Owners of budget and mid-budget smartphones like the Xiaomi Redmi 9 often face a shortage of free space. The MIUI system installed on the device actively uses resources to caching data, which eventually leads to the filling of internal storage. When the free space runs out, the gadget starts to work slower, applications stop updating, and new photos simply have nowhere to save.
Understanding how your device’s file system works is the first step to optimizing it. You need to distinguish between RAM and internal storage (ROM), because the methods of cleaning them are radically different. In this article, we will detail all the available ways to monitor and free up resources so that your smartphone works quickly again.
Don't ignore the warnings about space shortages, as this can cause malfunctions in the Android operating system. Timely cleaning allows you to extend the life of the drive and ensure the stability of all installed programs. Let's move on to specific actions on diagnosis and memory management.
Differences between RAM and internal storage
Many users confuse RAM and embedded storage, although they perform very different functions. RAM is used to store temporary data of running applications and system processes. The more applications you open at the same time, the more RAM they consume, and if they are not enough, background processes begin to be forced to close.
Internal storage, or ROM, is a permanent memory that stores your photos, videos, music, installed apps, and the operating system itself. Even after you turn off your smartphone, the ROM doesn't disappear. On a Redmi 9, that storage is usually 32, 64, or 128GB, but some of it is occupied by system files.
⚠️ Attention: Attempts to make room for RAM By permanently stopping system processes, the interface can be unstable. MIUI. The system itself effectively manages the memory.
It is critical to have at least 15-20% of your internal storage free to function properly, and if this threshold is broken, you will find it impossible to install security updates and new versions of apps from Google Play. Understanding this difference will help you choose the right tools to clean.
Checking the occupied place through system settings
The most reliable and accurate way to know how much space is left on your device is to use the built-in Android tools. This method does not require installing third-party software and shows the real picture of the file distribution. First, you need to go to the main settings menu, where all the information about the configuration of the gadget is collected.
Go to Settings and find About Phone, which shows the basic information, but we need storage for a detailed analysis. In newer versions of the MIUI shell, the path may be slightly different, so keep a close eye on partition names.
Next, select Storage or Memory (depending on the firmware version and interface language), the system will quickly analyze and give you a color diagram where you can see exactly what the space is occupied, and you will see a breakdown by category: applications, images, video, audio, etc.
☑️ Analysis of the vault
Note the category “Other” or “System Data” where update files, error logs and temporary files that take up gigabytes of space are often accumulated, and clicking on this category can show a more detailed structure, but access to deletion of some system files may be restricted by user rights.
Using the Security Application for Cleaning
Every Xiaomi smartphone has a Security system app preinstalled, which is the primary tool for maintaining the device. It not only searches for viruses, but also manages files efficiently. Launch the app, it usually has a green icon with a shield, and select the Cleanup feature.
After scanning, the system will prompt you to delete the garbage. Be careful: this term often hides not only useless caches, but also important data, such as drafts in messengers or thumbnails of photos. Carefully review the list of files before confirming the deletion.
The big files section is worth paying special attention to. Here Redmi 9 will find videos and documents that take up a lot of space. Often users forget about downloaded movies or archives that lie dead weight for months. Deleting such files is the fastest way to free up a significant amount of volume.
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When cleaning through the Security app, use the Deep Clean function only if you are sure that there is no data you need, such as unsaved documents, among the temporary files.
It also has an app data cleanup feature, so you can choose a specific messenger like Telegram or WhatsApp and delete only the cache, while saving correspondence and important media files, which allows you to pinpoint the growth of the "puzzle" of popular programs.
Analysis of memory usage by specific applications
It often turns out that 80 percent of the space on the phone is just a couple of apps, social networks and instant messengers tend to accumulate huge amounts of data, and to find the culprit, you need to go to the application management menu.
Go to Settings → Applications → All apps. Sort the list by size (usually the sort button at the top of the list) You will be surprised to find that a browser or video player can take up several gigabytes.
| Type of application | What's taking place | Recommended action |
|---|---|---|
| Messengers | Photos, videos, voice messages | Set up auto-removal of media |
| Social media. | Cache tapes, temporary files. | Clear the cache in the settings |
| Streaming | Downloaded for offline video viewing | Delete what you saw. |
| Games | Resource cache, textures | Delete or clear data |
For some apps, such as YouTube or Spotify, it is critical to check your download settings. Often users forget that they have downloaded music or videos to watch without the Internet, and these files continue to lie in memory. Regularly checking the download list inside the apps themselves helps keep things under control.
If the application takes up an abnormally large amount of space and you are not actively using it, consider removing it. For system applications that cannot be removed, you can try clicking the Clean button in the app menu, which will reset it to factory settings and delete all the accumulated data.
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Regularly checking the list of the most “heavy” applications prevents critical memory filling before the system starts to slow down.
Working with files through a conductor
The File Manager on Redmi 9 provides access to the entire file system. Here you can manually find and delete forgotten folders. Open the app and go to Internal Shared Drive.
Look at the folders that you install, for example, the DCIM folder stores your photos and videos from the camera, and the Download folder stores everything you downloaded from the Internet, and often it is in the downloads that the APK installation files are stored, which are no longer needed after installing programs.
So you can sort files by size, and you can use the Explorer to select the file list and sort it down by size, and it will instantly show the heaviest objects, whether it's a forgotten 4K movie or a document archive.
⚠️ Note: When manually deleting files through Explorer, never delete files from Android system folders unless you know exactly what they are responsible for.
It’s also worth checking the Bluetooth folder if you’ve ever taken files over a blue tooth, which can be years old presentations or pictures shared by friends, and remember to clean the Explorer Recycle Bin if it’s enabled, as deleted files can continue to take up space until the cart is finally cleaned.
Use of cloud services and memory cards
Redmi 9 supports memory expansion with MicroSD cards, which is a great solution for storing photo archives and videos, and once you install a card, you can transfer media files to it, freeing up the internal space for the system and applications to work.
To transfer files, use the Explorer: select the desired files, select “Move” and specify SD-In addition, many applications, such as the camera and voice recorder, allow you to select the memory card as the default storage location in your settings.
What to do if your phone doesn’t see your memory card?
Cloud storage, such as Google Photos or Yandex.Disk, offers an automatic upload feature, and once you upload photos to the cloud, you can safely remove them from your device using the Free Space feature, which allows you to access the archive at any time without taking up gigabytes on your phone.
Using streaming services instead of storing music and movies locally also saves resources significantly, and subscribing to music or movies prevents you from storing hundreds of gigabytes of content you listen to or watch only once.