Owners of Xiaomi Mi, Redmi and POCO smartphones often face the need to clarify the specifications of the device. Especially the question when the system starts to run slower or applications stop running. In such cases, the first thing you need to know how much RAM is available right now and what the total amount of RAM installed is.
The MIUI shell interface or the new HyperOS hides some system settings from the average user. The standard About Phone menu often only shows the total volume, but does not provide detailed information about the current CPU and memory load in real time. Understanding these metrics is critical to diagnosing performance problems.
There are several proven ways to access this information, and you can use built-in developer tools, special engineering codes, or third-party utilities, and each method has its own characteristics and level of detail, which we'll look at in detail.
Use of built-in system settings
The easiest and safest way to find out the amount of memory installed is to go to the basic settings of the smartphone. However, it is worth considering that the standard interface can show rounded values. For example, a device with 6 GB of memory can be displayed as having 5.7 GB, since some of the resources are reserved by the system.
To get the data, you need to go to the Settings menu and find About Phone. In some versions of the firmware, this information is hidden inside the All Settings section, and here you will see the Memory or RAM line, which shows the total amount and amount of free memory.
You can get more detailed statistics by activating the developer mode, and you need to click on the build number several times in the About section, and after activation, a new option will appear in the settings menu, Additional or Advanced Settings, where the Developer section is located.
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In the “For Developers” section, find the “Run Services” item – it shows the use of RAM by each active application in real time.
In the developer menu, look at Memory or Memory Use, and if you click on it, you'll see a RAM download schedule from the last 3, 6, or 24 hours, which helps you see if a particular application is leaking memory.
Checking through the engineering menu and codes
The engineering menu is a hidden part of the system, designed to test equipment, and is accessed through a set of special character combinations in the Phone application, which allows you to see technically accurate memory without rounding.
Type ##6484## on your keyboard. If the code is suitable for your model, the CIT menu will open. Here you need to find a memory-related item, often called Memory or RAM. Clicking on it will trigger a test that will show the total volume and status of the modules.
⚠️ Warning: Do not change the settings in the engineering menu unless you know exactly what they are responsible for.Accessal calibration reset may cause sensors or communications to malfunction.
Alternative code ##4636## opens the testing menu. Go to Usage Statistics. Although this section is more likely to show app statistics, some versions of MIUI provide summary information about system load.
It is important to understand that on new HyperOS models, some codes may be blocked by the manufacturer for security reasons, in which case the system will simply ignore the input or issue an error message, then you should use software methods.
Why can codes not work?
Use of monitoring applications
If the built-in tools don’t seem informative enough, specialized apps from the Google Play Store will come to the rescue, providing detailed information about memory types, frequency and real-time downloads.
One of the most popular solutions is the CPU-Z application. Once installed, run it and go to the Device or RAM tab. Here you will see not only the total volume, but also the type of memory (for example, LPDDR4X or LPDDR5), as well as the number of active CPU cores.
- 📱 CPU-Z — Classical tool for viewing the full characteristics of the "iron».
- 🚀 AIDA64 — Provides in-depth analysis of the system, including temperature and voltages.
- 🧹 Clean Master combines cleaning functions with free memory monitoring.
Another useful application is AIDA64, which shows detailed information about each memory module, and the RAM section shows the overall size, size, and size of the reserved area, which is especially useful when comparing claimed characteristics with actual ones.
Cliner apps like Files by Google or built-in Security from Xiaomi also have desktop widgets that let you see the percentage of free memory in one click and clear background processes if necessary.
Monitoring through computer and ADB
For advanced users who want to get the most accurate data without installing excess software on the phone, the method using USB debugging is suitable. This will require a computer and a minimum set of ADB drivers (Android Debug Bridge).
First, you need to activate the USB debugging in the Developer menu on your smartphone. Connect the device to your PC with a cable and confirm the debugging permission on your phone screen. Then open the command prompt on your computer in the ADB folder.
Enter the following command to output general memory information:
adb shell dumpsys meminfoThis command will give you a detailed account of how memory is distributed between processes, and you'll see the Total PSS string and Total Private Dirty, which is the most accurate way to diagnose memory leaks with specific applications.
| ADB Team Team | Description of action | The result |
|---|---|---|
| adb shell getprop ro.boot.ramsize | RAM volume request | Shows size in bytes. |
| adb shell dumpsys meminfo | Detailed statistics | List of processes and memory |
| adb shell cat /proc/meminfo | Core information | Technical parameters of the Linux kernel |
You can also use the cat /proc/meminfo command, which outputs raw data from the Linux kernel on which Android is based. Here you can find MemTotal (total memory) and MemFree (freely right now).
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Use of the ADB-commands give access to data that is hidden even in the engineering menu, allowing you to see the real distribution of resources by the kernel of the system.
Features of virtual memory in MIUI
Modern versions of Xiaomi firmware have introduced a RAM extension feature, which uses a portion of the RAM (ROM) to create a paging file that mimics RAM, allowing more applications to be kept in the background.
To check if this feature is activated and how much memory is added, go to Settings → Additional → Expansion of memory. Here you will see the switch and information about how much GB is reserved from storage. An addition of 2 to 4 GB is usually available.
It is worth noting that the real speed of such “virtual” memory is lower than that of physical LPDDR. Permanent memory (UFS) has other characteristics of read and write speed. Therefore, performance gains in heavy games may be minimal, but multitasking in messengers will improve.
⚠️ Warning: Enabling memory expansion increases wear on the smartphone drive. If you already have 8 or 12 GB of physical RAM, it’s best to turn off this feature to extend the life of the device.
When you actively expand on the About Phone menu, the total amount of memory will be listed with the virtual buffer added. For example, 6 GB of physical + 3 GB of virtual = 9 GB in total.
What to do if memory is constantly lacking
When free RAM is close to zero, it leads to constant application reboots and interface lags, and if you find out after checking that RAM is indeed overcrowded, you need to take steps to optimize it.
First, look at the list of apps you've run, and often the problem is caused by "heavy" programs that hang in the background: social networks, navigators, or games, and close them through the recent task menu or through the developer's settings.
- 🧹 Clean the app cache regularly through the Security menu».
- 📉 Disable AutoRun for Unnecessary Programs in Application Settings.
- 🔄 Reboot your smartphone at least once a day. 2-3 Day to Reset System Errors.
Also check if you have advanced debugging or logging if you have previously experimented with developer settings, which can consume significant CPU and memory resources, making it look like a lack of RAM.