How to disable the assistant on Xiaomi: the complete guide

Modern Xiaomi and Redmi smartphones, which run MIUI and HyperOS shells, have many smart features designed to make it easier to interact with the device. However, often these features, such as voice assistants, can interfere with the user by accidentally activating in his pocket or responding to foreign sounds.

In this article, we’ll take a closer look at how to turn off the Xiaomi assistant to regain full control of your gadget.We’ll look at disabling both the native Mi Assistant and the built-in Google Assistant, which often duplicates functionality.You’ll learn how to customize button behavior and get rid of random voice-activated launches that can drain your battery or distract you at the wrong time.

The shutdown process may vary slightly depending on the Android operating system version and the MIUI firmware version.We will cover the basic techniques relevant to most current models, including the Mi, Redmi Note and Poco series. Follow the instructions carefully to correct system settings without risking the device's operation.

The difference between Mi Assistant and Google Assistant

Before you start setting up, it’s important to understand that there are two different assistants in Xiaomi’s ecosystem: the first is the Mi Assistant (often called simply “Assistant”), which is activated by a long press of the power button or a swipe in the corner of the screen, and is part of the company’s shell and is responsible for basic system commands, settings, and smart home management.

The second is Google Assistant, which is a deep integration of Google services into Android, which is smarter in terms of natural language processing, searching the Internet, and working with calendars or maps, and users often confuse them by trying to turn off one, but keeping the other active.

• 🤖 Mi Assistant - System shell tool MIUI/HyperOS Quick access to the phone functions.
• 🌐 Google Assistant – Google’s cloud service for searching, translating and managing a smart home.
• ⚙️ Conflicts – simultaneous work by both assistants can cause delays or double reactions to voice commands.

In most cases, users are annoyed by the Mi Assistant, which intercepts the action of the shutdown button. However, if you are actively using the Google ecosystem, disabling their assistant can deprive you of the convenience of managing a smart home or voice typing. So we will consider disabling both options so that you can choose the optimal configuration for yourself.

How to disable Mi Assistant through settings

The most common scenario is that you accidentally run the Mi Assistant menu when you try to turn off your phone, and that's because you have Power Button Activation enabled. To remove that inconvenience, you have to go to the special features of the system. Open the Settings app on your smartphone.

Next, look for the Additional Settings section (some firmware versions may simply call it “Advanced Settings”). In the options list, select “Accessibility” where you can find the settings that control the behavior of the interface for people with disabilities, including voice assistants.

In the menu that opens, look for a tab or Mi Assistant. Click on it to open the detailed menu. Here you will see a switch called "Mi Assistant" or "Assistant." Put it to the Off position. After that, the power button will return to the standard one - call the off and reboot menu.

⚠️ Note: Some global firmware versions may have different paths. If you don't find the option in "Additional Settings," try searching for the settings with the word "Assistant" or "Assistant," the system will tell you the desired section.

This menu may also include the option "Voice control." If you don't plan to control your phone voice, it's also best to turn it off to avoid false positives when the phone is facing up, which will help save battery power, since the microphone won't constantly scan the environment for commands.

Disconnecting Google Assistant on Xiaomi

If you're annoyed by the Google Assistant pop-up when you swipe from a corner or when you voice command "Ok Google," it can also be deactivated.This process is a little more complicated, since the settings are scattered across different Android menus. Start by opening the Google app (the G icon) or go to the phone's Settings.

In the phone settings, find the Google section, then select Settings for Google Apps. In the service list, find Search, Assistant, and Google Now, and then go to Google Assistant.

In the menu that opens, find All Assistant Settings, or just scroll down to the very end of the page. There's a Google Assistant switch. Turn it off. The system will alert you that some features will stop working, confirm the action. Now the assistant will not respond to voice commands.

• 🔍 Search – Disabling Assistant won’t delete Google App, Search will remain accessible.
• 🎙️ Voice – the phrase “Ok Google” will stop working for activation from any screen.
• 📱 Interface – will disappear semi-transparent hint bar on the main screen.

It’s worth noting that completely disabling Google Assistant may affect some third-party apps that use its engine to voice or execute commands. If you use smart speakers or Google Home bulbs, managing them via your phone will also become impossible.

Setting up the power button and gestures

In addition to the software settings of the assistants themselves, MIUI and HyperOS have separate menus for managing physical buttons. Often this is where the cause of unwanted smartphone behavior lies. Go to Settings → Additional Settings → Advanced Settings (or immediately to Special Opportunities in new versions).

Find the Shortcuts section, which shows you the actions that are performed in different interactions with the buttons, find Start Google Assistant or Activate the Power Button, and if there's a tick or the switch is active, remove it.

Also check your gesture settings. In Control → Gestures and buttons, you can swipe to the corner of the screen. By default, there's often a Google Assistant or Mi Assistant call. Change that to Nothing or Screenshot if you're more comfortable with that.

After making all the changes, it is recommended to restart the device so that the new parameters apply to all system processes.

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If the power button still calls the assistant instead of the off menu, try pressing the power button and the volume button at the same time – this will force the reboot menu on most Xiaomi models.

Using ADB to Advance Disconnect

For power users who want to make sure that the assistant never starts, there is a method of disabling through ADB (Android Debug Bridge), which allows you to deactivate the system component responsible for the Mi Assistant work at a deeper level, which does not delete the application, but completely blocks its launch.

For this you will need a computer, USB-cable and on-debugging USB On a smartphone (Developers menu) connect the phone to your PC and start the command line. Enter the following command to disable the component:

adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.miui.accessibility

This command disables the package that handles special features, including the Mi Assistant. If you want to get it back, use the command:

adb shell pm enable com.miui.accessibility

⚠️ Attention: Use ADB Disabling system packages can cause other features such as screen announcer or gaze control to work in an unstable way. Use this method only if standard settings do not help.

There is also the option of disabling voice activation via ADB without touching the entire availability packet, a more secure method that only blocks microphone listening for assistant commands, but in recent versions of HyperOS, security policies can block such actions without root rights.

Problems after disconnection and their solution

Once you have disabled the assistant on Xiaomi, you may experience some changes in the behavior of the system: first, voice typing in some applications will stop working if they relied on the Google engine; second, the widgets of Google Discover on the home screen may disappear.

If the power button has stopped responding to short presses (screen lock) after disabling the Mi Assistant, check if the Power Button Lock function in Password and Security is activated. Sometimes the settings conflict and the system forgets which action is assigned to the short press.

• 🔋 Battery – after switching off background listeners, battery life may increase slightly.
• 📉 Performance – frees up the memory previously occupied by the assistant processes.
• 🔒 Privacy – The microphone will not be activated without your knowledge.

In rare cases, especially on custom firmware or after a MIUI update, settings may reset. If you notice that the assistant has reappeared, just repeat the verification procedure in the Special Features section. Xiaomi Update system sometimes returns standard availability settings after major updates.

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Disabling voice assistants is a balance between convenience and privacy, and completely shutting down increases privacy, but it takes away hands-free control.

Comparison of disconnection methods

So to sum up, the way you turn off depends on your goal, so if you just want to remove the menu when you turn off, you need standard settings, and if you want maximum privacy, you should consider ADB or completely shutting down Google services.

Users who often dictate messages or use the navigator should not turn off the Google Assistant completely, but only adjust its activation so that it does not happen accidentally.

Remember that in different regions and on different versions of firmware (Chinese, Global, Indian, Russian) menu names may differ. Use the search by settings, entering the keywords "Assistant", "Help" or "Voice" to quickly find the desired option.

FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions