How to permanently disable the touch assistant on Xiaomi Redmi: 4 proven ways

Why Touch Assistants Are Irritating to Users and How to Remove It

The Touch Assistant (or Floating Button) on Xiaomi Redmi smartphones is a floating button that the manufacturer wants to make navigating the system easier, pops up on top of all apps and allows you to quickly access basic features: return to the home screen, recent apps, lock the screen or even launch Google Assistant. However, in practice, many users are faced with the fact that this button interferes with games, accidentally clicked when scrolling through social media feeds or just visually annoying.

A particularly pressing problem for owners of large-screen models, such as the Redmi Note 11 Pro, Redmi K50 or POCO X4 Pro, where the button can overlap important interface elements. In addition, in the latest versions of MIUI 13/14, developers have made it less visible to disable by hiding the option deep in the settings. In this article, we will discuss all the current ways to remove the touch assistant from standard to hidden, including methods for devices with a locked bootloader.

Before we get into the instructions, it’s worth clarifying: on some Redmi models (e.g. Redmi 9A or Redmi 10C), the touch assistant is integrated into the system software at the firmware level, and its complete removal is possible only through ADB or custom firmware, but even in such cases it can at least be hidden or reduced to a minimum size.

Method 1: Disconnect via standard MIUI settings

The easiest and safest method is to use the built-in system options, which is suitable for most devices on MIUI 12 and later, including the Redmi Note 10, Redmi 12 and other popular models, the main condition is that the smartphone should not have custom firmware installed that could change the structure of the menu.

Step instructions:

• 📱 Open Settings (cog icon on the main screen).
• 🔍 Scroll down and select Special Features (on some versions) MIUI This may be called additional functions).
• 🎯 Find the Touch Assistant (or Floating Button) and tap it.
• 🔘 Transfer the slider to the off position. or uncheck next to the option Show the button.

If your menu doesn’t have Touch Assistant, try an alternative path:

1. Go to Settings → System → Gestures.
2. Scroll to the Floating Button block and turn it off.

Reboot your smartphone | Check for no button on the home screen | Open any app (e.g. YouTube) and make sure the button doesn't appear | Try to gesture from the bottom up - the button shouldn't interfere

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On some firmware after turning off the button may appear again after restarting, in which case, resetting the special features settings will help:

⚠️ Note: Reset will remove all your individual gesture, font and color settings in the Special Features section.

To perform a reset, go to Settings → Special Options → Special Opportunity Settings → Resetting.

Method 2: Remove via gesture settings (for MIUI 14)

In the latest versions of MIUI, developers have moved the touch assistant to the gesture section, which is because the button is now tightly integrated with system navigation. If the first method didn't work, try the following algorithm:

Open Settings → Display → Navigation Bar (or Settings → System → Gestures) Here you will see three navigation options:

• 🔄 Navigation buttons (classic three buttons at the bottom of the screen).
• 👆 Full-screen gestures (swipe gestures from the bottom edge).
• ⚪ Floating button (touch assistant).

Choose any other type of navigation than the Floating Button. The system will automatically disable the touch assistant. However, note that when choosing full-screen Gestures, you will have to get used to the new control system (for example, swipe from the bottom to return).

Classic buttons|Full-screen gestures|Floating button|I don't know what it is.-->

If you still have a button after you change the navigation type, try going back to the standard buttons, then select gestures again, sometimes helping to reset the assistant settings.

Method 3: Disconnect via ADB (for power users)

If standard methods don’t work, you can use Android Debug Bridge (ADB), a low-level system management tool that works for devices with an unlocked bootloader, but it works on some locked models (such as the Redmi Note 11 or POCO F4).

Warning: misuse of ADB can cause system failures. If you are unsure of your actions, skip this section.

⚠️ Attention: Before executing commands ADB Make sure your smartphone is enabled by debugging USB (Settings → The phone. → Version. MIUI — Tap 7 times, then go back to Settings → Additionally. → For developers, install drivers as well. ADB computer.

Instructions:

1. Connect your smartphone to your PC via USB (use the original cable).
2. Open the command line (Windows) or terminal (macOS/Linux) and type:

adb devices

Make sure your device is listed. Then execute the command to disable the touch assistant:

adb shell settings put secure floating_feature_enabled 0

Changes may require rebooting:

adb shell reboot

If the button is back after rebooting, try the alternative command:

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

This command completely disables the assistant system application. To bring it back, use:

adb shell pm enable com.miui.touchassistant

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If ADB does not recognize the device, try reinstalling the drivers via Google USB Driver or using the Mi PC Suite program to install automatically.

