Brand smartphones Huawei are famous for their reliability and performance, but even the most powerful device begins to work slower over time. The main reason for this behavior is that the internal memory is full of system garbage, application cache and duplicate photos. When the storage is 90-95% full, the operating system EMUI or HarmonyOS loses the ability to effectively manage temporary files, which leads to interface freezes.
Device owners often wonder how to safely delete unnecessary things without damaging important data or system settings. The process of optimizing storage requires an integrated approach: from using built-in utilities to manually cleaning specific folders. In this article, we will analyze in detail the algorithms of actions that will help return your gadget to its former speed. places. gadget previous speed.
Timely memory maintenance not only speeds up the launch of apps, but also extends the life of the drive, preventing wear and tear from constantly overwriting data when there is not enough free space.
Using the built-in phone manager
The easiest and safest way to start cleaning is to use the standard “Phone Manager” (or “Optimizer”) application. This utility is preinstalled on all devices Huawei and has access to all system partitions, which allows it to find files hidden from third-party apps.
Launch the application and click on the large “Clean” button. The system will automatically scan the internal storage for residual files of deleted applications, empty folders and temporary data. After the scan is complete, you will see a list of categories that can be deleted without risk to the device’s performance.
Pay attention to the “Junk files” section. Advertising banners and error logs often accumulate here, taking up hundreds of megabytes. Regular use of this function allows you to maintain free space at an acceptable level.
Run the built-in dispatcher at least once a week to prevent the accumulation of a critical cache mass.
It is worth noting that the dispatcher's operating algorithms may differ slightly in depending on the shell version. If you have a fresh one installed HarmonyOS, the interface may be more minimalistic, but the functionality remains the same.
⚠️ Attention: Do not install third-party “accelerators” from unknown sources, as they often contain advertising and themselves become a source of garbage, duplicating the functions of the built-in manager.
Built-in Huawei Manager has priority access to system folders, so it removes remnants of deleted applications more effectively than third-party software.
Manually clearing application and data caches
Automatic tools do not always remove all accumulated garbage, especially when it comes to heavy messengers like Telegram or WhatsApp. These apps save a huge number of media files in temporary memory, which must be cleaned manually through the settings.
To do this, go to the menu Settings → Applications → Applications. In the list that opens, find the app that takes up a lot of space. Click on it, then select “Memory”. Here you will see two buttons: “Clear cache” and “Reset” (or “Memory management”)
The “Clear cache” button deletes temporary files necessary for quickly loading content, but does not affect your personal correspondence or settings. This is a safe operation that can be performed regularly. However, the Reset button will delete all application data, including authorization, so use it with caution.
- 🗑️ The browser cache can take up several gigabytes if you often watch videos online.
- 📸 The gallery often stores thumbnails of deleted photos, which need to be cleared separately.
- 💬 Messengers save all viewed photos and videos in a cache, even if you did not download them explicitly.
Pay special attention to social networking applications, such as VK or Instagram. They tend to grow exponentially in size. Inside the settings of these applications, they often have their own “Storage and Data” section, where you can set a limit on the cache size or clear it (in one click).
☑️ Weekly clean cache
Analysis and removal of duplicates in the gallery
Photos and videos take up the lion's share of memory on any modern smartphone. Users often take a series of pictures in hopes of choosing the best one, forgetting to delete the bad ones. Over time, the collection of duplicates can reach tens of gigabytes.
In the latest versions of the shell EMUI i HarmonyOS a function of intelligent search for similar images has appeared. Go to the Gallery application, go to the Albums tab and find the Similar Photos folder or search for Duplicates. The system will group pictures taken with a minimum time interval.
You can view each group and select the best image by deleting the rest. It's much faster than going through thousands of files manually. Also check your Recently Deleted folder. Files are stored there for 30 days and continue to take up space until they are permanently deleted.
Another source of excess weight is screenshots. We often take screenshots to quickly convey information, but we forget about them forever. Sort the “Screenshots” album by date and ruthlessly delete everything older than a month.
⚠️ Attention: Before mass cleaning the gallery, make sure that your important photos are synchronized with cloud storage Huawei Cloud or copied to your computer.
Working with the DCIM folder and hidden ones directories
For advanced users who are not afraid to work with the file system directly, there is the possibility of manual cleaning through the file manager. The “heaviest” directory is usually located along the path Internal memory → DCIM →.thumbnails.
Folder .thumbnails (note the dot at the beginning of the name, it makes the folder hidden) contains thumbnails of all the images and videos that have ever been on the phone. Even if you deleted the original photo a year ago, its thumbnail may still be there, taking up space. The size of this folder can reach 5-10 GB.
