How to increase RAM on Xiaomi Redmi 9A: real methods and their effectiveness

Xiaomi Redmi 9A with its modest 2-3 GB of RAM often becomes a bottleneck for users who want to run modern applications or play demanding games. But what if we say that you can increase RAM on this budget smartphone without a soldering iron and expensive upgrades? Of course, physically replace the memory chips in Redmi 9A is impossible — it’s not a PC, but there are at least 7 proven ways to optimize or virtually expand RAM.

In this article, we'll go through all the available methods, from basic Android settings to advanced virtual RAM tricks that MIUI officially supports. Importantly, not all methods are equally effective, and some can even reduce performance if used incorrectly, so we'll not only give instructions, but also show the results of speed tests before and after each method is used.

If you're ready to make the most of your Redmi 9A, read on. If you're in doubt about whether you should bother at all, answer one question:

1. background cleansing and MIUI optimization: a basic memory boost

Before you go deep into the settings, it's worth starting with the simplest thing: free RAM from unnecessary processes. MIUI has built-in tools that many users ignore, and it's not worth it. For example, the Background Cleanup feature in the Security menu can free up to 300-500 MB of RAM by closing the background activity of applications.

How to do this:

• 📱 Open the Settings. → Annexes → Security → Cleanup.
• 🔍 Click Clear the background (not to be confused with cache cleaning!).
• ⚡ Turn on the autoclean option when locking the screen.
• 🔄 Reboot your phone – it will reset the time processes.

But here's the nuance: MIUI aggressively closes the background processes, which can interfere with notifications (for example, on Telegram or WhatsApp).If push notifications are important to you, add critical applications to Secure applications (in the same Security section).

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After cleaning the background, check the free memory in Settings → About Phone → Memory Status. If it is less than 1 GB, it is time to move to more radical methods.

2. Virtual RAM in MIUI: How to add 1-3 GB “out of nothing”

One of the most talked-about features of recent MIUIs is virtual RAM (or RAM Expansion), a technology that allows you to use part of your phone’s internal memory as an additional RAM. On the Redmi 9A with MIUI 12.5+, you can add up to 3GB of virtual RAM, but there are important limitations:

• 📉 Productivity will not increase – virtual RAM slower physical, but will help to avoid downloading applications.
• 🔋 Eats space in internal memory – 1 GB of virtual RAM = 1 GB less for files.
• ⚠️ It doesn’t work on all versions of the software. MIUI for Redmi 9A function.

How to turn on:

1. Go to Settings → About Phone and tap 5 times on the MIUI version to unlock Advanced Settings.
2. Return to Settings → Additional → Memory Extension (or Memory Extension)
3. Select the amount of virtual RAM (we recommend starting with 1 GB).
4. Reboot the phone.

Test results (average values on Redmi 9A 2/32 GB):

⚠️ Attention: Virtual RAM It won’t help with games like Genshin Impact or Call of Duty Mobile — they need physical RAM, but it is useful for multitasking (for example, keeping YouTube, Telegram and the browser open at the same time).

3. Disable unnecessary system processes and applications

MIUI is known for eating RAM even in the background. Many system processes (e.g. Mi Video, Mi Music, GetApps) are automatically triggered and hang in memory, even though you don't use them. They can be turned off without root rights, but neatly — some processes are critical to stability.

List of safe apps to disable (checked on Redmi 9A):

• 🎵 com.miui.player – Music (if you use Spotify or VK Music).
• 🎬 com.miui.videoplayer – Video player (if you watch videos on YouTube or on YouTube) VLC).
• 📦 com.xiaomi.midrop – Mi Drop (unless you use Wi-Fi file transfer).
• 🛒 com.xiaomi.mipicks - GetApps (Xiaomi app store).
• 📰 com.miui.weather2 — Weather (if you use a Google widget).

How to turn it off:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Select the app from the list above and click Disable (do not Delete!).
3. Confirm the action. The app will disappear from the menu, but it will remain in the system.

⚠️ Warning: Do not disable com.android.systemui, com.miui.home or any processes with Google in the name – this will lead to the collapse of the system and the need to reset to factory settings.

4.Use of swap file via ADB

If virtual RAM in MIUI didn’t help you or it didn’t work in your firmware, you can create a swap file manually. This is a more flexible analog of virtual RAM, but requires a connection to a computer and work with ADB. The method works on Redmi 9A without root rights, but you need to be careful – the wrong commands can lead to failure.

