Cleaning RAM on Xiaomi Redmi 9: a complete guide to speed up the smartphone

Xiaomi Redmi 9 is one of the most popular budget smartphones, but even its 3-4 GB of RAM over time is clogged with background processes. If your phone starts to “brake”, the applications spontaneously close or the system gives a notification “Not enough memory” – the problem is overloaded RAM. In this article, we will analyze 7 proven ways to clean RAM, including hidden MIUI functions that work without root rights and do not require the installation of third-party utilities.

It's important to understand the difference between RAM (RAM) and internal storage. RAM is responsible for the speed of open applications, and storage is responsible for files (photos, videos, documents). Clearing the cache or deleting photos will not free up RAM, but the right MIUI settings and proper process management — yes. We tested all methods on Redmi 9 with MIUI 12-14 firmware (Android 10-12) and selected only those that give real performance gains.

1. Built-in RAM cleaning through "Safety"

The fastest way to free up RAM is to use the standard MIUI tool, which closes the background processes and optimizes memory without deleting data.

How it works:

1. Open the Security app (the shield icon).
2. Click on the Clean button in the Optimization section.
3. Choose Acceleration. → Cleaning up memory.
4. Confirm the action by clicking Clear [X] MB (where X is the amount of freed memory).

This method instantly frees up 300-800 MB of RAM, but the effect is temporary — after 10-15 minutes, the background processes will re-fill the memory.

Manual closing of background applications

Many apps continue to work in the background even after they are closed, such as messengers (WhatsApp, Telegram) or social networks (Facebook, TikTok) can take up to 200-400 MB of RAM each, and forced closure gives more free memory than a standard cleaning.

Instructions:

• 📱 Open Recent Apps (swipe up from the bottom edge of the screen).
• 🔄 Scroll through the list of open programs left/right.
• 🚫 Close unnecessary apps with swipe up or click Close all (cross in upper right corner).
• ⚠️ Exception: Do not close system processes (e.g. Settings or Launcher) – this may cause crashes.

🎮 Games (PUBG, Genshin Impact, Call of Duty)

📷 Video Editors (CapCut, Kinemaster)

💬 Messengers with active chats (Telegram, Viber)

🌍 Social networks (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok)

📊 Background services (Google Play Services, MIUI Daemon)

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Important: Some applications (e.g. Google Maps or Yandex.Navigator) can restart automatically after closing. To avoid this, turn off auto-run in the settings (more on this in the next section).

3. disable auto-run of unnecessary applications

By default, MIUI allows most programs to automatically start when the phone is turned on and run in the background. This is one of the main reasons for the RAM overload on the Redmi 9.

How to turn off autostart:

• 🔧 Go to Settings. → Annexes → Application management.
• 🔍 Select an app (such as Facebook).
• 🚫 Press Autostart and deactivate the slider.
• 🔄 Repeat for all the “gluttonous” programs in the list above.

After disabling autorun for 10-15 applications, Redmi 9 will consume 20-30% less RAM in standby mode. However, some features (such as push notifications in VK) may work with a delay.

4. Set-up of performance mode

MIUI offers three modes of operation of the processor, which directly affect the RAM consumption:

1. Balance (by default) is optimal for most tasks.
2. Performance – Speeds up gaming, but warms up the phone and puts the battery down faster.
3. Charge saving – limits background processes, freeing up RAM.

For maximum memory release:

• ⚡ Go to Settings. → Battery and productivity → Performance mode.
• 🔋 Select Charge Savings (or Balance if you need speed).
• 🔄 Enable the option to limit background activity.

Tip: If you're actively playing, switch to Performance mode only for the duration of the game, and then return Balance. This will save RAM and battery.

5. Cleaning the cache of system applications

Application cache (temporary files) can take up to 1-2 GB of internal memory, but does not directly affect RAM. However, a crowded cache causes the system to access the storage more often, which indirectly increases the load on RAM.

How to clear the cache:

• 🧹 Go to Settings. → Annexes → Application management.
• 🔍 Select an app (e.g. Google Chrome).
• 🗑️ Click Clear Cache (not to be confused with Clear Data – it will delete accounts!).
• 🔄 Repeat for all frequently used programs.

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To clean the cache, use the Files by Google app (Clean up section) to find unnecessary cache files in a few seconds.

⚠️ Note: Do not clear the cache of system applications (Android System, MIUI Daemon: this can cause malfunctions in your phone.

6.Using Developer Options for fine-tuning

Hidden developer settings allow you to limit background processes and reduce the consumption of RAM. Activate them simply:

Steps to include:

1. Open the Settings. → The phone.
2. Click 7 times on the MIUI version line (you will be notified “You became a developer”).
3. Return to Settings → Additional → Developer settings.

Useful options for cleaning RAM:

• 🛠️ Limit background processes → Select the Maximum 2 of the process.
• 🔄 Don't keep up → Enable (remove recent applications after closing).
• 📱 Turn off animation. → Set the scale of window animation = 0.5x (speed up).

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Limiting background processes to 2-3 frees up to 500MB of RAM, but can lead to slower loading of frequently used applications (e.g. instant messengers).

Be careful: the wrong settings in Developer Options can cause unstable phone performance. If after the changes there are lags, return the settings to the default values.

7 Installation of lightweight alternatives to heavy applications

Some programs are initially optimized for weak devices, for example, Facebook Lite consumes 3 times less RAM than standard Facebook, and Hermit Lite Apps allows you to create lightweight versions of instant messengers.

List of easy alternatives:

• 📘 Brave or Opera Mini instead of Chrome.
• 💬 Messengers: Telegram X or Messenger Lite.
• 🎵 Music: Snaptube (for listening without downloading).
• 📷 Gallery: Simple Gallery instead of the standard.

Replacing 3-4 heavy apps with lighter versions will free up 400-700 MB of RAM in the background, with the main drawback being the reduced functionality (for example, Facebook Lite has no stories).

FAQ: Frequent questions about cleaning RAM on Redmi 9

If none of the methods worked, the cause of the brakes may be due to overheating of the processor, battery failure or outdated firmware, in which case we recommend checking the temperature of the phone (AIDA64 app) or updating MIUI to the latest version.