Every Xiaomi smartphone owner sooner or later faces an unpleasant situation: the system reports that the memory is full, and a detailed analysis of the storage reveals that the lion’s share is occupied by the mysterious “Other” section. This section can grow to tens of gigabytes, occupying up to 40-50% of all available space, and it is almost impossible to remove it with standard cleaning methods through “Security”. Users often panic, believing that their device is infected with a virus or out of order, but in fact this is the normal behavior of the Android operating system in the shell of MIUI or the new HyperOS.
In this article, we will explain in detail the nature of this debris, what data is hidden there and why the system does not consider it to be “Cache” or “Apps.” You will learn which specific folders in the system directory are responsible for inflating this partition and how to safely make room without losing important photos or contacts. It is important to understand that blindly deleting system files can lead to unstable device operation, so the approach must be competent and conscious.
It’s worth noting that the problem is not only relevant for older models, but also for the brand’s newest flagships. The mechanisms of the file system and multimedia caching in messengers have remained similar for many years. We will look at both software methods for cleaning through standard tools, and more advanced methods using a file manager and a PC connection.
The Nature of the Others in Android
The Others section is not a single file or folder, but rather a collection of data that the operating system cannot uniquely classify. In standard Android logic, there is a clear separation: photos and videos are in the gallery, documents are in the download folder, applications are in the system partition. However, there are files that do not fall into either of these categories, and they are aggregated into the Other category.
Most often, this volume is generated by residual files of deleted applications, temporary update files of the system and, most importantly, the messenger cache. For example, when you receive a video on Telegram or WhatsApp, it is stored in a special hidden folder. For the system, it is not a “Photo”, but application data that often falls into the “Other” section, especially if the file was viewed but not saved to the gallery explicitly.
⚠️ Warning: Do not attempt to delete files from system folders whose purpose you do not know. Mistakeful deletion of libraries can lead to a cyclical smartphone reboot (bootloop).
Logs are also a significant part of the system’s operation, and the smartphone constantly records its errors, application launches, and communication modules, and over time, these text files can take up gigabytes of space, and in some cases, “broken” downloads that have been interrupted and not properly processed by the download manager.
The main sources of memory filling
To effectively combat a problem, you need to know the enemy in person. Let's highlight the main culprits that make the Others section grow into obscene size. Understanding the source allows you to point-wise clear your memory without touching the extra.
- 📱 Messengers and social networks: Telegram, Viber, WhatsApp store thousands of temporary files, thumbnails and voice messages in their internal directories, which the system sees as “other».
- 🔄 System Updates: After a firmware update, old installation files are often not automatically deleted and remain dead in the system partition.
- 🗑️ Remnants of Remote Applications: When you delete a program through a standard interface, there are often folders with its name at the root of internal memory containing logs and cache.
- 📺 Streaming services: Apps like YouTube, Netflix or Spotify cache parts of video and audio for smooth playback, creating huge temporary files.
Photo and video editing applications deserve special attention. When you process a video in a video editor, the program creates many intermediate rendering files. If you did not export the final video or closed the application with an error, these “heavy” temporary files remain in memory.
Another hidden source is offline maps of navigators, where busy areas of cities in Google Maps, Yandex.Navigator or 2GIS can weigh several gigabytes, and the system often classifies these databases as “other” because they are neither photos nor documents in the usual sense.
Content analysis through the file manager
To start cleaning, you need to do an audit. Xiaomi’s standard Explorer is convenient, but for deep analysis, you’d better use specialized utilities or an integrated storage analyzer. Go to Settings → Memory and give the system time to analyze.
If standard analysis doesn't give you a detailed picture, use a third-party file manager like Files by Google or Total Commander, which allows you to visualize folder structure. Look for folders with app names you haven't used in a long time. Often, that's where gigabytes of garbage are hidden.
Pay special attention to the Android/data folder. Newer versions of Android have limited access to it, but it stores the main cache of applications inside it, and it can be the com.telegram.messenger or com.whatsapp folders, which contain the bulk of the garbage in the cache or files subdirectories.
Safe cleaning methods without Root rights
The safest way to free up space is to use regular cleaning tools. The MIUI and HyperOS shells have a built-in Security app. Run it, select Cleanup and wait until the scan is finished. The system will suggest removing obvious debris.
To clean your messaging apps more deeply, use their internal settings. On Telegram, this is done through Settings → Data and Memory → Memory Use → Clear cache. This action will not remove your correspondence or photos from the cloud, but will remove copies of them from the phone’s memory, instantly freeing gigabytes.
Cleaning the download folder also works effectively. Go to Files → Download and sort files by size. Often, there are installations. APK-Files that are no longer needed or forgotten documents.
⚠️ Attention: Before cleaning the folder DCIM Make sure that the gallery cart does not contain important photos, and the files in the cart still occupy space in the "Other" section until the final deletion.
Don’t forget to clean up the app itself. For example, YouTube can clear your browsing history and cache through Settings → General → Clear data, which will reduce the size of the app and free up space in the Others section.
Advanced Cleaning: ADB and PC
If standard methods don't work, you can use a computer connection. Connect your smartphone over USB by selecting File Transfer (MTP) mode. On a PC, open internal memory and manually find large folders.
For the most experienced users, there is a method of cleaning through debugging by USB (ADB). This allows you to delete the system cache that is not available to the average user. To do this, you need to turn on "Developer Mode" in the phone settings (click on the user's computer). 7 once MIUI/HyperOS») and activate the "Debugging by" USB».
The command to connect and clean the cache is as follows (requires an installed ADB on the PC):
adb shell pm trim-caches 999999999This command forcibly trims the cache of all applications, freeing up space, but it should be used with caution, since after cleaning, applications can run slower on the first run, recovering data.
Table: Comparison of cleaning methods
To make it easier for you to choose the right method, we have prepared a comparative table of cleaning methods for the Other section.
| Method | Difficulty | Efficiency | Risk of data loss |
|---|---|---|---|
| Security annex | Low. | Low/Mediocre | Minimum |
| Clearing messenger cache | Low. | Tall. | Missing (photo in the cloud) |
| Manual deletion of folders | Medium | Tall. | Medium (can be removed extra) |
| Reset to factory settings | Tall. | Maximum | High (a full copy is needed) |
As you can see from the table, manual method and cleaning messengers provide a better balance between the effort spent and the result, resetting to factory settings is a radical measure that should be resorted to only as a last resort when the phone is slow and littered with garbage from all sides.
Radical measures: Resetting to factory settings
If nothing helps and the Others section takes up a critical volume that affects the system, the final argument is a full reset, which will return the phone to a store-like state by completely removing the Others section along with all the other content.
Before you do this, be sure to sync your contacts, photos and files with your Google or Mi Cloud account. The reset process can be started through the menu: Settings → About Phone → Reset → Erase all data.
Once turned on, the phone will be clean. Don't rush to restore the backup of the applications right away. Install only the necessary programs and check the memory capacity. Often it turns out that half of the software you installed earlier was not needed, and it was the one that generated the garbage.
Prevention of memory overflow
To prevent the “Other” problem from returning too quickly, change your smartphone usage habits. Turn off auto-save media files to the gallery for group chats in instant messengers. This will prevent duplicate files.
Use cloud storage. Set up an automatic upload to Google Photos or Yandex.Disk with the Free Space feature, which deletes the originals from the device after uploading to the cloud.
Regularly, at least once a quarter, check the list of installed applications. Remove those that you do not use, which will not only free up space, but also speed up the system as the background processes will no longer consume resources.