The Xiaomi Redmi Note 7, launched in early 2019, is still a popular device due to its balance between price and performance. However, over time, the MIUI operating system has become increasingly pre-installed with programs that not only take up precious space in internal memory, but also consume CPU resources. Many users notice that over time the interface begins to slow down, and notifications from unknown services become increasingly annoying.
The solution is to clean the software environment properly. Standard methods only remove a small amount of debris, but there are deeper cleanup methods available even without superuser rights. In this article, we'll look at how to safely dispose of the excess software, returning the device to its previous speed.
Before you start taking action, you need to understand the difference between custom and system applications. The former you can uninstall at any time through the standard menu, while the latter require a more careful approach and the use of special tools like ADB or third-party launchers.
Standard removal of user applications
The easiest and safest way to free up space is to remove programs you installed yourself from the Google Play store or Mi GetApps. Android provides a built-in mechanism for doing so, without requiring a computer connection or installing additional software, which is ideal for cleaning up games, social networks and utilities you have stopped using.
To start, unlock your Redmi Note 7 screen and find an icon on your desktop that is not needed. Click on it and hold your finger for one to two seconds until the context menu appears or the screen begins to vibrate, signaling that it is going into edit mode.
Drag the application icon to the delete icon or click the cross, after which the system will request confirmation of your actions. Click the "Delete" or "OK" button in the dialog window that appears. It is important to understand that this method does not delete data completely irrevocably immediately, but frees up the space previously occupied by the installation package and the program cache.
- 📱 Find the app icon on the desktop or menu.
- ⏳ Press the icon with your finger before the action menu appears.
- 🗑️ Drag the item to the "Delete" icon or press the cross.
- ✅ Confirm the action in the system dialogue.
It’s worth noting that some apps, even though they’re user-friendly, may have device administrator rights or be built deeper than usual. In such cases, the standard uninstall menu may not be available and the system will give a message that the application can’t be removed, a fact that is often encountered with Google services or Xiaomi’s proprietary utilities, which are considered critical to the shell’s operation.
☑️ Pre-deletion check
Managing embedded applications through settings
If standard drag and drop icons fail, you should contact the application manager in the system settings. This section provides more detailed control over the installed software and allows you not only to remove programs, but also to clean their cache, as well as forcibly stop processes that can slow down the work of the Redmi Note 7.
Go to the Settings menu, scroll down the list, and select the App, then All Apps, and you'll see a complete list of all the software you've installed on your smartphone, and you can sort programs by memory size or usage frequency, which helps you quickly find heavyweights.
Find the app you want to get rid of and click on it. A page will open with the program information, where the "Delete", "Stop" and "Clean" buttons will be available. If the delete button is active (not grey), you can safely click on it. However, if it is not available, this means that the application is system status.
⚠️ Warning: Before removing any applications related to system processes (even if the button is active), make sure you know their purpose. MIUI.
It is also useful to clean the cache regularly on this menu, and accumulated temporary files can take up gigabytes of memory. Click on Clear -> Clear cache to make room without losing any personal data on the app, especially for social networks and browsers that actively cache images and videos.
For advanced users, debugging mode is available, which allows you to hide system applications from the list, making the menu cleaner. However, this does not remove them physically, but only hides them from the user's eyes. To completely remove system debris, more radical measures will be required, which will be discussed below.
Using ADB to Remove System Garbage
The most effective way to get rid of deep-built Xiaomi and Google apps is to use the Android Debug Bridge (ADB) toolkit.This method does not require obtaining superuser rights (Root), which saves the warranty on the device if it is still relevant, and allows you to remove almost any system component.
To get started, you will need a computer with Windows, macOS or Linux operating system, and USB-You need to activate the developer mode on your smartphone -> About phone and quickly press 7 times on the item Version MIUI. After you have become a developer, go back to the main settings menu, select Advanced Settings -> For developers and turn on the debugging switch USB.
Download and install drivers for your device and the SDK Platform Tools platform from the official Android developer site. Unpack the archive in a convenient folder on your computer. Connect your smartphone with a cable to your PC and allow debugging on your phone screen by confirming the RSA keyprint.
adb devicesEnter this command in the command line or terminal in the ADB tool folder. If a device with device status appears in the list, the connection is successfully established. You can now proceed to delete. The deletion command is as follows:
adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 name.packetInstead of a packet name, you need to substitute the exact component name, which you can learn through the commands adb shell pm list packages or using package analyzer applications. For example, to remove the standard Mi browser, the command will look like an adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.android.browser.
