Xiaomi and Redmi smartphone owners often face a cloud overflow notification.This 5GB system restriction, provided for free, quickly ends if you actively use gallery or voice recorder synchronization. On the Redmi Note 9 model, which has many memory modifications, this issue is especially acute for the basic versions.
Cleaning up Mi Cloud is not just about removing redundant files, but also optimizing the entire MIUI ecosystem. Overcrowded storage blocks new backups, putting your contacts and messages at risk. In this guide, we’ll look at all the ways to free up space, from manual removal to subscription management.
It is important to understand that deleting data from the cloud can affect the presence of data on the device itself, if synchronization is enabled, so before you start active actions, you need to clearly understand the difference between local deletion and server cleanup, and we will help you safely free up gigabytes without losing important documents.
Analysis of occupied space in Mi Cloud
The first step is always to diagnose, you can't clean the storage effectively if you don't know what's taking up the lion's share of the space, and MIUI has detailed statistics that show the categorization of the data, and typically the most weighted images, videos and backups are the most.
To access statistics, go to Settings, select your Mi Account at the top of the screen, and then click on Mi Cloud. Here you will see a color chart and app list. Gallery often takes up to 80% of the total volume, especially if you are shooting high-resolution video.
Note the backup section, which can store old backups of system settings that you don't need anymore, if you've recently done a full reset or switched from another phone, there may be junk from your previous device, and removing that data is safe for your smartphone to function.
⚠️ Note: Before removing any data from the cloud, make sure that important files are stored on your computer or external drive. Recovery of the cloud deleted from the cart is possible only within 30 days.
Gallery management and removal of media files
The most voluminous partition that needs attention on the Redmi Note 9 is the media library, and photos are synced automatically unless you turn it off, and to clear the space, it's not enough to just delete the photo on your phone, you need to check your sync settings.
Go to the Gallery app, go to the Cloud tab, which shows all photos uploaded to Xiaomi servers, you can select albums or individual photos and delete them. When you remove them from the cloud, the system will ask whether you need to delete the file from the device or just from the network.
- 🗑️ Select unnecessary screenshots and delete them as they are often duplicated.
- 🎬 Check the video folder, as one minute clip can weigh over a thousand photos.
- 📸 Turn off sync for screenshots and meme folders in Mi Cloud settings.
There's also a Cleanup feature built into the security app that can suggest that you delete similar photos or blurry photos. Using smart albums helps you find heavy files faster. Remember to check the "Recently Deleted" folder, as the files there still rank in the quota.
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Use Traffic Savings viewing mode in the gallery settings to avoid downloading heavy video previews every time you flip through the tape.
Cleaning backups of applications and data
Beyond media, a significant portion of the space is occupied by app backups and data. The Redmi Note 9, which runs MIUI, offers defaults to save settings and program data to the cloud, and these files grow over time, especially if you reinstall applications frequently.
To manage this, open Settings → Mi Account → Mi Cloud → Backup. Here you will see a list of all the programs that have copies made for. You can selectively delete old versions. For example, if you updated a game or messenger, the previous backup may no longer be relevant.
☑️ Verification of backup copies
While WhatsApp and Telegram have their own cloud storage, a system copy can duplicate their settings, and removing the system copy will not affect the correspondence within the application itself, as long as you have a separate backup setting in Google Drive or on the messenger servers.
| Type of data | Average size | Frequency of update | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Photos and videos | High (GB) | Constantly. | Clean regularly |
| Application backups | Medium (MB) | When changing | Remove old versions |
| Dictaphone | Low (MB) | On record. | Keeping important |
| System settings | Low (CB) | Rarely. | We can leave. |
Working with a recorder and notes
Many users forget about the built-in Xiaomi voice recorder, which also syncs with the account. Long recordings of lectures, meetings or interviews can take hundreds of megabytes. Unlike photos, audio files are harder to quickly evaluate visually, so they often go unnoticed.
To clean up, go to the Recorder app or through the cloud settings, find the audio section. Listen to files and delete those that have become obsolete. The m4a recording format is compressed, but long interviews can still weigh 50-100 MB each.
It's a similar situation with the Notes app, where if you're noticing images or long text logs, they're also included in the total. Check the "Recently Deleted" folder inside the Notes app to make room.
⚠️ Warning: Deleting the record from the cloud will cause it to disappear on all devices that log in to this Mi Account.
Disabling Synchronization and Account Management
If you don't plan to pay for storage expansion, the smartest solution is to selectively disable sync, which will prevent new files from automatically uploading to the cloud and overflowing the limit in the future. On the Redmi Note 9, this is done flexibly for each application.
In the Mi Cloud menu, you'll see a list of all services with switches. Turn off sync for heavy categories like Gallery or Video. Once turned off, new photos will remain only in the phone's memory or will be uploaded to an alternative storage like Google Photos.
What happens if you turn off the synchronization?
It's also worth checking the devices that are linked to your account. If you have an old phone or tablet that also uploads photos to the same cloud account, it can quietly fill your space. Remove old devices from the trusted list in your account security settings.
Alternative solutions and space expansion
When free 5GB is exhausted and you don’t want to delete anything, the question arises about expansion. Xiaomi offers paid subscriptions that increase the volume to 50GB, 200GB or 2TB. This is true for those who value the ecosystem and want to have a full backup of the entire device.
However, there are free alternatives. You can use Google Photos with a "Save Space" mode (compressed quality), which provides unlimited storage (with some restrictions in 2026 for new accounts, but for old conditions may differ), and Yandex.Disk or Telegram (favorite) services for storing files are also popular.
- 💾 Buy a microSD card if the Redmi Note 9 model allows, and transfer media files there.
- ☁️ Use Google One, which often gives you more space for the same money than Mi Cloud.
- 🔄 Set up automatic photo upload to another service and turn off Mi Cloud for gallery.
The strategy depends on your habits. If you change phones often, the Xiaomi cloud is convenient because when you log in to your account on a new device, all settings and photos will return automatically. If you rarely change gadgets, it is easier to use local storage and periodic backup on your PC.
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The optimal strategy is to keep only contacts, notes and settings in the Mi Cloud, and upload heavy photos and videos to Google Photos or your computer.
⚠️ Note: When you change your smartphone to a different brand (such as a Samsung or iPhone), Mi Cloud sync will not be available.