How to increase memory on the Xiaomi Redmi phone: from cleaning to upgrade

Why Xiaomi Redmi is running out of memory and what to do about it

Owners of Xiaomi Redmi smartphones – from the budget Redmi 9A to the flagship Redmi K60 – sooner or later face the same problem: “Memory is full”, despite the fact that you have not installed anything for a long time, the reason lies not only in your actions, but also in the peculiarities of MIUI – the Xiaomi brand shell.

The system automatically reserves space for updates, caches data to speed up applications, and some services (such as Google Play Services or Mi Cloud) can take up gigabytes unnoticed by the user. In addition, many applications leave behind ** junk files - temporary data, log files and settings that are not automatically cleaned.

In this article, we will discuss 7 working ways to increase the available memory on Xiaomi Redmi – from basic (cache cleaning) to advanced (use of the device) SD-All methods tested on current versions of the card as internal storage. MIUI 14/15 and are suitable for Redmi Note models 12/13, Redmi 10/11, POCO X5 and other devices based on Qualcomm Snapdragon or MediaTek Helio.

Important: If your smartphone is released before 2019 (such as the Redmi 5 or Redmi Note 7), the method with porting applications to the Internet is not a good idea. SD-The card may not work properly due to limitations of older versions of Android.

1. Clear cache and unnecessary files through built-in tools

The first and easiest way to free up memory is to use built-in MIUI utilities, which allow you to delete temporary files, application cache and duplicate media without installing third-party software.

How to do this:

• 📱 Open the Settings. → Memory (or Settings) → Storage on new versions MIUI).
• 🧹 Click "Clean" in the section "Junk files" - the system will scan the device for unnecessary data (cache, APK-files, thumbnails).
• 🔍 Go to Files tab and sort them by size. Delete large files you don't need (such as downloaded videos from instant messengers or old backups).
• 📁 In the Apps section, select programs that take up a lot of space (such as Telegram, WhatsApp, or games) and clean their cache manually.

How much memory can you free? On average, 1 to 5 GB, depending on how long you've been cleaning, like the Google Chrome or Instagram cache can weigh up to 500 MB, and temporary messenger files can weigh up to 2-3 GB.

⚠️ Note: Do not clear the cache of system applications (e.g. com.android.systemui or com.miui.home) – this can cause interface failures.

Data transfer to SD-Map: What can and cannot be moved

If your Xiaomi Redmi has a microSD slot (like the Redmi Note 11 or POCO M5), you can use it to store media files, documents, and even some apps.

• 📸 Photo and video: Transferred without restrictions. Use the built-in Explorer (Menu) → Move) or set up automatic saving in the camera (Camera settings) → Preservation site → SD-map).
• 🎵 Music and downloads: Also portable without problems. In Google Play Music or Spotify you can specify SD-map as a storage place for offline tracks.
• 📱 Appendices: Only a part of the applications supports the transfer to SD (For example, Facebook Lite or VK). Most modern games (such as Genshin Impact or Call of Duty Mobile) do not allow this to happen.

How to transfer the application to SD-map:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Choose the app you want (such as Maps or Netflix).
3. Press "Storage" → "Change" → choose SD-map.
4. Confirm the transfer. Some applications will require a reboot.

⚠️ Attention: If you extract SD-The map, the applications that were moved to it, will stop working, and the speed of the programs with the SD-The card will be lower than the internal memory (especially if the card is a class card). UHS-I U1 lower).

3.Use of SD-The card is an internal memory (adoptable storage)

On smartphones Xiaomi Redmi with Android 6.0+ formattable SD-This will allow you to install applications directly on the map, but there are serious limitations:

How to set up Adoptable Storage:

1. Put it in. SD-smartphone-card.
2. When a notification appears, select "Use as internal memory" (if the notification does not appear, go to Settings. → Memory. → SD-map → Menu (three dots) → Settings → Formatting as an internal).
3. Confirm the formatting (all data on the map will be deleted!).
4. After formatting, select “Transfer Data” – the system will prompt you to move some applications and media files to SD.

Important: After this operation, the card will not be used in other devices without full formatting. SD-Cards are less reliable than internal memory.

4. Removal of system applications and disabling duplicate services

MIUI is known for a large number of pre-installed apps, many of which duplicate Google features or are simply not needed.

