Clear System Cache Pixel XL 7.1.1

timm9 · Feb 22, 2017

I apologize for the 'stupid' question as I'm not a tech idiot but I have searched here and globally and do not see the answer. The instructions indicate that with the device powered down you hold the power, volume up, and home button until you see the logo. How do you hold the home button which is a software button and not displaying when the device is off...

Thanks!

Tim

timm9 · Feb 23, 2017

Update: I had an exchange via Face Book with Verizon Tech Support. While they were friendly and attempted to help, they are indicating that they are "stumped' and have told me to contact Google. We will see how that goes.

Anyone have an easy way to contact Google?

jj14x · Feb 23, 2017

Just out of curiosity - why are you trying to wipe the cache partition?

I haven't had to do this, but the steps below should work:

You'd first need to get to fastboot mode
> Power off
> Press and hold the Volume Down and Power buttons together for few seconds.

Then, go to recovery
> Press Volume Down button twice or until you see Recovery Mode text on screen.
> Press the Power button to boot into Recovery Mode.
> You should see green bot on its side. Then press and hold the Power button and Volume Up buttons together once to boot into Stock Recovery.

timm9 · Feb 23, 2017

JJ,

Thank you very much for the response. I'm attempting to clear the system cache as some of the apps are not functioning correctly or area little laggy. I have tired your procedure to clear the system cache and it is not working. I have also tired power and volume up which is what is referenced in the manual with no luck as well. Could they have really released an OS that does not allow for clearing the system cache?

jj14x · Feb 23, 2017

Bummer. I tried it out just now and saw the same - there is no option to wipe cache partition.
Looking further, it looks like the cache is now stored in /data/cache - that may explain why there is no option in recovery to wipe that partition.
Which app is causing the issue? Try uninstalling the app and reinstall perhaps?

Unless you have custom recovery installed, your only option to wipe the cache partition may be to do a factory reset (which will wipe everything on the phone)

timm9 · Feb 23, 2017

JJ,

Thank you again! I will uninstall and reinstall but am not expecting it to resolve anything. I'm trying really hard to avoid a FDR...:-(

svim · Feb 23, 2017

jj14x said:
Unless you have custom recovery installed, your only option to wipe the cache partition may be to do a factory reset (which will wipe everything on the phone)

A Factory Reset only wipes the user's data partition, removing all the user's data and user installed apps/settings. All the system-related partitions, including the system cache partition, are left as is.

andMego · Feb 23, 2017

In settings - storage, press cached data and confirm that you want to delete it. Is that what you are trying to do?

svim · Feb 23, 2017

andMego said:
In settings - storage, press cached data and confirm that you want to delete it. Is that what you are trying to do?

That's a way to clear app caches, and to do it all it once instead of individually. The system cache however is different than app caches, also the system cache resides in its own separate partition while the different app caches reside in the general, user data partition (the same as where your personal files and data are stored). Wiping the system cache partition involves rebooting your device into its Recovery Mode.

andMego · Feb 23, 2017

svim said:
That's a way to clear app caches, and to do it all it once instead of individually. The system cache however is different than app caches, also the system cache resides in its own separate partition while the different app caches reside in the general, user data partition (the same as where your personal files and data are stored). Wiping the system cache partition involves rebooting your device into its Recovery Mode.

I realized that, just they said they are trying to fix lag, and wiping the data cache can also help with that.

jj14x · Feb 24, 2017

svim said:
A Factory Reset only wipes the user's data partition, removing all the user's data and user installed apps/settings. All the system-related partitions, including the system cache partition, are left as is.

For most phones on the market, that is true.

I'm not an Android dev, but from what I've read, on the Pixel/XL, there is no true cache partition - Google did away with that concept because it now has two system partitions instead. The Cache partition was primarily used to store the downloaded OS image (it would also store some of the app information too) - but with the dual partitions on the Pixel, there is no need to have a cache partition. Downloaded system images are directly applied to the inactive partition, and upon reboot, that partition becomes the active one.

Having said that, for the pixel, there is a 'cache' that is now stored in /data/cache. So, a FDR should wipe that cache at the same time (not sure if that will help address this issue though). The app data cache of course can be cleared by Settings -> Storage -> Cached Data

svim · Feb 24, 2017

jj14x said:
Having said that, for the pixel, there is a 'cache' that is now stored in /data/cache. So, a FDR should wipe that cache at the same time (not sure if that will help address this issue though). The app data cache of course can be cleared by Settings -> Storage -> Cached Data

I stand corrected, good to learn this.

Clear System Cache Pixel XL 7.1.1

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