Cleaning up Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 Cloud Storage: The Complete Guide

Xiaomi Mi Cloud cloud storage on the Redmi Note 9 is a handy tool for backing up photos, contacts and documents. But sooner or later, even 5 GB of free space runs out, and the system begins to issue notifications about space shortages. The problem is that many users do not know how to effectively manage this storage: which files can be safely deleted and which should not be touched. In this article, we will examine all the ways to clean up without risking losing important data, from manual garbage removal to automated tools.

It is worth noting that Redmi Note 9 (model M2003J15SC/M2003J15SS) It syncs data to Mi Cloud by default, unless you turn it off the first time you run it, which means that even old screenshots or duplicate photos can take up precious space. Check before cleaning what data is synced automatically – this will help to avoid accidental deletion of the desired files.

Unlike Google Drive or iCloud, Mi Cloud has limited tools for analyzing occupied space, such as the lack of built-in “free up space” or large file visualization, so users have to manually sort through each data category, but not all that bad: in this article, you will find hidden settings that Xiaomi does not disclose in the official instructions.

1. Checking occupied space in Mi Cloud

Before you start cleaning, you need to understand what exactly takes up space in your cloud. To do this, open the Settings app on Redmi Note 9, go to the Accounts section. → Mi Account → Mi Cloud. Here you will see a general diagram of occupied space, broken down into categories: Photos, Videos, Contacts, Notes and more.

Note the Backups section, which is where invisible files are often hidden, like app backups or system dumps that can weigh several gigabytes, and the important thing is that if you haven't used backup in a long time, old copies could have accumulated and taken up space without your knowledge.

For detailed analysis, tap any category (e.g. Photos) and the system will show how many files are stored in the cloud and their total weight, and you can sort files by date or size, which will help you quickly find and remove the largest elements.

If the diagram shows that the main space is occupied by the Other category, it may mean:

• 📁 Application cache synced to the cloud (e.g., data from Mi Browser or Mi Video)
• 🔄 Uncompleted downloads or corrupted files
• 📱 Backups of older devices if you’ve previously used other Xiaomi smartphones

2. Delete unnecessary photos and videos

Photos and videos usually take up the lion's share of the space in the Mi Cloud. The problem is that by default, Redmi Note 9 syncs all media from the gallery, including screenshots, memes and duplicates. To clear this up, follow the following steps:

1. Open the Gallery app and go to the Mi Cloud tab (usually located in the bottom menu).

2.Slip the icon. ⋮ (three dots) in the upper right corner and select Storage Management.

3. Here you'll see all the files sorted by size. Tip: delete the videos first, they take up many times more space than the photos.

To speed up the process, use filters:

• 📅 By date: Delete old photos (e.g., older than 1 year) that are no longer relevant
• 📏 Size: Find files larger than 10MB, usually video or RAW-snapshot
• 🔍 Duplicates: There is no built-in duplicate search in the Mi Cloud, but you can use third-party apps like Files by Google to pre-clean on your device.

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Before mass deleting photos, turn on the display of files by the date of creation, so you can quickly select all unnecessary pictures for a certain period (for example, old screenshots from messengers).

If you are afraid of accidentally deleting important files, use the Archive feature (available with a long press on the file). Archived photos will not take up space in the main storage, but will remain available for viewing.

⚠️ Note: Removing photos from Mi Cloud doesn’t remove them from your device, only from the cloud. However, if you enable Storage Optimization in the gallery settings, the original files can only be stored in the cloud, in which case deleting them from Mi Cloud will result in file loss forever.

3. Cleanup of backup copies and system data

Backups are one of the most insidious categories in the Mi Cloud, and many users don't even know that their device automatically creates backups once a week. 500 MB to 2-3 GB each, and older versions are not automatically deleted.

To check and clean backups:

1. Go to Settings. → Accounts. → Mi Account → Mi Cloud → Backup copies.
2. You'll see a list of all the devices that were made to copy. Tap on the Redmi Note 9.
3. The system will show all available backup versions with dates and sizes. Delete all copies except the latest.

If you've never used the backup recovery feature, you can turn off automatic backup altogether.

1. In the same section, backup copies click on the gear icon ⚙️.
2. Turn off the automatic backup option.
3. Manually select which data to save (e.g., leave only Contacts and Messages, and disable Applications and System Settings).

4. Application synchronization management

Many of Xiaomi’s standard apps (e.g. Notes, Calendar, Mi Browser) automatically sync data to the Mi Cloud, often duplicated with other services (e.g. notes can be stored in Google Keep), but take up space in the cloud.

