Owners of Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 Pro smartphones with internal storage capacity of 128 GB often face a mysterious situation: the place ends, but applications and photos occupy only a small part. Android system, or rather the shell MIUI, classifies all unidentified data in the section “Other”, which can grow to tens of gigabytes. This causes panic among users, as standard cleaning tools often are powerless in front of this hidden storage.
The problem is not hardware malfunctions, but the specifics of the file system and the algorithms for grouping data: System debris, streaming cache, remnants of remote applications and error logs all accumulate over the years, and understanding the nature of these files is the first step to successfully clean a device without losing important information.
In this article, we will discuss proven methods of freeing up space that will help return your Redmi Note 9 Pro performance, you will learn how to safely remove excess and why some files are better not to touch your hands.
The nature of the category “Other” in MIUI
The “Other” category is a kind of “black hole” in the MIUI shell file management system, which includes all files that the system cannot uniquely attribute to images, video, audio, documents or installed applications, most often temporary files, archives, APK installation packages and messenger data.
Xiaomi's algorithms try to optimize memory display by grouping similar files, but if the file has a non-standard extension or lies in a hidden directory, it automatically goes to the "Other" section, which creates the illusion of overflow, although in fact the device simply stores a lot of "digital junk."
- 📦 Residual files after deleting games and programs.
- 📼 Cache of videos from YouTube, TikTok and Instagram.
- 🗑️ System Logs and Error Reports.
- 📂 Archives and files with unknown extensions.
⚠️ Warning: Don't try to delete system files manually through root access unless you're sure of their purpose.This could result in a cyclical reboot of the Redmi Note 9 Pro.
Telegram and WhatsApp store the media they viewed into their hidden folders, which the system sees as a single data set, without special analysis, you can not understand what exactly occupies the space.
Analysis of the storage standard system
Before you resort to radical measures, you need to conduct a deep diagnosis. Xiaomi's built-in memory analyzer is informative enough, but requires the right approach. Go to Settings → About Phone → Storage for a detailed breakdown.
And you'll see here that a lot of the Other is often in the Application category, which means that the cache and the program data are listed here, and by clicking on Applications, you can sort them by size and identify memory eaters.
Notice system applications that can't be removed, like Google Photos or Google Play Services, which can store gigabytes of cache, and clearing those services through the app menu is a safe way to free up space.
For more detailed analysis, use the built-in Explorer app. Go to Storage Analysis, which will show files distributed by size rather than type. Often, it turns out that Other is just a few forgotten high-resolution video files.
- 🔍 Use size sorting to find large objects.
- 📱 Check the messenger folders inside the Explorer.
- 🗑️ Remove duplicate downloads.
Clearing the cache and data messengers
The most effective way to reduce the volume of “Other” is to work with instant messengers. Telegram, for example, stores the entire history of media files locally, unless automatic deletion is configured. On the Redmi Note 9 Pro, this can take up to 20 GB.
Go to the settings of the Telegram itself, select Data and Memory → Memory Use. There is a button available here, Clear Cache. This action will not delete your correspondence, but remove uploaded photos and videos from the device, leaving them available in the cloud.
☑️ Cleaning up messengers
WhatsApp is a more complicated situation. It stores backups and media files in shared folders. Use the built-in storage management function inside the app: Settings → Data and Storage → Storage Management. Here you can delete the heaviest dialogs or files sent over 5 MB.
It is important to understand the difference between cleaning the cache and cleaning the data. Cache is temporary files, it is safe to delete them. Data cleanup will reset the application to the “just established” state by deleting correspondence if there is no backup.
- 💬 Set up autodelete the cache in Telegram for 3 days.
- 📸 Turn off auto-save photos in the WhatsApp gallery.
- 🗑️ Manually delete old voice messages.
⚠️ Before clearing the application data, make sure you have an up-to-date backup of the correspondence in the Google Drive cloud or on the messenger servers.
Use of the Files app by Google
Xiaomi’s regular Explorer is good, but Files by Google (or simply “Files”) often works more efficiently to find garbage.It’s an official Google app that integrates deeply into the Android system and sees files hidden from standard analyzers.
Install the app from the Play Market and grant the necessary permissions. Go to the Cleanup tab. The algorithm will prompt you to delete Hidden Files, Large Files and Unused Apps. It is in the category of hidden files that the lion’s share of the Other section often hides.
Why does Files by Google see more?
Pay special attention to the section "Downloads." Often users download app installers, PDF-Files allow you to sort them by date and quickly delete the old file.
Another useful feature is to find duplicates. On the Redmi Note 9 Pro with its high-resolution camera, duplicates can take up substantial space.
- 🧹 Regularly start the function "Clean».
- 📂 Check the download folder once a week.
- 🗑️ Remove screenshots that are no longer needed.
Radical Methods: Resetting and Formatting
If the software methods didn't help and the Other section keeps growing, maybe the file system is damaged or indexing errors have accumulated, and then a full reset helps, and that's the only way to guarantee 100% cleansing the Other partition, bringing the phone back to factory status.
Before the procedure, make sure to create a full backup. Go to Settings → About Phone → Reset → Erase all data. The process will take about 10-15 minutes. Once turned on, the phone will be like new, without any unnecessary garbage.
| Cleaning method | Efficiency | Security of data | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clearing the cache | Low. | Safe. | Low. |
| Removal of messengers | Medium | Demands backup. | Medium |
| Files by Google | Tall. | Safe. | Low. |
| Resetting settings | Maximum | Complete removal | Tall. |
There's also a less radical method, which is to format an internal drive through Recovery, but on today's encryption devices, that's equivalent to a reset, so it's better to use a standard reset via menus.
💡
After resetting, do not restore applications from a backup “wholesale”: Install only the most necessary things manually – this will prevent the return of old garbage.
Prevention of memory overflow
To prevent the problem with the folder “Other” from returning to the Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 Pro, you need to change the usage habits. Regular hygiene of the digital space is more important than one-time cleanings.
Set up cloud storage. Enable sync with Google Photos and use the Free Space feature, which removes images already uploaded to the cloud from your device, which frees up gigabytes of space.
Keep an eye out for system updates. Xiaomi regularly releases patches that make the file system work. Go to Settings → About Phone → MIUI version to check for updates.
- 📅 Once a month, you will review the downloaded files.
- ☁️ Use cloud services for archives.
- 🚫 Turn off autoloading videos in social networks.
⚠️ Warning: Do not fill the device’s internal memory completely. For Android and file systems to work properly, always leave the device free at a minimum. 10-15% total volume (about) 10-15 GB).
💡
Regular cleaning of messenger cache and use of cloud services is the best prevention of the growth of the folder “Other”.
Compliance with these simple rules will allow your Redmi Note 9 Pro to run fast and consistently for years to come. Memory is a valuable resource and must be managed consciously.