How to completely disable Google Assistant on Xiaomi smartphones: 5 working methods

Google Assistant on Xiaomi smartphones is often activated by accident – just press the Home button or say “OK, Google.” For many users, this feature becomes a source of irritation: It eats up the battery, collects location and habits, and sometimes even interferes with work, POCO X5 and other models MIUI 14, where the assistant is integrated deeper than in the stock Android.

In this article, you will find 5 proven ways to disable Google Assistant, from standard settings to hidden MIUI features. We will break down options for different firmware versions (including Android 13/12) and explain how to avoid common bugs. For example, why a simple shutdown in Google settings doesn’t always work, or what to do if the assistant is activated again after the update.

Why Google Assistant works for Xiaomi, even if you didn’t turn it on

On all Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones (except for models for the Chinese market), Google Assistant is pre-installed by default as part of Google Play services. The manufacturer cannot remove it completely due to licensing agreements with Google, but there are ways to limit its work.

• 🔘 Pressing the Home button: B MIUI By default, pressing this button calls the assistant (even if you have previously disabled it).
• 🎤 Voice activation: The phrase “OK, Google” or “Hey Google” may be triggered by background microphone listening.
• 🔄 Updates MIUI: After major updates (for example, with the MIUI 13 on MIUI 14) settings are reset.
• 📱 Third-party apps: Some programs (such as Google Search or YouTube) may re-activate the Assistant.

It's important to understand that you can't completely remove Google Assistant without root rights -- you can only deactivate it or limit it, but even that's enough to stop it from interfering with everyday use. We'll look at all the methods available, starting with the simplest ones.

Method 1: Disconnect via Google Settings (the easiest way)

This method is suitable for most Xiaomi models on MIUI 12-14 and does not require special knowledge. However, it does not disable the assistant call by pressing the Home button - this will require additional configuration (see Method 3).

1. Open the Google app (the icon with the letter “G” on a color background).
2. Slip on your avatar in the upper right corner and select Settings → Google Assistant.
3. Scroll down to General and select Google Assistant.
4. Turn off the Google Assistant slider (it will turn gray).
5. In the window that appears, confirm the action by clicking Disconnect.

After that, the assistant will stop responding to voice commands, but as mentioned earlier, pressing the Home button will still trigger it. To fix this, move on to the next method.

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If Google does not have a Google Assistant option in its settings, update the Google app through the Play Market. Older versions may hide this section.

Method 2: Removing updates to Google App

Sometimes, even after a shutdown, the assistant continues to work due to background processes, in which case the rollback of the Google application to the factory version will help, this method is especially effective for Redmi 10/11 and POCO M4/M5, where MIUI often conflicts with the latest versions of Google services.

Instructions:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Find in the Google list (not to be confused with Google Play Store or Google Play Services).
3. Slip on the three dots in the top right corner and select Remove Updates.
4. Confirm action. The app will return to the version preinstalled in MIUI.
5. Reboot your smartphone.

Then check if the assistant has disappeared from the call menu (press the Home button). If not, move on to the next method.

⚠️ Note: Removing updates may cause temporary problems with Google Search or YouTube.To return functionality, just update the Google app again through the Play Market (but the assistant can be activated again!).

Method 3: Reassign the Home button (for MIUI 13/14)

One of the most annoying things about this is calling the assistant when you press the Home button, and in MIUI, you can either reassign or disable it completely. Here's how to do it:

1. Open Settings → Additional settings → buttons and gestures.
2. Select the Home button (or Navigation buttons if you use gesture control).
3. Find the option to press the home button and tap it.
4. In the action list, select Do Nothing or Open the menu (if you want to leave an alternative feature).
5. Save the changes.

Now, pressing the Home button won’t start Google Assistant. However, this method doesn’t work on some gesture-controlled models (e.g., Xiaomi 13 or POCO F5). In this case, only completely disabling through ADB (see Method 5) will help.

Press the Home button – no Google window should open | Say “OK, Google” – no reaction | Check background processes in Settings → Apps → Google | Reboot your phone and repeat the check--->

Method 4: Disconnect via MIUI settings (hidden section)

There's a hidden partition in MIUI firmware that allows you to customize system applications, including Google Assistant, more deeply, and it's a good way for power users and requires care.

Instructions:

1. Open the Phone app and enter the combination: ##4636##.
2. In the menu that appears, select Phone Information (or Usage statistics in English firmware).
3. Scroll down and find the Disable Apps (or Disable Apps) section.
4. In the list, search for Google Assistant (could be called com.google.android.googlequicksearchbox) and turn it off.
5. Reset the device.

This method completely blocks the assistant, but can cause errors in other Google services (such as Google Search or Google Maps).

⚠️ Attention: On some firmware (MIUI 14 Global) section ##4636## can be blocked (ADB).

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

If the previous methods did not work, the most reliable method is to disconnect via ADB (Android Debug Bridge), which requires connecting the smartphone to the computer, but guaranteed to remove the assistant from the system.

What you need:

• 🖥️ Computer with Windows/macOS/Linux.
• 🔌 USB-cable (preferably original).
• 🛠️ Utility. ADB Tools (download from the official website).
• 📱 Included Debugging by USB smartphone.

Step-by-step:

1. Activate Developer Mode on Xiaomi: Go to Settings → About Phone. Tap 7 times on MIUI until the notification “You’ve become a developer” appears. Return to Settings → Additional Settings → Developer Settings. Enable USB Debugging.

File transfer

ADB Tools

adb devices

The name of your device should appear.

adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.google.android.googlequicksearchbox

Reboot your smartphone.

After that, Google Assistant will be completely deactivated, including a Home button call and voice activation. To return it, you just need to update the Google app through the Play Market or execute a command:

adb shell cmd package install-existing com.google.android.googlequicksearchbox

Alternatives to Google Assistant on Xiaomi: what to use instead

If you’ve disabled Google Assistant but want to keep some of the features (voice search, smart home management, reminders), consider alternatives.

For most Xiaomi users, the best choice would be XiaoAI (if you don't need Google services) or Alice (if Russian is important).

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Go to the Apps → XiaoAI.
3. Turn on the voice assistant slider.
4. Set up voice activation (the phrase “Hiao AI” or double press the power button).

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If you use Xiaomi smart devices (lamps, robot vacuum cleaners), XiaoAI will manage them better than Google Assistant, as it has direct access to the MIOT ecosystem.

Frequent problems and their solutions

Even after Google is disabled, the Assistant can still work or cause errors, and here are the most common situations and ways to fix them:

• 🔄 The assistant is activated again after the update. MIUI: Repeat Method 1 and Method 3, then turn off the automatic update of the Google app in the Play Market.
• 🔊 Voice activation does not turn off: Check settings in Settings → Google → Devices and sharing → Voice Match and turn off Hey Google.
• ⚡ Fast battery drain after shutdown: This may be due to background processes of other Google services.Check battery consumption in Settings → Battery and if necessary, limit the activity of Google Play Services or Google Search.
• 📱 Home button does not work after reassignment: Reset gesture settings in Settings → Additional settings → Buttons and gestures → Reset the settings.

If none of the methods worked, you may have modified firmware installed on your device (such as custom ROM), in which case you will need root access or flashing on the official MIUI to completely remove Google Assistant.

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions