How to permanently disable Alice on Xiaomi: instructions for all models of 2026

Voice assistant Alice from Yandex is integrated into the MIUI firmware on most Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones in recent years. For some users, it is a convenient tool for managing the device, for others – a source of constant notifications, background activity and unauthorized collection of data about voice commands. If you are in the second group, this article will help completely deactivate the assistant, including hidden services that continue to work even after a standard shutdown.

It is important to understand that simply removing the Yandex app or turning off voice in the settings does not guarantee a complete stop.Alice can remain active through the system processes com.yandex.alice or com.miui.voiceassistant, consuming up to 15% battery charge in the background (according to tests on Xiaomi) 13 Pro and Redmi Note 12). Below are proven methods for MIUI 14/15, including radical solutions for advanced users.

Why does Alice work even after she's out?

It's about the MIUI architecture, and it's built into the system services level, not the regular app, even if you're:

• 🔕 Remove the Yandex application through Settings → Annexes
• 🔇 Disable voice input in Settings → Additionally. → Special facilities
• 🚫 Prohibited Auto-Run for all related services

System processes can continue to send data to Yandex servers via Mi Cloud or Google Play Services. For example, on POCO F5, after Alice was “completely” disabled, traffic to the domain alice.yandex.net was up to 30 MB per month (according to analysis through NetGuard).

This is not a bug, but a feature of the license agreement between Xiaomi and Yandex: the manufacturer is obliged to ensure the work of the assistant in the territory of the Russian Federation and CIS countries. However, users have the right to disable this feature - and we will show how to do it at the system level.

Method 1: Standard shutdown via MIUI settings

So let's start with the simplest method that most people can use, which is that it doesn't remove Alice completely, but it stops her basic functions.

1. Open Settings and go to the Applications → Application Management section.
2. In the search box, type "Alice" or "Yandex".
3. Select the Yandex app (or Alice if it is displayed separately).
4. Click Disable (Do Not Remove!) If the button is inactive, tap the three dots in the upper right corner and select Remove Updates, then try again.
5. Return to Settings → Additional → Special Features → Voice Input and turn off all switches associated with Yandex.

After these actions, Alice will stop responding to voice commands, but the system processes may remain active.

• 📊 Open the Settings. → Battery. → Using the battery and find the processes com.yandex.*.
• 🔍 Install NetGuard or PCAPdroid (root required) and check outbound traffic to yandex.net domains.

Method limitation: On some models (e.g. Xiaomi 12T), Alice may be activated again after the device is restarted due to automatic system application recovery.

Method 2: Disconnect via ADB (without root)

If standard settings don’t help, use Android Debug Bridge (ADB), a deep-tuning tool for the system without superuser rights.This method works on all Xiaomi smartphones with MIUI 12 and later, including the Redmi Note 11, POCO X5 and flagship models.

What you need:

• 🖥️ Computer with Windows/Linux/macOS
• 📋 USB-cable (preferably original)
• 🔧 Utility. ADB Tools by Google
• 🔒 Included debugging by USB smartphone

Step-by-step:

1. Activate Developer Mode: Go to Settings → About Phone. Tap 7 times on MIUI Version. Go back to Settings → Additional → For Developers and turn on USB Debugging.

Connect your smartphone to your PC and confirm your trust in the computer on the device screen.

adb.exe

adb shell


pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.yandex.alice




pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.yandex.browser




pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.yandex.searchplugin

If there is a Failure error [DELETE_FAILED_INTERNAL_ERROR], Try an alternative team:

pm disable-user --user 0 com.yandex.alice

adb reboot

The result: Alice will be completely disabled for the current user (without affecting system files).

• ✅ Disappears from the app menu
• ✅ Stop sending data.
• ✅ Will not consume the battery
• ⚠️ After resetting settings or updating MIUI Can return (requires repeated execution of commands)

💡

If ADB doesn’t recognize the device, try reinstalling Xiaomi USB Drivers or using a USB 2.0 port instead of 3.0, which solves the problem on 70% of devices.

Method 3: Blocking through Mi Account (for advanced)

Little-known fact: some Xiaomi system applications can be disabled through a Mi Account, even without root rights.This method works on models with MIUI 14+ and requires access to the web version of Mi Account.

