Owners of popular smartphones often face the need to control the available space on the device. Xiaomi’s Redmi 9 Pro has modern specs, but over time, the free space may run out, which leads to a slowdown and the inability to install new apps or take a picture.
Understanding how your device’s storage works is key to its long and stable operation. In this article, we’ll take a look at all the ways you can check your RAM and internal memory, and you’ll learn not only how to find the right numbers, but also how to manage files effectively.
We will consider the standard tools of the Android operating system and the proprietary shell MIUI. Also, the issues of using third-party utilities and the command line will be touched upon to obtain more in-depth technical information about the state of the drive.
Differences between operational and embedded memory
Before we get to the settings, it is important to clearly distinguish the two main types of memory used in the Redmi 9 Pro. RAM, or RAM, is designed to temporarily store data from running applications and processes of the system, and it is the volume of multitasking that determines the device.
Embedded memory, often referred to as ROM or Internal Storage, serves as a permanent storage, where you have the operating system, installed programs, your photos, videos, music and documents, and the speed of reading and writing data on this drive directly affects the speed of the smartphone when you download applications.
Users often confuse these concepts in an attempt to make room for photos in the RAM partition, which is technically impossible. RAM is cleared automatically when you turn off your phone or force applications to stop, while the built-in stores data without power. Understanding this difference will help avoid errors in optimization.
In the Redmi 9 Pro model, the amount of RAM can vary depending on the modification, usually amounting to 6 GB. Built-in storage is usually 128 GB, but part of this space is always occupied by system files.
Memory check through MIUI system settings
The easiest and most reliable way to find out the current state of the storage is to use the standard settings menu, which does not require any additional software installation and provides reliable information from the system itself, and first you need to unlock the screen and find the Settings icon.
In the menu that opens, you should scroll down to About, and this is where you get all the basic configuration information for your device, and if you click on this section, you'll see the lines "Memory" or "Storage" where you'll see the total volume and amount of free space.
You can get more detailed statistics by going to Settings → Memory, where the system will suggest you to optimize and show you which categories of files occupy the most space, usually applications, images or messenger cache.
☑️ Memory status check
Note that in different versions of the MIUI shell, the names of the items may differ slightly, but the logic remains the same. The system itself tells you if the amount of free memory is critically small, highlighting the corresponding line in red.
Use of the Application Security and Cleaning
Each Xiaomi smartphone has a Security system application preinstalled, which acts as an antivirus and optimizer, and is ideal for quick diagnostics and cleaning of storage without deep immersion in technical settings.
When you run the app, you'll see the Clean up button, and clicking on it will start scanning the device for temporary files, cache and remnants of deleted programs, and after scanning, the system will give you a detailed report of how many megabytes or gigabytes can be released.
In addition, this section has a Deep Clean tab that allows you to analyze the contents of memory in more detail, finding large files, rarely used applications and duplicate photos, which is a great way to find hidden “eaters” of space.
⚠️ Note: When using the Deep Clean feature, carefully check the list of files before deleting so that important documents or work materials are not accidentally erased.
Regular use of the built-in cleaner helps keep the system on track, but aggressive cache cleaning should not be abused, as this can lead to longer downloads of applications at the next run.
Analysis of storage through File Manager
The standard MIUI file manager provides a user-friendly visual interface for managing the phone's content. Unlike the dry digits in the settings, here you can see the real structure of folders and files. Open the Explorer or Files app.
The main screen of the conductor often displays a pie chart showing the internal memory capacity, and if you click on it or select "Storage Analysis" on the menu, you will be taken to the detailed statistics section, and the system will sort files by type: images, video, audio, documents.
Special attention should be paid to the folders of messengers, such as WhatsApp or Telegram, which have their own directories in the root of internal memory or in a folder. Android/media, Manually checking those directories often yields better results than automatic cleaning.
You can sort files by size to instantly find the heaviest objects.Deleting one forgotten video in 4K resolution can free up more space than clearing the cache of a dozen lightweight apps.
View information about the RAM (RAM)
To check the amount and load of RAM, the standard settings menu may not be enough. There is a hidden but very useful tool in the MIUI shell called Advanced Memory Settings. To activate it, you need to go to Settings → Additional → Advanced Memory Settings and turn on the switch.
After activating this function, a clean button will appear in the menu of running applications (a screen where open windows are visible), as well as a free RAM display. This allows you to monitor in real time how many resources are available to the system.
Also, you can find information about RAM in the For Developers section, if this tab is hidden, it is activated by clicking seven times on the build number in the About Phone section, and in the developer menu, the Memory section will show detailed RAM usage statistics for 3, 6, 12 or 24 hours.
Here you will see which processes consume the most resources, which helps to identify “problematic” applications that may have memory leaks and slow down the Redmi 9 Pro.
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Turn on the display of RAM in the multitasking menu to always see how many resources are free, with one glance at the screen.
Memory distribution table in Redmi 9 Pro
For clarity, we will provide data on how memory is usually distributed as standard on a smartphone. The numbers may vary slightly depending on the firmware version and region, but the overall picture remains similar.
| Type of memory | Claimed amount | Available to the user | Occupied with the system |
|---|---|---|---|
| Built-in (ROM) | 128GB | ~110 GB | ~18 GB |
| Built-in (ROM) | 64GB | ~52 GB | ~12 GB |
| Operational (RAM) | 6GB | ~4.5 GB | ~1.5 GB |
| Operational (RAM) | 4GB | ~2.8 GB | ~1.2 GB |
As you can see from the table, the user does not get 100% of the volume claimed by the manufacturer, which is due to the fact that some of the space is reserved for the Android operating system and service partitions. In addition, manufacturers use a decimal system (1 GB = 1000 MB), and the system is binary (1 GB = 1024 MB), which also creates a visual difference.
Understanding these nuances eliminates the unnecessary questions about where a few gigabytes went immediately after buying a device, which is not a hidden marketing ploy, but a technical feature of how digital devices work.
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The actual amount of available memory is always less than claimed due to system files and differences in byte count systems.
Expanding memory with a MicroSD card
The Redmi 9 Pro features a hybrid slot that allows you to install a microSD memory card. This is a great way to increase the amount of storage available for photos, videos and music without removing important data.
To install the card, you need to remove the tray with a special paper clip. It is important to install the card correctly, combining the contacts. Once turned on, the phone will suggest setting up the drive, you can use it as a portable storage device or as part of internal memory.
When you choose the internal memory option, the system will format the card and it will become an integral part of the system, but it is worth remembering that the speed of memory cards often exceeds the speed of the built-in drive, which can slightly slow down the application that is transferred to the card.
⚠️ Note: Formatting a memory card will completely destroy all data on it. Be sure to back up your files on your computer before installing it on your phone.
Using a memory card is the smartest solution for those who actively shoot videos or store large archives of documents, which allows you to keep the system partition free for fast operation of the operating system.