Recovery).
• 💀 rm -rf /data/tombstones/* — removes memory dumps after failures.

⚠️ Attention: Misuse of the right ADB It can damage the system. Don't delete files from folders. /system or /vendor — This will lead to a device blink!

Method 6: Complete reset (last chance)

If neither method worked, and the Other still takes gigabytes of memory, the last resort is to reset to factory settings, and it will delete all the data on the device, including system files that may have been corrupted.

How to do the reset correctly:

1. Backup: Settings → Google → Backup or Settings → Additional → Backup and Reset
2. Go to Settings → About the phone → Reset settings.
3. Select “Erase all data” and confirm.
4. After the reboot, set up your smartphone as new.

What will be removed:

• 📸 All photos, videos and documents (unless saved in Google Photos or the cloud).
• 📱 Applications and their data (including game saves).
• 📞 Contacts, SMS, Call logs (unless synced with Google).
• ⚙️ All system settings and files, including "Other».

⚠️ Note: If you use Mi Account, untie it to Settings before resetting. → Xiaomi account, otherwise after reset, you will need to enter a password from the old account!

Method 7: Prevention – How to Prevent the Spread of the Other

To prevent the “Other” section from taking up gigabytes of memory in the future, follow these recommendations:

• 🔄 Clean the cache regularly (once every 1-2 months) through Settings → Memory.
• 🗑️ Remove unwanted apps through Google Play, not just “freeze” them.
• 📥 Turn off automatic update downloads to save space: Settings → The phone. → Updating the system → Settings (⚙️) → Auto-update
• 📁 Use cloud storage (Google Photos, Mi Cloud) for photos and videos.
• 🔧 Update. MIUI — In new versions optimized work with cache.

Also avoid:

• ❌ Install applications from unknown sources (they often leave debris behind).
• ❌ Frequent change of firmware (castom) ROM They can easily clean old files).
• ❌ Using cleaners like Clean Master – they often delete useful data.

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Regularly cleaning the cache and removing unnecessary applications reduces the volume of the “Other” by 30-50% after a month.

FAQ: Frequent questions about Xiaomi’s “Other” section