Cache Clearing on Xiaomi Mi 9 Lite: A Complete Guide for Beginners and Advanced Users

The Xiaomi Mi 9 Lite (codenamed pyxis) is still a popular smartphone years later, thanks to its balanced characteristics: a Snapdragon 710 processor, 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of internal storage. However, over time, any Android device begins to “brake”, and the culprit often becomes a cache – temporary files that accumulate in the system and applications. If your Mi 9 Lite has become slower to respond to touch, open programs for a long time or overheats for no reason, cleaning the cache can return it to its previous speed.

In this article, we’ll look at all the possible ways to clean up cache, from standard MIUI tools to hidden features for power users, how app cache differs from system cache, when to clean Dalvik-cache, and why some Google Play “optimizers” can do more than help, and a unique method of cleaning cache through ADB, which does not require root rights and works even on blocked downloaders.

What is the Xiaomi Mi 9 Lite cache and why you need to clean it

Cache is a temporary file that is created by a system and apps to make it work faster, for example, when you first open Instagram, it uploads photos and videos to cache so that it can show them instantly the next time you run it, and the same thing happens with web pages in Chrome, maps in Google Maps, and even system animations in MIUI.

The problem is that over time, the cache grows to giant sizes. On the Mi 9 Lite with 128 GB of memory, this is less critical, but even here, cache clogged can take 5-15 GB — especially if you are actively using social networks, messengers or games.

• 🐢 Slowdown: the system spends time searching for the right files in a crowded cache.
• 🔥 Overheating: Snapdragon 710 processor forced to process excess data.
• 📱 Application crashes: Older cache files may conflict with newer versions of programs.
• 🚫 Update errors: if the cache MIUI damaged, the phone may not be installed OTA-updates.

But there is a downside: not all cache needs to be cleaned, for example, deleting the Google Play Services cache can lead to push notification problems, and clearing WhatsApp cache will cause media files to be re-downloaded, so it’s important to understand which files can be safely deleted and which ones can’t.

Method 1: Clearing the cache of individual applications through settings

The safest and most recommended method is to clean the cache for specific applications, which will not delete your data (such as correspondence in Telegram or saving in games), but will free up space and eliminate possible errors.

Instructions:

1. Open Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. In the upper right corner, press three dots (⋮) and select Sort by size so you can see which programs take up the most space.
3. Tapping on the desired application (for example, Facebook or TikTok).
4. Press Warehouse. → Clear the cache.

For convenience, we have compiled a table of applications, the cache of which most often grows on the Mi 9 Lite:

⚠️ Warning: Do not clear the cache for system applications called com.android... or com.xiaomi... unless you are sure of their purpose. MIUI.

Check the space in memory (should be >1 GB)

Close all background applications

Connect your phone to charge (if battery level <30%)

Backup of important data (in case of error)-->

Method 2: Automatically clean the cache through “Security”

MIUI has a built-in tool for optimizing the system, the Security app, which not only cleans the cache, but also deletes unnecessary files, remnants of deleted programs and duplicate photos.

How to use:

1. Open the Security app (if it isn’t on your desktop, search through search).
2. Go to the Cleaning tab (broom icon).
3. Press the check and wait for the scan to be completed.
4. Select categories for cleaning: 🗑️ Garbage files – temporary files and cache. 📁 Remains of applications – data from remote programs. 🔄 Duplicate files – repetitive photos or documents.

Clean up

The advantage of this method is that MIUI automatically determines which files are safe to delete, but the tool does not clear the cache of system applications - it requires superuser rights or ADB.

💡

If the phone still brakes after cleaning through Security, try restarting it. Sometimes the background processes continue to use the old cache files until the system restarts.

Method 3: Clean Dalvik-cache and system cache (for power users)

Dalvik-cache is a special cache that is used by the Android virtual machine to speed up the launch of applications. On the Xiaomi Mi 9 Lite, it is in the /data/dalvik-cache folder and usually takes 500 MB-1 GB. Cleaning this cache can significantly speed up the phone, but requires caution.

There are two ways to clean Dalvik-cache:

Method 1: Recovery Mode (without root)

1. Turn off the phone.
2. Press the Power button + Volume up to enter Recovery Mode.
3. Select Wipe & Reset → Wipe Cache (use volume buttons for navigation, power button for confirmation).
4. After cleaning, restart the phone (Reboot).

Method 2: Through ADB (data-free)

If you're fitted ADB-PC drivers can be cleaned Dalvik-cache without logging in to Recovery:

adb shell


su




rm -r /data/dalvik-cache/*




reboot

⚠️ Warning: Cleaning up Dalvik-cache will cause all applications to run longer when they first open after rebooting. This is normal – the system will recover the cache automatically. Don’t be alarmed if the phone hangs for 10-20 seconds when you first start programs.

Method 4: Resetting cache through the engineering menu (hidden MIUI function)

The Xiaomi Mi 9 Lite has a hidden engineering menu where you can reset some system settings, including cache, a method less well known but works without root rights.

Instructions:

1. Open the phone (calling) application.
2. Enter the code: ##4636###.
3. In the menu that opens, select Battery Information (don’t be afraid of the name – these are the general statistics of the system).
4. Stick to three points (⋮) in the upper right corner and select Clear cache.
5. Confirm the action and restart the phone.

To do this, you will need a computer with installed Fastboot drivers and Mi Flash Tool (you can download from the official Xiaomi website).

Step-by-step:

1. Turn off the phone.
2. Press the Power button + Volume down to log into Fastboot Mode.
3. Connect your phone to your PC via USB.
4. Open the command line (cmd) and type in: fastboot erase cache
5. After the operation is completed, enter fastboot reboot

⚠️ Warning: The fastboot erase userdata or fastboot erase system commands will delete all your data (photos, contacts, messages) and result in your phone resetting to factory settings. Never use them unless you plan to reset completely!

This method is most effective if the phone:

• 🔄 Stuck on the logo. MIUI post-refresh.
• 🐌 It works very slowly even after cleaning the cache in other ways.
• 🚨 Issues errors during installation OTA-update.