How to permanently disable Google Voice Typing on your Xiaomi phone: 5 proven ways

Why Google Voice Entering May Get In the way – and When to Turn It Off

Google Voice Typing is a useful feature for fast typing, but it often fails on Xiaomi smartphones. Users complain of spontaneously turning on the microphone during a set of messages, accidental activation when blocking the screen or even leaking data through the background activity of the service. 10/11/12, POCO X3/X4/X5 and flagship Xiaomi 12/13/14 on MIUI 13-14.

In this article, you’ll find 5 ways to turn off voice input, from simple deletion of rights to full deactivation via ADB. We’ll also look at why the feature can turn on on itself after MIUI updates and how to prevent it. If you’re annoyed by the constant appearance of a microphone icon on your keyboard or suspicious activity in privacy settings, read on.

Before you start, check the Android and MIUI version on your device (Settings → About Phone). This is what the available shutdown options depend on. For example, on MIUI 14 with Android 13, the path to voice input settings is different from MIUI 12 on Android 10.

📊 How often do you use voice input on your smartphone?

Constantly.

Sometimes.

I tried it before, but I turned it off.

Never used it.

Method 1: Disconnect via Gboard keyboard settings

The easiest method is to deactivate voice input directly in the Google keyboard settings (Gboard), which is suitable for most Xiaomi models if you use a standard keyboard from Google.

Instructions:

📱 Open any application with a keyboard (such as Messages or Notes).
🔍 Click on the gear icon (⚙️) In the top menu of the Gboard keyboard.
🎤 Go to the Voice Input section.
🔘 Turn off the switch Use voice input.

If you don’t have Voice, update Gboard via Google Play or check if your Xiaomi has an alternative keyboard (e.g. SwiftKey or MIUI Keyboard).

Check out the MIUI and Android version

Update Gboard to the latest version

Make sure you use Google Keyboard, not MIUI

Close all apps that use the microphone (e.g. Google Assistant)

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Method 2: Removing the rights to use the microphone for Gboard

If voice input continues to work even after the keyboard settings are turned off, the problem may lie in the microphone resolutions. On Xiaomi with MIUI, these permissions are sometimes reset after updates or reboots.

To completely block Gboard's access to the microphone:

Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
Find Gboard (or Google Keyboard) in the list and tap it.
Select Permissions → Microphone.
Set the value of Prohibit.

⚠️ Attention: After that, Google voice search and other features that require a microphone will stop working. If you need a voice assistant, use Method 4 (turning off only for the keyboard).

Some MIUI firmware (e.g., the global version for the Redmi Note 11) may not have a separate microphone resolution.

🔧 Go to Settings. → Confidentiality → Special access → Access to the microphone.
🔍 Find Gboard in the list and turn off access.

Method 3: Disable via Google Settings (for MIUI 13-14)

On newer versions of MIUI (13 and 14), voice input can be controlled not only by the keyboard, but also by Google services. If previous methods have failed, try:

Steps:

Open Settings → Google → Manage your Google account.
Go to the Data and Personalization tab.
Scroll to the History Settings section and select Voice and Audio Activity.
Turn off the option to Enable voice control and speech recognition.
Go back and select Voice Search Settings, then turn off OK, Google.

This method also blocks voice commands for Google Assistant, but keeps the microphone running for calls and recordings. If you need an assistant but not voice input on the keyboard, combine this method with Method 1.

What to do if Google’s settings are not saved?

On some firmware MIUI (Especially Chinese) Google settings are reset after rebooting. In this case: 1. Install Gboard manually from APK (For example, from the APKMirror site. 2. Use Method 5 (ADB) 3. check if duplicate versions of the keyboard are installed through Settings → Annexes → Show all applications (⋮ → Show system-based).

Method 4: Use an alternative keyboard (without voice input)

If you don't need voice input fundamentally, the most radical way is to remove Gboard and install the keyboard without this feature.

🔹 MIUI Keyboard (built into firmware but without default voice input).
🔹 SwiftKey (from Microsoft, with optional voice input that can be turned off).
🔹 AnySoftKeyboard (open source, without Google integration).

How to switch:

Install an alternative keyboard from Google Play.
Go to Settings → System → Language and input → Current keyboard.
Select a new keyboard and set it by default.
(Optional) Disable or delete Gboard through Settings → Apps.