What you need:

• 🖥️ Computer with installed ADB and Fastboot.
• 🔌 USB-cable (preferably original).
• ⚙️ Included debugging by USB (Settings → The phone. → Version. MIUI (tap) → For developers → Debugging by USB).

Instructions:

adb shell


su




dd if=/dev/zero of=/data/swapfile bs=1M count=1024 # create a 1GB file




mkswap /data/swapfile




swapon /data/swapfile




echo "100" > /proc/sys/vm/swappiness # swap aggressiveness setting

To enable swap automatically when you reboot, you need to add lines to /system/etc/init.d, but that requires root rights. Without swap, you have to manually turn on swap after each reboot.

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The swap file is more efficient than MIUI's virtual RAM, but has two downsides: 1) eats up internal memory; 2) wears it down due to frequent recordings; and we don't recommend using swap all the time, just for a temporary boost when running heavy applications.

5. Root access and nuclear patches: extreme measures

If you're willing to take risks, getting root rights will give you access to deep RAM optimization.

• 🔧 Change the kernel parameters (vm.swappiness, min_free_kbytes).
• 🗑️ Remove all system applications, including MIUI Bloatware.
• 🔄 Use Magisk modules to fine-tune memory (e.g, RAM Optimizer).
• 📥 Install alternative cores with better memory management.

But there's a downside.

• ❌ Loss of warranty (if the phone is under warranty).
• ⚠️ Risk of “bricking” (turning into a “brick”) when making an error.
• 🔒 Problems with Google Pay, Netflix, and other apps that require SafetyNet.
• 🔄 The need for manual firmware updates.

If you do, here is a brief instruction:

1. Unlock the bootloader through Mi Unlock Tool (you need a Mi Account and wait 7-15 days).
2. Install custom recovery (TWRP) for Redmi 9A (look for the up-to-date version on XDA Developers).
3. Sweep through Magisk to get root.
4. Install memory optimization modules (such as RAM Expander (Swap) or Kernel Adiutor).

⚠️ Attention: On Redmi 9A with a MediaTek Helio processor G25 Some nuclear patches may cause overheating or unstable operation. Check forum reviews before use (e.g., for example, for information on the site, 4PDA or XDA).

6.Alternative firmware: pure Android vs MIUI

If you're tired of MIUI with its "optimizations" that only eat up RAM, you can try custom firmware. Redmi 9A has:

• 🤖 LineageOS – pure Android without unnecessary processes.
• ⚡ Pixel Experience – firmware with chips from Google Pixel.
• 🔧 Havoc-OS - customizable firmware with fine memory setting.

Advantages:

• ✅ Fewer background processes → more free RAM.
• ✅ No Advertising and Unnecessary Xiaomi Services.
• ✅ More aggressive memory management (for example, LineageOS can be configured) LMK (Low Memory Killer)).

Disadvantages:

• ❌ No official support – bugs (e.g., a broken camera) are possible).
• ❌ Complicated installation (needs an unlocked boot loader and TWRP).
• ❌ Widevine's loss L1 → Netflix and Disney+ They will work in low resolution.

Where to download firmware:

• XDA Developers (Redmi 9A)
• 4PDA (Redmi 9A) Themes
• The official LineageOS website (but there may be no official build for the Redmi 9A).

7. Hardware tricks: memory card as RAM (not recommended)

You can find tips on the Internet for using a microSD card as RAM, which is theoretically possible via swap to card, but in practice, it's useless and dangerous for the Redmi 9A.

• 🐢 Speed: Even the fastest microSD UHS-I 10 to 50 times slower than physical RAM.
• 🔥 Depreciation: Constant writing/reading will quickly kill the memory card.
• 🔄 Instability: Android is not optimized for swap on external media.

If you really want to try it (for example, for an experiment), here is a command to create swap on the map (but we don’t recommend it):

adb shell


su




mkdir /sdcard/swap




dd if=/dev/zero of=/sdcard/swap/swapfile bs=1M count=512 #512 MB swap




mkswap /sdcard/swap/swapfile




swapon /sdcard/swap/swapfile

⚠️ Note: This method can cause data loss on the card or even damage to the file system. If you do decide to use a separate memory card that does not have important files.

FAQ: Frequent questions about increasing RAM on Redmi 9A