Smartphone owners regularly face the problem of internal memory overflow. The Android system often fails to correctly classify temporary files, messenger caches, or remnants of deleted applications, lumping them into the mysterious “Other” category. This storage can grow to tens of gigabytes, causing the interface to slow down and blocking the installation of updates. Xiaomi Redmi And Poco regularly. The Android system often fails to correctly classify temporary files, messenger caches, or remnants of deleted applications, lumping them into the mysterious “Other” category. This storage can grow to tens of gigabytes, causing the interface to slow down and blocking the installation of updates.
Unlike standard cleaning, deleting data from this folder requires understanding the structure of the file system MIUI. Simply deleting photos or videos will not help here, since they occupy a separate section. It is necessary to influence hidden caches, system logs and application data, which occupy the lion's share of the volume. In this article, we will look at safe ways to reclaim free space.
Before you begin active actions, it is worth mentioning that the volume of “Other” may fluctuate in real time. This is due to background processes that record data while the device is being used. Therefore, to get an accurate result, it is recommended to switch the smartphone to airplane mode or complete all active downloads before starting cleaning.
Analysis of storage contents
The first step should always be diagnostics. A standard shell memory analyzer MIUI often shows only the overall picture, hiding details. To understand what exactly is taking up space, you need to go to the storage settings and carefully study the distribution of categories. Often, “Other” disguises files that the system considers unknown.
Use the built-in Cleanup tool for the initial scan. It allows you to identify large files and duplicates, but does not always get to deep logs. For a more detailed analysis, you can use third-party utilities that visualize the file system, showing the weight of each folder.
- 🔍 Open
Settings → About phone → Memoryfor an initial inspection. - 📊 Use the built-in Security application to search for duplicates.
- 📁 Install a file manager with a disk space analysis function.
Pay attention to the size of the social network cache. They are the ones who most often form the volume of the “Other” section. Photos sent in chats, voice messages and watched videos remain in the device’s memory even after being deleted from the conversation.
⚠️ Attention: Do not delete system files with the .log extension or folders called vendor if you are not sure of their purpose. This can lead to unstable operation of the system.
It is important to distinguish between user data and system garbage. If, after clearing the cache, the volume of “Other” has not decreased, then the problem lies in residual files of deleted apps or indexing errors.
Clearing the cache of instant messengers and applications
The main source of "garbage" on smartphones Xiaomi are instant messengers Telegram, WhatsApp i Viber. These applications save media files in hidden directories that standard Explorer does not always display as photos or videos. To free up space, you need to clear the cache inside the applications themselves.
In Telegram, this is done through the “Data and Memory” menu. There you can configure automatic media deletion or manually clear the cache. It is important that when clearing the cache inside the application, your correspondence and important files are not deleted, they will only be downloaded again from the cloud if necessary.
For WhatsApp, the procedure is similar, but has its own nuances. In the chat settings you can find the “Storage Usage” item, where the sorting is based on the amount of data occupied. This allows you to quickly find groups or contacts that have “eaten” the most gigabytes.
- 🗑️ Go to the settings of a specific messenger.
- 📉 Find the “Data and Memory” or “Storage” section.
li>✅ Click “Clear cache” after confirming action.
Don't forget to check other applications that you rarely use. Browsers, news aggregators and streaming services also accumulate huge amounts of temporary data. In the Android settings, in the “Applications” section, you can find the “Clear cache” item for each app separately.
Use the “Auto Delete” function in Telegram by setting the timer for 3 days or 1 week. This will prevent cache buildup in the future.
Using the built-in Cleanup application
The shell MIUI is equipped with a powerful built-in system optimization tool. It can find hidden garbage that is not visible to the user when browsing the file system normally. Regular use of this tool helps keep the volume of “Other” within reasonable limits.
When running a scan, the system analyzes APK files of installers, remnants of uninstalled applications and temporary system files. However, you should be careful: sometimes “Cleaning” offers to delete files that you may need, for example, thumbnails from the gallery.
☑️ Cleaning algorithm through a standard application
There is also a “Deep cleaning” mode, which is available after pressing the corresponding button in the application. It allows you to remove large files, similar images, and rarely used applications. This is the safest method for inexperienced users.
| Data type | Where to look | Deletion security |
|---|---|---|
| Application cache | Settings → Applications | Safe |
| Files.thumbnail | DCIM →.thumbnails | Safe (will be created again) |
| APK installers | Download folder | Safe, if applications are installed |
| System logs | System folders | Only via ADB or Root |
Remember that after clearing the cache, the application may run a little slower when first launched, as it will need to regenerate temporary files. This is normal system behavior.
