Owners of the popular Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 Pro often face a nasty situation: the built-in storage suddenly overflows, although the number of personal photos and applications has not changed. The culprit of the celebration is usually a mysterious partition, which in the conductor or memory settings is designated as “Other.” This partition can take dozens of gigabytes, turning the smartphone into torture due to constant notifications about the lack of space. Understanding the nature of these files is the first step to optimize the MIUI system.
The MIUI shell on top of Android has its own logging and caching features that are different from pure Android. When you see the Other swell to 10, 20 or even 30GB, it’s a signal that the automatic cleanup mechanisms are failing or malfunctioning. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at what’s behind the name and how to safely free up valuable space on your Redmi Note 9 Pro.
Ignoring the system partition overflow problem can lead to serious consequences, including slowing down the interface and not being able to install security updates. It's important not just to delete files, but also to understand what process is generating them to prevent the situation from happening again. Let's dive into the structure of your gadget's file system.
The Anatomy of the Other: What’s Hiding There
Xiaomi’s Other category is a collection of files that it can’t classify as images, videos, music or documents, primarily app cached data, and social media, messengers and browsers store vast amounts of temporary information to speed up content loading, but rarely delete it on their own.
The second important component is system logs and error reports. The Redmi Note 9 Pro, like any modern smartphone, constantly records its history of actions. If the system crashed or the application fell, a report is created that can weigh hundreds of megabytes.
⚠️ Note: System logs may contain confidential information about your activity, so their accumulation is not only a waste of space, but also a matter of privacy.
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A special place is occupied by update files. Sometimes after successful installation of a new version of MIUI, the installation package is not removed, but remains dead weight. In addition, temporary files can be written here when editing photos or processing video in the gallery, all of which together form the same volume that so frightens users in the memory settings.
Why does memory fill up on its own?
The phenomenon of spontaneous storage growth is often associated with aggressive app caching policies. For example, TikTok, Instagram or Telegram can store videos and images viewed locally so that when they are reopened, they load instantly. For the user, this looks like speed magic, but for the Redmi Note 9 Pro memory, this means gradually but steadily filling the “Other” section.
Another reason is that the file system malfunctions after power failures or forced reboots. If the writing process is interrupted, there may be broken links or unfinished transactions that the system flags as unknown data. The ext4 or f2fs file system used in Android sometimes requires defragmentation or integrity checks to free these hanging blocks.
Also worth mentioning is the “junk” from remote applications: When a program is uninstalled through a standard manager, only executable files are often deleted, and folders with settings, cache, and temporary data remain on the disk, and over time, many of these “tails” accumulate, and they safely move into the “Other” category, occupying precious gigabytes.
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Periodic smartphone reboot (once every 3-4 days) helps the MIUI system to independently conduct basic cleaning of temporary files and complete the suspended processes, which reduces the risk of proliferation of the Other partition.
Basic cleaning with MIUI staff funds
Before you resort to radical measures, you should use the built-in tools Xiaomi. app Security (Security) has a fairly powerful module that can find obvious garbage. Run a scan, and the system will prompt to remove the cache, app residues and advertising files.
For a deeper cleaning, go to the storage settings. The path usually looks like: Settings → Phone → Storage. Here you will see a detailed breakdown by category. By clicking on "Other" (or "System and Other" in different versions of the firmware), you can access more detailed information. However, regular funds often see only the tip of the iceberg.
An effective method is to clear the cache of specific “heavy” applications. Go to Settings → Apps → All applications, find browsers or social networks, select Memory and click Clear Cache. Importantly, do not confuse it with the “Clear All” button, as this will delete your logins and passwords in the applications.
☑️ Basic cleaning of Redmi Note 9 Pro
Manual deletion of files through Explorer
For those who want to control every megabyte, the manual method through the built-in Explorer will be the most effective. Open the Files app and go to the internal storage. You need to pay attention to the folders with the names of applications that you have not used in a long time, or the folder. Android/data, where game and media caches are stored.
