How to permanently disable the voice assistant on the console Xiaomi Mi Box

Voice assistant on Xiaomi Mi Box (including Mi Box S, Mi Box 4 and Mi Box models) 4K) It's often activated by accident, like pressing the microphone button on the remote or saying "OK, Google," and for many users, it's a source of irritation, like the assistant intercepting control, interrupting movies, or running unnecessary apps. Moreover, the voice assistant consumes up to 15% of the processor resources of the console in the background, which can lead to slowing down of the interface on budget models.

Turning it off isn’t as easy as it seems: in standard Android settings TV The option is hidden deep, and some firmware does not have a graphical interface to deactivate. In this article, we will discuss all possible ways, from basic to advanced (including the most advanced ones). ADB), We also explain how to avoid accidental activation of the assistant in the future.

If you use the prefix primarily for viewing IPTV Or games with Google Stadia, the constant pop-ups with the suggestion "How can I help?" will be a real problem, especially for users who have young children in the house - random tapping on the remote can trigger the assistant at the most inopportune moment.

Why the Xiaomi Mi Box is a voice assistant that is not working

Google Assistant is integrated into Android TV system level, and its background activity affects the performance of the console in several ways:

🔹 CPU loading. Even in standby mode, the assistant analyzes the sound from the remote's microphone (if it supports voice input), which takes up to a few minutes. 10-15% CPU. On the Mi Box S with an Amlogic processor S905L This can cause lags when you run heavy applications.

🔹 Automatic updates. Assistant regularly downloads updates to language packs and speech recognition models, taking up to 300-500 I'm on a memory box. 8 GB of internal memory is critical.

🔹 The microphone button on Xiaomi remotes is often pressed accidentally (for example, when flipping the remote in your hands), which leads to the assistant activation while watching video.

🔹 In some regions, Google displays contextual advertising in the assistant’s responses (e.g., offers to install paid apps when requesting weather).

⚠️ Attention: On the consoles with firmware MIUI TV (For example, Mi Box 4 for the Chinese market), voice assistant can be tied to the ecosystem XiaoAI. its deactivation by standard methods is impossible - you will need to flash on the global version of Android. TV.

Method 1: Disconnect via standard Android TV settings

This is the simplest method that works on most Xiaomi Mi Box models with global firmware. Instructions are relevant for the Mi Box S, Mi Box 4 (international) and Mi Box. 4K.

1. Open the main console menu and go to Settings → The device → Voice input.

2. Select Google Assistant (or Voice Assistant in Russian firmware).

3. Translate the slider Enable Google Assistant in the Off position..

4. In the window that appears, confirm the action by clicking Disable.

If you don’t have voice input on the menu, try an alternative path:

1. Press the Home button on the remote (button with the icon of the house).
2. At the top of the screen will appear the panel of quick settings – find the microphone icon and click on it.
3. In the window that opens, select Settings. → Disable Google Assistant.

Check the firmware version (Settings) → The device → About the prefix)

Connect the remote via Bluetooth (if wireless)

Close all active applications

Disconnect the Internet (optional to avoid synchronization of settings)-->

🔹 What to do if there is no item? On some firmware (for example, MIUI TV 2.0) the shutdown option is hidden, in which case only resetting to factory settings or using the ADB (see method 3).

⚠️ Note: After the assistant is disabled through the settings of the button, the microphone on the remote may continue to respond to prolonged pressing. To completely deactivate it, you will need to reassign the button (see Method 4).

Method 2: Disconnecting through resetting the remote settings

If the voice assistant is activated because of random presses on the microphone button, you can reassign its function or even turn off the reaction to it, and this method does not remove the assistant from the system, but prevents it from starting.

1. Go to Settings. → Remote and accessories → Customization of remote buttons.

2. Select the Microphone (or Voice Search) button.

3. In the action menu, select Disable or assign it another feature (for example, launch YouTube).

🔹 For remotes without reassignment support (e.g., the standard remote from the Mi Box S):

• 📱 Install the Button Mapper app from Google Play (rights required) ADB).
• 🔧 In the application settings, select Add a button → Microphone and set the action to do nothing.
• 🔄 Reboot the console.

⚠️ Once the button is reassigned, the microphone will stop working even for YouTube or Netflix searches. If you need a voice function in individual apps, it's best to use Method 3 (disabling only the system assistant).

Method 3: Completely disabling Google Assistant ADB

If the standard methods don’t work, you’ll need to use Android Debug Bridge (ADB). This method is suitable for all models of Xiaomi Mi Box, including those where the assistant is sewn into the firmware.

🔹 What's the matter:

• 💻 Computer with Windows/macOS/Linux.
• 🔌 USB-cable (to connect the console to the PC).
• 📥 Utility. ADB Tools (download from the official website).
• ⚙️ Developer mode on the console enabled.

🔹 Step-by-step instruction:

1. Activate Developer Mode: Go to Settings → The device → About the console. Find the build number line and click on it 7 times in a row. Go back to the main settings menu and a new developer item will appear.

USB debugging

• Go to Settings. → For developers.
• Activate the debugging option via USB.
• Confirm the resolution by pressing OK in the window that appears.
• Connect the device to the computer through USB and execute the commands: adb connect [IP-prefix]:5555 adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.google.android.googlequicksearchbox adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.google.android.apps.nexuslauncher 📌 IP-The address of the console can be found in the settings → Network.
• Reboot the console with the command: adb shell reboot

💡

If the assistant continues to start after completing commands, check for updates for Google Play Services. Sometimes they restore deleted components. To prevent this, turn off automatic application updates in Settings. → Annexes → Google Play Store → Auto-update.

⚠️ Note: Removing system applications through ADB Before executing commands, back up important data (for example, game saves or Kodi settings).

Method 4: Locking the microphone at the hardware level

If the software didn't work, you can physically turn off the microphone on the remote or in the console itself, which is a radical way, but it's guaranteed to prevent accidental triggers.

🔹 Turning off the microphone on the remote:

• 🔧 Disassemble the remote, carefully poking the latches with a plastic blade.
• 🔍 Find a microphone (usually a small black chip with a hole next to the button).
• ✂️ Cut the tracks going to the microphone, or seal its hole with insulation.
• 🔧 Gather the remote back.

🔹 Disabling the microphone in the console (for advanced users):

1. Remove the cover of the console case (you will need a Torx screwdriver). T5).
2. Find the microphone module on the motherboard (usually marked as MIC Or Audio In).
3. Open the microphone contacts or close them with heat glue.
4. Put together the box and check the performance.

🔹 Alternative: If you don't want to disassemble the remote, you can just turn off the Bluetooth connection between the remote and the console:

1. Go to Settings. → Remote and accessories → Connected devices.
2. Find your remote in the list and click Forget the device.
3. Connect the remote again, but when pairing, skip the microphone setup step.

Method 5: Install custom firmware without Google Assistant

For users willing to take drastic measures, there is an option to reflash the console on alternative firmware, such as ATVXperience or CoreELEC, which are optimized for multimedia and do not contain unnecessary Google services.

🔹 Advantages of custom firmware:

• 🚀 Increased productivity by removing background processes.
• 🎮 Optimization for games (e.g. RetroArch emulator support).
• 🔇 The complete absence of Google Assistant and other unnecessary services.
• 📺 Improved support IPTV kodi.

🔹 Deficiencies:

• ⚠️ Loss of guarantee.
• 🔄 Risk of "bricking" consoles with incorrect firmware.
• 🔄 Lack of official security updates.
• 📱 Unable to use certain applications (e.g. Google Play Movies).

🔹 Instructions for firmware (on the example of ATVXperience):

1. Download the firmware from the official website (select the version for Xiaomi Mi Box S or your model).
2. Unpack the archive and copy the update.zip file to a flash drive formatted in FAT32.
3. Connect the flash drive to the console and go to Settings → The device → Update → Local Update.
4. Select the update.zip file and confirm the installation.
5. Wait for the process to be completed (the console will reboot several times).

💡

Before firmware, be sure to check the compatibility of custom firmware with your Xiaomi Mi Box model. For example, firmware for the Mi Box S (model) MDZ-22-AB) It is not suitable for the Mi Box 4 (model) MDZ-16-AB).

What to do if nothing helps

If neither of these methods worked, there are two options:

1. Reset to factory settings:

• Go to Settings → Device → Reset settings.
• Choose Delete all data and confirm the action.
• After the reboot, do not connect your Google account – this will prevent the assistant from automatically activating.

2.Use of an external remote without a microphone:

• 🎮 Buy a universal remote (for example, Xiaomi Mi Remote without voice control).
• 📱 Use a remote app on your smartphone (such as Yatse or Unified Remote).
• 🖱️ Connect a wireless keyboard with a touchpad (like Logitech) K400).

🔹 Last chance: If the console still activates the assistant, check it for viruses. Some malicious applications mimic the behavior of Google Assistant. Use Malwarebytes or Avast for Android to scan. TV.

⚠️ Attention: On the consoles with firmware MIUI TV Chinese market (for example, Mi Box 4 with suffix) CN In the model, the XiaoAI voice assistant is embedded at the kernel level, and it can only be disabled through a complete flashing to the global version of Android. TV, which requires unlocking the bootloader and may result in loss of functionality (e.g., Mi Home will not work to manage smart devices).

FAQ: Frequent questions about disabling voice assistant