Method 4: Remove through system application editor (root)

For users with unlocked bootloader and root rights, there is a radical method - completely removing the system APK assistant. This is guaranteed to get rid of the button, but requires caution: improper actions can lead to loss of functionality or even a "brick" of the device.

You'll need:

• 📱 Smartphone with unlocked bootloader and installed Magisk or SuperSU.
• 🛠 Application for managing system files, such as Root Explorer or FX File Explorer.
• 🔍 Knowledge of the path to systemic APK (usually /system/priv-app/TouchAssistant or /system/app/FloatingFeature).

Step-by-step:

1. Open the file manager with root access and go to /system/priv-app/.
2. Find the TouchAssistant folder (or FloatingFeature, MiuiTouchAssistant).
3. Rename the folder by adding.bak at the end (e.g. TouchAssistant.bak).
4. Rename the TouchAssistant.apk file to TouchAssistant.apk.bak.
5. Reset the device.

⚠️ Attention: Removal of system APK This may cause errors in the update. MIUI through OTA. Before installing new firmware versions, it is recommended to return original files or use custom recovery (for example, TWRP).

If you encounter problems after deleting (e.g., no gestures or system notifications), restore files from backup or reset settings via Settings → Additional → Restore and Reset.

Frequent problems and their solutions

Even after the touch assistant is successfully disabled, users face a number of common challenges, including the most common ones and ways to address them.

1.The button appears again after the MIUI update

This is because system applications are restored when new firmware versions are installed.

• 🔄 After the update, re-disable the assistant through Settings → Special facilities.
• 📵 If the button is always coming back, use it. ADB-command to completely disable the packet (see Method 3).
• 🔧 Install a Magisk module that blocks system recovery APK (Universal SafetyNet Fix or MIUI Optimizations).

2.Swipe does not work after switching off the floating button

If you have switched from Floating Button to Full Screen Gestures, but swipes are not recognized:

• 🔄 Restart the device – sometimes gestures are activated only after a reboot.
• 📱 Check if a third-party app conflicts with gestures (such as a launcher or screen locker program).
• 🔧 Reset your gesture settings: Settings → System system → Gestures → Resetting gesture settings.

3.The button is gone, but there's an empty space left on the screen

This is a visual bug that comes from the cache of the system, to fix it:

• 🧹 Clear the Launcher app cache (Settings) → Annexes → Application management → Launcher → Clear the cache).
• 🔄 Reboot your smartphone.
• 🎨 If the problem persists, change the theme to standard (Settings) → Display. → Theme).

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If none of these methods worked, check to see if your device has software from a carrier (such as MegaFon or Beeline), which often blocks you from changing your system settings, and the solution is to flash the global version of MIUI through Fastboot.

Alternatives to the sensory assistant: what to use instead

If you've turned off the floating button, but you still want to navigate the system, consider alternatives that will not only replace the assistant's functionality, but also offer additional features.

1. Full-screen navigation gestures

The MIUI-built gesture system allows:

• 🔙 Swipe from the edge of the screen back - return to the previous screen.
• 🏠 Swipe from the bottom up and hold – transition to the main screen.
• 📱 Fast swipe from the bottom up – the discovery of recent apps.

To set up gestures, go to Settings → Display → Navigation Panel → Full-screen gestures.

2. Third-party launchers with gestures

Apps like Nova Launcher, Lawnchair or Hyperion Launcher offer flexible gesture and floating button settings, such as Nova Launcher.

• 🖱 Add your own floating button with custom actions.
• 🔄 Set up swipes on app icons.
• 🎨 Change the appearance and position of interface elements.

3. Applications for creating floating buttons

If you don’t have a standard assistant, try:

• 🔘 Floating Toucher – customizable floating button with support for user actions.
• 🎯 Edge Gestures – gestures on the edges of the screen for quick access to functions.
• 📱 Assistive Touch – iOS-Assistive Touch for Android.

The main advantage of third-party solutions is that they are not integrated into the system, so they can be disabled or removed at any time without consequences for MIUI.

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions