Xiaomi smartphone owners often face the need to clean up the memory of an old carrier, especially when switching to a new model.The Redmi 9A model, despite its budget, has a specific MIUI shell that hides some phone book management features in non-obvious places.The standard interface may not display direct deletion options, forcing the user to look for workarounds.
The main problem is that today’s Android operating systems and shells on top of them are increasingly shifting the focus to cloud storage and internal memory of the device.SIM card is seen as a relic of the past with extremely limited space, which is why removing contacts directly from the operator’s chip can be difficult with standard means without prior preparation.
In this article, we will take a look at all the cleaning methods available, how to move data to a safe place, how to activate hidden engineering menus for deep cleaning, and why storing numbers on SIM card plastic is considered a bad practice today.
Before you start taking any drastic action, you need to understand the storage structure of your Redmi 9A. The system is divided into logical blocks, and working with each of them has its own peculiarities. Incorrect deletion can lead to the loss of important information that can not be restored without a backup.
Preparing for removal: backup and synchronization
The most important step before any cleaning is to save data, and if you just start deleting numbers, there is a high risk of losing important connections forever. Xiaomi smartphones have a powerful synchronization system that you should use first, which will allow you to save contacts in the Google cloud or Mi Cloud account.
To start, open the Contacts app and go to settings. There you will find Import/Export Contacts. Select the option to export to a.vcf file or sync with a Google account. This file can be saved to the phone's internal memory or sent to your email. Redmi 9A will automatically offer to combine duplicates, which is also useful before final cleaning.
⚠️ Note: Deleted SIM contacts do not fall into the recovery basket with standard Android tools.
The advantage of using cloud services is that you can restore numbers on any other device just by logging in to your account. Local storage on a SIM card lacks this flexibility. If the SIM card is damaged or lost, you lose the entire phone book.
☑️ Checklist before removal
Standard method of removal through the Contacts app
The easiest way for every Xiaomi Redmi 9A user to use is through the standard interface. However, to see the option to delete from the SIM card, you need to set the display correctly. By default, the phone can show a combined list, hiding the source of storage for each number.
Go to the Contacts app and click on the three dots in the top right corner. Select "Display Contacts." Here you need to select your own. SIM-After that, only the numbers that are physically written on the chip will be on the list.
Now, select the numbers you want with a long press, and you'll see an action menu where you can select a basket icon or a "Delete" option, and the system will ask for confirmation, and if the deletion option is inactive (gray), then the contacts you select are not on the SIM card, but in the phone's memory or the cloud, despite the filter.
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If the delete button is inactive, try first copying the contact to the phone’s memory and then removing the original from the SIM card.
In some versions of the MIUI shell, the direct delete button may not be mass-produced, so you have to delete the contacts one at a time, going inside each subscriber's card. This is long, but effective for a small number of records. For large volumes, this method is not suitable.
Using a Hidden Engineering Menu to Clean Up
If the standard methods don't work or the interface is cut down, an engineering menu comes to the rescue, it's a special diagnostic mode designed for technicians, but accessible to ordinary users, and in Redmi 9A, it is logged in through a set of special code in the Phone app.
Dial ##4636##. If the code works, the Testing menu will open. Select Phone Information. Scroll down to SIM Toolkit or SIM Management. Card memory management features can be available here, including formatting or deleting all records.
| Menu function | Description of action | Risk of data loss |
|---|---|---|
| SIM Toolkit | Management of operator services | Low. |
| Phone Info | View the status of the network and IMEI | Absent. |
| Usage Statistics | Application usage statistics | Absent. |
| Wifi Information | Wireless network data | Absent. |
| Deletion of contacts | Cleaning up SIM memory | High-pitched |
It's important to understand that the engineering menu may vary depending on the firmware version and the regional version of the device. If the code doesn't work or the menu is blank, then the manufacturer has blocked this access for your model, in which case you should not download third-party applications to log in to the engineer - this can disrupt the radio module.
⚠️ Note: Do not change the settings in the Radio or Network section of the engineering menu, which may result in loss of signal or inability to register with the operator's network.
What if the code doesn't work?
Removal through third-party file managers and applications
When Xiaomi's built-in tools are powerless, Google Play Market apps come to the rescue, and there are many phone book management utilities that have advanced access rights and can see the SIM card's memory structure in more detail.
A popular solution is the SIM Card Manager app or similar high-rated utilities. Once installed, give the app the necessary permissions to access contacts and phone. On the main menu, select your SIM card. The interface will show a list of numbers stored directly on the chip.
Select all unnecessary records and press the Delete or Clear button, which has the advantage of being able to edit and back up in formats other than standard, but beware: third-party software can have access to your entire phone book.
It is recommended to use only proven applications with a lot of positive feedback. Carefully read the permissions that the program requests when installing. If a simple contact manager requires access to your geolocation or camera, this is a suspicious activity, and you should refuse the installation.
Transfer of contacts with SIM-phone-card
Before you delete, it's often more convenient to just transfer data. The SIM card's memory is limited, and each number there takes up more space than it does digitally. In Redmi 9A, the copying process is fully automated and takes seconds.
Open Contacts, click on the menu (three dots) and select Import/Export Contacts. click Import with SIM-The system will tell you to choose your destination: your phone memory or your Google account. Choose Google for maximum security. Once the process is complete, you can safely delete all records on the SIM card, since they are already duplicated.
The good thing about this method is that it solves two problems at once: frees up space on the SIM card and protects data from loss when you change your device. In the memory of a phone or cloud, you can store thousands of contacts with photos, addresses and additional numbers, which is technically impossible to implement on an old SIM.
After transferring, make sure that contacts are displayed in the list. If you see duplicates (the same numbers from both the SIM card and memory), use the "Combine duplicates" function in the contact settings, which will clear the list of visual debris.
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Moving your contacts to the Google cloud is the only way to ensure they are safe in case of a phone breakdown or loss.
Typical problems and their solution
During the cleaning process, users of Xiaomi Redmi 9A can face a number of difficulties. Often contacts are “lost” from sight, but not deleted. This is due to data caching or synchronization errors, in which cases, rebooting the device or cleaning the cache of the Contacts application through application settings helps.
Another common problem is that contacts are not deleted because they are assigned to a WhatsApp, Viber or Telegram account. Messengers often create their own copies of contacts. To delete them permanently, you need to go to the settings of the messenger itself and turn off sync or delete the contact inside the application.
If the SIM card is old and has a small amount of memory, the deletion process can freeze. In this case, try to remove the SIM card, wipe the contacts and paste back. Physical contact sometimes affects the speed of reading / writing data on the chip.
Don't ignore the system updates. Newer versions of MIUI fix phone book bugs. Check for updates in the About Phone section and install them if they're available. This can solve the problem with displaying control buttons.