How to turn off swipe up on Xiaomi after unlocking

Xiaomi and Redmi, both of which are powered by MIUI shells and the new HyperOS, offer many convenient features for quick access to content. However, one, swipe up the desktop or lock screen, is often annoying. Instead of instant access to the desktop, it opens up a Google or Yandex search bar, which confuses and slows down.

This feature was introduced to make navigation easier, but in practice many POCO and Xiaomi owners experience random clicks, especially when you see news widgets instead of running an app, and fortunately, the system settings have the ability to disable this behavior, although it is not easy to find it because of the deep attachment of the menu.

In this article, we’ll look at all the ways to swipe up on different versions of firmware. You’ll learn where to look for the right switches in Settings, how to work with the launcher and what to do if standard methods don’t work. We’ll look at the nuances for models with Android 12, Android 13 and later, so you can customize your gadget as conveniently as possible.

Why Swipe Up and What is the Function

The up-swipe-activated feature is technically called Desktop Search or Google Discover. In older versions of the MIUI shell, this action could trigger the menu of all apps if it was enabled in the appropriate mode. In modern builds, especially with Google preinstalled services, the up-swipe gesture leads to the news feed by default.

Developers are introducing these elements to increase user engagement in the ecosystem, algorithms are trying to guess what you want before you unlock your phone, but for those who appreciate minimalism and speed, constant transitions to the search engine become an unnecessary step, especially on screens with high refresh rates, where the animation of opening the search seems to be delayed.

⚠️ Note: Some global firmware versions may have different menu names. Look for items that contain the words "Search", "Discover" or "Desktop».

It’s important to understand that swipe behavior depends on the launcher installed. Standard System Launcher has its own settings that may overlap with the settings of the Google app itself. If you use third-party shells like Nova Launcher or Microsoft Launcher, the disablement mechanism will differ and require customization within the launcher app itself.

Disabling Google Search through Launcher Settings

The most common and effective way to remove an intrusive swipe is to change the system launcher settings, which works on most current Xiaomi, Redmi, and POCO models. You don't need superuser rights or a computer connection, everything is done with the standard interface.

First, you need to get into the hidden menu of the launcher settings. In the latest versions of MIUI 13 and MIUI 14, the path may vary, but the overall algorithm remains the same. First go to the general settings of the smartphone, then find the section responsible for the appearance and organization of the workspace.

The sequence of actions is as follows:

• 📱 Open your smartphone’s settings and scroll down to Desktop.
• 🔍 In the menu that opens, find the Search section on the desktop or additionally.
• ⚙️ Click on Search Engine or Swipe Up.
• ❌ Select No or Disabled from the list offered.

If you don't find the right item in the Settings → Desktop menu, try an alternative path. On some devices, the launcher settings are made in a separate application or are available through long-pressing on an empty desktop space. In the menu that appears, select Add widgets or Settings (often the gear icon at the bottom), where the desired switch may also be hidden.

Customize the behavior of the Home button and gestures

In addition to desktop swipe, users often confuse it with home button behavior or navigation gestures. In Android, there is a feature where a short press of the home button causes a voice assistant, and a long search. In gesture navigation, the swipe up from the bottom of the screen always returns to the desktop, but if you pause in the middle of the screen, the Google Assistant panel can open.

To rule out random activations, check your navigation settings. Go to Settings → Additional settings → Full-screen mode. Here you can choose between buttons and gestures. If you use gestures, pay attention to the sensitivity of the edges of the screen. Sometimes the touchscreen calibration gets knocked down, and the system recognizes the swipe from the edge as a search opening command.

Also worth mentioning is the Quick Ball feature, or the Floating Button. If it is activated and configured incorrectly, swiping it can cause unwanted actions. Check Settings → Additional Settings → Floating Button and make sure that it does not set it to open a search or browser for simple gestures.

Remove the Google Discover widget from the main screen

Often users try to remove the swipe, but forget that what actually prevents them is the widget of the newsfeed, fixed on the first screen on the left.In the shell of MIUI, this is a separate page "-1" that opens when swipeing to the right, but sometimes the swipe behavior up and left is associated with program errors or custom themes.

To remove the left screen with news, do the following:

• 🖐️ Make a long tap (push) over an empty space on the desktop to go into editing mode.
• 🗑️ Find the left-handmost screen with the Google logo or Yandex.
• 🚫 Click on the cross or switch to delete this page.
• ✅ Click “Ready” or return to the desktop.

⚠️ Note: Deleting the Google Discover widget doesn’t always turn off the swipe up feature itself.This only removes the left bar, but swipe up search may remain active in the launcher settings.

If the widget is not removed by standard means, it may be embedded with the theme. Some third-party themes for MIUI are forced to add their widgets. In this case, return the standard theme in the Topic app and repeat the removal procedure. Also check if the Safe Search mode is enabled in the settings of the Google account, which can block the change of certain parameters.

Using ADB for Advanced Users

If the GUI doesn’t allow you to disable a function (for example, a menu item is hidden by a carrier or in a particular firmware version), you can use the ADB tool (Android Debug Bridge), which requires connecting your smartphone to your computer and having basic knowledge about working with the command line, but gives you full control over the system.

To start, you need to enable USB debugging. Go to Settings → About Phone and quickly click on MIUI Version or OS Version seven times. After that, the Developer Debugging option will appear in the Advanced Settings menu. Activate it and turn on the USB Debugging Toggle.

adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.google.android.googlequicksearchbox

This command disables the Google service package that runs the search widget. Be careful: disabling system components can cause other services to work in an unstable way, such as voice input. To return everything back, use the adb shell pm enable com.google.android.googlequicksearchbox command. It is recommended to create a full backup of data before performing any commands.

An alternative for advanced users is to use standard launcher replacement apps that have their own, more flexible gesture settings, and apps like Nova Launcher allow you to completely reassign the swipe up to run any application or leave it without action at all.

Problems after the update and MIUI bugs

Users often experience a situation where, after updating the firmware, the settings are reset and the swipe up again begins to open the search, a well-known MIUI and HyperOS bug where the launcher configuration files migrate incorrectly when upgrading the system, in which cases simply switching the toggler may not be enough.

If the settings go off, try clearing the launcher data. Go to Settings → Applications → All apps, find System Launcher (or System Launcher) and select Clean → Clear Everything. This action will reset the desktop icons to factory status, so take screenshots in advance.

• 🔄 Update Google and Google Play Services through the Play Store.
• 🧹 Clear the Google app cache in the app settings.
• 📵 Turn off the Internet at the time of setting up the launcher to exclude synchronization of “incorrect” settings from the cloud.

The problem can also be cacheed, such as resetting the network or, in extreme cases, completely resetting the device, but before you do that, you should check the developer forums (like 4PDA or XDA) for bugs in your version of the firmware, and often the community already finds a temporary solution or patch.

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Before clearing the launcher data, be sure to export the icon placement if your version of MIUI supports this feature, or just take a few screenshots of the desktop.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

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Proper launcher settings and understanding the differences between system gestures and Google widgets are key to making a comfortable use of Xiaomi smartphone without unnecessary advertising and search queries.