⚠️ Note: On some Xiaomi models (e.g, POCO F4) Gboard is a system application and is not completely removed, in which case it is enough to disable it in the application settings (Disable). → Remove updates).

The advantage of this method is that it completely eliminates random voice input response, and the disadvantage is the loss of some Gboard features, such as the built-in translator or GIF search.

Method 5: Complete disabling via ADB (for power users)

If voice input persists after shutdown, it can be locked at system level using the Android Debug Bridge (ADB), a technique that requires the phone to be connected to a computer, but is guaranteed to shut down the function permanently.

Instructions:

Turn on Developer Mode on Xiaomi: Go to Settings → About Phone. Tap 7 times on the MIUI version until the notification appears.

USB debugging

Settings → Additional → For Developers

ADB Tools

adb shell pm revoke com.google.android.inputmethod.latin android.permission.RECORD_AUDIO

Reset the device.

This command permanently bans Gboard from using the microphone. To get access back, do:

adb shell pm grant com.google.android.inputmethod.latin android.permission.RECORD_AUDIO

Method of disconnection	Difficulty	Efficiency	Side effects
Through the Gboard settings	⭐ (simple)	Medium (may reset)	No.
Removal of microphone rights	⭐⭐	Tall.	Turns off voice search.
Google settings	⭐⭐	Tall.	Blocking "OK, Google."
Alternative keyboard	⭐⭐	Absolute.	Loss of Gboard functions
ADB-team	⭐⭐⭐	Absolute.	Requires PC and debugging

Settings → Applications → Gboard → Storage → Clear cache

Why Voice Entering Is On Its Own – and How to Prevent It

Many Xiaomi users are facing voice input returning after updates or even for no apparent reason.

🔄 Gboard Auto Update: The app can update in the background and reset settings.Solution: Turn off auto-update in Google Play (find Gboard) → ⋮ → Turn off auto-update).
📱 Resetting settings MIUI: After major updates (e.g., with the MIUI 13 on MIUI 14) some permissions are reset. Solution: Check settings after each update.
🔊 Conflict with Google Assistant: If you have voice commands enabled ("OK, Google"), they can activate the microphone for the keyboard.Solution: Turn off the voice assistant in Google settings.
🛠️ Firmware errors: On some models (e.g. Redmi) 9A or POCO M4 Pro) there are bugs with spontaneous microphone switching on. Solution: Set custom recovery (TWRP) and remove the Gboard completely.

If the problem persists, check background activity through Settings → Battery → Battery Use. If Gboard consumes more than 5% of its charge per day, it most likely works bypassing your settings.

💡

The most reliable way to prevent spontaneous switching on is a combination of Method 2 (removal of microphone rights) and Method 5 (ADB-team).

Frequent Questions (FAQ)

Can voice input be turned off only for specific applications (like WhatsApp)?

No, Gboard's voice input setting applies globally to all applications, but you can use different keyboards for different tasks, like Gboard for the browser and MIUI Keyboard for messengers.

After the voice input was turned off, the "Dictate Text" function in Xiaomi Notes stopped working. How to return?

The dictation function in standard Xiaomi applications (like Notes or Recorder) uses a speech recognition system engine, not Gboard. To return it: Go to Settings → System → Language and Input → Offline Speech Recognition. Download the language pack for offline recognition. In the Notes app, use the microphone icon in the top menu (it calls the system recorder, not Gboard).

Will Google Assistant work after disabling voice input through ADB?

No, the adb shell pm revoke command com.google.android.inputmethod.latin android.permission.RECORD_AUDIO Google Assistant uses separate permissions, so voice commands (OK, Google) will continue to work. If you want to turn them off, use the method. 3 (Google settings).

My Xiaomi doesn't have Voice Input in the Gboard settings. What do I do?

This can happen for three reasons: You have an outdated version of Gboard installed — update it through Google Play; you use a modified firmware (e.g. Xiaomi.eu) where the function is disabled by default; check Settings → System → Language and input → Virtual Keyboard; Google has restricted functionality in your region (relevant to some Asian firmware); the solution is to change region in the Google Play settings or install Gboard manually.

Can I turn off voice input without root rights?

Yes, all the methods in this article (except for removing system files) work without root.To completely remove Gboard on some Xiaomi models, you may need to unlock the bootloader and install TWRP, but this is already an advanced level of customization.