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

Have you ever looked into your Xiaomi storage settings and wondered why the Other partition takes up gigabytes of memory when you didn’t consciously save anything there? It’s one of the most mysterious categories in the MIUI system that can eat up 5 to 30 GB of space — and it can’t be removed by standard means. In this article, we’ll look at what’s hidden under the Other label, why this partition grows over time, and how to clean it without risking your smartphone.

The problem is not new: users of the Redmi Note 10 Pro, POCO X3, Mi 11 and other models regularly find that even after removing photos, videos and apps, free space is not added, because of system caches, update remnants, error logs and temporary files that MIUI classifies as “Other.” The good news is that most of this garbage can be removed manually. Bad — this will require digging into hidden folders and using tools that most users do not even know about.

Before we start cleaning up, it's important to understand that not everything that gets into the Other is useless junk, like app data (like offline Google Maps), Mi Cloud backups, or crash recovery files, and our job is to separate the grain from the chaff by storing critical data and getting rid of real trash.

What is the Other in Xiaomi’s Memory and Why Does It Take So Much Space?

The MIUI Other category is the operating system’s garbage can, where files that cannot be uniquely attributed to photos, videos, apps or documents are stored.

• 📁 Application cache and systems – temporary files that are created to speed up the operation of programs (for example, image thumbnails, web page data in the browser).
• 🔄 Update residues – firmware files that are downloaded for installation but not deleted after the update.
• 📜 Error logs and dumps – records of system failures that help developers diagnose problems (can weigh hundreds of megabytes).
• 🗄️ Backups and Volume Labels – Hidden Files to Recover Data After Reset or Damage.
• 🧹 Garbage from remote applications – folders and settings of programs that you have long uninstalled, but their traces remain.

The main problem is that MIUI doesn't provide tools to analyze the contents of The Other in detail, you only see the total volume, but you can't figure out what it's actually doing, and the system actively resists cleaning: even after using the built-in Cleaner, some files stay in place because they're labeled "systemic" or "protected."

Why does The Other grow over time? There are a few factors that are responsible.

1. Automatic Updates – MIUI regularly downloads service packs (even if you don’t install them) and they stay in memory.
2. Cache of messengers and social networks – Telegram, WhatsApp, TikTok and other applications actively cache media files, which are then difficult to delete.
3. File system errors - incorrect extraction SD-Maps or system failures are generated by “broken” files that take up space but are not displayed in the explorer.

How to check what exactly ranks in the “Other” section

Before you start cleaning, you need to understand which files occupy the lion’s share of the space, and this will require third-party tools, since the standard “Storage Analysis” in MIUI does not show details in the category “Other”.

The most reliable way is to use a file manager with access to system folders. We recommend FX File Explorer or Solid Explorer (both require root rights for full access, but some data can be viewed without them).

1. Install one of the apps from Google Play.
2. Open the menu and enable the display of hidden files (in FX File Explorer: Settings → Show hidden files).
3. Go to the root folder of the storage (/storage/emulated/0/).
4. Examine the following directories (they most often inflate “Other”): /Android/data/ – cache and application data; /Android/obb/ – additional game files; /MIUI/ – system logs and dumps; /Download/ – uploaded files that have not been deleted; /DCIM/.thumbnails/ – image thumbnails.

If you have root access, look at:

• /data/log/ - system logs
• /data/dalvik-cache/ – Dalvik cache (can weigh several gigabytes)
• /cache/ - Temporary update files.

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If you're not sure if you can delete a folder, you can first transfer it to your computer or to the cloud, and if you delete it, the files are useless.

For more detailed analysis, use DiskUsage (available on Google Play), which visualizes the occupied space as a diagram where you can easily spot the heavy folders.

Method 1: Cleaning the cache of applications and systems

The safest and easiest method is to remove the cache, which requires no root rights and does not affect the operation of applications (unless they will take longer to load on the first run after cleaning), and MIUI has a built-in tool for this, but it does not always cope with deep cleaning.

Instructions:

1. Open Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Slip on the three dots in the top right corner and select "Sort by size."
3. View the list and select apps with a large cache (usually YouTube, Chrome, Facebook, TikTok).
4. Click on the app → “Storage” → “Clear the cache”.

For deep cleaning of the system cache:

1. Go to Settings. → Memory.
2. Click on “Clean” (or “Optimize” in newer versions of MIUI).
3. Confirm the action.

Clear the cache of individual applications|Run system cleaning in MIUI|Reboot your smartphone|Check the vacant spot-->

If built-in tools don't help, use third-party utilities like SD Maid (requires root) or CCleaner.

• 🗑️ Residual files after uninstallation of applications;
• 📂 Empty folders;
• 🔍 Duplicate files.

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Clearing the cache does not delete personal data (photos, messages, settings), but it can reset authorization in some applications (for example, in banking).

Method 2: Remove update and temporary files

MIUI It downloads update packs regularly, even if you don't install them right away. /cache/ or /data/ota_package/ and can borrow from 500 MB to 3 GB: You can't remove them manually without root rights, but there are workarounds.

