Owners of budget but reliable smartphones often face a lack of space, and the Xiaomi Redmi 9A is no exception. The device's built-in memory fills up rapidly, and the standard storage analyzer shows a frightening picture: the lion's share is occupied by files in the Other category.
It's hard to figure out what's inside this folder without special knowledge, because it can contain app cache, remnants of remote programs, temporary messenger files and system logs, and the accumulation of this digital debris leads to slowdowns in the interface, long loads of games, and inability to install new useful utilities.
Fortunately, there are several proven ways to safely free up space. In this article, we will detail the cleaning methods that will help return your Redmi 9A performance. We will not use questionable cleaners, but turn to built-in MIUI tools and proven manual methods.
What is hidden in the other section
Before taking drastic action to delete data, you need to understand the nature of this category of files. Android, which is the shell of MIUI, classifies files by type. Anything that does not fall into the standard categories like Images or Documents, is automatically sent to the system files or Other.
The main culprits of this expansion are usually social networks and instant messengers. Telegram, WhatsApp and Viber store thousands of temporary files, thumbnails and voice messages, which the system does not always correctly identify as media files, and also stores the cache of browsers, streaming services and online games.
Technical details of folder formation Other
It is important to note that some files in this category are critical to operating the system.Blindly removing the contents of the system folders can lead to unstable work Redmi 9A. Therefore, the approach must be selective and conscious.
- 📱 Social media cache (Telegram, Instagram, TikTok).
- 💾 Temporary System and Application Update Files.
- 🎮 Game data and map markup files.
- 📄 Error logs and crash reports.
Use of the built-in Security application
The easiest and safest way to start cleaning is to use the standard toolkit that is already preinstalled on your Xiaomi Redmi 9A. The Security app has a built-in cleaning module that analyzes the storage and suggests removing obvious debris.
To start the process, you need to open the application and select Cleanup. The system will scan and show the amount of files that can be deleted without risking user data. However, a standard analyzer is often superficial and does not affect the deep caches of the applications.
☑️ Standard cleaning algorithm
A deeper analysis is available through the memory management menu. Go to Settings → Memory and wait until the calculation is complete. Here you will see a more detailed breakdown by category. If the Other section still takes up a lot of space, manual intervention will be required.
⚠️ Warning: Built-in cleaning doesn't delete data inside apps, such as correspondence or saved photos in hidden folders. It only works with surface cache.
Regular use of this method helps maintain order, but it may not be enough to radically solve the problem of low memory on the Redmi 9A. It is recommended to combine automatic cleaning with manual removal of heavy files.
Cleaning the app cache manually
The largest amount of data in the Other category is often generated by specific applications, and to find them, you need to go to the application management settings, which allows you to pinpoint the accumulated debris without affecting important data if you act carefully.
Go to Settings → Apps → All apps. Sort the list by space. Usually, social networks, browsers and navigators are at the top. Choose an app like Chrome or Telegram.
In the menu that opens, look for Memory or Storage. Here you will see two buttons: Clear and Delete. It is important not to confuse them. The Clear (or Clear cache) button only deletes temporary files without touching your logins and settings.
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Use the “Clear All” or “Delete Data” button only if you are ready to re-authorize in the application, as this will reset its state to factory.
For some apps, such as YouTube or Spotify, it's also possible to clear up downloaded files for offline listening, which are often hidden in the Other section.This will free up significant space on the Redmi 9A.
- 🗑️ Open the settings of a particular application.
- 📂 Go to the "Memory" or "Storage" section».
- 🧹 Click on “Clean Cache” for Safe Garbage Removal.
- ⚠️ Avoid the “Erase Data” button if you don’t want to reset the app.
Working with files through a conductor
A more advanced method involves using a standard MIUI explorer or a third-party file manager, such as Total Commander or Files by Google, which allows you to visually assess which folders have swelled to obscene sizes.
Open the explorer and go to the root folder of the internal drive, and notice the folders with the names of popular applications. Android/data or Android/obb It's a heavy game file and media cache. 9A file-access Android/data Newer versions of Android may be limited, but the conductor usually asks for special permission.
The way to check: /storage/emulated/0/Android/data/Inside the messenger folders (e.g. com.whatsapp or org.telegram.messenger), you can find the Media or Cache folders, and that's where you hide thousands of images and videos that you don't want, which the system assigns to the Other section.
⚠️ Note: When manually deleting files through Explorer, be extremely careful. Only delete the contents of Cache, Temp folders or clearly recognizable media files. Deleting files with the.db or.xml extension can disrupt applications.
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To quickly sort files by size, use the “Sort by Size” function in the Explorer, which immediately displays the heaviest files that are often crammed into the Other section.
Also worth checking is the Download folder. Users often forget about downloaded app installers (APK-file), PDF-documents and archives that take place over the months.
Analysis of storage using third-party utilities
If the built-in tools can't figure it out, specialized analytics apps come to the rescue, build a visual memory card, showing which files are taking up space. Xiaomi Redmi 9A is great for lightweight utilities that do not load the processor.
One of the best programs is DiskUsage or Storage Analyzer, and once you install it and grant permissions, it will plot a graph where each rectangle will represent a file or folder, and the larger the rectangle, the more the object weighs.
| Annex | Weight (approximate) | Substantive function | Advertising |
|---|---|---|---|
| DiskUsage | ~150 KB | Visualization of folder structure | No. |
| Files by Google | 15MB | Waste cleaning and file management | No. |
| SD Maid | 5MB | Deep cleaning of system debris | There you are (in free version) |
| Clean Master | 25MB | Automatic cache cleaning | Yes. |
Using these tools, you can find forgotten videos in messenger folders or remnants of deleted games. If you find a large file in the Other list, you can go directly to it and delete it. This is the most effective method of dealing with unknown memory.
However, it is worth remembering that installing unnecessary applications for cleaning also consumes memory, so after cleaning the heavy analyzers are better removed, leaving only a light conductor.
Radical measures: Resetting to factory settings
If none of the above methods helped significantly reduce the size of the Other partition, and the memory on the Redmi 9A ends critically, the last option remains: a complete reset of the device to the factory settings (Hard Reset).
This procedure completely removes all user data, applications, settings and, most importantly, clears system partitions of accumulated errors and “junk” tails. After a reset, the Other partition is usually reduced to a minimum system 2-4 GB.
⚠️ Warning: Before performing a reset, be sure to back up all important contacts, photos and documents. After the reset, it will be impossible to recover data without a backup!
To perform the reset, go to Settings → About Phone → Settings Reset → Erase all data. The device will reboot and begin the cleaning process, which can take 10-15 minutes. Once turned on, you will get a clean smartphone, like from the store.
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A full reset is the only guarantee of 100% cleaning of the Other partition, but it takes time to reset the phone and install apps.