How to permanently disable Google Assistant on Xiaomi Mi9 SE: 5 working ways

Why Xiaomi Mi9 SE owners want to get rid of Google Assistant

Google’s voice assistant is integrated into most Android devices, including the Xiaomi Mi9 SE, but not all users actively use it. Moreover, many people experience the Assistant activating itself when holding the Home button, consuming battery power in the background and conflicting with proprietary MIUI features such as the Xiaomi AI Assistant or control gestures.

On the Mi9 SE (2019 model with Snapdragon 712 processor and 6GB of RAM), the extra background processes are particularly noticeable: users complain of slowing animations, sudden hangings and shortening battery life. Disabling Google Assistant can return up to 10-15% of performance in everyday tasks - tested on MIUI 12-14 firmware.

In this article, we will discuss all the current ways to deactivate the assistant, from standard settings to deep system interventions. Importantly, some methods require developer rights or root, so evaluate your technical capabilities in advance.

Method 1: Disconnect via standard Android settings

The easiest and safest method is to use the built-in options, which is suitable if you just need to remove the Assistant call from the Home button or turn off voice activation.

Instructions:

• 📱 Open the Settings. → Google → Settings for Google apps → Search, Assistant and Voice.
• 🔊 Select the Google Assistant option → Go to the General Settings section.
• ⚙️ Turn off the Google Assistant slider (at the top of the screen).
• 🔄 Restart the device to make the changes effective.

This method does not remove the Assistant completely, but only blocks its basic functions. com.google.android.googlequicksearchbox background processes can continue to work, consuming up to 50-80 MB of RAM.

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If the Assistant is activated again after disabling, check for Google’s Play Market app updates – sometimes resets occur after an automatic update.

Method 2: Deactivate via MIUI settings (for firmware 12+)

Xiaomi has added its own assistant management tools in later versions of MIUI. On the Mi9 SE with MIUI 12.5+ firmware, you can disable Google Assistant integration with system buttons.

Step-by-step:

1. Go to Settings → Special Opportunities → System settings.
2. Select the Home button (or gestures if you use navigation without buttons).
3. In the Long Click section, change the action from Google Assistant to No or Xiaomi AI Assistant.
4. Save the changes and make sure that when you hold the Home button, voice search no longer starts.

This way, not to disable the Assistant itself, but to remove its binding to the hardware buttons, would require more radical measures to fully deactivate it.

Method 3: Disconnect via ADB (without root)

For users who are ready to work with Android Debug Bridge (ADB), there is a way to disable the Assistant at the system level without obtaining root permissions.

What you need:

• 🖥️ Computer with installed ADB-driver.
• 📱 Included Debugging by USB on Mi9 SE (In Settings → The phone. → Version. MIUI Press 7 times, then return to the Additional Settings → For developers).
• 🔌 USB-cable (preferably original).

Instructions:

1. Connect your phone to your PC and execute the command in the terminal: adb devices Make sure that the device is determined (serial number should appear).
2. Enter the command to disable the Assistant: adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.google.android.googlequicksearchbox
3. Restart the Mi9 SE. After that, the Assistant will stop launching, and its icon will disappear from the application menu.

To get it back, use the command:

adb shell pm enable com.google.android.googlequicksearchbox

Debugging is on. USB|Installed ADB-PC-driver|The phone is connected in file transfer mode|Battery charge > 50%-->

Method 4: Remove via Magisk (root required)

If you’re ready for deeper changes, you can completely remove Google Assistant packets using the Magisk module.This method is suitable for users with an unlocked bootloader and root installed.

Warnings:

⚠️ Warning: Removing system applications can lead to unstable work MIUI, especially if you use Google services (Gmail, Maps, Play Market) before the procedure, make a backup through the TWRP.

Instructions:

• 📲 Install Magisk Manager and get root rights.
• 🔍 In Magisk, go to the Modules section and install the Universal System App Remover module.
• 🗑️ Launch the module, find in the list of applications: com.google.android.googlequicksearchbox (main package of Assistant) com.google.android.apps.googleassistant (additional components)
• 🔄 Reboot the device, and then the assistant will be completely removed.

If you have problems with other Google services after deleting, restore the deleted packages through the same module or roll back to the backup.

Method 5: Use of third-party utilities (without root)

For those who don’t want to work with ADB or get root, there is an alternative, like Package Disabler or Bloatware Remover, that allows you to freeze unnecessary system applications without removing them completely.

Recommended utilities:

How to use Package Disabler Pro:

1. Download and install the app.
2. Connect the Mi9 SE to your PC and allow debugging over USB.
3. In the app, search for the com.google.android.googlequicksearchbox package and click Disable.
4. Reboot the phone.

This method is reversible – you can defrost the package at any time through the same application.

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Third-party rootless utilities work through ADB, so they will still require a computer and enabled USB debugging.

What if the assistant is turned on again?

Some Mi9 SE users are faced with the Assistant returning to its original state after updating MIUI or Google services, which is due to the system restoring standard settings for mission-critical packages.

How to prevent re-activation:

• 🔄 Regularly check the list of active applications in Settings → Annexes → All applications.
• 📵 Turn off automatic updates for Google app in Play Market.
• 🔧 Use it. ADB-command to permanently disable (see Method 3) and apply it after each major update.
• 🛡️ Install Disabler for Magisk, which blocks the recovery of deleted packets.

If the Assistant returned after resetting, repeat the shutdown procedure again – most likely, the system restored it as part of the factory configuration.

⚠️ Attention: On some firmware MIUI (for example, MIUI 13 Global) after disabling the Assistant, voice search in Google Chrome and other applications may disappear.To return this feature, install an alternative browser (for example, Firefox) or use Yandex Alice.

FAQ: Frequent questions about disabling Google Assistant on Xiaomi Mi9 SE