Owners of modern Xiaomi Smart TVs often face the intrusiveness of the voice assistant, which is activated every time you carelessly press a button. Google Assistant is deeply integrated into the Android TV shell, which creates inconvenience for those who prefer classic remote control. Constant prompts and requests for microphone activation can be annoying, especially when watching movies or games.
Fortunately, the system provides several levels of functionality limitation to minimize interference with your digital assistant. In this article, we will discuss proven methods that will help you disable Google Assistant or significantly limit its capabilities on Mi TVs and Redmi TVs.
It should be noted that completely removing the system component without obtaining superuser rights (root) is impossible due to Google's security policy. However, the competent settings make the assistant almost invisible to the user. We will consider both standard methods through the settings menu, and more advanced methods through hidden configurations.
Why you should limit the work of voice assistant
The main reason users are looking for a way to turn off Google Assistant on Xiaomi TV is privacy issues. The TV's microphone can technically be activated to listen to keywords, which is a concern for many smart tech owners. While Google claims data security, the ability to physically disable audio collection remains a priority.
The second important aspect is the ergonomics of the interface. On many Mi Remote remotes, the dedicated assistant call button is inconveniently located, which leads to random activations. This interrupts the viewing of content and forces you to perform unnecessary actions to return to the menu. Voice search often overlaps the interface, requiring time to close the window.
In addition, the background work of Google services consumes the resources of RAM TV. on budget models with a small amount of RAM, this can lead to micro-latency in the interface, disabling unnecessary services helps free up system resources for more important tasks, such as decoding high-resolution video.
⚠️ Note: Disabling Google system services completely may disrupt some apps that depend on your Google Play account.Be sure to have a backup of important data before making changes.
Also worth mentioning is network activity: Constantly connecting to Google servers to update the command base and voice models creates background traffic; for users with a limited Internet channel or unstable connection, this can be critical; limiting background activity helps stabilize the network.
Disconnection through the system settings of Android TV
The first and most secure step is to use the operating system’s regular tools. Android TV allows you to flexibly manage permissions for embedded applications. To get started, go to the main menu and select the Settings section, which is usually indicated by the gear in the upper right corner of the screen.
In the menu that opens, look for the App or All Apps. You need to find Google or Google App in the installed program list. This app is responsible for processing voice commands and the assistant, and you click on it and you will be placed in the management menu of a particular service.
Inside the app menu, we're interested in the Permissions section, where you look up the microphone item and you deny access, and this action physically prevents the app from receiving an audio signal even if you accidentally hit the activation button, and you'll mark the microphone as "Not allowed."
- 🔹 Go to Settings. → Annexes → All applications for access to the system list.
- 🔹 Find the Google app and select Stop to Force Closing.
- 🔹 In the permissions section, disable access to the Microphone and Geolocation.
- 🔹 If available, select the Disable or Disable option to stop the system from running the service at start-up.
After doing this, try pressing the assistant button on the remote. Ideally, nothing should happen, or a message will appear that there are no permissions. This is a basic level of protection that suits most users. However, some Xiaomi models may ignore the complete shutdown.
☑️ Checking privacy settings
Setting up the buttons of the Mi Remote remote
A common problem is that the assistant button is hit randomly, newer versions of MIUI for TV firmware have the ability to reassign some actions, although the functionality is limited. Go to the Settings menu and find the Remote and Accessories or Bluetooth and devices section.
You can have an action change option for long or short clicks. If your remote supports reassignment, select the "Do Nothing" option or assign a specific application to run instead of Google Assistant, which is especially true for remotes with a dedicated button with the Google logo.
For older remote models where reassignment is not programmatic, there is a physical method: you can carefully disassemble the remote and isolate the contact of the corresponding button if you are confident in your abilities. However, the safer option is to use third-party apps to control TV from your smartphone.
| Model remote control | Type of button | Possibility of reassignment | Recommended action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mi Remote (Bluetooth) | Separate button | Partial | Disconnection in settings |
| Standard IR Remote | Button combination | No. | Ignoring the function |
| Voice Remote Pro | Sensory/Voice | Tall. | Setup through the application |
| Gamepad (Geympad) | Programmable | Complete. | Macro appointment |
If software cannot change the behavior of the button, consider using a universal remote control via the IR port of the smartphone (if any) or buying a third-party Bluetooth remote that does not have this intrusive button. HID They do not call the Android system menu.
Secret combination for some remotes
Use of Do Not Disturb Mode and Profiles
Android TV offers profile modes that can help limit functionality: Create a new user profile with a name like "Cinema" or "Guests" in this profile, you can choose not to add a Google account or restrict their rights.
When you’re in guest mode or profile without a Google account attached, Assistant often doesn’t activate or is downsized because it doesn’t have access to history and personal data, an effective way to isolate the core system from random interference.
Also check the settings of Do Not Disturb. Although it is primarily designed for notifications, in some versions of MIUI TV it also limits the background activity of services, and you can activate it through quick settings in the notification curtain.
- 🔹 Create a new user profile in the Settings section → Accounts.
- 🔹 Do not enter Google data into a new profile to avoid synchronizing the assistant.
- 🔹 Use this profile to watch TV, leaving the main one for installing apps.
- 🔹 Turn on Do Not Disturb mode to minimize background processes.
This method requires switching between profiles, which can be inconvenient for all family members, but it ensures that at a certain time no one will face sudden activation of voice search. Profile isolation is a powerful tool in the arsenal of advanced users.
Disconnecting via ADB (for advanced users)
For those who aren’t afraid of the command line, there’s a more radical method of disabling system components via ADB (Android Debug Bridge), which allows you to actually freeze the Google app, making it invisible to the system, you’ll need a computer and a TV connection to a single Wi-Fi network.
First, activate the developer mode on your TV. Go to Settings → About TV and press 7 times on Build Number. After you have become a developer, go to Settings → Device Settings → For Developers and turn on USB debugging.
adb connect IP_ANDRESS TELEVISOR:5555
adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.google.android.apps.googleassistantExecuting this command will disable the package responsible for the voice assistant. If you need to return everything back, use the command adb shell pm enable com.google.android.apps.googleassistant. Be careful: disabling critical system packages can lead to unstable operation of the Smart TV.
⚠️ Attention: Use ADB-A bug in the name of the package can cause critical system services to shut down, requiring the TV to be reset to factory settings.
Before the procedure, be sure to write down IP-The address of your TV, which is in the Network section → Status: Connecting from a computer that has Google's Platform Tools installed, it's the most efficient, but also the most risky method.
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Save the list of disabled packets in a text file on your computer, which will quickly restore the TV to work if necessary, simply by copying the on commands.
Alternative solutions and external devices
If the TV’s built-in capabilities don’t solve the problem completely, consider using external media players. Devices like the Apple TV, Nvidia Shield, or even a regular laptop connected via HDMI completely ignore the built-in Android TV and its assistant.
In this case, Xiaomi TV is used solely as a monitor, you switch the signal source to HDMI and control the content through the interface of the external device, which completely eliminates the built-in Google Assistant, since the TV operating system is not active in this mode.
Another option is to use ad-blocking apps and trackers like Blokada (requires installation via ADB or third-party stores), and by setting up filtering for domains associated with Google Assistant servers, you can block them from working at the network level without making changes to the system.
The choice of method depends on your technical training and functionality requirements. For most users, it is enough to limit the resolutions in the settings. For paranoids and geeks, the method with ADB will suit.
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Using an external set-top box turns your Xiaomi TV into a simple monitor, completely eliminating the work of built-in Google services and improving the performance of the interface.