Xiaomi Memory is Full of Unexplained Things: 7 Ways to Find and Remove Hidden Garbage

You open the settings of your Xiaomi smartphone to install a new app, but suddenly you see a notification saying, "Memory is full," and you know for sure that you haven't downloaded gigabytes of movies or installed dozens of games. Where have free gigabytes gone? This problem is familiar to many owners of Redmi, POCO and Mi devices - memory mysteriously fills up "unclear what" and standard cleaning methods do not help.

Not only user files, but also system debris, app cache, duplicate media files, and hidden folders that MIUI creates for backups and updates. In this article, we will look at 7 proven ways to find and delete unnecessary data, regain control of storage and prevent re-filling memory. Particular attention will be paid to hidden folders that do not appear in a standard file manager, but can take up to 10-15 GB on devices with 64/128 GB of memory.

It's important to understand that the problem isn't always about what you're doing.

• 🔄 Automatic updates MIUI, who download firmware in the background;
• 📱 Cache of system applications (e.g. com.miui.gallery or com.android.vending);
• 🗑️ Residual files after deleting programs;
• 🔍 Hidden folders such as.thumbnails or MIUI/backup.

Before you start cleaning, check how much memory is occupied and what is used. Go to Settings → About Phone → Memory. If the graph shows that Other Files occupy 20-30% of the total volume, this is a sure sign of a clog.

1. Memory analysis: what exactly takes place?

The first step is diagnostics, and without it, you risk deleting important data or missing the root cause of the problem. MIUI has a built-in memory analyzer, but it doesn't always show the full picture. Here's how to proceed:

Open Settings → Memory → Memory Analysis. The system will break up the occupied space into categories:

• 🎵 Multimedia (photo, video, music);
• 📦 Annexes (established programmes) + data);
• 📄 Files (documents, downloads);
• ❓ Others (system files, cache, garbage).

If the Others category is more than 5-7 GB, that's a wake-up call.

1. Google Play Services cache (can weigh up to 1-2 GB)
2. Logs of the system (/data/log);
3. Remnants of remote applications (Android/obb folders);
4. Update files (MIUI/ota)

Critical information: On devices with MIUI 12+, the MIUI/backup/AllBackup folder can automatically back up once a week, taking up to 3-5 GB. These files are not displayed in the standard manager!

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If you see a system data category in your memory analysis that's over 3GB, it's probably a com.android.systemui cache or a com.miui.home cache that can be cleaned without risk to the system.

2. Cleaning up the cache of applications and system debris

Cache is the main memory eater on Xiaomi, and it accumulates not only in custom but also in system applications that cannot be removed, such as com.xiaomi.mipicks (theme store) or com.miui.weather2 can take up 500-800 MB of cache.

How to clean:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Click on the three dots in the upper right corner → Sort by size.
3. Select applications with a large cache (from 100 MB) and click "Clear cache".
4. For system applications (such as Gallery or Settings), use the Storage button" → "Clear the data" (beware of resetting settings!).

For deep cleaning, use the command via ADB (PC required):

adb shell pm clear --user 0 com.android.vending

This command will reset the Google Play Market cache, which often inflates to 1-2GB.

Clear the gallery's cache|Delete data from Google Play Services|Check the Download folder|Clear the cache MIUI Launcher-->

3. Search and Delete Hidden Folders

The standard MIUI file manager does not show hidden folders (those that start with a dot), which often contain gigabytes of unnecessary data.

• 🖼️.thumbnails – thumbnails (can weigh up to a maximum of two images) 1-2 GB);
• 📁.estrongs – temporary manager files ES Conductor;
• 🔄 MIUI/backup — backup;
• 📱 Android/obb — game-file.

To see the hidden folders:

1. Install FX File Explorer or Solid Explorer from Google Play.
2. In the file manager settings, enable the option "Show hidden files".
3. Go to the root directory (/storage/emulated/0/) and manually check the folders from the list above.

Note: Do not delete Android/data or MIUI folders completely, this will cause app crashes, only delete specific files (e.g. old backups in MIUI/backup).

4. Delete MIUI update files

Xiaomi automatically downloads firmware for updates, even if you haven't confirmed the installation. MIUI/ota and can occupy 1.5-3 GB: After the update, they are not deleted!

How to clean:

1. Open the File Manager and follow the path: /storage/emulated/0/MIUI/ota/
2. Delete all files with the.zip extension (e.g, miui_HMNote10Pro_22.1.1.zip).
3. If there is no folder ota, check it out. downloaded_rom.

To disable automatic download of updates:

1. Go to Settings → About the phone → System update.
2. Click on three points → Settings → turn off “Automatic booting over mobile network” and “Automatic boot over Wi-Fi”.

⚠️ Note: If you delete the firmware file during the system update (when the installation process is underway), the smartphone may go into fastboot mode!

5. Cleanup of duplicate photos and videos

The MIUI Gallery app has a nasty feature: it creates duplicate media files when editing or optimizing. For example, if you cropped a photo, the original can be saved to the DCIM/.thumbnails folder, and the edited version can be saved to Pictures.

How to find and remove duplicates:

1. Install Files by Google or CCleaner.
2. Run the scan for duplicates (in Files by Google: Clean → Duplicate files).
3. Check the folders: 📷 DCIM/Camera; 🎥 Movies; 🖼️ Pictures/Screenshots.

Pay special attention to the folder DCIM/.thumbnails — There are thousands of miniatures that can be used here. 1 GB: They can be easily removed: they are automatically restored the next time the gallery opens.

6. reset the /data partition cache (for experienced)

If standard methods didn’t work and the memory is still filled with “nothing that’s clear,” the cause could be a fragmented /data partition cache, which requires root rights or ADB use, but allows you to free up to 2-5 GB of “invisible” debris.

Instructions via ADB (without root):

adb shell


su




cd /data




rm -rf *.log




rm -rf lost+found/*




exit

What this team does:

• Deletes all system logs (*.log files)
• Clears the lost+found folder, where the files recovered from the crashes are stored;
• It does not affect user data.

⚠️ Note: Do not follow the rm command. -rf /data/* — This will completely erase all the data on the device, including apps and settings.

After cleaning, restart your smartphone, the system will restore the necessary files, and unnecessary debris will be removed.

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Clearing the /data cache is a last resort, and try all other methods before using it and back up important data!

7. Preventing re-filling of memory

To prevent the problem from returning in a month, set up Xiaomi for automatic optimization:

• 🔄 Enable "Autoclean" in Settings → Memory. → Autocleaning (set a schedule for weekly cleaning).
• 🚫 Turn off auto-update apps in Google Play (or allow only over Wi-Fi).
• 📁 Configure storage of media files on the memory card (if any): Settings → Warehouse → Default location.
• 🔍 Check Download regularly – many files (such as those from Telegram or WhatsApp) are saved there automatically.

For models with 128 GB of memory and less, it is recommended:

1. Install SD Maid or CCleaner for deep cleaning
2. Disable automatic downloading of media in messengers;
3. Use cloud storage (Google Photos, Mi Cloud) to back up photos/video.

If you install/delete games frequently, keep an eye out for the Android/obb folder – it can grow to 5-10GB due to residual files.

FAQ: Frequent questions about Xiaomi memory