How to Speed Up Xiaomi Redmi 9: From Cleaning to Deep Optimization

Why the Redmi 9 is slowing down and what to do about it

Xiaomi Redmi 9, released in 2020, is still a popular budget smartphone due to the balanced characteristics: the MediaTek Helio G80 processor, 3-4 GB of RAM and minimalist firmware MIUI. However, over time, even this device begins to “stutter”: applications open for a long time, animation twitches, and in games there are friezes. The reasons for the brakes lie not only in the “aging” of iron, but also in the features of software optimization.

The main culprits of the performance decline are clogged cache, application background activity and thermal throttling (when the processor reduces the frequency due to overheating). For example, after a year of use on Redmi 9 can accumulate up to 5-7 GB of junk files, and background processes (especially from social networks and messengers) eat up to 40% of RAM. But the good news is that most problems are solved without replacing components - quite a competent system configuration.

In this article, 10 proven ways to speed up Redmi 9, from basic (memory cleanup) to advanced (disable). MIUI-All methods tested on current versions MIUI 14 and HyperOS, which are rootless and require no special knowledge, let's start with the simplest one: diagnosing the current state of the smartphone.

1.Diagnosis: What exactly is stopping your Redmi 9

Before you start optimizing, it’s important to understand which resource is the bottleneck. On Redmi 9, it could be:

• 🔋 Processor – 100% loaded due to heavy tasks (games, video editing).
• 📱 RAM – lack of RAM for simultaneous operation of applications.
• 🗃️ Storage - clogged to the end (less than 10% of free space).
• 🔥 Overheating – the processor trottles (reduces frequency) due to high temperature.

To check the system boot:

1. Open Settings → About the phone → System status.
2. See the graphs of CPU, RAM and memory usage.
3. If RAM is constantly loaded at 80%+, and free memory is less than 1 GB, the problem is in the background activity.

Pay special attention to thermal throttling. If the Redmi 9 body heats up above 45°C (checked in applications like the CPU Monitor), the processor automatically reduces performance, in which case dust cleaning (if the phone is collapsible) or turning off resource-intensive tasks will help.

⚠️ Note: If you see a process in System State mediaserver or android.system with CPU 30 boot%+, This may indicate a virus or failure in MIUI. In this case, immediately go to the section about resetting settings.

2. Waste cleanup: cache, temporary files and duplicates

The fastest way to bring Redmi 9 back to life is to get rid of the accumulated digital garbage, and on average, after a year of use, the smartphone accumulates:

• 🗑️ Application cache up to 3-5 GB (accelerates the re-run of programs, but over time fragments).
• 📁 Temporary files – residues from updates, downloads, APK-file.
• 🔄 Photo/video duplicates – especially if you use Google Photos or Mi Cloud.

For cleaning:

1. Go to Settings → Memory → Clean (or use the built-in Security app).
2. Click Deep Clean and select all categories: cache, junk files, duplicates.
3. To remove remnants of remote applications, use Files by Google (available in the Play Market).

If you clean up your free memory, you still have less than 10% of your total storage capacity, consider transferring files to a microSD (up to 512 GB) or cloud storage. Redmi 9 allows you to expand memory with a card, but remember: SD applications are slower than internal memory.

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After cleaning the cache, restart the phone – this will reset the background processes and speed up work by 15-20%.

3. RAM optimization: how to free memory without root

Redmi 9 RAM (3 or 4 GB) is the main bottleneck in multitasking. If there are 10+ applications in the background, the system starts to hang when switching between them.

Method 1: Limiting background activity

MIUI allows you to manually configure which applications can work in the background:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Select an app (like Facebook or Instagram) → Permissions → Auto Run.
3. Turn off Auto Start and Background Activity for unnecessary programs.

Method 2: Using the Light mode

MIUI has a hidden feature called Light Mode, which cuts down on animations and limits background processes:

1. Activate Developer Mode: Settings → About Phone → MIUI version (click 7 times).
2. Back to Settings → Additionally. → For developers.
3. Enable: Limit background processes (select Maximum 2 process). Disable window animation (install animations) ×0.5).

⚠️ Warning: Do not turn off background activity for System applications (e.g. com.android.phone) – this may disrupt phone and communications.

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Disabling autorun for the 5-7 most “gluttonous” applications (according to Settings → Battery) can free up to 300-500 MB of RAM.

4. Disabling unnecessary MIUI features

MIUI is known for its many "chips" that look cool but slow down the system, and Redmi 9 is particularly affected by:

• 🎨 Themes and animations – eat up to 10% CPU when changing wallpaper or switching between screens.
• 🔍 Device search – indexes files in the background, loading storage.
• 📡 Auto-update MIUI — Downloads updates without demand, occupying the channel and memory.
• 🤖 XiaoAI Voice Assistant – Works in the background even if you don’t use it.

How to turn it off:

1. Topics and animations: Go to Settings → Display → System Animation and select No Animation. In Settings → Themes turn off Auto Update Themes.
2. Device Search: In Settings → Applications → Application Management → Search disable File Indexing.

XiaoAI and unnecessary services:

• In Settings → Applications, find XiaoAI and turn off Auto Start + Notifications.
• Settings → Battery → Select the mode set Energy Saving (limits background activity).

⚠️ Warning: If the phone gets worse after the reset, it may be a hardware problem (wearing on the flash memory or battery) and replacing the components will help.

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Before resetting, write down the phone's IMEI (type *#06#). In rare cases, it may reset and have to be restored via Mi Account.

6. Advanced methods: for experienced users

If the basics don’t work, try deep optimization, which takes longer, but can speed up Redmi 9 by 30 to 50 percent.

Method 1: Disabling MIUI Optimization (requires ADB)

MIUI Optimization is a service that manages animations and multitasking, and disabling it makes the interface less visually smooth, but it speeds up the system's response.

adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.miui.home


adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.miui.personalassistant

Once you've done the commands, restart your phone. To get it back, replace the disable-user with enable.

Method 2: Use of alternative firmware

Official MIUI is often overloaded with unnecessary features, with custom firmware like:

• 📱 Pixel Experience – pure Android without “Miuevo” bells and whistles.
• 🚀 LineageOS - stable and light firmware.
• ⚡ Xiaomi.eu – Optimized version MIUI no-bloatware.