How to Clean Memory on Xiaomi Redmi 9: The Complete Guide

Xiaomi smartphone owners often face a situation where internal storage is filled critically quickly. The Redmi 9, with its budget cost, has limitations on the amount of internal memory, which makes the issue of cleaning it especially relevant for users.

MIUI tends to accumulate temporary files, remnants of deleted apps and messenger cache, which can take up gigabytes of space. If you notice that the phone has started to work slower or stopped taking new photos, you should immediately conduct a review of the content.

In this article, we will examine not only standard cleaning methods, but also ways to deal with the mysterious folder “Other”, which often “eats” the lion’s share of the device’s resources for no apparent reason.

Analysis of storage occupancy through standard means

Before we start taking drastic measures, we need to know exactly what's taking up space, and the built-in cleaning tool in MIUI provides basic but useful information about the distribution of data.

To start the analysis, go to the Settings menu, then select About Phone and click on Warehouse. The system will scan and give a color diagram where you will see the ratio of applications, images, videos and system files.

Note the Other section, which is where most often there is data that a standard analyzer can't classify, such as cached streaming data, offline maps, or leftovers from a failed system update.

⚠️ Note: Do not delete files from system folders manually through the file manager unless you are 100% sure of their purpose. MIUI.

A standard analyzer is good for initial evaluation, but it doesn't always show the real picture, for example, it may not take into account the size of the cache in a particular application if it is marked by the system as "important data."

Cleaning cache and removing garbage through the Security app

The easiest and safest way to remove temporary debris is to use the pre-installed Security app, which has access to system logs and can delete files that are invisible to the user.

Launch the Security app and press the Cleanup button. The scanner will find temporary files, APK installer packages and ad residues. After the scan is complete, press the Cleanup button.

Next, go to Deep Clean within the same app, where the algorithm will suggest removing large files, duplicate photos, and rarely used apps, and be careful when selecting files to delete in this section.

It's important to understand the difference between cache and application data. Cache cleaning is secure and only deletes temporary files, speeding up work. Data cleaning will reset the application to factory settings, removing logins and progress.

Working with the “Other” folder and hidden files

The Other category in Redmi 9 is a collection of data that includes archives, documents, game installation files, and messenger data that the system didn't recognize as media.

To clear this section, you often need a manual search. Open the Explorer app and go to the Internal storage root folder. Look for folders with the names of remote games or applications, and the Android/data folder where the game caches are stored.

Pay special attention to messenger folders. In Telegram, for example, the cache can take up tens of gigabytes. Go to the settings of the messenger itself, select Data and memory and click Memory Use, then clear the cache.

If you see a file with a.tmp or.log extension in the root directories, it can usually be deleted. However, if the file has a strange name and is in the system folder, it is best to leave it alone.

Removing duplicates and heavy media files

Photos and videos are the main consumers of memory on any smartphone. Redmi 9 owners often take many pictures, forgetting to delete failed frames or screenshots.

Use the built-in duplicate search feature. In the Gallery app, go to albums, find the Screenshot folder, or use the smart album Similar photos if available in your version of MIUI.

Also check the WhatsApp Images and WhatsApp Video folder.The messenger often saves copies of all the media files you receive, even if you have already sent them or don't need them.Deleting old videos from chat rooms can free up a few gigabytes.

Remember to check the Downloads folder. PDF-Documents, app installers and images from the browser that are no longer needed.

Use of cloud services and data transfer

If the internal memory of Xiaomi Redmi 9 is full, the logical solution is to transfer data to external storage. there is no built-in support for microSD cards in Redmi 9, so the options are limited to the cloud and OTG.

Google Photos allows you to free up space on your device in one click. Open the app, click on your profile avatar and select Free up space. All photos already saved in the cloud will be deleted from your phone.

You can also use Google Drive or Yandex.Disk to store documents and videos. Set up automatic folder sync so that new files immediately fly to the cloud without taking up space on the device.

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Use it. OTG-This is the fastest way to transfer a large amount of video and photos to a computer or external drive without loss of quality.

The alternative is to use Mi Cloud cloud storage, although its free limit is only 5GB. For basic backup of contacts and notes, this is quite enough.

Resetting settings as a radical cleaning method

If none of the methods worked and the memory continues to fill up on its own, it may have been a file table failure, in which case a full factory reset helps.

Before doing this, make sure to back up all the important data, and once reset, the phone will look like new, and the Other category will disappear, giving way to a clean system.

To reset, go to Settings → About Phone → Settings Reset → Erase all data. The device will restart and the process will take a few minutes.

⚠️ Note: After resetting, all accounts, apps and files will be permanently deleted. Make sure you have access to your Google account to recover data.

This method ensures a return to the original memory state, and users often find that the phone is running much faster after reset, as all background processes and tails are removed from old programs.

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Regular cleaning of messenger cache and removal of unnecessary APK-Files can support up to 20% of memory, which is critical for stable Android.

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