Xiaomi smartphone owners often face the mysterious situation of internal storage overcrowded, but the standard analyzer does not show which files occupy gigabytes. The category “Other” appears in the list of occupied space, which can grow to 10-20 GB or more, blocking the installation of applications and updating the system. This section is a system storage of temporary data, application cache, residual files of remote programs and logs.
Understanding the nature of this data is critical, as blindly deleting files can lead to unstable operation of the MIUI or HyperOS operating system. Unlike the Photo or Video folder, the content of the Other section is hidden from direct access by the user without special rights or connection to the computer.
In this article, we will take a closer look at the causes of the proliferation of system debris and provide step-by-step cleaning instructions, and learn how to use built-in tools, hidden debugging menus, and third-party utilities to effectively manage your device’s memory.
The Nature of the Other in Android
The Other section (sometimes referred to as System Data) is not a counting error, but a collection of disparate data that Android cannot classify as media files or documents, including streaming cache, temporary update files, offline map data and application logs, which accumulate over time, especially if the user is actively using messengers like Telegram or WhatsApp.
The MIUI Android operating system aggregates this data to speed up applications, but the automatic cleanup mechanism often fails. For example, if you watched high-resolution videos in your browser or edited photos in a heavy editor, the remnants of these processes can remain in the system. A critical factor in the sprawl is often the social media cache, which is not deleted by standard cleaning methods.
Ignoring overflowing this section can have serious consequences: the smartphone will start to run slower, interface friezes will appear, and in the worst case, the system will stop booting due to lack of space for temporary files.
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Use Do Not Disturb during deep system cleanup so that background processes do not create new temporary files during the procedure.
Basic cleaning through the standard "Safety" application
The first and safest step is to use the built-in Security tool, which is pre-installed on all Xiaomi smartphones, which has access to system areas closed to ordinary file managers. Launch the application, select Clean up and wait for the scan to be completed.
After analysis, the system will suggest removing the "garbage." However, standard cleaning often only affects the surface cache. For more in-depth work, click on the "Rescue" icon again or go to the "Deep Cleanup" section. Here you can find large files, duplicates and rarely used applications that also contribute to the "Other" section.
It is important to understand that a standard cleaner does not always see the cache of specific applications such as Spotify or YouTube if they store data in secure directories, so after running the standard tool, it is recommended to manually check the settings of the most “heavy” applications.
☑️ Basic cleaning algorithm
Manually cleansing the cache of heavy applications
The most effective way to reduce the size of the "Other" partition is to manually clean the cache of the leading applications for memory consumption. Most often, the culprits are social networks, messengers and navigators. You need to go to the Settings menu → Applications → All applications and sort the list by place.
Choose the app that takes up the most space (like Telegram), go to its properties and find the "Clean" button. There are two options: "Clear cache" and "Clean everything." Clearing the cache is safe and only deletes temporary files (pictures, previews), do not touch the cache.
Cleaning up everything will reset the app to the post-installing state by removing logins and data.
The gallery and the browser are worth a special attention. Browsers often save megabytes of temporary site files. In the browser settings (usually under "Privacy" or "History"), you can choose to clean up site data and cached images, an action that often frees up 500 MB to 2 GB of space instantly.
Why is Telegram's cache so big?
Using USB debugging mode to delete system files
If standard methods don't work, you can use a more advanced way by connecting to your computer. You need to activate the developer mode. Go to Settings → About phone and quickly click on MIUI or HyperOS version 7 times until the activation notification appears.
Then, in the Additional → For developers menu, turn on "Debugging by USB." Connect your smartphone to your PC with a cable. On your phone screen, you'll see a request for debugging permission, confirm it. On your computer, open "My Computer," find your device, and go to internal storage.
Here you can see hidden folders that take up space, and of particular interest is the Android/data folder, which stores application data, and you need to be careful about deleting the contents of this folder, because you can delete folders of remote applications, but you can not touch folders of active programs (especially system ones), because this can cause them to fail.
Comparison of cleaning methods: efficiency and risks
Not all methods are equally useful and safe. Some methods give quick results, but require technical skills, others are safe but ineffective. Below is a table that helps you choose the best strategy for your situation.
| Method | Efficiency | Risk of data loss | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard cleaning | Low. | Absent. | Minimum |
| Cleaning up the app cache | Medium | Low (logins only) | Low. |
| Removal via PC (ADB/Conductor) | Tall. | Medium (User error) | Medium |
| Reset to factory settings | Maximum | High (complete removal) | Tall. |
As you can see from the table, the maximum efficiency is a complete reset, but it requires a full backup. Using a conductor on a PC gives a good balance between the result and the safety of personal data, if you act carefully. Standard methods are only suitable for regular prevention.
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The combination of methods (cache cleaning + PC deletion) gives the best result without the need for a complete system reset.
Radical measures: reset to factory settings
When the “Other” partition takes up a critical volume (for example, more than 30 GB) and is not cleanable by any known means, the last argument remains – a full reset. This action will return the smartphone to the “out of the box” state, completely removing the “Other” partition along with all user data.
⚠️ Warning: Before resetting, make sure to back up all important data (contacts, photos, documents) to the Mi Cloud, Google Drive or your computer.
To perform the reset, go to Settings → About Phone → Settings Reset. Select “Erase All Data.” The process will take 5 to 15 minutes. Once turned on, you will get a clean system where the “Other” section will occupy the minimum possible volume necessary for Android to work.
After reset, take your time to install all the applications at once, install them one by one, and monitor the memory growth, which will help identify the culprit application that has started generating redundant garbage again, often solving the problem by reinstalling a specific problematic application of the latest version.
Preventing memory overflow in the future
To prevent the situation with the growth of the "Other" partition from repeating, you need to introduce a habit of regular maintenance of the smartphone. Do not allow memory to fill up more than 85-90%. MIUI and HyperOS operating system need free space for efficient operation of defragmentation and caching algorithms.
Set up automatic cleaning in messengers. Telegram, WhatsApp and Viber have settings that allow you to limit the shelf life of media files. Set a limit of 3 days or 1 week - this will significantly reduce the amount of space occupied without losing functionality.
It is also recommended to periodically (once a month) check the list of installed applications, remove those that you do not use, often abandoned applications continue to work in the background and accumulate data, use cloud storage for photos and videos, activating the "Free space" function in Google Photos.
⚠️ Warning: Avoid installing dubious accelerator and cleaner apps from the Play Market, often the source of ads and junk files themselves, and their cleaning algorithms are less efficient than Xiaomi’s built-in tools.
Compliance with these simple rules will allow your Xiaomi smartphone to run fast and stable throughout its life.Memory is a resource that requires management, and now you know all the tools you need to do it.