How to Clean the Others section on Xiaomi Redmi Note 9: The Complete Guide

Many budget and mid-budget smartphone owners face the uncomfortable situation of having storage overflowing with the mysterious “Other” section. On the Xiaomi Redmi Note 9, the problem is particularly acute because of the limited amount of internal memory that quickly runs out. The Android-based MIUI system often categorizes temporary files, app cache and remnants of remote programs into this category, creating the illusion of “invisible” debris.

To make matters worse, standard cleanups are not always effective against deep-seated system logs and bloated instant messenger databases. Cleaning the Others section requires a comprehensive approach that includes not only built-in utilities but also manual file management. In this article, we’ll explore secure and advanced space-free techniques that will bring your device back to speed.

Before taking drastic measures, it is important to understand the nature of these files, often resulting from incorrect application closures or updates that fail to load. The Others system partition can take up to 30% of the total memory if not regularly prevented. Ignoring this problem can lead to a critical slowdown in the interface and the inability to install new security updates.

Analysis of the contents of the storage through standard means

The first step for any Redmi Note 9 user is diagnostics, and the built-in memory analyzer allows you to visually assess what exactly occupies space, go to Settings → Memory and wait for the scan to finish, and the system will show a pie chart, where the Others section is often gray, hiding hundreds of megabytes of data behind it.

Click on the Others sector to see the details. Here you may find that the lion's share of the volume is occupied by a social media cache that the system does not automatically delete, and there may be update files that were not deleted after installation. Data visualization helps to understand priorities: sometimes it is easier to delete one application with a huge cache than to clean hundreds of small files.

⚠️ Note: Do not attempt to delete files marked as system or reserved unless you are sure of their purpose. MIUI.

A standard analyzer often shows only the tip of the iceberg. For a deeper understanding of the folder structure, it is recommended to use the built-in Explorer app. Go to the Analyzer section, where the smart algorithm will suggest removing duplicate photos and large video files, which can also be hidden under the mask of "other".

Use of the built-in "Security" application

The safest and most affordable way to clean up is to use a pre-installed security utility, a system application from Xiaomi designed specifically for MIUI devices, which can find residual files after deleting programs and clear cache that is not visible to the user during normal browsing.

Launch the app and select Clean up. The scanner will analyze the system and suggest removing the garbage. However, standard cleaning is often superficial. For a deeper analysis, click on the Garbage icon at the bottom menu, and then select Deep Cleanup. Here you will find the categories App Cache, Ad Files, and Small APK Files.

Special attention should be paid to the section "Cache of applications", which is where the bloated section "Other" is most often hidden. The application will safely delete temporary data without affecting your personal correspondence or saving in games. After the procedure, it is recommended to restart the device so that the system recalculates the file index.

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Run a deep cleanup through the Security app at least once a week to prevent junk files from accumulating in the Others section.

Manual cleaning of messenger cache and social networks

The main culprits behind the “Other” partition on Redmi Note 9 are messengers like WhatsApp, Telegram and Viber, which store every image, voice message and video they receive into local memory, creating giant databases. Standard system cleaning often bypasses these files, considering them important user data.

To clean up effectively, you need to go to the settings of each application separately. In Telegram, for example, this is done through Settings → Data and memory → Memory Use. You can set a limit on cache storage or clean it completely. It is important to understand the difference between Clear cache and Clear all data: the first will delete temporary files (photos, videos), the second will reset the application to a state after installation, deleting correspondence.

On WhatsApp, the situation is similar: Settings → Data and Storage → Storage Management. The app will show you a list of chats that take up the most space. You can selectively remove heavy attachments. Often, it is older group chats that generate gigabytes of garbage, which the system attributes to the Other section.

⚠️ Before completely clearing the messenger data, be sure to back up your correspondence in the cloud, otherwise you may lose important information irretrievably.

Working with Android folders and hidden garbage

If automatic methods didn’t work, you’ll have to manually delete files through the file manager. On Xiaomi Redmi Note 9, the Android folder contains data and obb subfolders, where game and app cache files are stored. Deleting the contents of the cache folder inside the directory of a particular application is safe, but requires caution.

Use the built-in Explorer or third-party file manager with permissions. Go to Internal Memory → Android → data. Here you will see folders with the names of application packages (for example, com.whatsapp), inside of which you can often find folders cache or files containing temporary garbage.

Also worth checking are download folders and remnants of remote programs. Often users forget about downloaded APK installers or documents that are no longer needed.

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Manually deleting files from the Android/data folder is effective, but requires care not to erase data from current games and apps.

Cleaning through Developer Mode and ADB (for Advanced)

For users who aren’t afraid of technical terms, there is a USB debugging method that allows you to delete the system cache and files that are not available even through file managers. First, you need to activate the developer mode: go to Settings → About Phone and quickly click on the MIUI version seven times.

When activated, the "Additional" menu will have a "Developer" option, find and enable "Debugging USB", then you will need to connect to your computer and install the ADB (Android Debug Bridge) utility, and you can use the command line to clear the Dalton/ART cache, which often solves the problem with the bloated "Other" section.

adb shell pm trim-caches 999999999

This command forcibly trims the cache of all applications to the lowest possible value, a powerful tool that can free up several gigabytes of space instantly, but use it wisely: once cleaned, applications can load a little longer on their first run, as they will have to re-form the necessary temporary files.

⚠️ Attention: Use ADB-Incorrect commands can result in the removal of system components or resetting of device settings.

Prevention and optimization of MIUI system

To keep the problem from returning with the "Other" section on the Redmi Note 9, you need to implement a habit of regular prevention. MIUI has an inbuilt optimization mechanism, but it doesn't always work perfectly. It's recommended to conduct a full repository audit once a month, deleting unnecessary files as soon as they appear.

Turn off auto-save media files in instant messengers unless urgently needed. Setting up Save to the Gallery on WhatsApp or Telegram results in duplicate files: the copy stays in the application, and the copy gets into the system gallery, occupying a double volume. Disabling this feature will significantly reduce the growth of the Other section.

Also keep an eye out for system updates. Xiaomi engineers regularly release patches that fix memory management errors. Moving to the current version of MIUI can automatically solve the problem of incorrect display of occupied space.

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Regular prevention and disabling of auto-save media in instant messengers are the best ways to prevent memory overflow in the future.

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