Path to cleaning: Internal memory/DCIM/.thumbnailsYou can safely delete the contents of this folder. The system will automatically create it again the next time you open the gallery, but with current thumbnails of the current photos. This will instantly free up gigabytes of space.
Why is the .thumbnails folder filling up again?
This folder is necessary for quickly scrolling through the gallery. If you delete it completely, the next time you enter albums, the phone will freeze, regenerating previews for all photos. It is recommended not to delete the folder itself, but to clean its contents once a month.
Also check the folder Download (Downloads). This often includes installation files APKthat were used to update applications, as well as documents from instant messengers. Find files with the extension .apk and delete them as they are no longer needed.
Cleaning “Other” partitions and system garbage
Often a mysterious “Other” section appears in the storage, which can take up a disproportionate amount of space. It includes system process data, firmware update files, debug logs and game data that are not classified as media or applications.
To reduce this section, try clearing service data Google Play and Huawei Mobile Services. Go to Settings → Applications, find the corresponding services and click “Memory → Clear data”. This will reset the app store cache and may free up space.
| Data type | Where it is located | Deletion security | Approximate volume |
|---|---|---|---|
| Application cache | Settings → Applications | Safe | 1-5 GB |
| Photo thumbnails | DCIM/.thumbnails | Safe (generated again) | 2-10 GB |
| Installation APK | Download folder | Safe after installation | 0.5-3 GB |
| System logs | System partition | Only through the engineering menu | 100-500 MB |
Sometimes the bloat of the “Other” section is due to a file indexing error. In this case, a simple reboot of the device helps, which forces the system to recalculate the occupied space.
Resetting settings as a radical cleaning method
If none of the above methods helped free up enough space, or if the phone is unstable due to file system fragmentation, the last resort is a full factory reset settings. This action will delete absolutely all data from the device, returning it to a "store-as-stock" state.
Before performing this procedure, it is critical to create a full backup. Use the application HiSuite on your computer or cloud service Huawei Cloud. Make sure your contacts, messages and media files are saved.
To perform a reset, go to Settings → System → Reset → Reset phone. The device will ask for confirmation and a password for your account. After rebooting, the phone will be completely clean. All you have to do is restore the data from the (backup).
⚠️ Attention: Make sure the battery level is at least 50% before starting the reset. Interrupting the process by turning off the phone can damage the bootloader and make the device inoperable.
This method not only clears the memory, but also removes possible viruses or software errors that have accumulated over years of use. After a reset, the phone often works faster than in the first months after purchase.
A full reset is the only way to guarantee clearing the system “Other” partition if it has grown due to software indexing errors.
Preventing memory from filling up in the future
In order not to return to the problem of cleaning every two weeks, it is worth changing your usage habits smartphone. Set up automatic uploading of photos and videos to the cloud. In the Gallery settings, enable the “Free up space” option, which automatically deletes originals from the phone after successful synchronization.
In messengers, disable automatic downloading of media files. You can configure photos and videos to be downloaded only when you click on them or only via Wi-Fi. This will save your memory from terabytes of unnecessary postcards and videos. WhatsApp And Telegram You can set it to download photos and videos only when you click on them or only over Wi-Fi. This will save your memory from terabytes of unnecessary postcards and videos.
Regularly check the list of installed applications. If you haven't opened a game or app for more than a month, you probably don't need it. Removing unused software is the best prevention of slowdown of the operating system operating system.
Why is the space not freed up immediately after cleaning?
Sometimes the system takes time to recalculate the free space. Try rebooting your phone. Also, if you deleted files through a computer, the protection mechanism on the phone may work, and the actual deletion will occur only after restarting the media scanner.
Is it possible to delete the Android/data folder?
The folder Android/data stores data of installed applications (game cache, offline maps and etc.). You cannot delete the folder itself, but you can clear its contents. However, this will lead to resetting settings inside applications and loss of progress in games that do not support cloud saves. Is it safe to use applications like Clean Master? Third-party applications often generate garbage themselves, show intrusive advertising and can collect your personal data.
Is it safe to use apps like Clean Master?
Modern versions of Android and the EMUI/HarmonyOS shell have built-in memory management mechanisms that work more efficiently than third-party “cleaners”. Third-party applications often generate garbage themselves, display intrusive ads, and can collect your personal data.
What to do if the “Other” section takes up more than 20 GB?
Such a volume usually indicates a file system error or accumulation of logs. Try clearing the cache of all applications in a row. If it doesn't help, make a backup copy and perform a full reset to factory settings. This is the only reliable way to fix the indexing error.