How to Clean Xiaomi Redmi 9 Phone: The Complete Guide

Redmi smartphones are known for their excellent value for money, but over time, even powerful devices start to work slower. Users often notice that the interface twitches, apps open longer than usual, and notifications of space shortages appear at the most inopportune time. It is a natural process of accumulating system “garbage” that requires intervention.

In this article, we will take a look at all the proven ways to free up space on your device, not only standard methods, but also the hidden features of the MIUI shell that will help restore the gadget to its former aspiration.

Analysis of vault occupancy

Before you start taking action to delete files, you need to understand what exactly takes up precious gigabytes. Often users delete photos thinking that they are the problem, even though half of the memory is clogged with messenger cache or forgotten series. Xiaomi's built-in tools allow you to quickly visualize the structure of the storage.

First, go to the settings and look for the About Phone section, then click on Memory. The system will show a color diagram of the data distribution. Pay attention to the Apps and Others categories, which are often where the main resource absorbers are hidden. System files are not worth touching, they are necessary for stable operation.

The alternative is to use the Security app, which is pre-installed on every Redmi 9, which automatically scans the device and suggests that you delete temporary files, but manual control is always more effective than automatic control, because you decide what is important and what can be ruthlessly destroyed.

• 📱 Go to Settings. → The phone. → Detailed analysis repository.
• 🗑️ Use the built-in cleaner in the Security app for quick checks.
• 📊 Pay attention to the size of the folder “Other”, there are often hidden remnants of remote programs.

⚠️ Note: Do not delete files with the extension.apk or system folders with names like “Android” or «MIUI», If you're not 100% sure what they're doing, it can cause a malfunction in the interface.

Cleaning cache and temporary application files

The largest amount of digital fat is stored in messengers and social networks. Telegram and WhatsApp have a habit of storing all the images and videos you viewed in the memory of the device, even if you have not opened them in a long time.

You can do this through the application management menu. You can find the Apps section in the settings, select the messenger you want, and click Memory. There's a "Clear Cache" button. It's important not to confuse it with the "Clear All" button, otherwise you delete the correspondence and logins. Cache is temporary data that can be recovered, unlike user data.

It’s also worth checking the settings of the messengers themselves. Telegram has a great Memory Use tool where you can set up automatic cache cleanup, for example, every three days, which will save you from having to do it manually in the future.

Remember, browsers. If you're a big user of the Internet, Chrome or MIUI Browser could have accumulated hundreds of megabytes of temporary files, and cleaning up your browser's history and cache will not only free up space, but it can also speed up page loading.

Work with Gallery and Cloud Services

Media files are the second biggest enemy of free memory, with thousands of screenshots, blurred photos and duplicate videos stealthily taking up all 64 or 128 GB available on Redmi 9. Regular gallery revisions should become a habit.

The Gallery app has a built-in duplicate search feature that analyzes images and suggests removing repetitive frames or similar images. It's also worth checking the Recycle Bin folder - deleted photos are often stored there for another 30 days, continuing to occupy space. Deleting from the Recycle Bin frees up space instantly and irrevocably.

The ideal solution for Xiaomi owners is to use the Mi Cloud cloud service or analogues like Google Photos. Set up automatic sync of photos and enable the "Free space" function. Once uploaded to the cloud, the originals will be deleted from the phone, leaving only thumbnails.

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Use the application "Google Files" (Files by Google) - it can find similar photos and suggest their removal, and also has a convenient function of garbage cleaning.

Delete hidden folders and residual files

Many applications leave behind tails, folders with settings, logs and time data that are not visible in the regular gallery, but occupy a place at the root of the file system, and you'll need a file manager, like a standard Explorer or an advanced FX File Explorer, to work with them.

At the root of internal memory, you can often find folders with the names of remote games or programs. If you're sure that the application is no longer needed, you can safely delete this folder. Android/data and Android/obb, But be careful: it stores game caches and data from working applications.

Also check the Download folder. Browsers and instant messengers often save everything you've ever downloaded there: PDF-Documents, app installers, promotional booklets, and putting order in this directory can produce results.

⚠️ Warning: When manually cleaning folders at the root of the system, always double-check the name. Deleting the system folder can cause the camera or voice recorder to stop working.

Use of Developer Mode and ADB

For advanced users who want to make the most of their Xiaomi Redmi 9, there are deeper cleaning methods that allow you to remove system debris and disable unnecessary services that can not be removed in the usual way.

One way to do this is to use the ADB command line (Android Debug Bridge) over a computer, and by connecting your phone over USB and enabling debugging, you can send a command to clear the cache of all applications at once, which is especially useful if the phone interface is unstable.

The command to clean the cache looks like this:

adb shell pm trim-caches 999999999999

This command will try to free a specified number of bytes (in this case, almost everything possible) from the application cache. ADB is a powerful tool, but it requires drivers on the computer and debugging mode enabled in the Developer Menu.

• 💻 Enable “For Developers” by clicking 7 times on the build number in “About Phone».
• 🔌 Activate "Debugging by" USB» in the settings menu that appears.
• 🖥️ Install the platform ADB PC-based.

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Using ADB allows you to clear the cache at the system level, which is more effective than standard cleaning through settings, but requires a connection to a computer.

Cardinal measures: Reset to factory settings

If none of the above methods have worked and the phone continues to brake, the final argument is a complete reset, which will return the Redmi 9 to the state it was in at the time of purchase.

Before resetting, make sure to back up your contacts, photos and important documents, you can use Mi Cloud, Google Drive, or just copy files to your computer, and you can recover data from the backup after the reset during the initial setup.

To perform the reset, go to Settings → About Phone → Reset. Select “Delete All Data.” The phone will reboot and the formatting process will begin, which can take anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes. Once turned on, you will get a clean system without unnecessary garbage.

⚠️ Before completely resetting, make sure that the battery is at least 50-60%. Interrupting the formatting process due to discharge can cause software to break (brick).

Prevention and healthy habits

To avoid reverting to the issue of cleaning every two weeks, it is worth changing your smartphone usage habits: Regular maintenance takes less time than dealing with the consequences of clutter, and simple rules will help keep the Redmi 9 on track.

Try not to store large amounts of data locally, music and movies are now easily accessible through streaming services, which eliminates the need to keep gigabytes of media files in memory, and it is also useful to go through the list of installed applications once a month and delete what you have not used in the past 30 days.

Use “light” versions of applications (Lite) if the main version is slow, for example, Facebook Lite or Google Go take up significantly less space and consume less RAM, which is critical for budget and mid-budget models.