If you’ve ever sat through endless loading screens when trying to enter a new Simulated Universe run, experienced random crashes mid-5-star pull, or noticed Honkai Star Rail taking up 20+ GB of space on your phone when you haven’t even downloaded all the voice packs, you’re not alone. Many players write these issues off as normal for a big live-service game, but they’re often easy to fix with one quick step. Learning how to clear cache on Honkai Star Rail is one of the lowest-effort, highest-reward tweaks you can make to boost performance, and it takes less than two minutes to complete no matter if you play on mobile, PC, or PlayStation. You don’t need any technical skills to do it, and there’s almost no risk involved if you follow the steps we outline below.
Why You Should Clear Your Honkai Star Rail Cache Regularly
First, let’s break down what game cache actually is, so you don’t have to worry about messing up your account. Cache is a collection of temporary files that the game stores on your local device to speed up load times. It includes things like character textures you’ve seen recently, UI elements from menus you visit often, and small clips of cutscenes you’ve already watched. Over time, these files pile up, and a lot of them end up being completely unused after updates or when you move to new areas in the game.
All your save data, character pulls, and progression are stored on HoYoverse’s cloud servers, so you don’t have to worry about losing any of your progress when you clear cache. That’s the biggest myth we see floating around community forums, and it stops a lot of players from fixing easy performance issues. Clearing cache won’t force you to re-download the entire game, either. You’ll only have to re-download a small number of temporary asset files the first time you launch the game after clearing, which usually takes less than a minute if you’re on a decent internet connection.
The most common issues clearing cache fixes include:
- Stuck loading screens when entering Trailblaze missions, limited character banners, or Simulated Universe runs
- Random game crashes during high-action combat encounters or pre-rendered cutscenes
- Excess storage usage (some long-time players report finding 5+ GB of unused cache after 6 months of regular play)
- Visual glitches like missing character textures, broken UI buttons, or distorted character model animations
Even if you’re not dealing with any of these issues right now, clearing cache every few months is a good habit to get into. It frees up space on your device for other apps or games, and it can prevent small performance issues from popping up in the first place. There is zero downside to clearing your cache regularly, as long as you follow the correct steps for your device.
How to Clear Cache on Honkai Star Rail for Mobile (iOS & Android)
Mobile players are the most likely to deal with cache-related issues, since phones usually have less storage space than PCs or consoles. The good news is the process is almost identical for both iOS and Android devices, and you can do it directly through the game’s settings most of the time.
First, open Honkai Star Rail and wait for the main menu to load. Tap the phone icon in the top right corner to open your settings, then navigate to the “Other” tab at the bottom of the settings menu. You’ll see an option that says “Clear Cache” right below the language selection options. Tap that, confirm the pop-up, and the game will automatically close and clear all unused temporary files.
iOS users can clear cache directly from the in-game settings without having to mess with their phone’s system settings, which is a huge upgrade from a lot of other mobile games. If the in-game option doesn’t work for you, or if you can’t even launch the game to access settings, you can clear cache through your device’s settings instead. For Android users, go to Settings > Apps > See all apps > Honkai Star Rail > Storage & Cache > Clear Cache. Never delete the game’s core app files or “clear storage” when you’re in this menu, because that will erase all your downloaded voice packs and force you to re-download the entire game.
For iOS users who can’t access the in-game setting, go to Settings > General > iPhone Storage > Honkai Star Rail > Offload App. This will delete all temporary cache files but keep your core game data intact, so you won’t have to re-download the full 10+ GB game file. If you’re on a limited mobile data plan, we recommend doing this when you’re connected to Wi-Fi, since the game will need to re-download a small number of asset files when you first launch it after clearing.
Steps to Clear HSR Cache for PC and PlayStation Consoles
PC and console players deal with cache issues less often than mobile players, but it’s still a useful fix if you’re noticing lag or crashes after a big game update. For PC players who use the official HoYoverse Launcher, the process is incredibly simple. Open the launcher, click the gear icon in the top right corner to open launcher settings, then select “Game Settings” from the left menu. You’ll see an option that says “Clear Cache” right below the game file location. Click that, confirm the pop-up, and the launcher will take care of the rest for you.
If you play through the Epic Games Store or Steam, you can clear cache directly through the in-game settings the same way you would on mobile. Open the game, go to the settings menu, navigate to the “Other” tab, and select “Clear Cache”. The game will restart automatically once the process is done. If you’re dealing with consistent crashes on PC after clearing cache, you can also use the launcher’s “Verify Game Files” option to make sure none of your core game files are corrupted. That’s a separate step from clearing cache, but it’s a good follow-up if clearing cache doesn’t fix your issue.
For PlayStation players, the process is a little different, since there’s no in-game cache clear option. For PS5 users, go to Settings > Storage > Saved Data (PS5) > Honkai Star Rail > Delete Cached Data. For PS4 users, the steps are almost identical: go to Settings > Storage > Saved Data (PS4) > Honkai Star Rail > Delete Cached Data. Always select “cached data” not “saved game data” when clearing via console settings, because deleting saved game data will erase any local settings you’ve adjusted, like control layouts or graphic preferences. Even then, your actual progression is still stored on the cloud, so you won’t lose your characters or Trailblaze level, but you will have to re-adjust all your settings to your preference, which is a hassle you can easily avoid by double-checking which option you’re selecting.
Best Practices to Avoid Excess Cache Build-Up Long-Term
You don’t have to clear your cache every week to keep your game running smoothly. For most players, doing it once every 2 to 3 months is more than enough to prevent excess build-up. If you only play a few hours a week, you can even wait 4 to 6 months between clears, since cache builds up faster the more often you play.
There are a few simple habits you can build to cut down on how much excess cache your game stores over time. Avoid clearing cache right before a limited banner drops if you’re planning to pull as soon as it goes live. The game will need to re-download the banner assets when you launch it after clearing, which can take a few minutes and make you miss the first few minutes of the banner if you’re in a hurry.
If you know a big update is coming, it’s a good idea to clear cache right after you install the update. A lot of old asset files from the previous version of the game get left behind after updates, and clearing cache will get rid of those unused files before they cause glitches or take up extra space. Always close the game completely before clearing cache, whether you’re doing it through in-game settings or your device’s system settings. If the game is running in the background while you clear cache, you can end up with corrupted temporary files that cause even more performance issues than you started with.
If you play on multiple devices, you don’t have to sync your cache clears. Clearing cache on your phone won’t affect the cache stored on your PC or PlayStation, so you can clear each device’s cache on your own schedule based on how often you play on that device. Keep at least 10 GB of free space on your device at all times if you play Honkai Star Rail regularly. The game needs room to store temporary cache files as you play, and if your device is almost full, it will end up storing more unnecessary files because it doesn’t have space to manage temporary data properly. That’s a small tip that a lot of players overlook, but it can cut down on how often you need to clear cache by a lot.
At the end of the day, small performance tweaks go a long way to making your Honkai Star Rail play sessions as smooth and stress-free as possible. There’s nothing worse than losing a 5-star pull to a random crash, or missing out on a limited time event because you’re stuck on a loading screen. Taking a minute every few months to learn how to clear cache on Honkai Star Rail can save you hours of frustration from crashes, lag, and missing assets down the line. If you’ve been dealing with any of the issues we covered earlier, give this fix a try before you go through the hassle of re-downloading the entire 20+ GB game or reaching out to HoYoverse support. You’ll be surprised how much of a difference such a simple, free step can make to your overall gameplay experience.
