Owners of budget smartphones like the Redmi 9C often face the need to separate work and personal content on a single device. MIUI’s Second Space feature allows you to create an isolated environment that works like a separate phone inside your gadget. It’s the perfect solution for those who want to hide personal photos from prying eyes or separate work chats from friends without buying a second device.
Realizing this feature on the Redmi 9C model has its own features related to optimizing the system for the budget processor MediaTek Helio G35. Properly configuring profiles will help not only structure data, but also in some cases increase the overall responsiveness of the interface, unloading the main profile from background tasks. In this article, we will discuss in detail the process of activating, configuring and competent use of virtual spaces.
What is the Second Space Technology in MIUI?
Second Space is a software-based virtualization technique that creates a completely independent file system and set of settings. When you switch between profiles, the smartphone actually changes the context of work by downloading a different set of apps and widgets. For Redmi 9C, this means you can have two different Google accounts, two sets of passwords, and even different desktop wallpapers.
The main advantage is data isolation: the apps installed in the second profile are not visible in the first one, and vice versa. This provides a high level of privacy: by handing your phone to a colleague to show a photo, you can be sure that he will not see your personal correspondence on Telegram or WhatsApp if they are hidden in another space.
⚠️ Attention: Creating a second profile requires extra memory space. 9C With a 32GB or 64GB storage capacity, the free space can run out quickly if you don’t monitor the size of the app cache.
System resources are distributed dynamically between spaces, but it's worth remembering that RAM is shared, and if there are many heavy applications running in both profiles, the system can begin to unload background processes more aggressively, which is typical for budget devices.
Redmi 9C Preparation for New Profile
Before you start setting up, it is recommended to perform a free space audit. Although the system files of the second space take up a little, installing applications quickly consumes gigabytes. Go to Settings → Memory and make sure that you have at least 2-3 GB free.
It is also important to update the MIUI shell to the latest available version. Old builds may have errors that cause incorrect switching between profiles or notifications to crash. You can check for updates through the Settings menu → About Phone → MIUI version.
☑️ Pre-launch checks
It's not superfluous to come up with a strong password or graphical key to enter the second space in advance. Using biometrics (fingerprint) to unlock different profiles is a handy feature, but it needs to be configured correctly so that one finger doesn't open both spaces at once if you don't want to.
Step-by-step instructions for activating the function
The process of creating a new isolated environment on Redmi 9C is simple enough and takes no more than a minute. To start, open the standard Settings app and scroll through the list to Second Space. In some versions of the firmware, it may be inside the Advanced Settings or Special Features section.
Once you click on the "Enable Second Space" button, the system will ask you to set up the login method, you can choose a separate pattern lock or password, and a more advanced method is to link different fingerprints to different profiles, for example, the thumb of the right hand opens the main profile, and the thumb of the left one is hidden.
Once you have access, the system will create a "Second Space" app shortcut on the desktop or menu, and through that, and through the lock button, you will switch between worlds, and the interface in the second space will look like a new smartphone you just bought.
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Use different fingerprints to instantly switch between profiles without entering passwords – this greatly speeds up the work.
Importantly, when you first run, you will be asked to copy some data from the main profile. On Redmi 9C, it is better to refuse mass migration, so as not to overload the processor and memory, but to configure the second profile “from scratch” for specific tasks.
Setup of applications and data transfer
Once activated, you'll have to install the software, you can manually download the apps you want from Google Play or GetApps inside the second space, but there's a faster way, which is to clon.
In the second space settings (available through the application switch or in the general system settings), there is a paragraph "Data port" where you can select the applications that are already installed in the main profile and create copies of them in the second. APK-files, but also their data, if the application security policy allows.
| Type of data | Can we move it? | Nuances on Redmi 9C |
|---|---|---|
| Annexes | Yes. | Take up double the amount of memory |
| Contacts | Yes. | Synced through your Mi or Google account |
| Photo/Video | Partially. | Better to use a hidden album |
| Wi-Fi settings | Yes. | Passwords may not be saved. |
For instant messengers like WhatsApp or Viber, making a copy in a second space is a great way to use two numbers on the same device without having to constantly log in and log in to accounts. SIM-card is active and accepts SMS-confirmation.
Managing Notifications and Calls
One of the hardest things to do with two profiles is to manage notifications, and by default, when you're in the main profile, notifications from the second space don't show up, and vice versa.
However, you can configure notifications from the second space to the first, and you need to activate Notifications in the second space management menu, so important messages will come even when another profile is active, but their content can be hidden depending on the security settings.
As for calls, they are processed at the system level. If you are called to a number linked to an account in the second space, the phone will ring regardless of which profile is active at the moment, and after the call is completed, the system may suggest switching to the appropriate space for a call or a history view.
⚠️ Warning: Do not set the same alarm apps in both spaces unless you set them up for sync.You risk sleeping if the alarm only goes off in a hidden profile while you are using the main one.
Impact on performance and battery Redmi 9C
The budget Helio G35 processor and the modest amount of RAM Redmi 9C are sensitive to stress.Running the second space is essentially the launch of another copy of the system services Android and MIUI. This inevitably leads to increased power consumption.
If the second space is running applications with active GPS-With a module or a constantly updated news feed, the battery will run out faster, even if you are in the main profile.
How to minimize battery consumption?
To keep the performance up, it is recommended not to keep the heavy applications in both profiles open at the same time. Periodically clear the memory through the built-in MIUI cleaner, which can clean the cache at once in all active spaces.
Hiding and Removing Second Space
If the second profile is no longer necessary, it can be easily deleted, but it is worth remembering that removing the second space will lead to the complete loss of all data, applications and files inside it.
To delete, go to Settings → Second Space and select “Delete Second Space.” The system will require you to confirm and enter the password to unlock the main profile screen. The process takes a few seconds, after which the phone will return to the state of one active user.
There's also a feature to hide the profile switch itself, so you can only set the second space to a specific fingerprint by removing the app icon from your desktop, which adds another layer of stealth, making the second profile unobvious to the casual observer.
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Removing the second space irreversibly erases all the data inside it, so always back up before cleaning.