How to Clean the Cloud on Xiaomi Redmi Note 9

Owners of Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 smartphones often face the unpleasant situation when internal storage is crowded and notifications of space shortage appear at the most inopportune moment. The main reason lies in the automatic synchronization of media, which stores every photo and video file in cloud services such as Google Photos or Mi Cloud. This creates the illusion of infinite space, but when filling the cloud limit, synchronization stops, blocking the creation of new images.

Solving the problem requires a comprehensive approach, since simply deleting files from the phone screen may not affect their copies on the servers, and vice versa. Deleting from the Google Photo cloud permanently erases data without the possibility of recovery through the basket after 60 days, so you need to act carefully. In this article, we will discuss all the available methods for cleaning virtual storage, setting up automatic upload and manually managing files on your device.

Before you start taking any drastic measures, it’s important to understand which service is consuming your traffic and space. The MIUI shell on the Redmi Note 9 can have multiple backup systems active, and when you set it up properly, you can free up gigabytes of space while still saving the really important moments of life.

Analysis of cloud storage occupancy

The first step is always to diagnose, to determine which service is taking up the most space: a Google account or a Xiaomi cloud, and users often confuse these concepts, although technically they are different platforms with different limits and management interfaces.

To check the status of Google storage, go to the settings of your smartphone at Settings → Google → Managing your Google account. Here you are interested in the Storage tab, where the occupied volume is visually displayed. If the scale is filled in red, then 15 GB of free space is exhausted. In the case of Mi Cloud, the path lies through Settings → Mi Account → Cloud, where the usage statistics are also displayed.

Importantly, not only are photos often taken into the cloud, but WhatsApp backups, voice recorder data, and screenshots are also taken into the cloud. Storage analytics allows you to sort files by type and size, which helps you quickly find heavyweights. For example, long 4K videos can take up to 80% of the total available volume, while thousands of text documents are only a small fraction.

⚠️ Before mass deletion, make sure that important files are stored on an external hard drive or other media. Cloud services do not always guarantee eternal storage of data in case of violation of the terms of use.

Understanding the occupancy structure helps avoid accidentally deleting system files or application data that can be critical to a smartphone, and after analyzing it, you’ll know exactly what to deal with: thousands of small screenshots or a few gigabytes of video archives.

Cleaning up Google Photos on Redmi

The most popular way to free up space is with Google Photos, which is the default app on all Google-certified smartphones and offers a “Free up space” feature, but it’s not enough to clean up deeply, because it’s the server that you need to delete files, not just locally.

Open the Google Photos app and go to the Library section in the lower right corner. Select Photos on your device to see the difference between local files and those already uploaded to the cloud. To remove from the cloud, you need to be in the Photos or Search tab, making sure that sync is enabled.

To remove specific images from the cloud, select them with a long press and click on the basket icon. The system will warn that the photo will be deleted from the cloud and from all synchronized devices. This is the key point: deleting in the Google Photos app affects all devices where you log in to this account.

There's also a batch deletion feature. In search mode, you can select, for example, "Screenshots" or "Video", select a group of files and clean them. This greatly speeds up the process, especially if you need to delete old videos from events that you have already reviewed. After cleaning, remember to check the Recycle Bin folder in the application, as the files are stored there for another 60 days, continuing to occupy space in the quota.

Mi Cloud Data Management and Synchronization

The second critical component of Xiaomi’s ecosystem is the Mi Cloud, which is integrated deep into the Redmi Note 9 and can automatically upload contacts, messages, voice recorders and gallery, and is managed through system settings rather than a separate application.

To access file management, go to Settings → Mi Account → Cloud → Gallery. Here you will see sync status and the ability to view all photos stored on Xiaomi servers. If you decide to remove the album from here, it will disappear from the phone if sync is active. This is convenient for quick cleaning, but dangerous if you carelessly handle.

One useful feature is storage optimization. The cloud menu often contains the suggestion “Clean local copies” if the originals are already downloaded. However, if your goal is to clean the cloud, you need to go to the web version of i.mi.com via a browser. The web interface provides a more user-friendly file manager, similar to Explorer in Windows, where you can allocate files in whole folders.

It is important to check the Dictophone section in the cloud periodically, recording conversations or lectures can be very large and users often forget about their existence, and deleting old records through the web interface or phone settings is an effective way to get back free megabytes.

Automatic unloading and synchronization setting

To prevent overcrowding from returning in a month, you need to configure the automatic upload correctly, and mindlessly turning on all functions leads to the cloud being clogged with technical debris, screenshots of the interface and blurred photos.

In the Google Photo settings (Settings Photos → Autoboot) you can choose the download quality. The choice of the “Saving space” option (formerly “High quality”) allows you to upload photos in a compressed but high-quality format without a limit on quantity, unlike the original quality, which eats up a quota of 15 GB. For the Redmi Note 9 with its FullHD+ screen, this compression is visually almost invisible.

Also, you should exclude certain folders from sync. In the same autoload menu, there is a "Select folders for autoload" option.

• 📷 WhatsApp Images (Advertising Pictures and Postcards)
• 📷 Telegram (cache of channels and groups)
• 📷 Download (accidentally downloaded files)
• 📷 MIUI (Error screenshots and reports)

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Use the Smart Storage feature in Google Photos, which automatically removes large videos and blurry photos if space becomes critically scarce.

Customizing these settings will prevent debris from entering the cloud, so you can manually choose which messenger photos to save forever and which to delete immediately after viewing, and this disciplines and keeps order in the digital space.

Using a Web Interface for Mass Cleaning

The mobile interface is easy to view, but it's better to use a computer for total cleanup. Google Photos and Mi Cloud allow you to select files in groups, use keyboard shortcuts and navigate the folder structure more quickly.

For Google Photos, go to photos.google.com. Here you can press the Shift key and click on the first and last photo in the range to highlight thousands of files at once. Then click Delete. This is the fastest way to clean up, for example, the entire archive from last year. Similarly, Mi Cloud interface at i.mi.com works.

When working with the web interface, it is important to have a stable Wi-Fi connection. Interrupting communication during mass deletion can lead to sync errors, when some files are deleted and some remain, creating chaos in chronology.

*Note: High-quality unlimited storage is only available for photos uploaded before June 1, 2021, new photos are in the overall limit.

Alternative methods and third-party solutions

If built-in funds aren't enough, alternatives may be considered: Many Redmi Note 9 users install third-party cloud storage clients like Yandex Disk or Disk-O, which often offer more generous rates or promotions to smartphone users of certain brands.

Another effective method is to use the Smart Cleanup feature in Xiaomi’s Security app. Although it mainly works with local files, it can find duplicate photos that can then be safely removed from the cloud.

⚠️ Warning: Third-party applications for cleaning everything can be dangerous. They can delete original files thinking it's cache. Use only proven system tools or official cloud services applications.

Another option is to set up automatic uploads only over Wi-Fi and only when charging, which will prevent you from taking a video on a trip, it instantly flew to the cloud via mobile Internet, consumed traffic and space, and at home you didn't even know about it. The settings are in the Settings section → Autoboot and synchronization → Data regime.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

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Regularly reviewing cloud storage every six months is the best way to prevent space shortages and synchronization problems on your Redmi.