How to Free Xiaomi Mi 9 Memory from the Others section: The Complete Guide

Xiaomi Mi 9 is the flagship of 2019, which is still relevant thanks to powerful hardware and support for updates. However, many users face a problem: over time, the internal memory of the smartphone is filled with a mysterious section “Other”, which can take up from 5 to 20+ GB. What are these files? Can they be deleted without harming the system? And why standard cleaning methods often do not work?

In this article, we will discuss 5 Proven ways to free up memory Mi 9 You'll learn how to safely remove the cache of applications, residual files after updates, duplicate media files, and even system debris that is not visible through the standard file manager. MIUI 12/13/14 and do not require root rights.

Important: some of the files in the Others section are critical to the system, and we'll explain in detail what you can delete and what you shouldn't touch, so you don't turn your smartphone into a brick.

What is the “Other” section in Xiaomi Mi 9 memory?

The Other section (or Other in the English version of MIUI) is the garbage bin of the operating system, which includes:

🗑️ Application and system process cache – temporary files that should be automatically cleared, but often remain “hang” for years.
📁 Residual data from remote applications – fragments of programs that have not been completely uninstalled.
🔄 Update files MIUI — firmware packages that are downloaded for installation, but are not removed after upgrade.
🖼️ Duplicates and thumbnails of media files – copies of photos, videos and audio created by a system or applications (for example, a gallery or Google Photos).
📜 Logs and dumps of the system – debugging files that are created when failures or for diagnostics.

According to Xiaomi, on average, up to 30% of a smartphone’s memory can be occupied by “invisible” files that don’t appear in the standard file manager, a problem that is exacerbated on the Mi 9 by the F2FS file system that Xiaomi used in this generation of flagships.

🔍 How to check how much space is taken up by the other»?

Go to Settings → About Phone → Memory. Here you will see a memory allocation diagram where the gray segment is the Other section. On the Mi 9 with 64/128 GB of storage, it can reach 10-15 GB after 2-3 years of use.

📊 How much memory does the “other” take on your Xiaomi Mi 9?

Less than 5GB

5-10 GB

10-15 GB

More than 15GB

I don't know.

Method 1: Cleaning the cache of applications and systems

The safest and fastest method is to delete temporary files that accumulate during the operation of MIUI. On the Mi 9, the cache can take up to 3-5 GB, especially if you actively use social networks, messengers or games.

📌 Step-by-step instruction:

Open Settings → Applications → Application Management.
Slip on the three dots in the upper right corner and select Sort by size.
Select an app with a large cache volume (such as Facebook, Telegram, YouTube) and click Clear Cache.
To clear the system cache, go to Settings → Memory → Clean (button at the bottom of the screen).

⚠️ Warning: Don't confuse Clear cache and Clear data! The second action will delete all settings and application files (e.g. WhatsApp correspondence or saved games).

Clear the cache of messengers (Telegram, WhatsApp)

Delete the cache of social networks (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok)

Clear the cache of Google Play Services and Google Play Store

Check the cache of games (if you play heavy projects)

Clear the system cache through Settings → Memory.-->

💡 Hidden lifehack: On the Mi 9, the cache of Google Play Services can inflate up to 1-2 GB. It can be safely cleaned every 1-2 months without consequences for the smartphone.

Method 2: Removing Residual Files from Remote Applications

When you delete an application through MIUI, the system often leaves behind tails — folders with settings, cache, and temporary files — that can take up hundreds of megabytes, but don't show up in the standard file manager.

🔧 How to find and remove them:

Install a file manager with access to system folders, such as Files by Google or FX Explorer (enable the display of hidden files in the settings).
Go to /data/data/ (requires permission to access the root folders) and it stores all installed and deleted applications.
Find folders with the names of remote programs (for example, com.facebook.katana for Facebook) and manually delete them.

⚠️ Warning: Don't delete the folders of current applications! This will cause malfunctions in their work. Also, don't touch the system folders with the prefixes com.android., com.miui. or com.xiaomi. MIUI.

folder	What it keeps.	Can I remove it?
/data/data/com.*.cache	Cache of remote applications	✅ Yes.
/data/data/com.*.files	Uploaded files (for example, maps in the navigator)	⚠️ Partially (check the contents)
/data/data/com.miui.*	MIUI system data	❌ No.
/data/app-lib/	Remote application libraries	✅ Yes.

📌 Alternative method: Use the application SD Maid (required root to work properly) automatically finds the residual files and offers to delete them. SD Maid can only clean up some of the trash.

Method 3: Cleaning up MIUI update files

Xiaomi regularly releases updates for the Mi 9, but firmware files (.zip) often remain in memory after installation. One such package can weigh 1.5-2.5 GB, and in a year or two, several of them accumulate.

📂 Where to find:

📁 folder /data/ota_package/ — Here are stored downloaded updates.
📁 folder /cache/ — Temporary installation files (root required to access).
📁 folder /sdcard/Download/rom/ — Backups of firmware, if you downloaded them manually.

🛠️ How to remove:

Open a file manager (e.g., standard MI File Manager).
Go to the Inner Memory → ota_package.
Delete all files with the.zip extension (e.g, miui_MI9Global_V12.0.1.0.QFAMIXM_...).
Clean the Download/rom folder if it exists.