Pay special attention to messenger folders. On WhatsApp, for example, media files can be duplicated and take up space. Android/media/com.whatsapp often stores gigabytes of images viewed but not saved to the gallery. Similar to Telegram, which stores cache in its own folder structure.
⚠️ Note: When manually deleting files, be extremely careful. Deleting system folders or files with the extension.obb can lead to incorrect operation of games and applications.
Here is a list of folders that can often be safely cleaned or deleted (if you’re sure the data isn’t needed there):
- 📁 /MIUI/debug_log — Logic debugging, often grow to huge sizes.
- 📁 /Android/obb — Cache of games (remove only if you know which game is responsible for what).
- 📁 /Tencent/MicroMsg — WeChat cache (if you use it).
- 📁 /Download — Download folder where old installers often lie APK.
Using ADB for Advanced Cleaning
If standard methods don’t work, Android Debug Bridge (ADB) is a developer tool that allows you to control the file system of your smartphone from your computer. To work on the Redmi Note 9 Pro, you need to turn on the developer mode (7 times click on the build number in About Phone) and activate Debugging by USB.
By connecting your phone to your PC, you can use commands to find the heaviest files. For example, a command to search for files larger than 100 MB will help you identify hidden giants. The ADB team does not delete files by itself, it only provides access to them, so you do all the deletion actions consciously.
Example of a command to display a list of the largest folders:
adb shell du -h /storage/emulated/0 | sort -rh | head -n 20Once you get a list, you can go down those paths and remove the unnecessary. It's the most powerful method, but it requires technical literacy.
| Cleaning method | Efficiency | Risk of data loss | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Staff cleaning | Low. | Minimum | Low. |
| Cleaning up the app cache | Medium | Medium (logins) | Low. |
| Manual removal in the Conductor | Tall. | High-pitched | Medium |
| Use of ADB | Maximum | critical | Tall. |
What if the “Other” is filled again after cleaning?
Radical measures: Resetting to factory settings
When nothing helps and the Other section continues to grow, taking up 30-40GB, the final argument remains - a full reset.Factory Reset will return the Redmi Note 9 Pro to a "out of the box" state, guaranteed to remove all software debris, hidden logs and file system errors.
Before this procedure, make sure to make a full backup. Use the Mi Cloud cloud or local copy to your computer. Once reset, the system will be clean, and the Other category will take up the smallest possible volume typical of fresh firmware.
To perform the reset, go to Settings → About Phone → Settings Reset → Erase all data. The process will take 10-15 minutes. Once turned on, the phone will be like new, and you can watch how quickly the memory starts to fill up again, controlling this process from the beginning.
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A complete reset is the only solution that eliminates not only files, but also file system errors that cause incorrect display of memory.
Prevention of memory overflow
To keep the Other problem from coming back, use storage. Go to the settings once a month and see which apps have grown the most. For messengers, set up autodeletion of media files: in Telegram, this is done in the Data and Memory section, where you can set the cache shelf life (for example, 3 days or 1 week).
Use cloud-based photo and video storage services to activate the Free Space feature, which will delete local copies of files, leaving them available over the Internet, and avoid installing apps from unknown sources, as they often contain junk-generating ad modules.
Regular updates to MIUI are also important: In newer versions of firmware, Xiaomi engineers often fix memory leakage errors and optimize system processes. Watch for update notifications and install them when the battery is more than 50% charged.
Does memory overflow affect the speed of the Redmi Note 9 Pro?
Conclusion
The Other section on the Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 Pro is not a mystical black hole, but the result of applications and systems working hard. Understanding what’s there allows you to effectively manage the space. Start with simple methods of cleaning the cache and gradually move to deeper ones if necessary.
Timely digital hygiene extends the life of your smartphone and keeps it running. Don't wait for your phone to tell you it's full -- take control right now.