Modern Xiaomi and Redmi smartphones come with a lot of smart features to make it easier to interact with the device, one of which is the voice assistant that is activated by the phrase "OK, Google," which is useful for quickly finding information or launching applications, but it can be annoying if the phone responds to foreign sounds or accidentally turns on in your pocket.
The constant tapping of the microphone also affects battery life, as the processor is forced to constantly analyze the audio stream for keywords. In addition, many users are concerned about privacy, wanting to limit the collection of data about their conversations and location.
In this article, we will discuss in detail all ways to deactivate the voice assistant on the shell of MIUI and HyperOS. We will consider not only the standard settings of the system, but also specific parameters that can be hidden in the depth of the menu or duplicated in the manufacturer's applications.
Why turn off the voice assistant on your smartphone
The main reason users are trying to turn off OK Google is to save battery power, because the background activity of the microphone and speech recognition algorithms consumes the processor's resources, which is especially noticeable on low-end Redmi models with the smallest battery, and even in standby mode, the system uses energy to support listening.
The second important aspect is random activation, which can respond to similar-sounding words from conversations, TV or radio, which causes the device to suddenly dictate an answer or execute commands, which can be extremely uncomfortable in public places or during important meetings.
⚠️ Warning: Disabling voice search does not remove the Google app from the phone, but makes it impossible to control the smartphone voice through a standard activation command.
While Google claims to be a high level of data protection, the constant recording and analysis of the audio environment raises questions among many Xiaomi owners, and completely disabling the feature ensures that your phone will stop listening to the world around you while waiting for a command.
Disabling the feature in the Google app
The most reliable and correct way to remove activation by phrase is to change the settings in the search engine application itself. Since this is the function of Google, the MIUI system settings here can be secondary. First, look for an icon on the desktop or in the application menu with the letter "G" or the name "Google".
When you start the app, you go to the profile menu, which is usually located at the top right of the screen, and is represented by your avatar or the letter of your name, and in the list that opens, you need to find the Settings section, and then select Voice Search (or Voice), and this is where the main switches that control the assistant behavior are hidden.
Inside the voice search menu, you're interested in the Google Assistant option, and if you click on it, you'll be taken to the expanded settings menu, and then you'll find the Hey Google and Voice Match section (in Russian, it might be called "OK, Google"), and there'll be a slider that you want to put inactive, and then the system will stop responding to the voice command.
- 📱 Open the Google app on the home screen.
- ⚙️ Click on the profile avatar and select "Settings".
- 🎤 Go to the section "Voice search" -> "Google Assistant".
- 🚫 Find the “OK Google” switch and turn it off.
It’s important to note that the interface may vary slightly depending on the version of the Android operating system and the version of the app itself. If you don’t find the right item right away, search inside Google’s settings by entering the word “Voice” or “Voice.”
☑️ Checking the disconnection in Google
Set up Mi Voice Assistant on Xiaomi and Redmi
Owners of Xiaomi devices often find that even after turning off the standard Google Assistant, the phone continues to respond to voice commands, due to the company’s own development, the Mi Voice Assistant (or simply Voice Assistant in some localizations), which can duplicate or work in parallel with Google’s capabilities.
To get to the settings of this system, go to the main settings menu of the smartphone. Find the Additional settings section. The options list should look for Voice Assistant or Google Assistant, if it is made separately by the manufacturer. In new versions of HyperOS, the path can look like Settings → Applications → Application Management → Three-point menu → Other settings → Voice input.
Inside this menu, you can see the voice activation option. If it's on, the phone will wake up when you say the key phrase, even if you don't use the Google settings. Turn off the voice activation switch. You can also have a button activation setting available here, which can also be deactivated to prevent accidental starts when you press the power button or go home.
⚠️ Note: Some global versions of the firmware MIUI Mi Voice Assistant menus may be hidden or missing, and management is done exclusively through the Google app.
If you use the Chinese version of the firmware, there may be an active assistant Xiao AI. its settings are in a separate application with the flower icon or in the settings section of Xiao AI. To completely silence it must turn off and find the appropriate switch in the wake settings.
| Function | Wherever | Impact on the system |
|---|---|---|
| Hey Google | Google appendix | Activates search and assistant |
| Mi Voice | Settings → Additional functions | Xiaomi System Assistant |
| Xiao AI | Settings (CN version) | Chinese Voice Assistant |
| Google Discover | Google settings | News Feed to the left of the desktop |
Control of microphone access
There is a more radical but effective way to prevent activation, which is to deny access to the microphone for system services. Modern versions of Android (12, 13, 14 and later) have a flexible permission management system, so you can deny a Google app or system service access to the microphone, leaving it available only for, for example, a voice recorder or instant messengers.
To do this, go to Settings → Privacy Protection → Permission Manager (or just Apps → Permissions → Microphone). In the list, find the Google app or Google Search. Click on it, select the Option to Disable. Now, even if the OK, Google feature is formally enabled, it will not be able to physically hear the command, as access to the hardware part of the microphone will be blocked software.
This is especially useful if you want to leave voice typing in the keyboard, but remove the background listening, but be careful: if you ban the microphone, the dictation functions in the search bar on the desktop may stop working.
Risks of turning off microphone
You can check which apps are using the microphone right now by looking at the green indicator in the upper right corner of the screen (the microphone dot or icon). If the indicator is on when you don't say anything, then some application is recording. Xiaomi has a convenient "Access Monitor" feature that shows the microphone access log.
Hidden settings and additional parameters
Sometimes, a standard shutdown doesn't work because of the availability of additional services, such as Google Discover or desktop widgets, and these interface elements may also have their own voice activation settings. To remove them, go to the widget settings (usually with a long tap) or the feed settings.
There's also a General section in Google's settings where you can find Search Prompt, where you can turn off the microphone display in the desktop search widget, and this won't turn off the feature itself, but it will remove the visual trigger and reduce the chance of accidentally clicking.
For advanced Xiaomi users, there is the option of using ADB (Android Debug Bridge) for deep customization. With commands, you can freeze or disable certain system components responsible for voice input if standard methods do not help. However, this requires a computer connection and basic knowledge of working with the command line.
adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.google.android.googlequicksearchboxUsing this command will completely disable Google widget and voice search, but can disrupt other dependent services, so only use it if you understand the consequences.
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Use Do Not Disturb or Sleep mode to automatically turn off voice activation at night if your model supports script profiles in the Security app.
Impact on other functions and conclusions
Once you turn off "OK, Google," it's worth checking the work of related features. For example, the Google Lens feature may continue to work through the camera, but voice search for a picture requires manual microphone activation.
But for most users, turning it off brings more benefits than downsides: battery life increases, CPU loads decrease, and most importantly, the annoyance of random wake-ups disappears. The smartphone becomes just a tool that executes commands only when you want it to.
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Turning off the voice assistant is a balance between convenience and control: You lose the speed of voice dialing, but you get silence and save resources.
Remember that settings may reset after a major MIUI or HyperOS update. Periodically check the sections described above to make sure your preferences are still taken into account by the system. This is especially true after you upgrade to the new major version of Android.