⚠️ Note: If you are currently updating your smartphone, do not delete files from your smartphone. ota_package — This will interrupt the process and may cause the system to fail.

💡

Before removing update files, check the current version. MIUI In Settings → The phone. → Version. MIUI. If the version is the same as the last file in the ota_package, It can be easily removed. – It has already been installed.

Method 4: Removing duplicates and miniatures of media files

The Mi 9 automatically creates thumbnails (.thumbnail) for photos and videos, and can also duplicate files when synchronized with clouds (Mi Cloud, Google Photos), which take anywhere from 500 MB to 2-3 GB, but are rarely used.

🖼️ How to find and remove:

📸 Miniatures: Go to the /sdcard/DCIM/.thumbnails And delete all the files. They'll be recreated the next time you see the gallery.
🔄 Duplicates: Use apps like Files by Google (Clean Up tab) or Duplicate Files Fixer to find repetitive photos and videos.
☁️ Cloud Cache: Clear the Mi Cloud and Google Photos cache in Settings → Annexes.

📊 Example: If you have 1,000 photos in a gallery, the.thumbnails folder can take up to 300-500 MB. After cleaning, it will be refilled, but only with those thumbnails that are actually used.

⚠️ Attention: Do not delete the folder DCIM It stores all your photos and videos, and only delete the contents of the.thumbnails folder and duplicates that the software found.

What if the gallery is running slower after cleaning?

This is normal: when you first open the thumbnails after you delete them, MIUI regenerates them. Wait 5-10 minutes for the process to be completed. If the lags are left, clear the Gallery app cache in the settings.

Method 5: Reset partition cache (without data loss)

If previous methods didn’t help and the Others section still takes up a lot of space, try resetting the /cache partition cache.This won’t delete your files or settings, but will clear temporary system data that can “bloat” memory.

🔄 Instructions:

Turn off the Xiaomi Mi 9.
Press the Power + Volume buttons up until the Mi logo appears (Fastboot mode).
With the help of volume buttons, select Recovery Mode and confirm with the power button.
From the recovery menu, select Wipe & Reset → Wipe Cache.
Confirm the action and restart the smartphone.

⚠️ Note: Do not confuse Wipe Cache and Wipe Data! The second option (Factory Reset) will completely reset the smartphone to factory settings, deleting all your data.

🔍 What does this method do?

🧹 Clears temporary update files that have not been automatically deleted.
🚀 Accelerates the system by cleaning the Dalvik cache (Android virtual machine).
📉 It can free up to 1-3 GB of memory if the partition cache has been heavily fragmented.

💡

Resetting partition cache is the most effective way to clean Others without root permissions, and it is recommended to do it every 6-12 months, especially if you update MIUI frequently.

Additional tips for memory optimization

To prevent the “Others” section from filling in too quickly, follow these guidelines:

📵 Turn off automatic media download in instant messengers (WhatsApp, Telegram). Go to the chat settings and select Do not download automatically.
🔄 Clean the cache regularly (once every 1-2 months) through Settings → Memory.
☁️ Use cloud storage to back up photos and videos, and then delete local copies.
📱 Move the applications to the memory card (if supported). To do this, go to Settings → Annexes → [Select the application] → Warehouse → Change.
🔍 Check your memory for viruses. Some malware creates hidden files that go to Others. Use Malwarebytes or the built-in scanner. MIUI Security.

📌 For advanced users: If you're ready to get root rights, you can use apps like Root Explorer or Titanium Backup to deep-clean your system folders, but this will void the warranty and can lead to unstable smartphone performance.

💡 Interesting fact: on the Mi 9 with firmware MIUI 12+ There's a hidden Storage Sense feature that automatically cleans unnecessary files. ADB:

adb shell cmd storage set-self-primary

After that, the option of Automatic Cleanup will appear in the memory settings.

Frequent Questions (FAQ)

❓ Why does the “other” reappear after a week?

This is normal: the operating system and applications are constantly creating temporary files. To slow down the growth of Other, turn off the background activity of unnecessary applications in Settings → Battery → Application Selection and regularly clean the cache (every 1-2 weeks).

❓ Can you remove the “other” completely?

No, some of the files in this section are critical to MIUI, but you can reduce it to 1-3 GB using the methods described in this article. If the other takes more than 10 GB, it is a reason for deep cleaning or even resetting to factory settings.

❓ Is it safe to use cleaning applications (e.g. CCleaner)?

On the Mi 9, these applications often delete too much data, which can cause crashes. Better use built-in MIUI tools or manually controlled file managers. If you decide to use CCleaner, disable the Dalvik Cache and System Log cleanup options.

❓ Why the Mi 9 with 128 GB of memory “Other” takes up more space than the model with 64 GB?

This is due to the features of the F2FS file system that Xiaomi used in the Mi 9. On devices with more memory, the system reserves more space for cache and temporary files, and on the 128 GB model, users are more likely to install heavy apps and games that leave more “junk” behind.

❓ How to transfer “Other” to a memory card?

Unfortunately, you can't move the "Other" partition to a microSD, which is a system file that needs to be stored in internal memory, but you can transfer some of your user data (photos, videos, some apps) to the map to make room.