How to disable voice assistant on Xiaomi: the complete guide

Xiaomi’s modern smartphones come with a host of smart features designed to make it easier to interact with the device. However, a voice assistant, whether it’s Google Assistant or China’s XiaoAI, is often a source of annoyance for users. Random activations in your pocket, false positives to similar words, and constant listening to the microphone raise questions about privacy and battery consumption.

Users often experience a phone that responds to the “OK, Google” command or to a long power button press, interrupting current activities, and this is especially true for models with the MIUI shell and the new HyperOS, where settings can be scattered across different menus, and in this article we will discuss in detail all possible ways to deactivate assistants.

Disabling system services requires care, as incorrect actions can affect the operation of other functions of the device. Below are proven methods that will help you regain full control of the smartphone. We will look at the settings for both global versions of firmware and Chinese models.

Differences between Google Assistant and XiaoAI

The first step is to understand which assistant is interfering with your work. On the global versions of Xiaomi smartphones, Google Assistant is activated by default, which is deeply integrated into the Android ecosystem, responsible for voice search, managing the smart home and executing commands through the cloud.

By contrast, XiaoAI is a proprietary development of Xiaomi, focused primarily on the Chinese market, and this assistant is able to control the MIUI shell itself deeper than Google products, but on global firmware its functionality is often limited or completely absent.

If you buy a device imported from China or reflash the device, both assistants can be active at the same time, which creates a conflict of situations when you call voice control, the system decides for a long time which application to run, and determining the source of the problem is the key to successfully shutting down.

Disable Google Assistant through Settings

The most common way to remove an intrusive assistant is to use Google's regular settings, a method that is secure and does not require root rights or third-party software, and the process may vary slightly depending on the Android version and shell.

First, you need to open the Google app on your device. Don't confuse it with the Chrome browser, we need a system service with the "G" logo. After you start, go to the user profile by clicking on the avatar in the upper right corner of the screen.

In the menu that opens, select Settings, and then search for the Google Assistant section. Here we are interested in the All Assist settings tab, or simply the Assistant tab, and this hidden menu contains the switches that control voice search behavior.

Inside the assistant settings menu, scroll down to the Phone box. Here you'll see the Google Assistant switch. Put it in the "Off" position. The system will alert you that some features will stop working, but that's exactly what we need.

⚠️ Warning: Once the assistant is disabled, OK, Google will stop working even when the screen is unlocked. If you need voice input, it will remain accessible via the keyboard, but full dialogue with the system will not be possible.

Remove activation of the power button and screen

A common cause of random switching is the setting of hardware buttons. Xiaomi owners often complain that the assistant gets out when unlocking the phone or when the on button is accidentally pressed, this is set up separately from the assistant itself.

To prevent the button from running, go to Settings of your smartphone. Find the Additional Features section (in some versions of MIUI it may be called Advanced Settings). Next, select Buttons or Button Assignment.

Here you will see the option to Start Google Assistant or “Long Press Power” button. The default is often to start the assistant. Change the value to the Off Menu or Nothing if this option is available in your firmware version.

Also, check the lock screen settings. Go to Settings → Password & Security → Face Unlock (or just lock screen settings). Find the command listening or voice unlock option and turn it off. This will prevent the phone from responding to voice when locked.

Comparison of disconnection methods

To make it easier to choose the best way to deaktivate, we have prepared a summary table that will help you understand which method is right for your situation and what level of access it requires.

As you can see from the table, standard methods are the safest through the settings menu. The ADB commands give you complete control, but you need to connect to a computer and have basic technical knowledge. The first two are enough for the average user.

It is worth noting that completely removing the system component of Google Assistant is impossible without obtaining superuser rights, since it is a system application, but its complete deactivation functionally equivalent to deleting for most use cases.

Disabling XiaoAI on Chinese firmware

If you own a Chinese version of a smartphone or global firmware with a Chinese app package installed, you may be hampered by XiaoAI. This assistant is often activated by a swipe from the corner of the screen or a special button.

To turn it off, find the Mini App or XiaoAI directly in the settings. The path can look like: Settings → Additional Features → XiaoAI. You need to find the XiaoAI Voice switch and turn it into OFF.

Also check the sidebar settings. The top-corner swipe often calls this assistant. In the Additional Features → Toolbar (or Sidebar), you can turn off the voice assistant call with a gesture.

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On Chinese firmware, XiaoAI can be deeply integrated into the system. If a conventional shutdown doesn't help, try changing the language and input settings to English or Russian, which sometimes automatically shuts down Chinese services.

It is important to understand that on Chinese firmware, some processes can recover after a reboot. In such cases, it is also recommended to disable the auto-run of the corresponding services in the Applications → Application Management section, finding the Mi Assist process or similar.

Using ADB to completely deactivate

For users who want to ensure that the assistant process is removed from RAM and prevented from running it at the system level, there is a method using ADB (Android Debug Bridge), which requires connecting the smartphone to a PC.

First, you need to activate the developer mode. To do this, quickly click on the build number in the About Phone section 7 times. Then, in the Developer menu that appears, turn on USB Debugging.

Connect your phone to your computer, install drivers and the SDK Tools platform. Open the command line and type a command to disable the Google Assistant package:

adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.google.android.apps.googleassistant

This command doesn't delete the application files, but it makes it invisible to the system and the user until it is reactivated, and this is the most radical and effective method.

⚠️ Attention: Use of teams ADB This can cause system instability if you disable critical components. Make sure you copy the command accurately, without errors in writing the package name.

FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions

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Disabling the voice assistant on Xiaomi is a safe procedure that increases privacy and prevents accidental launches without disrupting the basic functions of the smartphone.