Owners of budget smartphones such as Xiaomi Redmi 9A often face an unpleasant situation: internal storage is crowded, although the user did not install heavy games or shoot videos in 4K. When analyzing the occupancy in the settings, a mysterious category stands out in the settings, which can take from 5 to 15 gigabytes. This “gray zone” is puzzling, since the system does not give a direct answer to what exactly is stored there.
In fact, the Other is not a system bug, but a collection of system files, app cache, temporary data, and residual files after updates. In the MIUI-enclosed Android operating system, this garbage accumulation process is quite aggressive, especially on models with a small amount of internal memory, such as 32 or 64 GB. Understanding the structure of this data is the first step to freeing up useful space.
In this article, we will discuss in detail what this volume consists of, why it can not be simply removed by standard means, and what safe cleaning methods are available for your device. Ignoring the overflow of this section can lead to significant slowdown of the interface and problems with installing new applications.
The Anatomy of the Other: What's Inside?
The Other category on the Redmi 9A storage menu is a hoard of heterogeneous data, primarily app cache, social networks like Telegram or WhatsApp store images and videos they've viewed in temporary storage to upload them faster when they're reopened, and over time, this cache grows to giant sizes, but the system classifies it as "Other" rather than as part of the app itself.
The second important component is system logs and error reports, and the MIUI shell constantly records user history, crash logs, and usage statistics, which developers need to debug, but the user only takes up space, and may also hide remnants of remote programs that have not been properly uninstalled.
⚠️ Warning: Don't try to manually delete files from system folders through root-right file managers without understanding their purpose.Deleting critical libraries can lead to a "bootloop" (cyclical reboot) of your Redmi 9A.
The third component is offline maps and downloaded content from streaming services. If you’ve been using Google Maps offline or downloading music from Spotify (or its equivalents), that data often doesn’t show up in the Audio or Map category, but migrates to the general Other pool, and accurate diagnosis requires detailed analysis, which we’ll look at later.
Why is the memory so fast on the Redmi 9A?
The specifics of the MediaTek Helio G25 processor and the optimization of the MIUI 12/13/14 shell on budget devices have their own peculiarities: the memory cleaning algorithms on the Redmi 9A work less aggressively than on flagships to avoid loading the processor with a constant cleaning and writing cycle, which leads to the fact that temporary files accumulate faster than they have time to be deleted.
In addition, modern applications are becoming more “heavy.” A simple browser can store gigabytes of web page data. Messengers save every picture open. On a 32GB device, where the system takes up almost half, even 2-3GB of garbage becomes critical. File system fragmentation also plays a role: free space is broken down into small pieces, which prevents the system from effectively managing data.
Another factor is automatic system and application updates: During the MIUI update process, you often back up old versions of system applications in case of rollbacks. If the update is successful, these files become useless ballast, but remain dead weight in the Other section.
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Use the Light Version mode for heavy apps like Facebook or Messenger. They consume less resources and create less cache, which is critical for the Redmi 9A.
Safe cleaning methods through MIUI settings
The most reliable and safe way to free up space is to use the built-in tools of Xiaomi**. You should not immediately resort to third-party software, since the standard Security app has deep access to system files and knows what you can touch and what you can’t touch.
To start, open the Safety app (green zipper icon). Click on Cleanup. The system will analyze the device and suggest removing obvious debris. However, this is only a surface cleanup. For a deeper analysis, click on the Garbage icon inside the app or go to Settings → Memory. Here you can see a detailed breakdown by category.
Pay special attention to clearing the cache of specific applications. Go to Settings → Applications → All applications. Find the heaviest programs (usually a browser, gallery, social networks). Choose an application, click Memory and then Clear the cache. It is important not to confuse the "Clear All" button, which will reset the application to factory settings and delete your logins.
☑️ Checklist for quick cleaning
Analysis of storage using third-party utilities
If standard tools aren't enough, specialized disk analyzers come to the rescue, visualize the file system by showing which file takes up the most space, and Redmi 9A is a great place for applications like Files by Google or DiskUsage.
DiskUsage requires permissions, but on modern versions of Android, it can run in limited mode, showing the folders available to the user. It builds a memory card in the form of rectangles: the larger the rectangle, the more the file takes up, which allows you to instantly find a forgotten movie or archive with logs that has “eat” 2 GB.
Files by Google's file manager is softer. It analyzes duplicates, blurred photos, and rarely used apps. Its algorithms often find what a standard MIUI analyzer misses. For example, it may find that you have three identical APK installation files from different versions of the same application.
| Cleaning method | Security | Efficiency | Risk of data loss |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard MIUI cleaning | Tall. | Low. | No. |
| Cleaning up the app cache | Tall. | Medium | Minimum |
| Third-party analyzers | Medium | Tall. | There is (human factor) |
| Reset to factory settings | Tall. | Maximum | Total loss of data |
Why can’t I delete the Android folder?
Radical measures: complete reset and reflashing
When software cleaning doesn’t help and the Other category continues to grow, the ultimate solution is Wipe Data, which completely removes all user data, applications and, most importantly, clears the system partition of accumulated debris and file system errors.
Before you do this, make sure to back up your important contacts, photos and documents to your computer or to the Mi Cloud. Once reset, your phone will look like you just pulled it out of the box. This is guaranteed to remove the Other section as it is generated during operation.
You can reset via the settings menu: Settings → About Phone → Settings → Erase all data. If the phone is not turned on or the menu is not available, you can use Recovery mode. To do this, turn off the phone and press the power and volume button. From the receptacle menu, select Wipe Data → Wipe All Data. Remember that after this procedure the device will boot longer than usual - the system performs the initial optimization of applications.
⚠️ Warning: Make sure the battery level before reset is at least 50% Interrupting the flashing or reset process due to battery discharge can cause software damage.
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A full reset is the only solution that fixes deep system memory storage errors, but takes time to reset the phone.
Prevention: How to prevent overcrowding
To prevent the Other problem from returning in a month, change your Redmi 9A usage habits. First of all, set up automatic cache cleanup. You can set a cleanup schedule in the Security app, although this feature is sometimes hidden on newer versions of MIUI. Alternatively, use cleaning widgets on your desktop.
Check the Download folder regularly. Browsers and instant messengers often save all downloaded files there. It is also worth turning off auto-save media files to the gallery for some chats on Telegram or Viber, leaving them only in the app cache, which will prevent duplicate files in different parts of memory.
Use cloud storage for photos and videos. Google Photos or Mi Cloud can automatically free up space on your device by removing originals already uploaded to the cloud. For a low-memory budget smartphone, this is a critical feature to keep the system running.