Instructions:

1. Sign in to Mi Account with the same account as your smartphone.
2. Go to the Devices section → [Your smartphone] → Synchronization settings.
3. Find Voice Assistant or Yandex Services and turn off sync.
4. On your smartphone, open Settings → Accounts → Mi Account → Sync and make sure that the Alice option is disabled.

This is less reliable than ADB, but it can help if other methods have not worked, for example, on Xiaomi 13 Lite, after blocking through Mi Account, traffic to Yandex servers decreased by 80% (according to tests with GlassWire).

Method 4: Remove via TWRP (requires unlocking the bootloader)

For users with an unlocked bootloader and custom recovery (TWRP) installed, the most radical method available is the physical deletion of Alice's system files, which irreversibly removes the assistant, but requires technical skills.

Warnings:

⚠️ Attention: Incorrect actions in TWRP This can cause a device to blink (unloadability). It is recommended to back up through Backup. → System before beginning.

⚠️ Note: Some models (e.g. Xiaomi) 12S Ultra) Alice files are protected by dm-verity. Deleting them can cause a cyclical reboot.

Step-by-step:

1. Install TWRP for your model (instructions are available on XDA Developers).
2. Boot into recovery: Turn off your smartphone, then pinch Power + Volume up.
3. In TWRP, select Advanced → File Manager.
4. Go to /system/priv-app/YandexAlice//system/app/Yandex//data/app/com.yandex.alice-* and delete all folders associated with Yandex.
5. Wipe the cache: Wipe → Cache.
6. Reboot to the system.

The result: Alice will be deleted at the system level, but after the MIUI update, files may return. To prevent this, use Magisk to block the installation of system APKs:

• Install the Universal Systemless Hosts module.
• Add to the blacklist domains: alice.yandex.net voice.yandex.net miui.voiceassistant.xiaomi.com

Method 5: Blocking through hosts file (without root)

If you don't want to delete files or use ADB, you can block Alice's connection to the servers through a hosts file modification, which doesn't require root, but you need a Termux utility or similar terminal.

Instructions:

1. Install Termux from F-Droid (not from Google Play!).
2. Enter the commands: pkg update && pkg upgrade pkg install tsudo termux-setup-storage tsudo mv /data/data/com.termux/files/usr/etc/hosts /system/etc/hosts
3. Open the hosts file in any text editor and add the lines: 127.0.0.1 alice.yandex.net 127.0.0.1 voice.yandex.net 127.0.0.1 miui.voiceassistant.xiaomi.com
4. Save the file and restart the smartphone.

Efficiency: Alice will stop sending data to servers, but her processes may remain in memory. To completely disable this method, combine with Method 2 (ADB).

💡

Modifying the hosts file is the only way to block Alice without root and ADB, but it requires caution: improper editing can disrupt other system services.

Comparison of methods: which one to choose?

Depending on your skills and your smartphone model, you can use different ways to turn off.

For most users, the best solution is to combine ADB + hosts file, which will give 100% lock without the need to unlock the bootloader. If you are not sure of your skills, start with Method 1 and gradually move to more complex methods.

Frequent problems and their solutions

Even after Alice's shutdown, users are facing unexpected consequences./issues and ways of eliminating them:

• 🔄 Alice returns after update MIUI Solution: After each update, repeat commands ADB To avoid this, disable automatic firmware updates in Settings → The phone. → Updating the system → Three points. → Settings → Auto-update.
• 📵 Voice dialing is not working Solution: Alice blocks the system voice input. To return the feature, install an alternative application, such as Google Voice Search, and assign it by default to Settings. → Annexes → By default.
• 🔋 Increased battery consumption after shutdown Solution: It's paradoxical, but sometimes system processes, trying to restore Alice, consume more energy. → Battery. → Use the battery and manually stop the processes com.miui.voiceassistant.
• 🛑 ADB It gives you a "device unauthorized" error Solution: You'll see a request for trust in your PC on your smartphone, confirm it. USB-cable (try the original) and reinstall Xiaomi drivers on PC.

If neither method worked, you may have a secure firmware on your model (e.g., some POCOs for the Chinese market), leaving you with two options:

1. Install custom firmware (such as LineageOS or Pixel Experience).
2. Use Xiaomi.eu – European firmware without pre-installed Russian services.

FAQ: Answers to popular questions