List of safe packet removal
The main advantage of ADB is that the application is only removed for the current user (user 0), but its installation file remains in the system partition.This means that in the event of a critical error, you can always return the phone to factory settings, and remote applications will return.
Analysis of space and priorities
Before you mindlessly delete everything, it is recommended to audit what exactly occupies space on your Redmi Note 7. The internal memory of the device is often filled not only with applications, but also with their data, photos and downloaded files. Understanding the structure of memory consumption will help make an informed decision.
In the Settings -> Memory (or Storage) section, you can see detailed statistics, the system shows how much space apps, images, videos, audio files, etc. occupy, and it often turns out that the bulk of the data is made up of messengers, such as Telegram or WhatsApp, which have been accumulating media files for years.
| Type of data | Description | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|
| Annexes | Installation files and program data | Remove Unused Items Through ADB |
| Images | Photos, screenshots, wallpaper | Transfer to a memory card or cloud |
| Cash. | Temporary files to speed up work | Clean through a built-in cleaner |
| System files | Operating system files | Do not touch without deep knowledge. |
Special attention should be paid to the Download folder and messenger directories, which often store hundreds of megabytes of old videos and documents that have become obsolete, and use file managers such as MI File Manager or Total Commander to visually assess the size of folders and identify hidden sources of memory filling.
Also, consider that some apps can duplicate each other’s functionality. For example, Xiaomi often preinstalled multiple browsers, app stores, and music services, leaving one primary tool for each task and removing the rest to reduce the load on RAM.
Fighting Advertising and Hidden Services
One of the main reasons why users want to clean the Redmi Note 7 is the intrusive advertising in system applications, which is generated by special services built into the MIUI shell. Removing or disabling these components significantly improves the comfort of using the smartphone.
The main source of advertising is MSA (MIUI System Ads), which can be disabled by going to Settings -> Password and Security -> Access to personal data. Find the msa list and turn off the switch. The system will ask you to wait 10 seconds, then you need to confirm the disconnection. You may have to repeat the procedure several times, because the system resists this action.
In addition, it is recommended to disable personalized advertising in the settings of the MIUI account. To do this, go to Settings -> Mi Account -> Agreements and uncheck the box from Receive personalized recommendations. This will reduce the number of targeted ads in the app store and browser.
⚠️ Note: Complete removal of system advertising modules through ADB It can cause some embedded applications to fail, such as Music or Video, and it is recommended that you try to disable them first through your settings.
Another source of junk is push notifications from unnecessary services. In the Settings menu -> Notifications and Status bar -> Application notifications, you can customize in detail which programs are entitled to bother you. Turn off notifications for all system utilities that you don't use daily.
For those who want to go further, there is the possibility of replacing standard system applications with lighter ones, such as a standard launcher that can be replaced with a Nova Launcher or Lawnchair, which will not only remove visual debris, but also speed up the rendering of the interface on the Snapdragon 660 processor.
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Use Second Space mode to separate work and personal apps, which will help isolate ad services and heavy gaming from the main system, improving overall performance.
Recovery of Removed Components and Frequent Errors
If you delete something that is superfluous during the cleaning process and the system starts to work unstable, don't panic. Since ADB removal was done for the current user, you can simply reboot it with a reset or re-install the packets, however, the easiest way to do a full reset to factory settings if the problem is critical.
A common mistake users make is to delete components that are responsible for communication, Bluetooth or screen function. For example, the com.android.phone or com.miui.securitycenter package can not be touched. Before removing any package with an unfamiliar name, it is recommended to Google its purpose. There are special databases of packages for MIUI, where it is marked which ones are safe to remove.
It’s also worth remembering that after major system updates, some remote apps may come back or new ones may appear, so it makes sense to clean up periodically, especially after updating the Android version or the MIUI shell.
It is important to make sure that the phone has at least 10-15% of free memory. If the memory is full, the system starts to work slowly regardless of the number of applications installed. Regularly cleaning the cache and deleting old files is the best prevention of performance problems.
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The safest way to remove is to remove only those applications that you are 100% sure of, and system components are better off turning off than being removed altogether.