Method 1: Through the Update Menu

1. Go to Settings → About the phone → System update.
2. Click on the three dots in the top right corner and select “Delete downloaded package”.
3. Confirm the action.

Method 2: File Manager (for advanced users)

If you have root access, delete the contents of the folders:

• /cache/
• /data/ota_package/
• /data/local/tmp/

Method 3: Resetting cache through Recovery

This is a radical way to reset the entire system cache, including update data, if other methods have failed:

1. Turn off your smartphone.
2. Press the Power button + Volume up to enter Recovery Mode.
3. Select “Wipe Cache Partition” (use volume buttons for navigation, power button for confirmation).
4. After completion, select Reboot System.

⚠️ Note: Do not confuse “Wipe Cache Partition” with “Wipe Data” – the second option will completely reset the smartphone to the factory settings!

Method 3: Clearing Logs and Error Dumps

MIUI maintains detailed logs that help developers track bugs, but they can take up to 5GB of space for the average user, especially if the smartphone hasn’t restarted in a while or crashes frequently.

Logs are stored in the following folders (available only with root rights):

• /data/log/ – the main logs of the system;
• /data/anr/ – records of application hangings
• /data/tombstones/ - critical error dumps
• /MIUI/debug_log/ — logic MIUI (rootless).

How to clean:

1. Use Root Explorer or FX File Explorer with root access.
2. Go to the specified folders and delete all files with the extensions.log,.txt,.dmp.
3. Reboot your smartphone.

If root is not available, you can try to delete logs through ADB (Developer Tool).

1. Enable “USB Debugging” in Settings → About Phone → MIUI Version (tap 7 times on version number, then go back to Settings → Additional → For Developers).
2. Connect your smartphone to your PC and execute the command: adb shell pm clear com.miui.bugreport

⚠️ Attention: Deleting logs can make it difficult to diagnose problems if you go to Xiaomi's service center.

Method 4: Remove unnecessary application data

Many apps (especially messengers and social networks) store gigabytes of data in the /Android/data/ folder, which is classified as “Other”: for example, Telegram caches all media files by default, and Google Maps – offline maps.

How to clean:

1. Open Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Select an app (e.g. Telegram) → “Storage”.
3. Click on Clear Data (deletes cache + all uploaded files) or Clear Cache (deletes only temporary files).

For Google Maps:

1. Open the app.
2. Slip on the avatar → “Settings” → “Offline maps”.
3. Remove unnecessary cards.

List of apps that most often inflate the “Other”:

• 📱 Telegram, WhatsApp, Viber – cache of media files;
• 🎮 Games (PUBG, Call of Duty, Genshin Impact – Additional Files in the Game /Android/obb/;
• 🌍 Google Maps, Yandex.Maps – offline maps;
• 🎵 Spotify, Apple Music – cachet music.

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In messenger settings (e.g. Telegram), you can limit the size of the cache or disable automatic downloading of media files, which will prevent the accumulation of garbage in the future.

Method 5: Formatting the “Other” section (last resort)

If all previous methods failed, and the Other still takes up an unnecessarily large amount of space, the last resort is to reset the partition via Fastboot or re-mark up memory, which requires technical skills and will result in the loss of all data, so use it only if:

• 🔧 You are ready for a complete reset of your smartphone;
• 📉 «Another takes up more than 10GB for no apparent reason;
• 🔄 Other cleaning methods have not worked.

Instructions (unlocked bootloader and Mi Flash Tool required):

1. Make a backup copy of all important data.
2. Download the official firmware for your model from the Xiaomi website.
3. Install the Mi Flash Tool on your PC.
4. Transfer the smartphone to Fastboot mode (clip Power + Volume down).
5. Connect the device to the PC and in the Mi Flash Tool, select the downloaded firmware.
6. Click Flash and wait until it is completed (select the Clean All option for full cleaning).

⚠️ Warning: This method completely remarks the memory of the smartphone, which can solve the problem with the "Other", but also deletes all your data, including photos, contacts and applications!

How to Prevent the Spread of the Other in the Future

Cleaning up the Other is a one-off solution, so that the problem doesn't recur, follow these guidelines:

• 🔄 Reboot your smartphone regularly (every 2-3 days) and this clears temporary files and logs.
• 🚫 Limit the cache in messengers (in Telegram: Settings) → Data and memory → Cache size).
• 🗑️ Use the "Cleaner" in MIUI weekly (Settings) → Memory. → Clean up).
• 📵 Turn off automatic updates if you don’t plan to install them (Settings) → The phone. → Updating the system → Settings → Downloading).
• 📱 Remove unused apps, especially games – they leave a lot of trash behind.

It is also worth turning off the automatic download of media files in messengers:

• WhatsApp: Settings → Storage → Autoupload media;
• In Telegram: Settings → Data and memory → Autoboot media.

If you install and uninstall applications frequently, use SD Maid or CCleaner to automatically clean up residual files.

• 📂 Empty folders;
• 🔍 Duplicate files;
• 🗑️ Remains from uninstalled programs.

FAQ: Frequent questions about Xiaomi's "Other" section