Modern smartphones like the Xiaomi Mi 10 come with a host of smart features designed to make life easier. However, not all owners of Android-based devices and MIUI shells require Google’s voice assistant to be activated constantly. Often, users are faced with a situation where the assistant spontaneously starts when they remove the phone from their pocket or accidentally press the power button, which can be annoying and distracting.
Disabling this feature will not only eliminate random activation, but also save battery power, as background listening processes consume the resources of the system. In this article, we will discuss in detail all the available ways to deactivate the service, from simple settings in the menu to deeper system changes, you will learn how to adjust the response to voice commands and lock the screen to make the device work exactly as you need.
It is worth noting that the MIUI interface may vary slightly depending on the version of the Android operating system and regional firmware. Despite possible visual differences, the logic of system settings remains the same throughout the Xiaomi ecosystem.
Basic configuration through the Google System Menu
The easiest and safest way to limit the functionality of the voice assistant is to use the standard settings of the Google application, which does not require the installation of third-party software and allows you to flexibly manage activation parameters, first you need to open the settings of the search engine application itself, where the main levers of control of the assistant are concentrated.
Go to your smartphone's settings menu and find "Applications" or "All Apps." In the installed program list, look for an app called Google (often marked with a G color). Go inside, select the "Settings" option, and then find the section responsible for Google Assistant, and that's where the switches that control the behavior of the system are.
- 📱 Find the "All Assist Settings" option to access the full list of options.
- 🗣️ Select the category “Hey Google and Voice Match” to manage voice activation.
- 🔇 Switch the “Hey Google” slider to the “Off” position to prevent voice response.
- 🔒 Turn off the “Unlock with Voice Match” option if it has been active before.
⚠️ Note: Once Voice Match is disabled, the system may request confirmation of actions or alert you to a decrease in security when voice unlocks.
It is important to understand that the complete removal of the assistant as a system component is impossible without root rights, since it is deeply integrated into Google Play services. However, disabling key features makes it almost invisible to the user in everyday use. If you accidentally activate the assistant, just click the cross in the corner of the screen or say the undo command if it is configured.
Disabling the call of the assistant power button
One of the most common reasons for the annoyance of Xiaomi Mi 10 users is to launch Google Assistant with a long press of the lock button. By default, in the MIUI shell, this feature is active, which creates inconvenience, especially when you need to quickly turn off the screen or call the off menu. Fortunately, this setting can be easily changed in the system menu.
To change the behavior of the power button, go to the main settings of the smartphone. In the search for settings (top row), type the phrase “power button” or find the corresponding section manually, which is usually located in the category “Additional settings” or “Special features”.
The default value of Google Assistant is that you change it to "Stop Menu," and then you keep the button for a long time, and then you have a standard window that you can choose to reboot, shut down, or fly, and that brings back the same logic that you used to use in earlier versions of Android and MIUI.
☑️ Checking the settings of the power button
If you can’t find this item through search, try Settings → Settings → Buttons and gestures. In some versions of the firmware, the menu logic may be changed, but the keywords “button” and “power” in the search work steadily. This action does not affect the short-term click, which will still wake the screen.
Managing widget and search bar
Another place where Google Assistant can be active is the main screen and search bar. The Xiaomi Mi 10 often has a Review widget or Google search bar installed by default, which, when you click on a microphone or swipe, triggers the assistant interface. Removing or replacing these elements will help to clean the interface of unnecessary functionality.
To remove the widget, find it on your desktop, press your finger on the icon or empty space around it until the edit menu appears, and select “Delete.” If you’re talking about the search bar in the dock bar, go to Settings → Desktop and find the “Search Strip” option. Here you can choose to display Google search, Yandex or completely disable the search bar.
| Interface element | Location on the menu | Action. | The result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google widget | Desktop (long press) | Delete | Disappears from the screen |
| Search string | Settings → Desktop | Choose No. | The search string will disappear |
| Google Tape (Swipe left) | Settings → Desktop | Turn off Google Tape | Access to news will be cut off |
| Microphone in line | Google App Settings | Hide the microphone | You can't call it in. |
Also worth noting is the left swipe on the home screen, often with Google Discover News Feed, which is closely linked to the assistant, and disabling that feed in the Settings desktop settings → Desktop → Google Tape will help break the link with analytics and voice input services, especially for those who prefer minimalism.
Why remove the Google app?
Setting up lock screens and alarm clock
The voice assistant on Xiaomi Mi 10 can be activated even from the lock screen, which sometimes leads to accidental calls or sending messages. To prevent this, you need to check the security settings and lock screen, which is a critical step to ensure the privacy of your data.
Go to Settings → Passwords & Security → Privacy (the path may vary depending on the version of MIUI). Find the item associated with access from the lock screen. Here you should turn off the options "Access to Assistant" or "Voice search" that will prevent interaction with the phone while it is locked.
- 🔒 Open password and security settings in the main menu.
- 📵 Find the “Privacy” or “Block screen” section».
- ❌ Uncheck the box from the item "Allow access to the Assistant».
- 🔇 Check the alarm settings for voice shutdown commands.
Also, check the settings of the Watch or Alarm app. In some cases, the Voice Unplug function, which uses the Google Assistant engine, may be active, and disabling this option will cause you to physically press the button to stop the call, which guarantees wake-up, but removes reliance on the voice engine.
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For maximum privacy, check your Google account’s voice activity history regularly and delete old entries through the My Actions menu.
Limitation of background activity and permissions
Even after the basic features are disabled, the Google app can continue to run in the background, consuming RAM. For owners of Xiaomi Mi 10, keeping an eye on autonomy, it is important to limit the rights of the application. This will not disable the assistant completely, but will make it “sleep” until the moment of manual start.
Go to Settings → Apps → All Apps → Google. Select Battery or Energy. Set No Limits to Power Saving or Background Activity, which will prevent the system from keeping the microphone on standby all the time.
You should also check the permission list. You can find the Permissions section in the app menu, where you can deny access to microphones, geolocations, and contacts. You can block access to the microphone, which is the most radical but effective way to ensure that the phone won't hear you, but remember that this can disrupt the dictation of text in other applications.
⚠️ Warning: Disabling microphone access for Google’s system app could lead to voice input errors in the Gboard keyboard and other ecosystem applications.
If you use the MIUI's "Memory Cleanup" feature, add the Google app to the exclusion list, or vice versa, make sure it closes when cleaned, depending on your goals. On the Xiaomi Mi 10 with its powerful processor, background activity is less noticeable, but on older versions of Android, it can cause interface lags.
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Comprehensive disabling of background processes and permissions is the best way to prevent hidden assistant work without deleting system files.
Use of alternatives and third-party launchers
For those who want to completely eliminate the impact of Google services on the interface, there is an option to install a third-party launcher. Replacing the standard shell MIUI Launcher with an alternative, such as Nova Launcher or Microsoft Launcher, allows you to ignore the built-in widgets and gestures associated with Google Assistant.
Once you install a third-party launcher, you have full control of your desktop, and you can assign a long-term home button (if virtual) or side button to run any other application, such as a voice recorder or a Yandex search engine, which completely redefines the system priorities of the Xiaomi Mi 10.
However, using third-party launchers on MIUI can have its own peculiarities: the system can aggressively unload them from memory, so you need to lock the launcher in memory and give it all the necessary permissions to display on top of other windows, this will ensure stable operation without accidental returns to the standard interface.