How to completely disable voice assistant on Xiaomi Mi 9: Google, MIUI and hidden features

The Xiaomi Mi 9, released in 2019, is still a popular smartphone thanks to its powerful hardware and regular MIUI updates. However, many users are faced with an intrusive voice assistant that is activated by random taps or voice commands. In this article, we will discuss all possible ways to disable both the standard Google Assistant and the branded MIUI Assistant, from simple settings to deep system edits.

It’s important to understand that on the Mi 9, the assistant can work in three modes: voice (OK, Google), long-holding Home button (or navigation gesture), and through a special button on the headphones. We’ll look at disabling each of them, and also explain why some methods may not work on custom firmware or after resetting.

If you don't want to remove the assistant completely, but only limit its activity, there's a section in this article that sets the microphone sensitivity and gestures. For advanced users, we'll give you ADB commands that will turn off services at the system level.

1. disable Google Assistant through standard settings

The easiest way is to deactivate Google Assistant in the Android settings menu, which is suitable if the assistant is running by voice (OK, Google) or when holding the Home button.

Instructions:

• 📱 Open the Google app (the icon with the letter “G” on a colored background).
• 👆 Click on the profile icon in the upper right corner → Settings.
• 🔍 Choose Google Assistant → Go to the General section.
• ⚙️ Tap on Google Assistant (first item) and turn off the slider.

After that, the voice commands will stop working, but the assistant can still open when the Home button is held, to remove this feature:

1. Press the Home button (or make a gesture from the bottom up if you use gesture navigation).
2. In the opening window of the assistant, tap the icon. ⚙️ (gear in the top corner.
3. Select the Phone. → Turn off the Assistant option.

💡

If the Home button stops working after the Google Assistant is disabled, restart your smartphone. This is a temporary MIUI 12-14 bug that is fixed by restarting the system.

2. deactivation of MIUI Assistant (brand assistant Xiaomi)

The Xiaomi Mi 9 has its own MIUI Assistant, which is responsible for quick commands like “Open Camera” or “Enable Flashlight,” and its settings are hidden deeper, but you can turn them off without root rights.

Method 1: Through system settings

• ⚙️ Go to Settings. → Annexes → Application management.
• 🔍 In the search bar, enter the Assistant.
• 📛 Choose. MIUI Assistant (or Quick Apps in some versions).
• 🚫 Press Turn Off. → confirm.

Method 2: Through gesture settings

If the assistant is activated by double pressing the Power button or by other gesture:

1. Open Settings → Additional functions → Power button.
2. Turn off the option of Double pressing to start the assistant.
3. Check the Gestures section - there may be additional triggers.

3. Disconnecting the Assistant via ADB (for power users)

If standard methods don’t work (for example, on custom firmware or after updating), you can disable the assistant via Android Debug Bridge (ADB), which requires connecting the smartphone to the computer, but gives 100% result.

What you need:

• 🖥️ A computer with installed Xiaomi drivers and ADB.
• 📱 Included Debugging by USB on a smartphone (Settings) → The phone. → Version. MIUI → 7 times tap to unlock the developer mode).
• 🔌 USB-cable (preferably original).

Instructions:

1. Connect the Mi 9 to your PC and confirm the debugging permission.
2. Open the command line (Windows) or terminal (macOS/Linux) and type:

adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.google.android.googlequicksearchbox

This command removes Google Assistant for the current user (no root rights).

To disable MIUI Assistant, use:

adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.miui.voiceassist

Install Xiaomi drivers from the official website | Download ADB Tools (e.g. Platform Tools) | Enable USB debugging on your smartphone | Connect your phone to your PC in file transfer mode (MTP)

-->

⚠️ Attention: Teams ADB You can turn off the assistant just for your account, and after you reset or update the system, you may need to do it again. --user 0 on com.google.android.googlequicksearchbox without flags for complete removal.

4. adjusting the sensitivity of the microphone and gestures

If you don’t want to turn off the assistant completely, but it works too often (for example, to foreign sounds), you can reduce the sensitivity of the microphone or reassign gestures.

Adjustment of voice:

• 🎤 Open the Google Settings → Voice search → Voice Match.
• 🔊 Turn off the OK Google option or set the microphone sensitivity to a minimum.
• 📱 In the Voice Learning section, remove all recorded samples.

Reassignment of gestures:

On the Mi 9, the assistant can be started by:

Google Assistant|MIUI Assistant (Xiaomi)|Both are equal.|I don't know which one.|I'm not getting in my way.-->

5. Removal of the Assistant through root access (expert level)

If you have root rights, you can completely remove the assistant's system applications, which is irreversible and can lead to unstable system operation if you do something wrong.

List of disposal packages:

• com.google.android.googlequicksearchbox — Google Assistant.
• com.miui.voiceassist — MIUI Assistant.
• com.miui.voiceassist.debug – debugging files (optional).
• com.xiaomi.aiasst – additional services Xiaomi (on some firmware).

To remove, use Root Explorer or the command in the terminal:

su


pm uninstall -k com.google.android.googlequicksearchbox




pm uninstall -k com.miui.voiceassist

⚠️ Note: Removal of system applications may disrupt Google Services or MIUI. Before the procedure, make a backup copy through TWRP On some firmware Mi 9 after deleting com.google.android.googlequicksearchbox stops updating Google Play Services, this will lead to errors in other applications.

6. Alternative solutions: replacement of assistant with another

If you don’t like standard assistants, but you need voice control functionality, you can install alternatives:

• 🤖 Amazon Alexa – works through a separate app, integrates with a smart home.
• 💬 Yandex Alice – supports Russian language and local services.
• 🎵 Siri (via Shortcuts) – if you have an Apple device.
• 🛠️ Tasker + AutoVoice – to create custom voice commands.

To designate an alternative assistant by default:

1. Install the app you want (e.g. Yandex with Alice).
2. Go to Settings → Applications → Default Applications → Assistant and Voice Input.
3. Select the installed application.

💡

Replacing the assistant doesn’t disable standard Google or MIUI services, it only changes the application by default. Use the methods from the previous sections to completely disable the original assistants.

7. Frequent problems and their solutions

Even after the shutdown, the assistant can continue to start, and let's look at the typical causes and ways to fix them.

Problem 1: The assistant starts when the headphones are connected.

Decision:

• Open Bluetooth Settings → Find your headphones. → Settings (⚙️).
• Turn off the option of Google Assistant or Voice Assistant.
• If there is no option, reset the headphone settings (forget the device → connect again).

Problem 2: After the MIUI update, the assistant is activated again.

Decision:

• Repeat the steps in Section 1 or 3 (depending on the method of disabling).
• If you have used ADB, check the status of the packets by the command:

adb shell pm list packages | grep -E 'googlequicksearchbox|voiceassist'

If the packets are active, repeat the commands to disable.

Problem 3: The Home button stopped working after the assistant was turned off.

Decision:

• Reboot the smartphone – it will reset the cache of the system buttons.
• If it doesn’t help, return your gesture settings to Settings → System → Gestures → Home button.
• In extreme cases, reset settings through Settings → System → Reset settings → Reset all settings (application data will be saved).

FAQ: Answers to popular questions