How to completely clean up Emoji Keyboard data on Xiaomi Android smartphones

Why Xiaomi’s Emoji Keyboard is slowing down and how to fix it

The emoji keyboard on Xiaomi, Redmi or POCO smartphones can become slower over time, hanging up when you type, loading stickers for a long time or even getting dyed up. The reason is almost always the accumulated data — cache, input history and temporary files. Unlike the standard Gboard keyboard, the Emoji Keyboard system application (aka com.sohu.inmethod.sogou.xiaomi) is integrated deeper into MIUI, so requires a special approach to cleaning.

If you notice that:

• 🔄 The keyboard slows down when switching between languages
• 🖼️ Emoji and stickers loaded with delay
• ⚠️ The application is suddenly closed when you enter the text.
• 📱 The device's memory is clogged with unknown files from the keyboard

In this article, we will discuss all the working methods, from simple deletion of the cache to complete reset with the preservation of user vocabulary words. Importantly, some actions will require root rights (but we will show you where you can get around them).

Before you start, check the MIUI version and the smartphone model — it depends on the available options. For example, on the Xiaomi 13 Pro with MIUI 14, the path to keyboard settings is different from the Redmi Note 10 on MIUI 12.5.

Method 1: Clearing the cache through application settings

The safest and fastest way is to delete temporary keyboard files through the app menu, which will not affect your personal data (saved words, input history), but will remove debris that slows down work.

Instructions:

1. Open Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. In the search bar, enter Emoji Keyboard (or Keyboard on Russian firmware).
3. Select the Sogou Input app (this is the official keyboard name from Xiaomi).
4. Press Warehouse. → Clear the cache.
5. For deep cleaning, tap Space Management → Clear all data (this will delete the entry history!).

⚠️ Warning: If the keyboard starts to behave strangely after cleaning the cache (for example, your tongue is thrown off or the topic is lost), restart your smartphone. 90% of the time this solves the problem.

Method 2: Reset keyboard settings to factory

If cleaning the cache doesn't work, the next step is to return the keyboard to "as after purchase."

• 📝 User words (the ones you add to the dictionary)
• 🎨 Established themes and styles
• ⚙️ All personal settings (size, layout, gestures)
• 🔄 Reference to Mi Account (if applicable)

How to reset:

1. Go to Settings → Additional → Language and Enter → Current Keyboard.
2. Select Additional Settings → Resetting.
3. Confirm the action (it may be necessary to enter a password from your Mi Account).

After reset, the keyboard will automatically update to the latest version via the Mi App Store.If you need a specific version (e.g. 12.5.3.0 for stability), disable auto-update in the app settings.

💡

Before reset, export custom words: open the keyboard → tap on the gear → "Dictionary" → "Export". The file will be saved in the Download/SogouInput folder.

Method 3: Removal via ADB (for power users)

If the standard methods didn’t work and the keyboard is still buggy, Android Debug Bridge (ADB) will help.This method deletes all application data, including system files that are not affected by a conventional cleanup.

What you need:

• 🖥️ A computer with installed Xiaomi drivers and ADB
• 📱 Included debugging by USB on a smartphone (Settings) → The phone. → Version. MIUI → 7 times to tap according to the version)
• 🔌 Cable USB (preferably original)

Cleanup commands:

adb shell pm clear com.sohu.inputmethod.sogou.xiaomi


adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.sohu.inputmethod.sogou.xiaomi

The first command cleans the data, the second - removes the updates (keyboard rolls back to the factory version).

⚠️ Warning: Do not use the command adb shell pm uninstall com.sohu.inputmethod.sogou.xiaomi — it completely removes the keyboard from the system, and it can only be restored through firmware. For Xiaomi, this is fraught with problems with text input in system applications.

Method 4: Manually clean keyboard folders (with root rights)

For users with root access or custom firmware (such as Xiaomi.eu), there is a way to manually delete keyboard files.

• 🗃️ Cash takes up gigabytes of memory (occasionally when crashes)
• 🔧 Standard methods don't work.
• 🛠️ You need to delete specific files (for example, heavy topics)

Folders to clean (use Root Explorer or Mixplorer):

/data/data/com.sohu.inputmethod.sogou.xiaomi/


/sdcard/Android/data/com.sohu.inputmethod.sogou.xiaomi/




/data/user_de/0/com.sohu.inputmethod.sogou.xiaomi/

Delete the contents of these folders, but not the directories themselves!

• app_data — dictionary
• cache - temporary files
• themes – downloaded themes of design
• emoji - cache of emojis and stickers

⚠️ Note: Do not delete files with the.dex or.so extension, which are keyboard system libraries, and if they are damaged, they will cause the application to crash.

💡

Root-righted manual cleaning is the most radical method, and only use it if other methods have failed and you understand the risks.

How to prevent keyboard debris in the future

To avoid having to clean the Emoji Keyboard regularly, follow the following simple rules:

1. Turn off auto-update: Go to Mi App Store → Profile → Settings → Auto-update and add keyboard to exceptions. Newer versions often contain bugs.
2. Limit data collection: In keyboard settings (More) → Confidentiality) turn off: 📊 "Improved user experience” (sending statistics) 🔍 "Personalized recommendations" 📱 "Synchronization with Mi Account"

Use light themes.

Animated or highly detailed themes consume more memory. Choose static options in Keyboard Settings → Themes.

Clean the cache regularly

Add the keyboard to the list of applications for automatic cleaning in the Security App (Optimization → Auto Clean).

If you are actively using emojis and stickers, consider alternatives:

• 🅰️ Gboard (from Google) – less weight and more stable
• ⚡ SwiftKey: Better predicts text, but heavier
• 🎨 Fleksy – Minimalist keyboard with gesture support

Frequent Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

When cleaning the Emoji Keyboard data, users often face typical problems.

The most common mistake is trying to delete the keyboard through Settings → Apps → Delete. On most Xiaomi devices, this button is inactive because the app is system-based. Instead, use Disable (if you want to temporarily hide it) or the methods in this article.

Another problem is that you have conflict with other keyboards, and if you have multiple keyboards installed (like the Gboard + Emoji Keyboard), they can interfere with each other.

1. Open any input field (such as notes).
2. Swipe your finger across the notification panel and hold the keyboard icon.
3. Select keyboard settings → Reset to factory.

FAQ: Answers to popular questions