Xiaomi’s ‘Other’ Storage: What It Is, Why It Grows, and How to Clean Up

Why Xiaomi is taking up memory Other and can it be deleted?

You went to Settings → Memory on your Xiaomi, Redmi or POCO, and you saw that the Other partition is 10, 20, maybe 30 GB — and there are no photos, no videos, no apps. Where does this garbage come from? Why doesn't the system clean it automatically? And most importantly, can you delete these files without risking your phone?

The other is the hidden MIUI folder, where the smartphone folds everything that doesn't belong to the standard categories: cache of system applications, residual files after updates, error logs, temporary data of messengers and even fragments of remote programs. The problem is that over time this partition inflates to incredible sizes, and regular cleaning tools (such as Optimization or Security) do not touch it.

In this article, we will discuss 7 proven ways to clean the Other Storage on Xiaomi, including hidden MIUI features, ADB commands and manual folder cleaning, and explain which files can be deleted without consequences, and which ones can not be touched categorically.

What is included in the “Other” section on Xiaomi: a complete analysis

Before you clean it, you need to understand what's in this section. In MIUI, the Other is what you're hiding.

• 📁 Cache of system applications – temporary files from Google Services, MIUI Launcher, Security and other embedded services. usually takes 1-5 GB, but after updates can inflate up to 10 GB.+ GB.
• 🔄 Residual files after updates — MIUI It doesn't always completely remove old firmware versions. /cache/ota or /data/miui_extra.
• 📜 Error Logs and Dumps are files with the.log,.dump or.trace extension that are created when crashes can weigh up to 500 MB in a month of active use.
• 🗑️ Discard from remote applications – many programs leave folders in their wake /data/data or /sdcard/Android, system-cleaning.
• 🎮 Cache of games and heavy apps – for example, Genshin Impact, PUBG Mobile or TikTok can add gigabytes of data to another».
• 📱 Files. MIUI-themes and widgets – if you change the design often, the system saves copies of themes in the /miui/theme.

The biggest problem is that MIUI doesn't show the details of this partition. Unlike Android 12+, where you can see a detailed list of files, on Xiaomi you only see the total volume, which makes cleaning difficult, but doesn't make it impossible.

⚠️ Note: Some files in Other are critical to the system, such as deleting a folder /data/dalvik-cache This will lead to a bootloop, and below we will show you what you can clean and what you can't.

Method 1: Clearing the cache of system applications (without root)

The safest method is to remove the cache of embedded services that most often clog the Other, which does not require root rights, but requires access to the Developer Settings.

Steps:

1. Open the Settings. → About the phone and 7 times click on the "Version" MIUI», activate the developer mode.
2. Return to Settings → Additional → For developers and enable USB debugging.
3. Connect your phone to your PC, install Android SDK Platform-Tools, and open the command line in the adb folder.
4. Enter in turn the commands: adb shell pm list packages -s (this will show the list of system applications) adb shell pm clear com.miui.home (clears the launcher cache, you can replace it with other packages, for example com.google.android.gms for Google Services).

What applications can be cleaned without risk:

• 🏠 com.miui.home - launcher MIUI (Cleaning will reset widgets on the main screen).
• 🔍 com.miui.securitycenter – Security Center (will remove virus scans).
• 📱 com.android.systemui – System interface (can restart your phone).
• ☁️ com.google.android.gms – Google Services (cleanup will help if The Other has grown after the Play Market update).

Download Android SDK Platform-Tools|Enable debugging on USB|Connect the phone to the PC|Check the list of packages by the team `adb shell pm list packages -s`-->

⚠️ Note: Do not cache applications like com.android.phone or com.qualcomm.qti.telephonyservice, which can cause network loss or call failures.

Method 2: Manually remove garbage through file manager

If you have root access or a file manager with superuser rights (like Solid Explorer or FX File Explorer), you can manually delete unnecessary files from Other.

What folders can be cleaned:

How to delete:

1. Open a file manager with root access.
2. Go to the folder (for example /sdcard/Android/obb).
3. Select unnecessary files and click Delete.
4. Reboot the phone.

💡

If you have a small amount of space left in the Other after you delete the folders, check the hidden files (turn on the hidden folders in the file manager settings). Often the garbage is hidden in folders with a dot at the beginning of the name, such as /.estrongs or /.data.

Method 3: Using the hidden MIUI function "Storage"

MIUI has a hidden cleanup menu that doesn't show up in standard settings, and it allows you to remove update cache, residual files, and even duplicate media files.

How to open it:

1. Go to Settings. → Memory.
2. Click on the three dots in the top right corner and select Warehouse (on some firmware, this item is called Cleanup or Deep Cleanup).
3. The system will scan the phone and show the categories of files that can be deleted: 🗑️ Unnecessary APK — leftovers from installed applications. 📁 Empty folders – often left after uninstallation of programs. 🔄 Residual update files - folders /cache/ota. 🎵 Duplicate music – if you downloaded tracks from different sources.

Clean up

This method does not require root and is safe, but it does not clean everything, for example, the cache of Google Play Services or MIUI logs will remain intact.

Method 4: Resetting cache via Recovery Mode

If the Other takes more than 10GB and isn’t cleaned by standard methods, you can use Recovery Mode, which won’t delete your data, but will reset the system cache and Dalvik.

Instructions:

1. Turn off the phone.
2. Press the Power button + Volume up until the Mi logo appears.
3. In the recovery menu, select the language (if there is one).
4. Go to Wipe & Reset → Wipe Cache.
5. Confirm the action and wait for the completion.
6. Reboot your phone (Reboot → System)

How to use SD Maid:

1. Install the app from Google Play.
2. Start and provide root access (if any).
3. Go to the CorpseFinder section, which will show the residual files of remote applications.
4. In Duplicates, you will find repetitive media files.
5. SystemCleaner can remove the cache of system services.

The advantage of these applications is that they show what is being removed, unlike standard MIUI tools.

Method 7: Complete reset (last resort)

If the Other takes more than 20GB and no methods are working, the last resort is a factory reset, which will delete all data, including photos, messages and apps, so be sure to backup.

How to reset:

1. Go to Settings → About the phone → Reset settings.
2. Select Delete all data.
3. Confirm the action and wait for the completion (it will take 5-15 minutes).

After discharge:

• ✅ «Other" will be reduced to 1-3 GB (normal size for the MIUI).
• ✅ The phone will work faster (if it was slowed down before because of clogged memory).
• ❌ You’ll have to reset accounts, apps and personalization.

⚠️ Warning: If the Other grows back quickly after reset, the problem may be a damaged firmware or virus, in which case only flashing through the Fastboot will help.

FAQ: Frequent questions about the “Other” in Xiaomi’s storage