Xiaomi’s cloud storage is a powerful tool for syncing data between devices, but its free capacity is limited.Sooner or later, every user is faced with a notification that the space in the cloud storage has run out.This stops the creation of new backups and synchronizing fresh photos.
There are several effective ways to clean up Xiaomi Cloud, from selectively deleting files to completely resetting data. It is important to understand that deleting information from the cloud can affect the data on the smartphone itself, if the sync is not disabled, so the approach to the procedure should be considered and careful.
In this article, we will discuss all the methods of freeing up space, learn how to safely remove old photos, contacts, notes and system backups, and also consider the nuances of working through the web interface and the settings of the device itself.
Checking the occupied space and analysis of the contents
Before you start deleting, you need to determine exactly what is taking up precious megabytes. Most often the bulk of the consumes gallery and system backups. First, you should go to your account settings through the Settings menu → Mi Account.
This shows the overall occupancy scale, and if you click on Cloud, you'll see a detailed breakdown by category, and it'll show you how much space is taken up by photos, contacts, messages, voice recorders and backups, and it'll help you understand where you can save money.
Xiaomi Cloud provides 5GB for free, but modern high-resolution photos quickly fill that limit. If you see that 90% of the space is occupied by a gallery, it makes sense to reconsider the image sync policy.
- 📸 Gallery: usually takes up the largest volume due to video and photo in original quality.
- 📱 System backups: copies of settings, desktop layouts and application data.
- 📞 Contacts and SMS: Text data takes up little space, but can number in the thousands.
- 🎙️ Recorder and Notes: Often overlooked garbage source where old voice recordings are stored.
⚠️ Before deleting any data, be sure to make sure you have a local copy of important information on your computer or external drive.
Analysis shows that users often forget about old backups of remote phones. If you change your device but your old profile is still in the cloud, it can take several gigabytes. Deleting those dead backups is the fastest way to make room.
Cleaning through the web interface i.mi.com
It's easier to manage files from your phone than from your computer. The web version of Mi Cloud provides a more flexible interface for mass file management. Go to the official website and log in to your Mi Account.
In the interface, select the Gallery section, where you can select files in groups using a Shift or Ctrl key, which allows you to delete hundreds of photos in one click, which is much faster than on a smartphone.
Also, it's convenient to manage contacts through the web interface. You can export them in.vcf format for safety, and then clear the list by removing duplicates or old numbers. The interface allows you to sort contacts by date of addition, which makes it easier to find unnecessary entries.
Pay special attention to Find a Device. If you sold an old phone but didn't remove it from your trusted device list, it can continue to rank on your profile, and removing it from your list will release the data associated with it.
- 🖥️ Convenience: Large screen and mouse speed up the file selection process.
- 📂 Sorting: the ability to sort files by date, size and type.
- 🗑️ Recycle Bin: Deleted files end up in a shopping cart that is stored for 30 days before final deletion.
⚠️ Warning: Cleaning the shopping cart on the site will lead to the permanent deletion of data, and it will be impossible to recover it after that, even through support service.
Delete photos and videos through smartphone settings
If you don't have a computer on hand, you can clean it up right on the device. Open the Gallery app and go to the Cloud or Albums tab, and all the synchronized images are there.
To mass delete, press your finger in one photo, then swipe across the screen or use the Select Everything menu function. After selecting, press the delete button. The system will warn that files will be deleted from the cloud and from all synchronized devices.
It's important to distinguish between deleting from the cloud and deleting from the device, so you can turn off sync for certain albums in the gallery settings, so removing the photos from the cloud won't affect the files stored in the phone's memory.
☑️ Gallery cleanup plan
Video files take up a critical amount of space, and it's recommended that you go through the video album and remove long videos that are not valuable, and users often forget about screencasts or randomly recorded videos.
- 📹 Video: Delete First, as They Eat Gigabytes.
- 📷 Serial shooting: the gallery often stores hundreds of similar frames, of which one is needed.
- 📎 Attachments: photos and videos received in instant messengers and saved in the gallery.
⚠️ Warning: When you remove from the cloud, make sure that the original photos are not stored there, or you will lose important memories forever.
Cleaning system and application backups
The largest and most frequently forgotten partition is the backups. Xiaomi Cloud automatically creates copies of settings, app lists, and desktop layouts. Old copies made for phones you no longer use must be manually deleted.
Go to Settings → Mi Account → Cloud → Storage Management. Select Backups. This will show you a list of all the devices that backups are built for, find the models you sold or lost, and delete them.
It's also worth checking the backups of individual applications, and some programs, like a voice recorder or a browser, can store their data in the cloud, and if you don't use these features, you can turn them off or clean them.
Hidden large files
Regular cleaning of old backups is the best overflow prevention, and it is enough to check this section once a month and delete copies older than 6 months if they do not have relevant data.
| Type of data | Approximate size | Frequency of update | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Photos and videos | 10MB - 200MB | Constantly. | Clean once a week |
| Backup system | 500MB - 2GB | When changing settings | Remove old versions |
| Contacts | less than 1 MB | When added | Keep it always. |
| Messages (SMS) | 10 - 50 MB | Constantly. | Clean every six months |
Disconnecting synchronization to save space
To avoid overcrowding in the future, you can flexibly configure sync. Not all data is vitally important to store in the Xiaomi cloud. For example, screenshots or photos from messengers can be synced with other services or not synced at all.
From Settings → Mi Account → Sync, you can select specific items. Turn off sync for applications you rarely use. This will prevent junk files from automatically uploading to the cloud.
It is also recommended to set up sync only over Wi-Fi, this will not free up space, but will save your traffic and battery, however, if the space is critically small, it is better to completely disable autoload photos.
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Use alternative clouds for photos, such as Google Photos or Yandex.Disk, and in Xiaomi Cloud leave only contacts and important documents.
Users often forget that deleting photos from the cloud when synced will also remove them from their phone, so first turn off the sync slider for the gallery, and only then delete files from the cloud storage.
- 🔄 Selectivity: Choose only important data for synchronization.
- 📶 Wi-Fi: Limit downloading large files to wireless network only.
- 🧹 Autocleaning: Some services allow you to set up autodelete old files.
⚠️ Warning: Once sync is disabled, new photos will not be protected from loss in the event of a phone breakdown.
What to do if the seat is not vacated
Sometimes users delete files, but the space counter doesn't change, and this can be due to the caching of data on the server or on the device, and first of all, try to log out of your Mi Account and log in again.
If that doesn’t work, check the folder recently deleted in the gallery and file manager clouds.The files continue to take up space until 30 days have passed or until you forcefully clear this folder.
In rare cases, it may be necessary to clear the cache of Google and Xiaomi services on the device itself. Go to Settings → Apps → All Apps → Mi Cloud and click Clear Cache. Don't confuse it with clearing data, this can knock down your sync settings.
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If the meter does not update immediately, wait 1-2 hours. Server synchronization of storage volume can take time.
The last radical step is to completely remove all data from the cloud, followed by a reconfiguration of sync, which ensures you start from scratch, but requires utmost care and backups.