To disable unnecessary synchronization:

1. Go to Settings → Accounts → Mi Account → Synchronization.
2. You'll see a list of all the apps that sync to the cloud, and disable those you don't use (such as Mi Music or Mi Video).
3. For critical data (such as Contacts), leave the sync enabled, but check if it is duplicated in your Google Account.

Pay special attention to the Notes app. It can store:

• 📝 Drafts and temporary notes that are not needed for a long time
• 📎 Investments (photos, documents) that take up a lot of space
• 🗑️ Deleted notes that are still stored in the cloud basket

To clear the notes:

1. Open the Notes app.
2. Go to the basket section and clean it.
3. In the application settings (⋮ → Settings → Cleaning the storage facility, remove unnecessary attachments.

Disable synchronization of unnecessary applications|Check for data duplication with Google Account|Clean the basket in the appendix "Notes"|Remove old attachments from notes|Turn off automatic synchronization of media files-->

5. Delete cache and temporary files

Mi Cloud stores not only your personal files, but also an app cache that syncs across devices, for example, if you’ve used the Mi Browser on multiple smartphones, its data (history, bookmarks, cache pages) can take up hundreds of megabytes.

To clean up this garbage:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Find apps that sync to the cloud (e.g. Mi Browser, Mi Video, Mi Music).
3. For each application, click Storage → Clear the cache.
4. Return to Mi Cloud and check if the amount of space occupied in the Other category has decreased.

Another source of hidden debris is unfinished downloads, and if you've ever started downloading a large file to the cloud, but you've interrupted the process, the stumps might have stayed in storage to find them.

1. Open the web version of Mi Cloud on your computer at the address https://i.mi.com.
2. Sign in with the same account as the Redmi Note 9.
3. Go to the Files section. → Basket and clean it.
4. Check the Downloads folder – there may be under-quality files.

⚠️ Attention: When cleaning the cache through Settings → You only delete data from the device, not from the cloud, and to make room in the Mi Cloud, you need to manually check every application in the web version of the storage.

6. Alternative ways of vacating space

If after all the manipulations, the place in the Mi Cloud still runs out, consider the following options:

1. Purchase of additional space

Xiaomi is offering to expand cloud storage to 200GB for a monthly or annual subscription.Prices for 2026:

• 💰 50GB — ~1$ month-to-month ~10$ yearly
• 💰 200GB — ~3$ month-to-month ~30$ yearly

Go to Mi Cloud to purchase it. → Storage management → Please note that the charge is automatically debited, so be sure to turn off auto-renewal unless you plan to use the extended rate constantly.

2. Transfer data to another cloud

If you do not want to pay, you can transfer some files to other services:

• 📁 Google Drive – 15GB free, easy integration with Android
• 📁 Yandex Disk – 10 GB free, fast download for users from the CIS
• 📁 Mega – 20GB free, but with traffic restrictions

To transfer, use Files by Google or Solid Explorer – they allow you to copy files directly from Mi Cloud to another storage.

3. Local backup

If the cloud is only for backups, consider saving backups to an external drive or computer:

1. Connect the Redmi Note 9 to the PC via USB (file transfer mode).
2. Copy important data (photos, documents) to the hard drive.
3. For app backups, use Titanium Backup (root rights required) or the built-in Local Backup feature in Settings → Additionally. → Backup and reset.

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Before buying additional space on Mi Cloud, check to see if your data is duplicated in other cloud services (Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.) Often users pay for storage that they don’t really need.

7. Automatic cleaning setup

To avoid running into a crowded storage situation in the future, set up automatic cleaning rules in the Mi Cloud. Unfortunately, Xiaomi doesn’t provide flexible tools for this, but you can use workarounds:

1. Limitation of synchronization of media files

Open the gallery. → Mi Cloud → Settings and:

2. Regular check of the basket

In Mi Cloud, deleted files are put in the trash and stored for 30 days, taking up space.

3. Use of third-party applications

Apps like Files by Google or SD Maids can analyze which files are taking up space in the cloud and suggest that they be cleaned:

• 🧹 Files by Google shows "big files" and "duplicates", including those synced to Mi Cloud
• 🔍 SD Maid finds residual files from remote applications that can be stored in the cloud

Important: If you use the gallery’s Storage Optimization feature, the original photos are stored only in Mi Cloud. When you clean the cloud, these files will be permanently deleted, even if their icons remain in the gallery (they will become inactive).

FAQ: Frequent questions about cleaning up Mi Cloud