Xiaomi’s Other Memory: What It Is and How to Uninstall It Without Risking Your Phone

Have you ever looked into your Xiaomi memory settings and wondered why the Others section takes up gigabytes of space when you didn't consciously save anything there? 10-20 GB or more – especially on devices with MIUI. Unlike photos or apps, the content of Other has no explicit source, making cleaning it a non-trivial task.

In this article, we will not just list the ways of deleting, but will analyze the causes of this garbage, explain which files can be touched and which ones can not be absolutely touched (even if they take up a lot of space). You will learn how to distinguish system caches from unnecessary residues of applications, why memory can fill up again after a week, and what to do if the Other eats more than one. 30% The critical threshold at which the phone starts to brake is the total storage capacity. All instructions are tested on the Redmi Note. 11/12, POCO X5, Xiaomi 13/14 relevant MIUI 14/15.

What is the Other in Xiaomi’s Memory and Why Does It Grow?

The Others section (or Other in English) is an Android junk bin where the system dumps anything that doesn't fall into the standard categories: photos, videos, audio, documents or apps.

• 📁 Application cache and systems – temporary files that should be deleted automatically, but often remain due to crashes.
• 🗑️ Remnants of Remote Programs – Folders, Settings, and Databases that didn’t clear after uninstallation.
• 🔄 Logs and dumps are debugging files that the system creates when you make errors (especially many of them after updates). MIUI).
• 📱 Files. OTA-Updates – archives of firmware that have downloaded but not installed.
• 🖼️ Miniatures and previews – gallery cache that can weigh several gigabytes.

The main problem — MIUI It doesn’t always sort files correctly, for example, documents uploaded to Telegram can be in Others instead of Documents, and the Google Play Services cache is inflated to inadequate sizes. Moreover, some system processes (e.g. com.miui.analytics) generate logs that are never automatically cleared.

In our testing, on Xiaomi 13 Pro MIUI 14 The “other” section is on average 8-12 GB through 6 On budget models like Redmi. 10A This indicator can reach 15-18 GB due to less optimized memory.

How to check what exactly occupies a place in the “Other”

Before you delete something, you need to know which files are inflating the partition, and there are two reliable ways to do this.

Method 1: Integrated MIUI analyzer

Open the Settings. → Memory. → Memory analysis: The system will show the categorization, but often the data is inaccurate, to see the details:

1. Put it on the Others chart.
2. Choose more details (if the option is available).
3. Scroll down to System Data, where gigabytes of unnecessary files may be hidden.

Method 2: Third-party analyzers (more precisely systems)

Apps like Files by Google or SD Maid (requires root for full access) shows the exact folder composition. SD Maid:

• 🔍 Go to Analysis. → Recycle Bin - here are the leftovers of deleted files.
• 🗂️ Check the System Files → Logs – often there are gigabytes of unnecessary.log and.dump.
• 📂 In the Large Files section, look for folders with names like com.miui, com.android.providers.

💡

If the analyzer shows the folder /data/log size 1 GB -- you can clean it up. It's the logs of the system that you don't need to run the phone.

⚠️ Note: Do not manually delete folders with the names com.android or miui, if you are not sure about their contents. Některé soubory mohou být kritické pro stabilitu systému.

7 Ways to Clean Up Xiaomi’s Other Without Root

If you don't have superuser rights, these methods can free up to 70 percent of the space that the Other takes.

1. Clearing the cache of all applications

This is the most innocuous method that can be used once in a while. 1-2 weekdays:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Slip on three dots in the upper right corner and select Sort by size.
3. Open each application from the top-10 and press Clear the cache.

Pay particular attention to:

• 📱 Google Play Services (Cache can weigh up to a maximum of two) 2-3 GB).
• 🎵 YouTube or TikTok (stores video previews).
• 📸 Gallery or Google Photos (miniatures).

2. Removal of Remote Application Remains

After uninstallation of programs often remain folders in the /storage/emulated/0/Android/data or /storage/emulated/0/Android/obb. To clean them up:

1. Use any file manager (e.g. Mi File Manager).
2. Go to internal memory → Android → data.
3. Delete folders with app names you deleted long ago (e.g. com.tencent.ig for PUBG Mobile).

Folders of games you have deleted long ago (e.g. com.mojang.minecraftpe)

Messenger cache (e.g. com.whatsapp)

Remains of test applications (folders with names like com.test.app)

Files with the.tmp or.temp extension-->

3. Cleanup of downloads and temporary files

Download folder and DCIM/.thumbnails Often overflowing with unnecessary files:

• 📁 Remove everything from /storage/emulated/0/Download, other than important documents.
• 🖼️ Clean it up. /storage/emulated/0/DCIM/.thumbnails — Photos and videos are stored here (they can weigh up to a few). 1-2 GB).
• 🗑️ Check the folder. /storage/emulated/0/temp — Temporary files that can be deleted.

4.Dumping gallery and media storage cache

The media player and the gallery create their own databases, which over time inflate, to reset them:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → All applications.
2. Find the Gallery and Music, open their settings.
3. Click Warehouse → Clear the data (not the cache, but the data!).

