Owners of the popular budget smartphone Xiaomi Redmi 9 often face an annoying situation: internal storage is full, and standard applications do not show what exactly takes up space. In the analysis of memory, a mysterious section called “Other” or “System” appears, which can grow to tens of gigabytes, blocking the installation of new programs.
The nature of this partition is essential for every MIUI user, as standard cleaning methods are often powerless. Unlike pure Android, Xiaomi has its own features of caching and storing temporary files that are not always correctly displayed in a standard manager. The Other section is not a virus, but a collection of application cache, residual files of remote programs and system logs.
In this article, we will go into detail about what this volume is made of, why it is not automatically cleaned, and what safe methods exist to free up space. You don't need super-user rights to do a deep cleanup, but you need to be careful when working with system files. We will look at both built-in tools and third-party utilities for accurate file system analysis.
The Nature of the Other Section in the MIUI Shell
To effectively combat the lack of space, you need to understand what is hidden behind the label “Other” in the settings of the Xiaomi Redmi 9. Android operating system and its add-on MIUI classify files by types: images, video, audio, documents and applications. Anything that the system can not uniquely categorize or considers a system cache falls into the general basket “Other”.
The main culprits of this expansion are often messengers like Telegram or WhatsApp, which store media files in their private folders, system update files that are not automatically deleted, and application error logs, and users may not even realize that listening to music online or watching high-quality videos leaves behind heavy temporary files.
Importantly, on the Xiaomi Redmi 9 with its limited internal storage (often 32 or 64 GB), this partition can take up to 30-40% of all space. This is a critical indicator that affects performance. If you ignore the cleanup, the phone will start to run slower and new applications will stop installing.
Analysis of space occupied by embedded tools
The first step in the battle for space is to use a regular storage analyzer, and MIUI has a built-in tool that allows you to see the approximate structure of the occupied space, and to do that, go to Settings → Memory and wait for the analysis to be completed, and the system will show a diagram where the color section will be highlighted "Other".
But the standard analyzer is often superficial: it can show that the Other is 15 GB, but it won't tell you which applications created that volume. It can use hidden capabilities or third-party but secure utilities to diagnose more in detail. It can reveal specific folders that are inflating the system.
Look at the apps with the most data, and often the top-ranked apps are social media and browsers, and if you see a particular application taking up a disproportionate amount of space, you should check its storage settings.
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Always back up important photos and contacts before cleaning up, and cleaning up system files can lead to data loss if you act carelessly.
Don't immediately resort to radical measures, such as factory resets. First, try to understand the dynamics: does the "Dragy" partition increase dramatically after using a certain program or does it grow gradually?
Cleaning cache and temporary application files
The safest and most effective way to reduce the size of the Other partition is to manually clear the cache of heavy applications. Unlike the Clear All button in the acceleration menu, manual cleaning allows you to control the process. Go to Settings → Applications → All applications and sort the list by memory size.
Select the leading app (like TikTok, Instagram or Telegram). Inside the app menu, look for the Storage item. There you will see two buttons: Clear cache and Clear all (or Reset). Clearing the cache is safe — it will delete temporary files but save your logins and settings. Clean up all data will return the app to state immediately after installation, removing correspondence and authorization.
It is recommended to regularly perform this procedure for messengers. In Telegram, for example, you can configure the autodeletion of the cache inside the application itself, which will prevent it from growing in the future. To do this, go to the Telegram settings → Data and memory → Memory Use → Cache Limitation.
- 📱 Open your phone settings and go to the Apps section».
- 🔍 Find the app that takes up the most space (often social networks).
- 🗑️ Click on Storage and select Clear Cache (not to be confused with Clean Everything»!).
- 🔄 Repeat the procedure for top-5 heavyweight.
Once you clear the cache of several applications, you'll notice that the volume of the "Other" partition has decreased, which is a normal system reaction, but if the space is released slightly, the problem may lie deeper in the residual files.
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Cache cleanup is a secure procedure that does not delete your personal data, but effectively frees up space in the Other section.
Working with Android folder and residual files
A more advanced cleaning method requires access to the file system. On Xiaomi Redmi 9, you can use the built-in Explorer or download a specialized file manager, such as Total Commander or Files by Google. Most of the garbage accumulates in the /Android/data/ and /Android/obb/ directory.
