How to clear the “Other” category on Android Redmi 8

Owners of budget smartphones such as Xiaomi Redmi 8are often faced with an annoying notification about lack of space. The situation becomes especially absurd when a standard storage analyzer shows that the main categories are insignificantly occupied, and a gigantic volume is eaten away by the mysterious section “Other”. This item can take up from 5 to 15 gigabytes, turning the device into a slow brick.

The nature of this phenomenon lies in the features of the file system MIUI and algorithms for calculating free space. The system classifies files by type, but if the format is not recognized or the data is in a protected application directory, it automatically falls into this gray area. Most often, the culprits are messenger caches, remnants of uninstalled apps and temporary update files.

Solving the problem requires an integrated approach, since there is no one magic button for complete cleaning. You'll have to go through system settings, individual application menus, and possibly use more advanced debugging tools. In this article, we will look at all the working ways to free up space on your device.

Analysis of the composition of the “Other” folder in storage

Before taking radical measures, you need to understand what exactly is hidden behind this item. On smartphones Redmi the “Other” category usually disguises system logs, browser caches and, most extensively, data from instant messengers like Telegram or WhatsApp. These applications store media files in their own private directories, which a standard scanner does not see as photos or videos.

Sometimes the volume becomes inflated due to the system erroneously counting already deleted files that are actually erased, but the database index has not been updated. This may also include backup files created by third-party utilities. It is important to distinguish between system garbage and useful data that you simply do not see in the gallery.

For an initial assessment, go to the memory management menu. Follow the path Settings → About phone → Storage. Here you will see a color chart of the data distribution. If the “Other” item is grayed out and its size does not decrease after a reboot, it means that persistent files have accumulated there that require manual intervention.

⚠️ Attention: Do not try to delete files through third-party file managers with root access without understanding their purpose. Removing system libraries from the folder Android/data may cause installed applications to not work.

Standard cleaning through the “Security” application

The shell MIUI has a powerful system tool preinstalled, which is often ignored by users, trusting third-party software. The application "Security" has access to system partitions that are closed to regular apps. Launch it from the main screen and select Cleaning.

After scanning, the system will offer to remove obvious garbage. However, to work with the “Other” section, you need to click on the Deep cleaningbutton. The algorithm will analyze large files, duplicates and application caches. Pay special attention to the “Applications” tab, where you can select a specific app and clear only its cache without affecting important data.

This method is safe, but not always effective against hidden messenger databases. However, regular use of the built-in cleaner prevents critical growth of system temporary files. Don't forget to run this procedure periodically, especially after installing major system updates.

• 🧹 Run a deep scan regularly once a week to maintain order.
• 📱 Check the "Large Files" section for forgotten videos or archives.
• 🔄 Clear the cache browser Chrome or MIUI Browser through the same menu.

Manually clearing the cache of messengers and social networks

The main culprits for filling the section "Other" on Redmi 8 are messengers. Applications like Telegram save all viewed photos and videos into a local cache, which over time can reach tens of gigabytes. Standard system cleaning often does not see these files as garbage, considering them to be working application data.

To solve the problem, you need to go to the settings of the messenger itself. In Telegram go to Settings → Data and memory → Memory usage. Here you will see the exact cache size. Click the button Clear cache. This action is safe: your correspondence and files will remain on the server and will be uploaded again if necessary, and disk space will be freed up instantly.

B WhatsApp The situation is similar, but the files are stored otherwise. Go to Settings → Data and storage → Storage management. The application will show the chats that take up the most space. You can selectively remove media from specific conversations without deleting the conversation itself. This allows you to specifically combat the growth of the “Other” section.

Application settings → Storage → Clear cache

Don't forget about social networks. Applications VK, Instagram and Facebook also aggressively cache the image feed. In the settings of these applications, find the section responsible for saving traffic or storage, and reset the cache. If there is no such option, only clearing data through the system menu will help, but this will require re-authorization.

Deleting residual files after uninstalling apps

When you delete a game or application from the desktop Redmi 8, the system often leaves behind “tails”. These can be configuration files, downloaded resources or error logs that are located in the Android/obb or Android/datafolder. Over time, these fragments take up a significant amount of space, appearing in the “Other” category.