⚠️ Note: After this operation, the gallery will re-index all files that may take up 5-10 Don't be afraid if the photos aren't displayed during this period.

5. Removal of old OTA-update

Xiaomi keeps firmware archives in a folder /data/ota_package (accessible ADB If you don't have a root license, use this workaround:

1. Connect your phone to your PC and enable debugging. USB (Settings → The phone. → Version. MIUI → 7 times tap, then return to the additional → Developer parameters).
2. Download. ADB Tools to your computer and run the command: adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.miui.updatelauncher This will disable the update module, but will not delete files already downloaded.
3. Then do: adb shell rm -rf /data/ota_package/* (It requires superuser rights, but sometimes it works without them).

6. Cleaning Logs and Dumps through Safe Mode

If the phone is slowing down and the Other takes more than 10 GB, try booting into Safe Mode (hold the power button). → long tap on "Switch off» → «Reboot in Safe Mode and delete:

• 📜 All files with.log extension in folder /storage/emulated/0/MIUI/debug_log.
• 🗑️ folder /storage/emulated/0/bugreports — This is where the error reports are stored.
• 📊 folder /storage/emulated/0/miui/analytics — Analytics of Xiaomi.

7. Reset settings (last chance)

If nothing helps, and the "Other" takes more than 15 GB, you will have to make a soft reset (without loss of data):

1. Go to Settings → About the phone → Reset settings.
2. Select Reset all settings (not “Reset to factory”!).
3. Confirm action. The phone will reboot and the system caches and settings will reset.

It'll delete:

• 🔧 All user settings (wallpaper, sounds, brightness).
• 📱 System and application cache.
• 🗂️ Temporary files, including part of the "Other».

💡

The soft reset does not affect photos, videos or installed apps, but requires re-configuring the phone (Wi-Fi, fingerprints, etc.).

What to do if the other comes back in a week

Many users complain that the Other section grows again after cleaning, because:

• 🔄 Automatic cache recovery (especially Google Play Services and Google Play Services) MIUI System Launcher).
• 📱 Background activity of applications (messengers, social networks, games download data in the background mode).
• 📊 Analytics collection (com.miui.analytics and com.google.android.gms files).

To avoid this:

1. Limit background activity

Open the Settings. → Battery and productivity → Battery management and:

• 🔋 For unnecessary applications, select Background Limitation.
• 🚫 Turn off AutoRun for games and social networks.

2. Turn off analytics collection

Xiaomi and Google are actively collecting data that takes up space to reduce their impact:

1. Go to Settings. → Confidentiality → Special permits → Send error reports and disable the option.
2. B Settings → Google → Google services → Diagnostics disable Sending Usage Statistics.

3.Tune automatic cleaning

V MIUI There is a built-in tool for automatic cleaning:

1. Go to Settings → Memory → Cleanup.
2. Enable the Auto Clean option and set a schedule (e.g. once a week).
3. Add only critical applications (messengers, banking programs) to the exceptions.

4. Use lightweight versions of applications

Some apps (like Facebook Lite instead of Facebook) take up significantly less space and generate less cache.

What NOT to do when cleaning the “other”

Some "tips" from the Internet can permanently break the phone, and this is strictly forbidden:

• 🚫 Delete folders /system or /vendor — This will lead to a brick (the phone will not turn on).
• 🚫 Cleaning Dalvik-cache without root will disrupt all applications.
• 🚫 Delete.odex or.apk files in /data/app — These are system components.

⚠️ Warning: If you see tips like “delete folder” /data/dalvik-cache "To free up space" is a malicious recommendation. This folder contains optimized versions of apps, and deleting it will lead to a cyclical reboot of the phone.

Root Methods: How to Clean the Other Completely

If you have root rights, you can delete up to 90% of the Other, including system logs and caches, but beware - doing the wrong thing will result in a loss of warranty and possible brick.

1.Cleaning through Magisk Module

Install Universal Storage Cleaner for Magisk:

1. Download the module from XDA Developers.
2. Install it through Magisk Manager.
3. Reboot the phone.
4. Launch the terminal and execute: su cd /data/data/com.android.providers.media/ rm -rf * It'll dump the media storage.

2. Removal of unnecessary system applications

Many pre-installed programs (Mi Browser, Mi Music, Mi Video) take up space and generate cache. ADB root:

su


pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.android.browser




pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.miui.video




pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.miui.music

3. Clearing the folder. /data/log

This folder can weigh up to 5GB from the logs.

su


rm -rf /data/log/*




rm -rf /data/tombstones/*




rm -rf /data/anr/*

⚠️ Attention: After cleaning /data/log Some system functions (e.g., error reports) may not work properly, but will not affect everyday use.

4. Optimization of the media database

The media provider database is often inflated.

su


pm clear com.android.providers.media

After that, the gallery and music player will re-index the files, which can take up to 15 minutes.

FAQ: Frequent questions about “other” in the memory of Xiaomi