How to remove the screen on the left of Xiaomi devices: phones, tablets and TV

The problem with the sidebar: why it appears and how to turn it off

Many Xiaomi users are faced with the unexpected appearance of an additional screen or panel on the left — on smartphones it can be a side curtain MIUI, on Mi TVs it is a quick access panel, and on Xiaomi Pad tablets it is multitasking. Most often it is not a system failure, but an activated feature that the manufacturer includes by default or after an update. In 80% of cases the problem is solved through settings, but sometimes you need to reset or even manually edit configuration files.

It's important to understand that "the screen on the left" is a collective name for several different interface elements. On smartphones, it can be:

• 📱 Sidebar. MIUI (Quick applications and tools)
• 🔄 Multi-window mode (screen splitting)
• 🎮 Game Turbo (Game Panels)

On the Xiaomi Mi TV or Redmi Smart TV on the left, usually a panel with recommendations, browsing history or Google TV widgets appears. In this article, we will analyze all the options and ways to disable them.

If you see a black screen on the left or the panel doesn't respond to pressing, it could be a hardware problem with the display or the plume (relevant to smartphones after falls), which would require a diagnosis at the service center, but 95 percent of the time, the software settings are to blame, which we're going to fix.

Method 1: Disabling the MIUI sidebar on Xiaomi smartphones

On smartphones running MIUI 12-14 or HyperOS, the sidebar is activated by a swipe from the edge of the screen to remove it:

1. Move the slider to the off position.

On some models (e.g. Xiaomi 13 Pro or Redmi Note 12), the panel is hidden through Settings → Screen → Sidebar Toolbar. If the panel still appears after turning off, reset the gesture settings:

Settings → System → Reset settings → Reset gesture settings

Make sure that the swipe does not conflict with navigation gestures |

Check for updates to MIUI|

Turn off Game Turbo or Reading modes |

Restart the device after the changes

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⚠️ Attention: POCO F5 and some other models, the side panel may be part of the shell POCO Launcher. In this case, turning it off will result in a reset of the home screen - back up the location of the icons in advance.

Method 2: Remove the left panel on Xiaomi TVs (Mi TV, Redmi TV)

On Xiaomi TVs on the left, a panel with recommendations, a history or a Google Assistant widget often appears.

1. On the remote, press Settings (⚙️) → Smart assistant. → Recommendations.
2. Turn off the option "Show recommendations on the home screen".
3. To completely remove widgets, go to Settings → Apps → Smart Screen and reset the settings.

If the panel only appears in certain apps (e.g. YouTube or Netflix), the problem is with the settings of a particular service. For example, YouTube on the left may display a browsing history — it can be hidden through Settings → History → Hide browsing history.

Method 3: Disable multi-window (split screen)

If you see a smaller application window on the left, it's a multi-window mode that's activated by a gesture or a long press on the "Recent" button to turn it off:

• 📲 On a smartphone: Settings → Special facilities → Multi-window → turn off the function.
• 📺 On the tablet Xiaomi Pad 6: Settings → Screen. → Split screen → Turn off the swipe gesture".
• 🎮 On TV: Multi-window mode is turned off through Settings → Screen. → Image scale (select "Full screen").

On some firmware (e.g. HyperOS 1.0 on Xiaomi 14), the multi-window is integrated into the system and completely disables only via ADB:

adb shell settings put global force_split_screen false

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If the multi-window turns on by itself, check the cover or protective glass - sometimes pressure sensors falsely trigger when you press the edge of the screen.

Method 4: Reset the launcher settings (if the panel does not disappear)

If the sidebar remains even after the settings are turned off, the problem may be a launcher failure (MIUI Launcher or POCO Launcher).

1. Open Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Find Louncher (or MIUI Home) and select Storage → Clear Data.
3. Reset the device.

Once reset, all the icons on the desktop will return to their standard location, and the widgets will disappear.

• 📸 Take a picture of the icons.
• 📋 Save the list of installed widgets in Settings → Widgets.
• 🔄 Enable sync with Mi Account (if supported by your model).

⚠️ Note: On Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra and other flagships, resetting the launcher can lead to loss of themes. → My subjects. → Save.

Recommendations on TV|

Quick tools on your smartphone |

Game Turbo (Game Turbo) |

Multi-window (split screen) |

Another problem.-->

Method 5: Manual removal via ADB (for advanced users)

If standard methods don’t work, you can disable the panel via Android Debug Bridge (ADB), a method that is suitable for power users and requires connecting the device to a PC.

Instructions for smartphones:

1. Turn on Settings → About Phone → MIUI version (click 7 times to activate Developer Mode).
2. Return to Settings → Additional → For developers and enable USB Debugging.
3. Connect your phone to your PC and execute the command: adb shell pm uninstall-k --user 0 com.miui.systemAdSolution (to remove the ad panel and recommendations).

For Xiaomi TVs, the team will be different:

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

This command disables the standard Google TV launcher, but may cause some features to fail. Once executed, install an alternative launcher (such as an ATV Launcher) via ADB:

adb install atvlauncher.apk

💡

Using ADB can disrupt your system. Before experimenting, back up your system using adb backup or Mi Cloud.

What to do if nothing helps: hardware causes

If the left screen appears regardless of settings and does not respond to commands, the problem may be hardware:

• 🔧 Damage to the display plume (relevant after falls or repairs).
• 🔋 Screen controller malfunction (often manifested as "ghost" pressings).
• 🌡️ Overheating of the processor (on some models leads to graphic artifacts).

For diagnosis:

1. Connect the device to your PC and check logs through adb logcat (look for bugs with the SurfaceFlinger or DisplayManager tag).
2. Test the screen in safe mode (press the power button → “Reboot in safe mode”). If the panel disappears, it is the software’s fault, if not, the iron.
3. Check the response to clicks in the service menu (for smartphones): type ##4636## → “Equipment Testing” → “Screen”.

⚠️ Note: On Xiaomi Black Shark and other gaming smartphones, the left screen can be part of the cooling system (reflects temperature). CPU). It's going to overheat, check the settings. → Playing space.

FAQ: Frequent questions about removing the left screen on Xiaomi