How to effectively clean the memory on Xiaomi Redmi 9

Redmi smartphones traditionally offer excellent value for money, but owners of Redmi 9 models with internal memory of 32 or 64 gigabytes sooner or later face a shortage of free space. MIUI system over time becomes accreted with temporary files, and modern applications and high-resolution photos quickly eat up available gigabytes. When storage is full, the device starts to work slower, and new applications refuse to install.

In this article, we will explore proven ways to free up space that will help return performance to your gadget. You will learn about built-in cleaning tools, manual removal of system debris and ways to transfer data. Proper file system management is the key to a long and stable operation of your mobile device without the need to buy a new model.

Don't ignore reports of space shortages, as this can lead to critical errors in the Android operating system. Timely cleaning allows you to maintain high performance. Let's take a closer look at each optimization method available.

Use of the built-in Security application

The first and easiest step to free up space is to use a regular tool from Xiaomi. The MIUI shell preinstalled the Security app, which automatically scans the device for temporary files and cache. Run it and press the Cleanup button to analyze the current situation.

Once you have finished scanning, you will see a list of file categories that can be safely deleted, usually from remote applications, browser cache and temporary update files, and be careful when selecting cleanup items so that important documents are not accidentally erased.

⚠️ Before mass cleaning, make sure that there are no saved drafts or offline navigator maps among the temporary files that you plan to use in the near future.

For a deeper cleanup, go to Clean Up Inside the App and select Deep Clean Up, where the system will prompt you to delete large files, duplicate photos, and rarely used apps, a great way to quickly find and remove what takes up the most space.

• 🗑️ Removal of residual files after uninstallation of programs.
• 📸 Search and remove similar or blurred photos in the gallery.
• 📦 Analyze the installer’s apk files that are no longer needed.
• 📄 Cleaning large video files downloaded from instant messengers.

Regular use of this tool allows you to maintain order in the file system without installing third-party software. embedded MIUI algorithms know the structure of system folders well and do not delete data critical to the operation of the operating system.

Cleaning the cache and application data

Social media and instant messengers are often the main consumers of free space, and apps like Telegram, Viber, or WhatsApp store copies of all the photos and videos they view in the memory of the device, and over time, these storages can be as large as several gigabytes, which is critical for models with a small amount of built-in storage.

To clear the cache of a particular application, go to Settings and select the App section. Find the program you want (like Instagram or TikTok) in the list and click on Memory. Here you will see two buttons: Clear the cache and Clear all (or Reset) The first deletes temporary files, the second returns the application to state immediately after installation, erasing logins and settings.

Special attention should be paid to multimedia files inside messengers. In the settings of the Telegram or WhatsApp itself, there is a section Data and memory where you can see how much space the downloaded files take up, and it is recommended to set up automatic cache cleaning, for example, every 3 days or week.

• 📱 Go to the settings of a specific "heavy" application.
• 💾 Find the section responsible for data storage or cache.
• 🧹 Select the cache clearing option without affecting chats.
• ⚙️ Set up auto-delete media files to save space in the future.

This procedure is safe for your correspondence unless you have opted for a full reset, but if you decide to click Clear Everything, you will have to re-enter your account password, so only use this feature if there are serious problems with the application.

Removal of duplicates and large files

Often users forget about downloaded files, old concert videos or TV shows that have been watched for a long time. On Redmi 9, such files can take up to 80% of all available memory. It can be difficult to find them manually in the Explorer due to the intricate structure of Android folders.

Use File Manager Explorer (or File Manager), which is also part of the Xiaomi ecosystem, and it has a convenient sorting by file type and size. Go to Files category and sort content by size. The heaviest objects will be at the top of the list, and you can quickly decide to delete them.

⚠️ Note: When removing files from folders Android/data or Android/obb Be very careful – deleting system files of games or programs will lead to their incorrect operation.

It’s also worth checking the Download folder, which is where browsers default to save all documents, pictures, and installation files that you download from the Internet, often with forgotten pdfs or apk installers that have already performed their function.

Don't forget the duplicate search function. A gallery or file manager in MIUI has algorithms that detect identical photos, and if you delete copies, you'll make room instantly, saving the originals in the best quality.

Transferring data to a microSD memory card

The Redmi 9 has a separate memory card slot, which is a big advantage. Transferring photos, videos and music to an external drive is the most efficient way to offload internal memory, especially if you like to shoot high-resolution video.

To transfer files, open Explorer, select the desired files or entire folders (for example, DCIM/Camera) and select the option Move. As the target directory, specify yours. SD-After the transfer, the internal memory will be much freer, and the files will remain accessible through the gallery.

Some apps allow you to change the way you store data in your settings, for example, in the camera settings you can immediately choose to save a photo to a memory card, Navigators and music players can also often specify a path to an external drive to download offline content.

• 💾 Buy a high-quality memory card of a class speed not lower than Class 10.
• 📂 Move the folders with photos and videos to external media.
• ⚙️ Configure applications to record data on SD-map.
• 🔄 Check the card regularly so as not to lose data.

Using a memory card doesn't speed up the interface itself, but it prevents the system partition from filling critically, which often causes freezes. It's a simple and reliable solution for multimedia files.

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Use memory cards from well-known brands (Samsung, SanDisk, Kingston), as cheap analogues can quickly fail and lead to loss of photos.

Cleaning Thumbnails folder and system garbage

Android has a hidden folder called.thumbnails, which stores thumbnails of all the images and videos you've viewed, and over time, this folder can grow to a few gigabytes, although it's often visually hidden from the user. On Redmi 9, it's a common cause of "disappearance" of free memory.

To get to it, you need to enable the display of hidden files in the conductor settings. The path usually looks like DCIM/.thumbnails. Inside you will find files with the.jpg extension or no extension that weigh a lot. You can safely delete them - the system will create new thumbnails as needed, but the old "heavy" caches will disappear.

⚠️ Note: Deleting the.thumbnails folder is safe, but the next time you open the gallery, the phone may temporarily run slower until it recreates the preview of the images.

It's also worth checking the folder. MIUI/debug_log, If you have one, some firmware versions can write debugging logs that take hundreds of megabytes to debug, and if you're not a developer and you're not debugging the system, you don't need those files.

You can use third-party utilities to automate the process, but the standard MIUI cleans these areas periodically, and the main thing is not to delete system files with.sys extensions or files from the root of the system unless you are 110% sure of their purpose.

Removal of unused applications and widgets

Last but not least, it's a one-time revision, where many users install apps or forget about the software that's pre-installed, which is hanging dead weight, and each app takes up space for the installation file, but also creates its own cache files and databases.

Go to Settings → Apps → All Apps. Sort the list by size. You'll be surprised to find that some forgotten game or food delivery service takes 500MB or more.

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Removing a single heavy application (such as a game or video editor) can free up more space than clearing the cache of a dozen small programs.

Also, look at the live wallpaper and widgets on the desktop, which consume RAM and CPU time, and can store cache. Replacing complex animated wallpaper with a static image will slightly reduce the load on the system and speed up the response of the Redmi 9 interface.

• 📉 Sort applications by the amount of occupied.
• 🚫 Remove games that you have stopped playing.
• 🛍️ Get rid of the app stores you don’t use.
• 🎨 Simplify the design of the desktop for speed.

If you rarely need an app, but it is pathetic to remove it, consider using its web version through a browser.This will save space and eliminate background notifications.