How to Disable or Remove Google on Xiaomi Smartphones: 5 Ways to Reveal

Google services are deeply integrated into MIUI firmware, but not all Xiaomi users want to share data with the corporation or put up with background activity of applications like Google Play Services. From constant notifications about backup to uncontrolled battery consumption, the reasons for disconnection can be different. In this article, we will analyze all possible methods, from simply disabling synchronization to completely removing system components without superuser rights.

It's important to understand that Xiaomi uses two firmware versions — global (with Google Mobile Services preinstalled, GMS) and Chinese (without GMS, but with service restrictions). If your smartphone is bought in Russia or Europe, you probably have a global version with a full set of Google applications. The Chinese will require manual installation of GMS — but also remove them from there easier. We will look at solutions for both cases.

Why users want to remove Google from Xiaomi smartphone

According to a 2023 survey by Counterpoint Research, up to 38% of Android device owners worldwide have tried to restrict Google services at least once, for reasons ranging from privacy to performance:

• 🔋 Battery consumption: Google Play Services and Google Play Store can consume up to 15% of the charge in the background (according to AccuBattery).
• 📡 Automatic synchronization of contacts, photos and mail “eats” up to 500 MB per month.
• 🛡️ Privacy: Google collects location, search queries and activity data even when services are disabled (confirmed by Trinity College Dublin).
• 📱 Performance: On weak Xiaomi models (like Redmi) 9A POCO C31) Google’s Background Processes Are Slowing Down the System.
• 🚫 Blocking: In some countries (Iran, China, Russia) access to Google services is limited, and their presence only hinders the access of Google.

However, the complete removal of Google can lead to the inoperability of key features: push notifications in messengers (for example, WhatsApp or Telegram), geolocation in maps, authorization through a Google account in games and applications. Before you act, evaluate which services are critical to you.

Method 1: Turn off synchronization and background activity (without deletion)

If you just need to cut back on your resource use, but not remove Google completely, start with these steps.

1. Open Settings → Accounts and Sync → Google.
2. Select your account and turn off all sync switches (contacts, calendar, Chrome, Drive, etc.).
3. Go back to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
4. Find Google Play Services, open it and select Battery → Background Activity → Limit.
5. Repeat step 4 for Google Play Store, Google App, and Google Contacts Sync.

This method will reduce battery consumption by 10-20% (as measured by Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 tests), but will not disable Push notifications and geolocation.

Method 2: Remove updates and roll back to the factory version of applications

Many Google services (Play Market, YouTube, Gmail) are installed as system applications, but their updates can be removed, which will return them to the factory version, which is often less voracious.

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. In the upper right corner, click on three dots and select Show System.
3. Find an app (like Google Play Store) and open its page.
4. Click on the three dots in the top right corner and select Remove Updates.
5. Confirm the action. The app will return to the version that was preinstalled on the phone.

After the rollback:

• 🔒 Stop Auto Updating: Go to Settings in Play Store → Auto-update of applications → Never.
• 📵 Turn off notifications: in the settings of each Google application, find the Notifications section and deactivate all switches.

Limitations of the method:

• Some apps (such as Google Play Services) don’t have the “Remove Updates” option.
• After resetting the phone to factory settings, all updates will return.

💡

If the Play Store stopped working after the rollback, clear its cache in the app settings.This often solves the problem without losing data.

Method 3: Deactivation through ADB (without root rights)

For those who are willing to go further, but don't want root access, there's a method of disabling system applications through ADB (Android Debug Bridge), which doesn't delete applications, it just deactivates them, freeing up resources, and it works even on locked downloaders.

What you need:

• 🖥️ Computer with Windows/Linux/macOS.
• 🔌 USB-cable (preferably original).
• 📱 Included debugging by USB on the phone (Settings) → The phone. → Version. MIUI → 7 times press to unlock the developer mode, then Settings → Additionally. → For developers → Debugging by USB).

Step-by-step:

1. Download ADB Tools and unpack it into a folder on your computer.
2. Connect your phone to your PC and select File Transfer Mode (MTP).
3. Open the command prompt (Windows) or terminal (Linux/macOS) in the folder with ADB.
4. Enter the command to check the connection: Adb devices should appear the name of your device.
5. Run the command to deactivate the application (example for Google Play Services): adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.google.android.gms

List of key Google packages for deactivation:

Important: After deactivating Google Play Services, many apps (including banking apps) may stop working. Before executing commands, be sure to check if there are alternatives to mission-critical services.

Method 4: Completely delete Google (requires unlocking the bootloader)

If you're willing to take drastic measures, you can completely remove Google services from the system.

• 🔓 Unlocked bootloader: Xiaomi officially allows it, but will reset the phone to factory settings.
• 🛠️ Castomy recovery (e.g., bone recovery, TWRP).
• 📄 Knowledge of teams ADB fastboot.

Step-by-step process:

1. Unlock the bootloader through the official Xiaomi tool (requires a Mi Account and wait 7-15 days).
2. Install TWRP for your model (see instructions on XDA Developers).
3. Download Open GApps in either nano or pico (minimum set).
4. In TWRP, run a full backup (Backup → Select Partitions → Swipe to Backup).
5. Squeeze GApps Remover ZIP (like this script), then reboot.

⚠️ Attention:

Once you delete the GMS, you can't: Install apps from the Play Market (you'll need to manually install APKs or alternative stores like the Aurora Store); use services linked to Google (YouTube, Gmail, Google Maps); Update firmware via OTA (only manually via TWRP); on some Xiaomi models (like the Poco X3 Pro), removing GMS can result in the loss of Widevine L1 (no HD on Netflix/Disney+).

💡

Before removing GMS, install alternatives: F-Droid for apps, ProtonMail instead of Gmail, OsmAnd instead of Google Maps.

Method 5: Switch to custom firmware without Google (MIUI EU, LineageOS)

The most reliable way to get rid of Google is to install firmware that doesn’t contain GMS at first. There are two popular options for Xiaomi:

1. MIUI EU (Europe): An unofficial version of MIUI without bloatware and with optional GMS installation.

Installation process:

1. Unlock the bootloader (as in Method 4).
2. Install TWRP for your model.
3. Download the firmware and (optional) MicroG (for push notifications).
4. In TWRP, run Wipe → Advanced Wipe (mark Dalvik, Cache, Data, System).
5. Sweat the firmware, then MicroG (if necessary).

Advantages of custom firmware:

• 🚀 High speed (no Google background processes).
• 🔒 Complete control of data (no surveillance).
• 🆕 Regular updates (even for older models).

⚠️ Attention:

On some Xiaomi models (such as the Redmi Note 10 Pro), custom firmware can break the camera because of closed drivers. XDA for your model.

What to do after Google is removed: Set up alternatives

Without Google, the phone won't be a brick, but you'll need to manually configure key features.

To use push notifications (e.g. Telegram or Signal) after deleting the GMS:

1. Install MicroG from an official source.
2. In MicroG settings, activate Google Cloud Messaging and Google SafetyNet.
3. In each application (e.g. Telegram), manually enable notifications via MicroG.

FAQ: Frequent questions about Google’s removal on Xiaomi