How to turn on extra memory on Xiaomi phone: the complete guide

Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones often face a shortage of RAM, especially when running heavy games or working with many applications at once. Modern shells MIUI and HyperOS offer a built-in mechanism to solve this problem, which allows you to use part of permanent storage (ROM) as virtual RAM (RAM). This technology, known as Memory Extension or “Memory Extension”, can significantly improve the multitasking of a device without the need for flashing or using root rights.

Enabling this feature can be a real salvation for budget models, where the amount of physical RAM is limited to 4 or 6 gigabytes. However, it is important to understand that using flash memory for system tasks has its own nuances that must be considered before activation. In this article, we will discuss in detail how to properly configure this setting, what risks exist and whether the game is worth the candle in your particular case of using a smartphone.

Before we get to the settings, it’s worth noting that this option isn’t available on all models and depends on the software version. It usually appears on devices released after 2021 and updated to current versions of the shell. If you want to squeeze the maximum performance out of your gadget, follow our instructions to correctly allocate system resources.

What is virtual memory in Xiaomi smartphones

The memory extension technology works similar to the swap file in Windows operating systems, where a portion of the internal storage that is commonly used for photos, apps and music is reserved by the system to temporarily store data from running programs, allowing the operating system to hold more applications in “fast access” than the physical volume of RAM allows.

When physical RAM is full, the system automatically moves the least-used processes to a reserved area on the drive. Although the read and write speed on the internal drive is lower than that of LPDDR chips, this prevents the forced closure of background applications, as a result, you can switch between messengers, browser and game without constantly rebooting tabs.

Smartphones with fast storage UFS 3.1 or UFS 4.0 will show a much better result than devices with older memory eMMC. That is why on flagship models the effect of turning on the function may be less noticeable visually, since their physical memory is often enough with a margin.

⚠️ Warning: Constantly writing and overwriting data in memory expansion mode can theoretically speed up wear on an internal drive, although modern memory controllers are able to efficiently distribute the load.

Verification of device and MIUI version compatibility

The first step before activating the feature is to believe that your smartphone is technically capable of supporting this option. The Memory Extension feature has become mainstream since the MIUI 12.5 shell, but on some older devices it may not be available even after the upgrade.

The mechanism must be reserved from 2 before 7 If your phone is full, the system will not allow this option to be enabled. 10-15 GB of free space for comfortable operation of the system and creation of a virtual buffer.

You can check for the feature through the settings menu, but sometimes it is hidden by default in certain regions of the firmware. Global ROMs usually have this option in standard access, while Chinese versions (China ROM) may require additional actions to activate it in some cases.

Step-by-step instructions for activating memory expansion

The process of enabling the function is quite simple and does not require a connection to a computer or the use of complex software. All actions are performed directly through the smartphone interface. Before starting manipulations, make sure that the battery charge is at least 30% so that the device does not turn off when the system resources are redistributed.

Follow the algorithm to activate the enhanced performance mode:

• 📱 Open the main menu and go to the Settings section.
• 🔍 At the top of the screen, search for settings and enter the request “Memory Extension” or “Memory Extension».
• ⚙️ If the search does not give results, manually navigate along the way: → Memory extension (the path may vary slightly depending on the version) MIUI).
• 🔄 Activate the switch "Enable memory extension».
• 💾 Select the desired amount of memory added from the options offered (for example, +2GB, +3GB, +5GB).
• ✅ Confirm the action and wait for the automatic restart of the device.

After the restart, the system will recalculate the available resources. You may notice that the total amount of free memory in the storage has decreased by the selected value, which is normal, since this part is now reserved for RAM. The About Phone menu will now display the total amount of RAM that includes the virtual add-on.

Setting up the volume of virtual memory

Choosing the optimal expansion volume is a balance between multitasking and drive speed. It's not always a good idea to choose the maximum value available. If you add too much virtual memory, but physical RAM is idle, you'll just lose disk space without real performance gains.

Consider the recommendations for choosing the volume depending on the configuration of your device:

Users with 8 gigabytes or more of physical memory often don’t need to turn on the feature at all, and in such cases, Android already manages resources efficiently, enabling an extension on powerful devices can even lead to micro-twitching of the interface if the write-to-drive speed is a bottleneck.

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If you actively use a navigator or maps offline, it is better to leave more space in permanent storage for the card cache than to give it to virtual RAM.

Impact on productivity and autonomy

Many users mistakenly believe that increasing the number in RAM performance automatically makes the phone faster. This is not quite true. Virtual memory is slower than physical memory, so it doesn't boost FPS in games directly. Its main purpose is to prevent applications from unloading from the background, rather than speeding up their launch.

On the autonomy side, the situation is ambiguous: on the one hand, more efficient memory management can reduce the workload on the processor when switching tasks; on the other hand, the constant activity of the memory controller to write and read the virtual buffer data can lead to additional charge consumption. The difference will not be huge, but in standby mode the consumption can be slightly higher than usual.

Also worth mentioning is heat. When you're actively working with a lot of data that's constantly circulating between RAM and ROM, the drive can get hot, and in the summer, or when you use your smartphone in your navigator, it can be an additional factor in trottling.

⚠️ Warning: If you notice that your phone is running slower or hanging more often after turning on the feature, try reducing the expansion volume or turning it off completely.

Alternative methods and storage cleaning

If the normal memory expansion function on your device is not available or is not working properly, there are other ways to optimize, first of all, cleaning the physical storage, and the disk is crammed to the end, which is slower, which negatively affects the entire system, including working with RAM.

Use Xiaomi’s built-in Security app to remove junk files. It also works effectively by manually cleaning the cache of messengers like Telegram and WhatsApp, which can take up tens of gigabytes. Freeing up even 5-10 GB of space can give you a greater boost in speed than turning on virtual memory.

For advanced users, there are methods to activate hidden functions through an engineering menu or ADB-They need to be careful, like changing the parameters. ro.config.low_ram It can force on memory saving mode, but it will rather limit the functionality than expand it.

adb shell settings put global low_ram true

But third-party accelerator apps from Google Play often do more harm than good, creating the illusion of working by permanently shutting down processes that the system immediately reopens, wasting battery life, and trusting the built-in MIUI mechanisms is better.

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Cleaning up physical storage from unnecessary files often has a more tangible effect than enabling virtual memory extensions.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)