Xiaomi Reservation: What is this feature, can it be removed without risk?

If you've ever looked at the memory settings of your Xiaomi smartphone, you've probably noticed a strange section called "Reserved storage" that takes up 3 to 10 GB of precious space, and it doesn't give you any explanation of what it is, why it should be, or whether it can be disposed of. There's a lot of conflicting information going around the Internet, with some claiming it's "garbage," others warning of the risk of "bricking" the device when it's removed.

In this article, we’ll look at what’s really behind the term backup in MIUI, HyperOS, and other Xiaomi shells, how this feature affects smartphone performance, whether it can be turned off or reduced, and what hidden settings allow you to manage backup memory without harming the system. We’ll also look at why some models (such as the Redmi Note 12 or POCO X5) take up much more space than others, and what to do about it.

What is a Xiaomi reservation and why is it necessary?

Reserved storage is a protected partition of an internal drive that MIUI/HyperOS allocates for critical operations.

• 🔄 Software Updates: Temporary firmware files are stored here to avoid installation failures OTA-update.
• 🛠️ System Recovery: Backup of key components for rollback in case of failure.
• 📦 Application cache: Some system applications (e.g. com.miui.system) use this partition to store data.
• 🔒 Security: Protection against memory overflows that could lead to system failure.

On new devices (such as Xiaomi 14 or Redmi K70), redundancy takes 5-7 GB, whereas on older models (such as Redmi Note 8 Pro) it takes only 1-3 GB. This is due to an increase in the size of firmware and the number of system processes. It is important to understand that this is not garbage, but deliberately allocated space, which the system uses as needed.

However, many users are faced with a situation where the reservation is “inflated” to 10+ GB for no apparent reason, most often because of:

• 📥 Unsuccessful updates that didn’t clear after installation.
• 🗑️ Residual files from remote system applications.
• 🔄 Failures in work MIUI Optimization (services responsible for memory management).

⚠️ Note: If the backup is more than 8GB on a device with 64GB of memory, this may indicate partition damage or viral activity. → Memory. → Diagnostics.

Can you remove your reservation on Xiaomi without consequences?

You can't technically delete the redundancy -- it's not a separate folder, it's a part of the file system that's protected at the kernel level, but there are ways to reduce the redundancy or free up space.

The safest way is to clean up the update cache.

1. Go to Settings → Memory → Reservation.
2. Click on the three dots in the top right corner and select Clear Update Cache.
3. Confirm the action and restart the device.

If this method didn’t work, you can try factory resets, but make sure to back up the data beforehand.More radical methods (e.g. working with ADB or disabling system services) require Root rights and can result in loss of warranty or device failure.

Why does the redundancy take up so much space on some models?

The size of the reservation depends on several factors:

• 📱 Device model: on flagships (e.g. Xiaomi 13 Ultra) reservations are more due to complex firmware.
• 🔄 Version. MIUI/HyperOS: New shells (e.g., HyperOS) 1.0) More space for updates.
• 📦 Number of system applications: devices with Google Mobile Services preinstalled (GMS) reserve additional space.
• 🔧 Firmware region: Global (Global) and Chinese (China) versions MIUI memory-driven.

For example, on the POCO F5 with HyperOS, redundancy can take up to 6 GB, while on the Redmi 10A with MIUI 13 it can take only 2 GB. This is due to the fact that HyperOS uses more aggressive caching to speed up the system.

Another reason for the “inflated” reservations – incorrect installation OTA-If the update is interrupted or installed with errors, the temporary files are not deleted, but remain in the backup section. → The phone. → Version. MIUI: If the last update is marked as “unsuccessful”, it is worth repeating its installation.

How to reduce reservations without Root rights?

If you don’t want to risk getting a Root, there are a few legal ways to reduce your reservation size:

1. Clean up System Update: Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management. Find System Update (com.android.updater). Click Storage → Clear data.
2. Turn off automatic updates: In Settings → About Phone → System Update. Turn off Autoboot.

Use of the function "Memory Optimization"

• Go to Settings → Memory → Optimization.
• Start the cleaning process.

You can also try installing firmware through Fastboot (e.g., using the Mi Flash Tool), which completely recreates partitions of memory, including redundancy, and returns it to its original size, but it requires unlocking the bootloader and is only suitable for advanced users.

Backup of important data

Check the battery (minimum 50%)

Connect to a stable Wi-Fi network

Close all background applications

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What happens if you completely remove the reservation?

Complete removal of the reserved storage without resetting the partition will lead to the following consequences:

• ❌ Impossibility of installation OTA-Updates: the system will not be able to download and unpack firmware files.
• ❌ Recovery failures: If the device freezes, it will not be able to recover from backup.
• ❌ Memory overflow: without a buffer, the system will start to “hang” if there is a lack of space.
• ❌ Loss of warranty: any manipulation of memory partitions is considered a breach of warranty conditions.

The only safe way to remove redundancy is to reflash the device with full formatting (fastboot erase userdata), but this will result in complete data loss and return the redundancy to the standard size for your model.

⚠️ Note: On some devices (e.g. Xiaomi) 12T or POCO X4 Pro) reservations linked to section /vendor, It contains the camera and modem drivers, and if it's damaged, it can cause communication to be lost or the camera to be broken.

Alternative ways to make room on Xiaomi

If the reservation takes up too much space but you don’t want to take risks, try these methods:

• 📁 Transfer of applications to SD-card (if supported).
• ☁️ Use of cloud storage (Mi Cloud, Google Drive).
• 🗑️ Cleaning the application cache through Settings → Memory. → Cleanup.
• 🔍 Finding large files with apps like Files by Google.
• 📱 Disabling unnecessary system applications (without Root, this can be done through Settings) → Annexes → Permits → Special access → Default applications).

For example, Mi Video or Mi Music can take up to 500 MB of cache, and cleaning or disabling it will help free up extra space, and it’s also worth checking the DCIM/.thumbnails folder – sometimes it inflates to 1-2 GB due to the thumbnails of photos.

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If your device supports Virtual RAM (e.g. Redmi Note 13 Pro+), increase its size in Settings → Additional → Memory → Expanding RAM. This will reduce the load on internal memory.

FAQ: Frequent questions about reservations on Xiaomi

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Reservation is not garbage, it's an important system partition that can be reduced, but it's not recommended to be completely removed, and the safest methods are cleaning the update cache and resetting to factory settings.