To find and delete them, open standard Explorer Explorer or any file manager with access to system folders. Go to the root of the internal memory and pay attention to the folder Android. Inside it there are directories data and obb. If you see folders with the names of deleted applications (usually a set of characters like com.game.name), you can safely delete them.

Be extremely careful: delete only those folders whose names correspond to already deleted apps. If you erase the directory of the active application, it will stop launching or lose its settings. Before uninstalling, check the list of installed apps in the settings menu.

⚠️ Attention: The Android file system is sensitive to folder structure. Do not delete the folder itself Android or its system subdirectories; delete only content related to specific deleted applications.

Why do folders remain after deletion?

Application developers deliberately leave settings and save files on device so that when you reinstall the game, progress is not lost. The system considers these files to be user data and not garbage.

Using developer mode and ADB for deep cleaning

If standard methods did not help and the partition "Other" continues to grow, you can use debugging tools. Connecting to a computer via ADB (Android Debug Bridge) allows you to see and delete files hidden from the smartphone's graphical interface. This is an advanced method that requires a PC.

First activate developer mode on Redmi 8. Go to Settings → About phone and quickly click on the item MIUI version seven times until the activation notification appears. Then go to Settings → Advanced settings → For developers and enable the item USB debugging.

Connect the phone to the computer with a cable. On a PC, you can enter a command at the command line to list large files or use utilities like Android File Transfer. Through ADB, you can force clear the cache of all applications with one command, which sometimes helps to reset the space counting error.

adb shell pm trim-caches 999999999

This command instructs the system to trim the cache of all applications if the free space is less than the specified value (in this case, we set a huge number to clear everything possible). This is a safe system command that does not delete personal data, but effectively fights a bloated cache.

Wipe method	Difficulty	Efficiency	Risk of data loss
Standard cleaning	Low	Medium	None
Clearing messenger cache	Low	High	Minimum
Manual deletion of folders	Medium	High	Medium
ADB commands	High	Maximum	Low

Resetting settings as an extreme measure to combat indexing errors

Sometimes a partition “Other” shows the wrong volume due to a file system failure or media file indexing error. If you have removed everything unnecessary, but the figure remains the same, perhaps the system simply “remembered” the old volume and does not update the statistics. In such cases, a full reset helps.

Before this step, be sure to save all important data to an external drive or to the cloud. The process will return the phone to its factory state, deleting all applications, accounts and files. Go to Settings → About phone → Reset settings → Delete all data.

After rebooting and initial setup, check the storage. In its clean state, the “Other” section should occupy a minimum volume (usually 1-2 GB for system needs). If the problem returned immediately after installing a couple of applications, perhaps the problem is with a specific firmware version MIUI, and you should consider updating or rolling back it.

⚠️ Attention: Resetting the settings irreversibly deletes all information from the internal memory. Make sure that you have copied photos, contacts and documents to your computer or memory card before starting the procedure.

Why does the "Other" folder become full again after cleaning?

This happens because applications are constantly generating new temporary files. Messengers load image previews, browsers save website elements for quick loading, and the system writes operation logs. This is a normal process that requires regular prevention, and not a one-time action.

Is it possible to delete the Android folder completely?

No, you absolutely cannot delete the entire folder. Android . It stores data from all installed applications. Deleting this directory will cause all apps to stop running, lose settings and require a complete reinstallation.

Does the memory card affect the size of the “Other” section?

No, the “Other” category applies only to the internal memory of the smartphone. Files saved to the SD card are counted in a separate section of storage statistics and do not affect the volume of the internal “Other” section.

Is it safe to use third-party apps like Clean Master?

The use of aggressive cleaners is not recommended. They often show false threats, push advertisements and can delete important system files, which will lead to unstable operation Redmi 8. The built-in MIUI tools are quite sufficient.

What to do if the space is occupied by a system update?

Sometimes the downloaded system update package is displayed in the “Other” section until installation. If the update is not installed, try deleting the update file manually through the menu Software updateby clicking on the three dots and selecting “Delete update package.”