Text messaging management on a smartphone is a basic skill that every owner of Xiaomi Redmi 7 needs. Over time, correspondence accumulates, taking up precious space in the internal memory of the device, which can lead to a slowdown in the system. Especially relevant is the issue of cleaning for models with a storage capacity of 32 GB, where every megabyte is in the account.
While the removal procedure may seem trivial, there are hidden batch processing features in the MIUI shell that not everyone knows about, understanding these mechanisms not only allows you to erase individual dialogues, but also to conduct a deep cleaning of the system from debris that often remains even after deleting correspondence.
In this article, we will discuss in detail all ways to free up space from SMS, from standard methods to advanced storage techniques, you will learn how to prevent the accidental deletion of important data and what nuances should be considered when working with SIM cards of different operators on your device.
Basic removal of single dialogues
The easiest way to get rid of unnecessary correspondence is to delete the entire dialogue, opening the standard Message app, which is the default one on the system, and finding a contact or number on the list that you want to erase.
Click on the desired dialog and hold your finger on the screen for one to two seconds, then a pop-up menu will appear or the interface will change where you choose the Delete option, and the system will ask you to confirm the action to avoid accidental data loss.
It is worth noting that this method removes the entire correspondence branch with the selected subscriber. It will be impossible to return the content of the dialogue with standard Android operating system without a pre-created backup. So always check if the dialogue has important confirmation codes or addresses.
⚠️ Note: Deleted SMS messages do not fall into the basket and are not restored through standard tools MIUI. The action is irreversible without backup.
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Periodically check the Spam folder in the messaging app, as promotional mailings can take up space and interfere with the search for important notifications.
Mass cleaning of correspondence history
When you need to free up a lot of memory, it's not efficient to delete dialogs one at a time, and the MIUI shell allows you to allocate multiple messages simultaneously for group deletion, which is ideal for quickly cleaning an old archive.
In the main window of the Messages app, press and hold your finger on one of the dialogs until it is highlighted. Then tap select other chats that you also need to delete. Selected items will be ticked or change the background color.
After selecting all the unnecessary dialogs, click on the basket icon, usually located in the top or bottom corner of the screen. Confirm the operation in the pop-up window. This method greatly speeds up the process of putting things in order in the phone.
- 📱 Highlight the first dialog with a long press to activate the selection mode.
- 🗑️ Mark additional chats with short touches without delay.
- ✅ Press the removal button and confirm the action to complete the cleaning.
Deletion of individual messages within the dialogue
Sometimes, you have to delete a particular message from your correspondence, retaining the rest of the context of the conversation, which may be necessary to delete erroneously sent data or sensitive information that should not be stored.
Open the dialog you want, find the specific message, click on the text bubble for a long time, select Delete from the context menu that opens, and if you want to delete multiple messages in a row, you can select them sequentially.
In some versions of MIUI, you can use the Multi-Select function through the settings menu or three dots in the corner of the screen, and by activating it, you can select individual messages with ticks and then delete them in one action.
Why are some messages not deleted?
It is important to understand that deleting a message does not affect the recipient: on his Xiaomi Redmi 7 device or any other smartphone, the copy of the message will remain unchanged.
Cleaning the cache and application data
If deleting dialogs doesn’t solve the problem of space shortage or the application doesn’t work properly, you can resort to cleaning the cache.This is a secure operation that deletes temporary files, but does not affect the text of the messages themselves.
For a more radical approach, there is the option to "Clean the data": this feature completely resets the application of messages to the factory state, removing the entire history of SMS and MMS without the possibility of recovery, use this method only if you need to erase absolutely all messages at once.
To do the cleaning, go to Settings → Applications → All Apps → Messages. From the menu that opens, select Memory, then click the appropriate clean button. Be extremely careful when choosing between cache and data.
| Type of cleaning | Impact on SMS | Impact on settings | Recommended use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clearing the cache | Not affected. | Keeps it. | Solving lag problems |
| Clearing the data | Complete removal | Sheds. | Completely clearing history |
| Deletion of dialogue | Selective | It doesn't. | Daily use |
| Deletion of the message | Point-point | It doesn't. | Disclosure of information |
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Cleaning up the application data is a “nuclear” option that is guaranteed to delete all messages, but requires caution.
Use of the built-in MIUI cleaner
Xiaomi smartphones have a powerful built-in tool for optimizing the system, which can find and delete junk files, including old or potentially dangerous messages, and is a convenient way to clean up the system.
Run the Safety app (green zipper icon). Select the Cleanup tool. The system will scan the device and suggest that you delete temporary files. For a deeper analysis, click on the Garbage icon or select the depth of the scan.
In some versions of the firmware, the cleaner can categorize SMS from banking or delivery services as unimportant. Check the list of found garbage before final removal, so that you do not accidentally erase the authorization codes that you may need later.
- 🧹 Open the Security app on the home screen.
- 🔍 Start scanning the system for the presence of junk files.
- 📄 Carefully review the list of found items before cleaning.
Setup to Automatically Delete Old Messages
To avoid manual cleaning in the future, you can set up an automatic message history limitation, which allows you to set a limit on the number of SMS messages in a single branch, after which the oldest messages will be deleted automatically.
Go to the Messages app settings (usually through three dots in the corner or gear) and find the Additional or SMS settings section. There will be the option "Restrict Messages".
You can choose to limit, for example, 200 or 500 messages per dialog, and once the number of messages with a particular contact exceeds this limit, the system will automatically delete the oldest ones, making room for new ones.
⚠️ Warning: Make sure that automatic deletion does not affect important confirmation codes that you may need in a few months.
☑️ Checking before cleaning
Recovery of Accidentally Deleted Messages
If you've deleted important messages, don't panic. It's hard to recover them with standard Android tools, but it's possible if you've had sync enabled. Check your Google account settings or your Mi Cloud service.
For users who have previously backed up the system, there is a rollback option. Go to Settings → About Phone → Backup and Restore. If there is an archive created before deletion, you can try to restore data from it.
There are also third-party data recovery applications, but their effectiveness is not guaranteed, especially if a long time has passed since the deletion or new files have been written to the phone that overwrite memory sectors.