How to watch and clean memory in Xiaomi Redmi Note 9

Owners of the popular Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 smartphone sooner or later face a lack of free storage space. This is a natural process, because modern applications take up more gigabytes, and the cache of social networks grows to incredible sizes. Understanding how exactly the memory is distributed on your device is the first step to optimize the work of the gadget.

The lack of space in the ROM (internal memory) partition not only makes it impossible to install new programs or download photos, but also causes the entire system to slow down noticeably. The MIUI shell requires a buffer to properly operate the background processes. If this buffer is critically small, the phone starts to hang, and applications can close on their own.

In this article, we will take a look at all the ways you can view the state of disk space and RAM, learn how to distinguish system files from user files, which folders can be deleted without risk, and how to properly configure automatic cleaning. Proper management of the device resources will prolong its life and maintain a high speed of interface response.

Differences between operational and internal memory

Many users confuse the two main types of memory available in a smartphone: RAM (Ram) and ROM (Internal Storage). RAM is responsible for performance right now: how many applications can work simultaneously, how fast heavy games open and tabs switch. In the Redmi Note 9 model, the amount of RAM varies from 4 to 6 GB depending on the modification.

Internal memory, or ROM, is your warehouse, and it stores photos, videos, installed applications, music, and operating system files. It's that amount (64 or 128 GB) that most often ends up, forcing the user to look for ways to clean up. It's important to understand that it's not software-enabled to increase the physical volume of the ROM, but you can effectively manage its filling.

Android's MIUI-based system allocates some of the internal memory to virtual memory for its needs, so the actual amount available to the user is always less than the specified amount. This is normal for all modern devices, the main thing is to make sure that at least 10-15% of the total storage volume is free for stable operation.

⚠️ Warning: Do not try to delete files from system folders that you do not know the names of, which can lead to incorrect interface or loss of important system settings.

Standard way to view through settings

The easiest and most reliable way to find out how much space is left on your Xiaomi is built into the settings menu, which is to unlock the screen and find the gear icon. The list that opens should scroll down to About Phone, and that's where all the basic configuration information about your device is contained.

Clicking on About Phone will show you the Warehouse (or Memory) line, and clicking on that line will reveal detailed statistics, where color highlights how much space is occupied by apps, images, videos and system files. Visualization helps you quickly understand what type of content is eating up the bulk of gigabytes.

If you are interested in RAM, then in the same menu you need to find the item Version of the kernel or click several times on the Version. MIUI, to activate advanced features, although newer versions of the shell statistics RAM Often included in the menu "Extended settings» → «Memory. It shows total volume and current load.

Regularly checking these metrics helps to detect anomalies in time, for example, if system files occupy an unusually large volume, this may indicate an accumulation of error logs or stalled update processes, in which case it is worth conducting a deeper diagnosis.

Use of the Application Security

Each Xiaomi smartphone has a Security system app preinstalled, which is a powerful tool not only for antivirus protection but also for memory management. Run it from the home screen and select Cleanup. The system will automatically scan the device for junk files.

Once scanned, you'll see a detailed report. Click on the Clean button to delete temporary files, cache and remnants of deleted applications. However, take your time to agree with everything. Click on the Parts icon or Analysis to see what exactly is proposed to be deleted. Often, you can find forgotten large files or duplicates.

Inside the app, there's Deep Clean, which allows you to find large files, rarely used apps, and similar photos. It's a great way to free up a few gigabytes in a couple of minutes. It works safely because it's designed by Redmi itself and knows the structure of the file system.

⚠️ Warning: The Cleanup feature in the Security app can delete stored Wi-Fi passwords or browser history if you don’t uncheck the appropriate ticks before starting the process.

Analysis of space by category

For those who like accuracy, the storage settings are categorized, and the system sorts files into apps, images, videos, audio, documents, and more. The app category often takes the lion's share, especially if you use messengers like Telegram or WhatsApp, which cache all the media you've seen.

The Other (or System Data) section is often questionable, as it can take tens of gigabytes, including streaming cache, offline navigator maps, temporary update files, and data from remote applications, which can only be cleaned through resetting or manually deleting specific application data.

Use the table below to understand which folders are responsible for what in the file manager:

By analyzing this data, you can make an informed decision to delete, for example, the Download folder is often packed with app installers (APK-files that have already done their job and are no longer needed, and deleting them is the safest way to free up space.

Manually managing application memory

The most effective way to fight for gigabytes is to manually control specific applications. Go to Settings → Apps → All apps. Sort the list by memory size. You'll be surprised to find that some clothing store or news aggregator takes 2-3 GB.

Once you have a voracious app, click the Clean button. There are two options available: Clear cache and Clear all (or Reset) Clear cache. Cleaning the cache is safe — it will delete temporary pictures and scripts, but save your logins and settings. Reset will return the application to the “just after installation” state by deleting all your data inside it.

Pay special attention to social networks. In the settings of the Telegram itself, for example, there is a data and memory item → Memory Use. You can set up automatic cache cleaning every 3 days or week, which will save you from having to do it manually and prevent the storage from bloating.

⚠️ Before clearing the data (“Clean all”) of messengers, make sure you have a backup copy of the correspondence, otherwise the message history will be irretrievably lost.

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Turn on the “Auto-Delete Media” function in Telegram settings so that videos and photos do not occupy the phone’s memory forever.

Expanding Memory with a MicroSD Card

The Redmi Note 9 features a hybrid slot that allows you to install a microSD card up to 512 GB. It’s a great solution for storing photo archives, music and movies. However, using the card as a full-fledged extension of internal memory for installing applications in new versions of Android has become more difficult.

To transfer files to the card, paste it into a slot (near the SIM card). The system will suggest configuring the drive. Select the option "Use as portable storage", then when shooting a photo in the camera, you can choose to save immediately to the map, configuring this in the parameters of the Camera application itself.

Some apps allow you to change the way you store data to your memory card in your internal settings, and this is true for navigators (downloading offline maps), music players and voice recorders, and transferring such heavy files will significantly relieve the system partition.

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The memory card is ideal for media files, but it does not speed up the smartphone and is not designed to install modern heavy applications.

Remember that memory cards have lower read and write speeds than internal flash modules, and installing games or running heavy programs from a card can lead to long downloads and twitches.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)