The data folder stores application data. If you delete a game or program but its folder is still there, it continues to occupy space and be listed in the "Other" section. The obb folder usually contains game caches (graphics, sounds). You can only delete the content of obb for games that you have already deleted or do not plan to launch anytime soon.
⚠️ Be very careful when deleting files in the folder /Android/. Deleting system files or active application data may cause them to malfunction or fail to launch completely.
It’s also worth checking the root directory for folders with names of remote applications. Often developers leave behind tails in the form of folders with logs or configurations. Searching for the word “cache” or “temp” in the file manager will help find such deposits.
Users who frequently install and delete APK-files, it's useful to know that installation packages can stay in the download folder or hidden system directories. Checking the Download folder and sorting files by date and size is a great way to find forgotten installers.
Using third-party utilities for deep cleaning
If the built-in MIUI doesn't work, specialized analytics apps come to the rescue, and one of the most effective tools is DiskUsage (needs caution) or the friendlier Files by Google, which visualizes memory as a map, where the square size corresponds to the file size.
These slits are the ones that you can see the heavyweights instantly. Often, it turns out that the "Other" section is bloated because of one forgotten log file, a few gigabytes in size, or a map cache that hasn't cleared, and data visualization makes the process of finding garbage intuitive.
When installing third-party software, however, keep security in mind: download apps only from the official Google Play store. Avoid dubiously-reputed cleaners who promise to speed up the phone by 10 times - most often they themselves are a source of advertising and garbage.
Why does cleaning not give an instant result?
Using cloud storage can also help relieve memory. By transferring photos and videos to Google Photos or Yandex.Disk and enabling the “Free Space” function, you will automatically delete local copies of files that may have been accounted for incorrectly by the system.
Table: Comparison of memory cleaning methods
To make it easier for you to choose the right method, we have compiled a comparative table of the main ways to deal with the “Other” section on Xiaomi Redmi 9.
| Cleaning method | Efficiency | Risk of data loss | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cleaning the cache in settings | Medium | No. | Low. |
| Delete folders in Android/data | Tall. | Medium (application settings) | Medium |
| Third-party analyzers (DiskUsage) | Very high. | High (in case of user error) | Tall. |
| Reset to factory settings | Maximum | Total loss of data | Low (but long) |
As you can see from the table, the safest and most effective method is to clean the cache regularly, and radical measures should be used only in extreme cases when other methods have exhausted themselves.
☑️ Checklist for safe cleaning
Radical measures: resetting and reflashing
If the Other partition takes up more than 50% of the memory and does not decrease after all the manipulations, it is possible that critical errors have accumulated in the file system, in which case the only correct solution is a complete reset to the factory settings (Hard Reset), which will return the phone to the state of “store-like”.
Before you reset, make sure to save all the important data to your computer or the cloud. The process will completely destroy the information on the internal drive. To perform the reset, go to Settings → About Phone → Reset → Erase all data.
⚠️ Warning: Make sure that the battery is at least 50% battery power before starting reset. interruption of the process by turning off the phone can damage system partitions and prevent the device from turning on.
After resetting and initial setup, it is recommended not to install all applications at once, install them gradually, observing the behavior of memory, which will help identify the parasite application if the problem was caused by a software failure of a particular program.
In rare cases, flashing the device through a computer using the Mi Flash Tool utility helps. This is a complex procedure that requires unlocking the bootloader, and it is recommended only for advanced users, since it carries the risk of turning the phone into a “brick”.
Preventing the Filling of Memory in the Future
To prevent the problem with the “Other” partition from returning to the Xiaomi Redmi 9, it is worth developing useful habits. Regularly, at least once a month, check the storage and delete the unnecessary. Do not allow the memory to be filled “on the back” – the system needs free space for temporary operations.
Use the memory extension feature (if available in your version of MIUI), which is part of the internal memory for virtual RAM, but remember that this can slightly reduce the speed of the drive in the long run.
Turn off auto-save media files in instant messengers unless absolutely necessary, and this will prevent thousands of small pictures and stickers from accumulating, which together give gigabytes of volume. Also regularly update the system – new versions of MIUI often fix memory management errors.
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Regular prevention and monitoring of application permissions is the best way to avoid overflowing the Other section in the future.