What Takes Up Xiaomi’s “Other” Memory and How to Clean It: The Complete Guide

You open up Xiaomi's settings and you see that the phone's memory is almost full, but most of it is marked as the mysterious "Other." What are these files? Why do they take up gigabytes? And most importantly, how do you delete them to make room for photos, apps and updates? In this article, we'll look at what's hidden under "Other" in Redmi, Poco and other Xiaomi models's storage, and show you working ways to clean up, from standard tools to hidden MIUI features.

The memory problem is familiar to many Xiaomi smartphone owners, especially those with budget models of 32 or 64 GB. The system can show that the “Other” takes from 5 to 20 GB — it’s not just cache or garbage, but a whole mixture of temporary files, logs, updates and even remnants of remote applications. We tested all methods on current versions of MIUI 14/15 and identified those that really help, not just reboot the phone.

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

In the Xiaomi storage menu, the “Other” category is the “basket” for all files that the system failed to categorize as standard partitions (applications, photos, videos).

• 📁 Application cache and system cache – temporary data that should be automatically cleared, but often remain.
• 🔄 Remnants of Remote Programs – Settings files, databases, and folders that have not been deleted completely.
• 📄 Logs and dumps of the system – error reports that create MIUI for diagnosis (can weigh up to 1-2 GB!).
• 🔄 Updates MIUI — downloaded but not installed firmware packages.
• 🎮 Game data – saves, cache and additional files (for example, from Genshin Impact or Call of Duty Mobile).
• 📱 Virtual machine files – if you use Dual Apps or Second Space.

On some models (for example, Redmi Note 11 or Poco X5) in the “Other” also fall:

• 📡 Camera module cache – especially if you shoot frequently in Pro or Night Mode.
• 🔊 Offline cache of music and podcasts (for example, from Spotify or Yandex Music).
• 📊 Messenger databases – Telegram, WhatsApp and Viber store the history of chats and media here.

Why doesn't the system clean this up automatically? The thing is, MIUI saves many files by default just in case -- for quick application run or crash recovery, but over time, that garbage builds up and manual cleaning becomes necessary.

How to see what exactly occupies the “Other” in the memory of Xiaomi

Before you delete files, you need to understand what exactly accumulates in the Other section, and there are two ways to do this: standard MIUI tools and third-party applications.

Method 1: Built-in storage analyzer

1. Open the Settings → Memory.
2. Slip the “Other” (or “Other” in some firmware) chart.
3. The system will show the distribution by categories: Cache, Downloads, Logs, etc.

Method 2: Files by Google (recommended for detailed analysis):

1. Install Files by Google from the Play Market.
2. Open the Cleanup tab → Storage analysis.
3. The app will show you the exact size of the cache, duplicates and unnecessary files, including those hidden from the standard MIUI menu.

💡

If the “Other” section is more than 10 GB, most likely, system logs (files with the.log or.dmp extension) are accumulated there. These can be safely deleted through Settings → About Phone → Debugging → Error Logs (if the item is available).

Method 3: Viewing Hidden Folders Through File Manager

To see all files, including hidden ones:

1. Open any file manager (e.g., built-in Mi File Manager or Solid Explorer).
2. Enable the display of hidden files in the manager settings.
3. Go to the root folder of the storage and check the following directories: /data/log — logistic; /Android/data — remnants of remote applications; /MIUI/debug_log — debugging; /cache — update cache.

⚠️ Note: Do not delete files from folders /system or /vendor — This can lead to the collapse of the system and the need for flashing!

How to clean the “Other” in Xiaomi memory: step-by-step instructions

Now, let's get to the practice. Here are 5 proven ways, from the simplest to the most advanced, start with the first and move on to the next one if the space doesn't vacate.

1. Clearing cache and temporary files

This is the safest method that doesn’t delete important data.

1. Go to Settings → Memory → Cleanup.
2. Click Select files for cleaning and mark: 🧹 Application cache; 🗑️ Unnecessary APK (remnants of established programmes); 📁 Temporary files.

Clean up

Residues APK-file|Messenger cache (Telegram, WhatsApp)|Logs of error (/data/log)|Cash of games (if not playing)-->

Removal of system logs and dumps

Error logs can take up to 5-10GB, especially if the phone reboots frequently or crashes occur.

For their removal:

1. Open the Settings. → The phone.
2. Tap the MIUI version several times to activate the Developer Mode.
3. Back to Settings → Additionally. → For developers.
4. Find the error logs and click Clear.

If you don’t have a file, use Files by Google or manually delete files from the folders:

/data/log


/sdcard/MIUI/debug_log




/sdcard/Log

3. Removal of Remote Application Remains

When you uninstall software, you often have folders of data left over to find it.

1. Open the file manager and go to /Android/data.
2. Delete folders with app names you deleted long ago (e.g. com.tencent.ig for PUBG Mobile).
3. Also check /Android/obb – additional game files are stored here (they can weigh 1-2 GB each).

⚠️ Note: Do not delete folders of current applications - this will lead to malfunctions in their work!

4. Cleaning up the MIUI update cache

If you postpone the installation of the update, its files remain in memory.

1. Go to Settings → About the phone → System update.
2. Click on the three dots in the top right corner and select Remove the downloaded package.
3. If you don’t have a paragraph, manually delete the update file from the /cache folder (the name usually starts with update.zip).

5. Resetting the partition cache (without loss of data)

It is a radical but effective method that cleans all temporary system files without affecting personal data.

1. Turn off the phone.
2. Press the Power button + Volume up to enter Recovery Mode.
3. Select Wipe Cache Partition (use volume buttons for navigation, power button for confirmation).
4. After cleaning, restart the phone (Reboot System).

You should also turn off automatic update downloads if you have little memory:

1. Go to Settings → About the phone → System update.
2. Click on three points → Settings → Automatic boot.
3. Select Wi-Fi Only or Turned Off.

Comparison of cleaning methods: what works best

Not all methods are equally effective. We tested them on the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ and Poco F5 with MIUI 14 and made a table of results:

Important: On models with Snapdragon chipset (for example, Redmi K60 or Xiaomi 13), the MIUI update cache can take up to 1.5 GB – it must be removed after installing the firmware!

Frequent errors in cleaning Xiaomi memory

Many users make mistakes that not only do not free up space, but also damage the phone.

• 🚫 Delete the Android folder completely – it will cause all applications to crash.
• 🚫 Clear the cache of system applications (for example, com.miui.home or com.android.phone) – the phone may start to brake.
• 🚫 Use cleaners like Clean Master – they often delete files and show false warnings.
• 🚫 Format internal memory as external (through Settings) → Memory. → Formatting as internal will result in the loss of all data.
• 🚫 Delete files from /system or /vendor — This will cause bootloop (the phone will not turn on).

Also not worth it:

• 🔄 Turning off caching for all apps will slow down your phone.
• 📱 Use it. ADB to clean without understanding commands – you can accidentally delete critical files.
• 🔄 Reset your phone to factory settings without backup – you’ll lose photos, contacts and messages.

⚠️ Warning: If the “Other” grows quickly again after cleaning, check the phone for viruses or reset the settings to the factory – perhaps a bug that creates garbage files has been fixed in the system.

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions