How to turn off the voice assistant on Xiaomi TV

Xiaomi’s modern smart TVs run Android TV or a PatchWall version that is deeply integrated with Google’s services. One of the central elements of this ecosystem is Google Assistant, which makes it easier to control your device with voice commands. However, for many users, constant listening, random activation or just a desire to preserve privacy are the reasons to find a way to deactivate this feature. Completely remove the system component from the firmware without root rights, but you can effectively disable its basic functions.

In this article, we will discuss how to limit the virtual assistant, remove the binding button on the remote control and clear the accumulated data about your requests. Xiaomi provides flexible privacy settings that allow the user to decide what data to collect and how to respond to voice commands. Following these instructions will help you make your use of the TV more private and less intrusive.

Setting up privacy in your Google account

The first and most important step is to change the settings in the Google profile itself that the TV is attached to, which is where the activity and listening settings are stored, you need to go to the account management section and find the settings that are responsible for Google Assistant, which is a basic level of control that works regardless of the model of your TV, whether it is a Xiaomi Mi TV 4S or newer series.

In the account settings menu, look for the Data and Privacy section or Google Account Management section, where you're interested in the voice activity item. By turning off history storage, you stop storing data about what you're telling the TV. This doesn't turn off the feature itself instantly, but it does prevent the system from learning from your queries and storing them in the cloud.

• 🔒 Open Google profile settings on your TV or through your browser on your smartphone.
• 🗣️ Find the Voice Control or Voice Activity section».
• 🚫 Translate the switch “Save audio history” to the position “Switched off».
• 🗑️ Use the “Delete Activity” button to erase data already recorded.

⚠️ Warning: Disabling the history save does not stop the microphone completely at the time of activation, but prevents the recording and storage of your voice commands on the company's servers after processing the request.

After making the changes, the system may require rebooting your profile or device itself to apply the new privacy policies, making sure you log out of any third-party apps that may have accessed the microphone without your knowledge, creating a first layer of protection for your digital privacy.

Disable Google Assistant through TV system settings

There are also switches in the interface of the Xiaomi TV that control the assistant behavior, and the path to these may vary slightly depending on the version of the Android TV or the PatchWall shell, but the logic remains the same. You need to find the section that deals with device preferences or special features.

Go to the main settings menu using the remote, and select Device Settings or System. Here you should look for the Google Assistant or Voice Input subsection. Inside you will see the Access to Google Assistant option that you need to deactivate, which will prevent the assistant from running using standard system methods.

In some versions of the firmware, you may also need to turn off Voice Match to stop the TV from reacting!

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If the standard path through the settings menu doesn’t work, you can use a deeper method through application management. Find the Google Assistant itself in the installed system applications list. An attempt to disable it here can be blocked by the manufacturer, but the option to Stop or Disable Updates is often available, which will return the assistant to the factory version with minimal functionality.

Controlling the voice search button on the remote

One of the most annoying features for many Xiaomi TV owners is a dedicated button on the remote control that forcibly triggers voice search. Unfortunately, you can’t reprogram this button to launch another application (for example, YouTube or Netflix) using the regular Android TV system.

But there is a workaround to make this button useless for calling an assistant, so if you completely ban Google Assistant in your Google account settings, when you click on the voice search button, the system will give you an error message or just do nothing instead of activating the listening, which is an effective software way to "de-enable" the button.

• 📺 Make sure your main Google TV account is changed to restrict your rights.
• 🔇 In the assistant settings, find the Devices item and remove the current TV from the list.
• 🚫 When you press the microphone button, the system will tell you that the service is not available.

There are also third-party button reassignment apps that you can install from the Google Play store on your TV, such as Button Mapper, which can try to intercept the signal from the microphone button and assign it another action, although on some Xiaomi models, the system priority of this button can block such utilities.

⚠️ Note: Using third-party apps to reassign buttons requires special permissions through ADB or a menu of special features that can reduce the overall stability of the system.

Using ADB for Deep Deactivation

For advanced users who want to securely disable the component, there is a method of using the Android debugging bridge (ADB). This method allows you to send system commands directly to the operating system of the Xiaomi TV. To do this, you will need a computer connected to the same Wi-Fi network as the TV and an installed utility. ADB.

First, you need to turn on the developer mode on the TV. Go to Settings» → «About the device and quickly click 7 times on Build Number. After the message "You became a developer" go back and find the menu "For developers" where you need to activate "Debug by Device" USB». Remember. IP-TV address that is displayed in network settings.

adb connect 192.168.1.XX:5555


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

Executing the pm disable-user command will force the assistant process to stop for the current user. This action is reversible: to return the functionality, it is enough to replace the word disable-user in the command with enable. This method is the most effective for completely blocking the functionality without deleting system files.

Alternatives and Replacement of Voice Control

After disabling Google Assistant, users often wonder what to replace lost functionality. Fortunately, the Android TV ecosystem offers many alternatives. First, most modern applications, such as YouTube or Netflix, have built-in voice search inside their interface, which works independently of the system assistant.

Second, alternative keyboards and remotes can be used: Installing a keyboard application on a smartphone (e.g. Google’s Android TV Remote Control or Mi Remote) allows you to type requests from your phone, which is often faster and more accurate than dictating them to your TV, eliminating the need for a microphone on TV.

Physical use of the USB-A keyboard or wireless mouse is also a great option for navigating the PatchWall interface without using voice.This gives you complete control over the cursor and text input, completely ignoring the microphone inputs of the system.

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Use the Google Home app on your smartphone to initially set up your TV, then turn off the microphone in the app itself to control the device only over the network, bypassing voice commands.

Clear history and reset microphone settings

Even after the basic features are disabled, it is recommended to completely clean up the accumulated data. The Google Assistant settings menu has a section called “Your data in the Assistant” where you can choose to automatically delete your history in 3 months or 18 months, or delete all data manually right now.

Also, check for specific application permissions. Go to Settings → Apps → All Apps and see the list of programs that have access to the microphone. Revoke those permissions from applications that don’t have critical functionality, such as browsers or media players.

• 🧹 Go to the activity history and click “Delete the entire story».
• ⏳ Set up autodelete data after 3 months to minimize the footprint.
• 📱 Check your linked devices in your Google account and delete old or unknown TVs.

⚠️ Attention: Regularly cleaning up Google’s cache and app data may temporarily slow down the search bar until the system collects the necessary data anew.

The final step can be to completely reset your TV to factory settings if you want to start from scratch without linking your old account to its history. When you set up a new setting, just don't sign in to your Google account or create a new one specifically designed for your TV with a minimum set of permissions.

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The comprehensive shutdown of the voice assistant requires action both at the Google account level and in the system settings of the Xiaomi TV itself.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)