• 📱 Two browsers: Mi Browser and Google Chrome.
• 🎵 Two Music Players: Mi Music and Google Play Music.
• 📷 Two galleries: Mi Gallery and Google Photos.
• 📊 Analytics Services: Mi Analytics, MSA (Mobile Services Framework).

Removing or disabling unnecessary applications can free up to 1-2 GB of memory, but do so carefully – removing critical system components will lead to failures.

Safe way (without root):

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Select an unneeded app (such as Mi Browser).
3. Click "Disable" (if the "Delete" button is inactive).
4. Confirm the shutdown. The app will disappear from the menu, but its data will remain in memory.

Advanced method (with root rights):

If you have root, you can completely uninstall system applications using Titanium Backup or SD Maid. For example, to remove Mi Browser, run in ADB:

adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.android.browser

⚠️ Note: Do not remove apps called com.android., com.miui. or com.qualcomm.* – this can lead to a phone “brick.” Before removing, check the list of safe packets on the forums 4PDA or XDA-Developers.

5. MIUI Optimization: Disabling Automatic Downloads and Backups

MIUI by default includes several functions that fill memory imperceptibly:

• 🔄 Automatic updates to Google Play and Mi App Store.
• ☁️ Backup to Mi Cloud (can create duplicate files).
• 📥 Autoload media files in messengers (WhatsApp, Telegram).
• 📊 Analytics collection (log files can take hundreds of megabytes).

How to disable unnecessary functions:

Extra tip: Clean Download once a month – many files (APK, PDF, archives) are downloaded and forgotten. Also check the DCIM/.thumbnails folder – it stores thumbnails of photos and videos that can be safely deleted.

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If you take photos often, set up an automatic upload to Google Photos and then delete local copies. This will free up space without losing your photos. Go to Google Photos → Settings → Free up space.

6.Use of cloud storage and external storage

If the internal memory is severely lacking, SD-The card is not an option (for example, in Redmi). K50 No microSD slot, consider alternative storage options:

• ☁️ Cloud services: Google Drive (15GB free), Mi Cloud (5GB free for Xiaomi accounts), Yandex Drive (10GB free), set up automatic upload of photos and videos to the cloud, and then delete local copies.
• 💾 External SSD/HDD: Through OTG-You can connect an external drive (for example, SanDisk Extreme Portable) SSD). The reading/writing speed will be higher than the SD-cards, but the carrier is less portable.
• 📡 Local storage (NAS): If you have a router at home USB-port (for example, Xiaomi Mi Router) 4A Gigabit, connect a flash drive or hard drive to it and configure access over the network.

How to transfer files to an external drive:

1. Connect. SSD flash-drive OTG-Adapter (check your Redmi model compatibility with Settings) → The phone. → Version of the kernel - the function should be supported USB OTG).
2. Open the "Mi File Manager" section.
3. Select the files you want to transfer, click "More" → "Copy".
4. Go to section "USB-drive" and insert files.

To keep an external drive on the go, you can set up automatic file saving on it, for example, in Google Camera (a modified version for Xiaomi), you can choose an external drive as the place to save your photo.

7.Extreme measures: factory reset and storage replacement

If all of the above methods have not worked, there are two radical options:

• 🔄 Hard Reset: Delete all data, including system debris, but return the phone to a "clean" state. Be sure to back up before reset! How to do: Settings → The phone. → Resetting settings → Erase all data.
• 🛠️ Replacement of internal drive: Suitable only for power users! in some Redmi models (e.g. Redmi Note 10 Pro or POCO F3) You can replace the internal memory with a more capacious one (for example, from 64 GB to 128 GB). However, this: Requires disassembly of the phone (risk of losing the warranty, UFS 2.1 or eMMC 5.1 The cost of replacement may exceed the cost of the phone.

⚠️ Note: After replacing the drive, you will need to flash the phone again using the Mi Flash Tool, since partition data is stored in memory!

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Resetting to factory settings is the most efficient way to free up memory, but it should be the last option, and 90% of the time, a combination of cleaning the cache, transferring files to SD, and disabling unnecessary services is enough.

FAQ: Frequent questions about memory enhancement on Xiaomi Redmi