Deleting hidden files.thumbnails
One of the most common reasons for the bloat of the “Other” category is the folder .thumbnailslocated in the directory DCIM. It stores thumbnails of your photos and videos. Over time, this folder can weigh up several gigabytes, especially if you frequently take pictures or shoot high-definition videos.
To delete these files, you will need a file manager with access to hidden folders (those that begin with a dot). Standard Explorer Xiaomi can display them if you enable the appropriate option in the viewing settings. After deleting the folder, the system will automatically create a new one, but it will be empty.
What to do if the .thumbnails folder is growing quickly again?
If you notice that the folder with thumbnails is quickly gaining volume, this may indicate an error in the gallery. Try clearing your Gallery app data or installing a third-party photo viewer.
There is a method to freeze this folder to prevent it from growing again. To do this, after deleting the folder .thumbnails you need to create a file in the same directory with the same name, but without the folder extension. The system will try to write data there, encounter an error and stop increasing the volume.
- 📂 Open the file manager and turn on the display of hidden files.
- 📍 Follow the path
Internal Storage → DCIM. - 🗑️ Delete the folder
.thumbnails.
This method is especially effective on models Redmi Note with a small amount of built-in memory. It allows you to instantly free up space, but does not radically solve the problem if you continue to actively take photographs.
Cleaning through developer mode and ADB
For advanced users who want to clean the system of junk, a method is available using USB debugging and command line. This method allows you to delete files that are not accessible to regular applications. However, it requires a computer and basic knowledge of working with the command line.
First you need to activate developer mode. To do this, you need to click on the build number several times in the “About phone” section. Then, in the Developer Options menu, enable USB Debugging. By connecting your phone to your PC, you can manage the file system directly.
adb shell pm trim-caches 999999999This command will force the cache of all applications to be trimmed to a minimum value. Be careful: this command may take some time to complete and the phone may become slightly warm during the process. This is the processor's normal response to active I/O operations.
⚠️ Attention: Using ADB commands requires precision. Entering an incorrect command may result in the removal of system components. If you are not sure of your actions, it is better to use the graphical interface.
Also through ADB you can view the exact size of each folder, which helps to identify “heavyweights” hidden from the user’s eyes. The command du -h /data/data will show the weight of application data, helping to find the source of the problem.
Radical methods: Reset and flashing
If none of the above methods helped, and the “Other” category continues to take up critical space, indexing errors may have accumulated in the file system. In this case, the most effective solution would be a full factory reset.
Before performing a reset, be sure to back up all important data. Resetting will all information from the device, including contacts, photos and installed applications. After the reset, the phone will be as good as new, and the “Other” category will take up a minimum amount of space.
Full reset (Wipe Data) is the only way to guarantee that file system errors that lead to incorrect display of memory capacity.
In some cases, especially on older models Xiaomi, the problem may lie in bugs in the version itself MIUI. Then only flashing the device to the current software version via the Fastbootmode can help. This is a more complex procedure that requires unlocking the bootloader.
After returning to factory settings, it is recommended that you do not restore the entire application backup, but install them again. Often, when restoring from a backup, old erroneous cache files are returned to the system.
Prevention and useful tips
To prevent the problem with “Other” overflowing from returning, you need to develop the habit of regularly servicing your smartphone. Do not allow the memory to be filled to capacity; always leave at least 10-15% of the total volume free. This is necessary for the correct operation of compression and caching algorithms.
Use cloud storage for photos and videos. Setting up automatic synchronization with Google Photos or Yandex.Disk will allow you to delete media files from the device immediately after uploading to the cloud, freeing up gigabytes of space.
- 🔄 Regularly reboot your smartphone to reset system logs.
- ☁️ Set up auto-delete in the gallery after synchronization.
- 🚫 Disable auto-downloading of media in instant messengers.
Keep an eye on system updates. Engineers Xiaomi are constantly working to optimize memory management, and new firmware versions often fix errors that lead to bloated system partitions.
Why does the “Other” volume not decrease immediately after deleting files?
The system takes time to re-index the file system. Also, some files may be locked by active processes and will be deleted only after the device is rebooted.
Is it possible to delete the Android folder completely?
No, this will lead to most applications not working. You can clear only the contents of a folder cache inside directories of specific applications.
Does overflowing "Other" affect the speed of operation?
Yes, when free space runs out, the system starts to work slower, since it does not have enough space for temporary operations and memory swap.