How to see memory on the phone Xiaomi Redmi 9A: all ways to check

Why it’s important to monitor your memory in the Redmi 9A

Xiaomi Redmi 9A is one of the most popular budget phones with a base memory of 2/32 GB or 3/32 GB (depending on the modification). When used actively - installing applications, taking photos, downloading music - free space ends faster than it seems, which leads to slowdowns, sudden reboots and errors when installing updates.

The problem is compounded by the fact that Redmi 9A does not support microSDXC memory cards (only microSD up to 512 GB), and part of the memory is occupied by MIUI system files. For example, from 32 GB, only ~24-26 GB is available to the user. Regularly checking occupied and free space helps to avoid critical situations when the phone refuses to install even small applications.

In this article you will learn:

• 🔍 How to check your memory through standard settings MIUI (without additional programs).
• 📁 Where to see a detailed report on occupied space by category (photo, video, cache).
• 🛠️ What third-party utilities give more information than embedded tools.
• ⚠️ Why Memory Data in Settings and File Manager Can Be Different (and What to Do About It).

Method 1: Memory check through phone settings

The fastest and most reliable method is to use the built-in MIUI menu, which requires no additional applications to be installed and works even when there is a critical memory shortage.

Instructions:

1. Open the Settings app (the gear icon on the home screen).
2. Scroll down and select the About Phone section.
3. Slip on the item Warehouse (or Memory in some versions of firmware).

The screen will display a pie chart with the distribution of memory by category: System, Applications, Photos and Video, Audio, Other files, and below will be the exact amount of free and occupied space in gigabytes.

Check if the antivirus or optimizer is blocking access|Reboot the phone.|Update. MIUI last-minute|Reset the settings of the application "Settings" (in the "Applications" section")-->

⚠️ Note: If the Storage section displays significantly less memory than the phone’s specifications should (e.g. 16GB instead of 32GB), this could mean that the device uses dynamic memory (RAM Boost) or part of the drive is reserved for system needs, in which case it is recommended to check the phone through the file manager.

Method 2: Detailed analysis through "Cleaning"

MIUI has a built-in Cleanup tool that not only shows occupied space, but also helps to free it up, and it's useful if you need to not just look at memory, but also find junk files.

How to open it:

• 📱 Go to Settings. → Cleaning (or use the Cleaning widget on your desktop).
• 🔄 Wait for the scan to be completed (usually 10–30 seconds).
• 📊 Click on the device memory at the bottom of the screen.

Here you will see the extended statistics:

• 📸 Photo and video – how much space media files take up (including screenshots and downloads from instant messengers).
• 🎵 Audio – music, podcasts, voice messages.
• 📄 Documents — PDF, Word, Excel and other files.
• 🗑️ Cache and garbage – temporary application files that can be safely removed.

Once a week |Only when the phone starts to brake |Never checked |Use automatic cleaning-->

The peculiarity of this method is that it shows the real space available, excluding system files, for example, if you have 26 GB of total Settings, you will see how many of them you can use right now.

Method 3: Viewing Memory through File Manager

The integrated File Manager (or Files by Google, if you installed it) provides another way to check, and it's useful if you want to see the specific folders that take up the most space.

Step-by-step:

1. Open the Files app (the folder icon on the home screen).
2. At the top of the screen, tap on three horizontal lines (menu) and select Internal Memory.
3. In the upper right corner, click on the icon ⚙️ (Settings) → Analysis of the vault.

The system will scan the device and show:

• 📂 Large files (more than 100 MB in size).
• 📅 Unused files (which have not been opened for more than 30 days).
• 🔄 Duplicates (same photos, videos or documents).

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If the file manager doesn’t show storage analysis, update it via Google Play or install an alternative manager, such as Solid Explorer or FX File Explorer.

⚠️ Note: Do not manually delete folders with Android names, MIUI or system, this can cause your phone to crash. To clean up your system files, use only the built-in Cleanup utility.

Method 4: Using Third-Party Applications

If the built-in MIUI tools don’t suit you, you can install specialized utilities that offer deeper analysis, data visualization, and additional features (such as one-click cache cleaning).

Top.-3 memory-analysis:

Example of working with DiskUsage:

1. Install the application and open it.
2. Provide access to the storage (permission is required!).
3. Wait for the chart to be constructed (it can take 1-2 minutes).
4. Slip on the large blocks to see which files are taking up space.

Method 5: Computer Verification (for experienced users)

If you connect your phone to a PC, you can analyze the memory using Windows Explorer or specialized programs like WinDirStat, which is suitable if you need to save files to your computer before cleaning or find hidden folders.

How to connect Redmi 9A to your PC:

1. Connect the phone and computer through USB-cable (preferably original).
2. On the phone, in the notification that appears, select File Transfer (MTP) mode.
3. On PC, open This computer - the phone will appear as a removable disk.

For detailed analysis:

• 🖥️ Install WinDirStat (Free Utility).
• 📊 Select the phone's drive to scan.
• 🔍 The program will show a graphic map of occupied space with sorting by file types.

⚠️ Note: When connecting to a Redmi PC 9A It may not display some system folders (for example, /data). That's OK, that's how defense works. MIUI. Do not try to access them through root or ADB lacking!

Why can memory data differ from source to source?

Frequent situation: in Settings is indicated 26 GB of total volume, and the file manager shows 24 GB. Or a third-party application reports 5 GB of free space, and the system - about 3 GB. What is the reason?

The main reasons for the discrepancies are:

• 📥 Application cache – temporary files that are not always counted in the total volume.
• 🔒 Reserved space — MIUI leaves ~1-2 GB for updates and system needs.
• 🔄 Formatting – when you first turn on, part of the memory is allocated to the recovery section.
• 📁 Hidden files – some folders (e.g..thumbnails) are not displayed without special permissions.

How do you get accurate data? Use a combination of methods:

1. Check the memory in Settings → Storage (total volume).
2. Run a garbage cleanup.
3. Use DiskUsage to visualize large files.

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If the difference between the data settings and the file manager exceeds 3-5 GB, this is an occasion to check the phone for viruses or reset the cache through Recovery Mode.

FAQ: Frequent questions about memory at Redmi 9A