Xiaomi and Redmi smartphone owners often face the unfortunate situation of embedded storage overflowing with a mysterious section called "Other." It is this sector that can take up gigabytes of valuable space, slow down the system and interfere with updates. On the Redmi 9 model with its 64 or 128 gigabytes of memory, the problem becomes critical pretty quickly.
Android labels as “Other” all files that can’t be automatically classified as photos, music, videos or apps, including temporary files, browser cache, messenger data, remnants of remote programs and even error logs, and understanding the structure of this partition is the first step to successfully clean a device without losing important data.
In this article, we will discuss safe and advanced ways to free up space, learn how to find hidden files, clear the cache of system applications, and use specialized tools for deep cleaning, the main thing is to act consistently and not delete system files necessary for MIUI to work.
What's in the "Other" section of Redmi 9
Before we start taking drastic measures, we need to understand the nature of the data that fills the memory: The Other section is not a single file, but a collection of disparate data, and most often, the volume is inflated by messengers like Telegram or WhatsApp, which store the cache of media files in system folders that are invisible to the average user.
⚠️ Before removing any files from your system folders, make sure they don’t contain important documents or personal correspondence that you didn’t save to the cloud.
Also, a significant portion is leftover system and application updates: If the installation process is incorrect or interrupted, APK installation packages can remain in memory, and another source of debris is streaming services and browsers that store cache for fast loading pages, which over time becomes redundant.
The table below shows the main file types that form the volume of the Other section:
| Type of data | Description | Security of removal |
|---|---|---|
| Cash app. | Temporary files to speed up the work of programs | Safe. |
| APK remnants | Installation files after system update | Safe. |
| Logs of error | Technical reports on system failures | Safe. |
| Cash messengers | Saved thumbnails and temporary files | Requires a check-up. |
Why can't the system see these files?
Standard cleaning through system settings
The safest and first step for a Redmi 9 owner is to use a built-in cleaning tool that is integrated into the MIUI shell and designed to be tailored to the specifics of the smartphone file system, which does not require third-party software installation and minimizes the risk of removing critical components.
To start, open the Security app, which is system-based and is present on every Xiaomi device out of the box. Click on the Cleanup button. The system will do a quick analysis and suggest removing obvious debris: advertising files, remnants of remote apps and small cache packets.
☑️ Standard cleaning algorithm
But the standard mode often doesn't affect deep cache. To get to it, look for the "Deep Clean" option in the same "Security" menu. Here, Android will offer you to analyze large files, duplicates and unused applications. Be careful when you look at the list of large files, sometimes important documents get there.
⚠️ Attention: The “Acceleration” function in the Task Manager only unloads processes from RAM (RAM), but does not clean up the permanent vault (ROM), where is the section "Other».
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Run a standard cleanup routinely, such as once a week, to prevent a large amount of temporary files from accumulating that are harder to delete later.
Manual cleaning of messenger cache and applications
The main memory eaters on Redmi 9 are social networks and instant messengers. Telegram, Viber and WhatsApp have a habit of saving all the images and videos viewed to cache, which the system often refers to as the “Other” section.
Go to Settings → Apps → All apps. Find the right messenger, such as Telegram, in the list. Go to Storage and click Clear Cache. It is important not to confuse this button with the Clean All button, which will delete your correspondence and require re-authorization.
To fine-tune the messaging apps themselves, go to Settings → Data and Memory → Memory Use on Telegram, where you can set up automatic cache deletion in 3 days or a week, for example, to prevent the “Other” section from bloating in the future.
A similar procedure is worth doing for Chrome or MIUI Browser. Accumulated cache of web pages can take hundreds of megabytes. Cleaning up these sites will not delete your passwords if they are synchronized with your Google account, but will free up space in the system storage.
Using the Explorer app to find hidden files
If automated methods don't work, you'll have to manually operate through a standard file manager, called Explorer or File Manager at Xiaomi, which allows you to see the folder structure that the normal settings interface hides.
Open the Explorer and go to the root folder of the internal storage. Notice the folders with the names of applications, for example, Android/data or tencent (if you use products of this company), often this is where heavy files are hidden, which the system cannot classify.
Use size sorting. From the Explorer menu (three bars or dots), select "Sort by size" that will instantly show the largest files, regardless of their type. Delete files with the.tmp,.log or obscure archives if you are sure of their origin.
/storage/emulated/0/Android/data/org.telegram.messenger/cacheThe path above leads to Telegram’s cache, which can be safely cleaned manually if automatic cleaning doesn’t work, but be careful: deleting files inside the data folder can reset the settings of the relevant applications.
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Manual removal through the conductor gives maximum control, but requires care not to delete system files or personal documents.
Cleaning the DCIM folder and system logs
The DCIM folder is usually associated with photos, but it often hides hidden folders from apps that the system refers to as "Another." For example, the.thumbnails folder stores thumbnails of your photos. When you delete thousands of photos, this folder can grow to several gigabytes, occupying space but not appearing in the gallery.
To clear this area, turn on the hidden files in the Explorer settings (usually the "Show Hidden Files" menu item). Find the DCIM/.thumbnails folder and delete its contents. The system will create this folder again automatically, but it will be empty and light.
It's also worth checking the folder. MIUI/debug_log If you're not a developer and you're not debugging the system, you don't need these logs. They're a common cause of Redmi memory suddenly filling up. 9.
⚠️ Note: Do not delete the.thumbnails folder completely, only its contents. Deleting the system folders can lead to errors in the gallery.
Radical methods: Resetting and flashing
When software methods fail and the Other section continues to grow, taking up more than 20-30 GB, file system damage or deep system failure may occur. In this case, a full factory reset can help on Xiaomi Redmi 9.
This method will delete absolutely all data, so pre-reservation of a backup is critical. Use Google One cloud service or the built-in MIUI backup feature to save contacts, SMS and app list.
To perform the reset, go to Settings → About Phone → Settings Reset → Erase all data. The process will take some time. Once turned on, the smartphone will be as new, and the Other section will be minimal in size, since the system debris will disappear completely.
What if the reset didn't help?
If the reset didn't work, the problem could be hardware. In rare cases, memory sectors are labeled as faulty, and the system can't write or read data correctly, displaying an error as an inflated partition, requiring intervention from specialists.