how to access file manager menu/options on ZTE phone

[landdan]

My phone is full. I have deleted all pictures, downloads, emptied caches, force-stopped apps and hardly made a dent. I believe I have hidden files/folders that need to go or get cleaned up.

I can't view hidden files at all from my PC (I can view PC's hidden files, but they aren't preceded by a period.). I can see some hidden files on phone from settings utility, but I can't rename or delete them from there.

When I open phone's file manager, the only pull down option is "exit". There is no "menu" option. Supposedly this is the only way to change view settings to see hidden files.

I downloaded an istonesoft file manager package to test, but it claimed not to be able to see phone and asked me to perform steps to elevate to developer. Too suspicious for me so I backed out.

I hear Linux uses same format for hidden files. Should I try my Debian live disk to look at my phone?

phone model: Z718TL
Android ver.: 6.0.1

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! That's a 5 year old budget phone with only 8 GB of internal storage, which means probably only about 3 GB of storage is actually available to the user (after accounting for the OS and any preinstalled bloatware). No matter what you do, you'll probably always be running low on storage if you intend to have more than a few basic apps installed (considering how large modern apps are getting).

My best advice to you would be to upgrade to a more modern phone with at least 64 GB of internal storage, and preferably 128 GB. You can find pretty good budget/midrange options for a low price these days.