Xiaomi smartphone users often face the challenge of checking the available space on the device, which can be due to slow operation of the system, the inability to install a new application or downloading a large amount of media. Understanding how your gadget’s storage is arranged is the key to its stable operation.
Modern Redmi Note models use a complex resource allocation system, and it’s important not to confuse RAM, which is responsible for running programs, with built-in ROM storage, which stores your photos, videos, and the operating system itself. An error in identifying the type of memory can lead to poor optimization actions.
In this article, we will take a look at all the diagnostic methods, from standard settings to the use of engineering menus, and learn how to interpret the data correctly and effectively manage the resources of your smartphone, avoiding common errors when cleaning system partitions.
Differences between RAM and ROM in Android
Before we get to the bottom of the game, we need to understand the memory architecture of Android devices. Many users mistakenly believe that increasing the free space on the disk will automatically speed up the interface, but the speed of switching between applications and smooth animations is responsible for RAM.
Embedded memory, or ROM, is nonvolatile storage. This is where the MIUI operating system resides, all the apps installed, and the user files. When you see a message saying "memory is full," most often it's about a lack of space in that partition, which can block the camera or messengers.
There's also the concept of virtual memory or paging file that the system creates on the basis of ROM when physical RAM becomes insufficient, a temporary solution that can slow down the device, since the read speed from the disk is lower than from the RAM chip, and understanding these differences will help you plan the installation of heavy games and applications competently.
- 📱 RAM (Random Access Memory: Temporary storage for active processes, cleared when rebooted.
- 💾 ROM (Read-Only Memory: Permanent storage for files, systems and applications, data is saved after shutdown.
- ⚡ Application cache: temporary files that speed up the launch of programs, but take up space in the ROM.
Importantly, manufacturers often specify the amount of memory “net” in the characteristics, while the actual amount available to the user is smaller, because system files take up a significant amount of space immediately after purchase. For example, in a model with a declared 128 GB, the user may be available about 110-115 GB.
Checking RAM through smartphone settings
The easiest and safest way to know the current status of RAM is to use the built-in MIUI system. This method does not require installing third-party software and gives reliable information about how many resources are used right now.
Find the Security icon, which is Xiaomi's standard system tool, and when you run it, you'll see the green shield and the Clean button, but what we're interested in is not the cleanup itself, but the status information. Click on the gear icon or go to the performance section.
The menu that opens often shows a pie chart showing the ratio of occupied to free memory, and clicking on this indicator will give you a detailed view of the processes running, and you can see which applications consume the most RAM resources.
If the standard interface doesn't seem informative enough, you can use the advanced developer settings. Go to Settings → About Phone and click on the MIUI version several times until you notice that you've become a developer, and then a new item will appear in the settings menu.
- 🔍 Memory: Shows total volume and available space right now.
- 🔄 Running Services: A list of processes that are active in the background.
- 🛑 Forced Stop: the ability to close “heavy” applications to free up resources.
⚠️ Warning: Do not try to force shut down system processes that you do not know the names of. This can lead to unstable interface operation or a smartphone reboot.
Using a built-in task manager allows you to quickly estimate the load on the processor and memory in real time. If you notice that even in a simple system is occupied by more than 60-70%, perhaps in the background is an unoptimized application or miner.
Analysis of embedded storage and file distribution
Internal ROM storage requires a more detailed approach to analysis, as it is filled unevenly. Android provides a convenient tool for visualizing exactly what space is occupied. To access this information, go to the Settings menu → About phone → Storage.
Here you'll see a color diagram, where each sector corresponds to a specific type of data: apps, images, videos, audio, documents, etc. This allows you to instantly identify the "eaters" of space, and it often turns out that the lion's share is taken by the cache of messengers like Telegram or WhatsApp.
☑️ Analysis of the vault
In the Apps section, you can sort the list by size of space, and this can help you identify programs that you haven't used in a long time, but that continue to store gigabytes of data, and removing those applications is the fastest way to free up a lot of space.
The other or system folder deserves special attention, sometimes it inflates to tens of gigabytes due to indexing errors or residual files after remote games, and cleaning this partition through standard means may not be available, and then deeper analysis methods are required.
- 📸 Gallery: often contains duplicate photos and videos in high resolution.
- 💬 Messengers: Keep the history of correspondence and media files for years.
- 📦 Downloads: Forgotten installation files APK documents.
For more in-depth analysis, we recommend using file managers with disk mapping, such as DiskUsage or the built-in MIUI conductor in size-sorting mode, which show the folder structure in rectangles, where the size of the figure is proportional to the weight of the file.
Use of the Engineering Menu for Detailed Diagnostics
For users who want to access technical information that is not available on the regular menu, there is a MIUI engineering menu, a hidden part of the system designed to test hardware components, and is logged in through a set of special commands in call mode.
Open the Phone app and type ##6484##. If the code is entered correctly, the CIT menu will automatically open. There are a lot of tests here, but we're interested in memory information. Find the item associated with Memory or Storage.
Entry command: ##6484##
Alternative: #4636## (test menu)In the engineering menu, you can see not only the total volume, but also the health status of memory, the number of write cycles (on some models), and the technical parameters of the chip, which is useful when buying a used device or diagnosing malfunctions when the system is slow for no apparent reason.
Be careful when changing the settings in the engineering menu. Most of the items are for factory tests, and changing the parameters of the radio module or screen calibration without proper knowledge can lead to malfunctioning of the device. Use this section only to view information.
⚠️ Note: In the engineering menu, it is not recommended to conduct tests "Write" (record) for memory without the need, since this consumes the resource of the storage cell.
Optimize and clean up memory on Redmi Note
Once you've figured out what memory is about, there's an optimization phase, and simply deleting files isn't always effective unless you're dealing with system debris. MIUI has a built-in Cleanup feature that analyzes the device for temporary files, ad cache, and remnants of remote applications.
To clean up instant messengers, it is better to use their internal settings, for example, Telegram can set up auto-delete cache, and WhatsApp can selectively delete large video files from chat rooms, which allows you to free up gigabytes of space without deleting important text messages.
Also worth noting is the memory extension feature that is present in the new Redmi Note models, which allows you to reserve some of the built-in storage for RAM, which can help with multitasking, but slightly reduces the durability of the ROM due to the intensive recording.
| Type of data | Where it takes place | Can be removed | Risks. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash app. | Internal memory. | Yes, it's safe. | The first launch of the application will be slower |
| Files.thumbnails | DCIM folder | Yes, but they will. | Slowly scrolling through the gallery first time |
| Android/obb folder | Internal memory. | Only from remote games | Games will stop running |
| System Logs | Section System | Only through ADB | It is difficult to remove without superuser rights |
Regular maintenance of the device prolongs its life, just once a month to conduct a full check of the storage and remove unnecessary duplicate photos, using cloud services to store photo archives also helps keep internal memory in good shape.
Advanced methods and work with access rights
Advanced users with Root rights have additional memory management options, such as transferring system applications to a memory card (if supported) or resizing the swap partition, but this requires a deep knowledge of the Linux file system.
One effective method is to use the ADB (Android Debug Bridge) command line from your computer, so by connecting your smartphone over USB and enabling debugging, you can execute a command to output a detailed report on disk partitions, which allows you to see hidden partitions that are not displayed in the interface.
adb shell df -hThis command will show a table of mounted file systems showing the used and free space in each partition. Analyzing the output, you can find that the /data partition is full, while /system has free space that can not be used for personal files.
If you’re planning to flash your device to a custom version of Android, pre-recognition is critical. Some lightweight firmware takes up half the space of a stock MIUI, which can be a crucial factor for devices with little built-in storage.