How to Remove Google Assistant from the Home button to Xiaomi: The Complete Guide

The Home button on Xiaomi smartphones by default launches Google Assistant, a voice assistant that doesn’t seem convenient to all users. Many prefer to use this button to quickly return to the home screen or run other features, such as Mi AI or third-party apps. Unfortunately, MIUI does not always provide an obvious way to disable this binding through standard settings, especially on newer versions of firmware.

In this article, we’ll break down 5 proven methods to remove Google Assistant from the Home button on Xiaomi, including:

• 🔧 Settings MIUI (for some versions)
• 📱 Use of the ADB (universal)
• 🛠️ Editing system files (for advanced ones)
• 🔄 Alternative launchers
• 📲 Third-party applications for button reassignment

Each method is suitable for different versions of MIUI (12 to 14) and smartphone models - from Redmi Note 10 to Xiaomi 13 Ultra. Important: some methods require unlocking the bootloader or root rights, which can affect the warranty.

Why is Google Assistant tied to Xiaomi’s Home button?

With MIUI 10, Xiaomi has begun to actively integrate Google services into its smartphones, especially on global firmware versions.

• 🤝 Agreements with Google for pre-installation of services (GMS).
• 📈 Increasing the relevance of smartphones to Western markets.
• 🔄 Trying to unify the experience across devices.

However, for many Google users, Assistant is not necessary, especially if they prefer:

• 🗣️ Mi AI (Xiaomi's built-in assistant).
• ⚡ Quick return to the main screen without delay.
• 🎯 Reassigning a button to other actions (for example, starting a camera or flashlight).

In addition, Google Assistant consumes additional resources – from 50-150 MB of RAM in the background, which is critical for low-end models like Redmi 9A or Poco M3.

⚠️ Note: Some models (e.g. Xiaomi) 12T or Redmi K50) post-update MIUI 14 standard shutdown through settings may not work properly. ADB alternative methods.

Method 1: Disconnect via MIUI settings (for some versions)

The easiest way to do this is to try to disable Google Assistant through the standard settings.

• 📱 MIUI 12.5 and below (global versions).
• 📱 Some firmware. MIUI 13/14 Chinese models (e.g. Xiaomi) 11 cross-referenced).

Instructions:

1. Open Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Click on the three dots in the top right corner and select Show All Apps.
3. Search Google (or com.google.android.googlequicksearchbox).
4. Go to Permissions and turn off the Start by default.
5. Return to the main settings menu and select System → Gestures → Home button.
6. Try reassigning the action (if the option is available).

If there is no Home Button, then your version of MIUI is blocking the change through the GUI, in which case move on to the next method.

Enable debugging over USB (Settings → About Phone → MIUI Version → 7 times press)

Connect your phone to a PC with ADB drivers installed

Download the ADB platform (for example, from the official Google website)

Allow debugging on the phone (a request will appear when connecting)

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Method 2: Use of ADB (Universal Method)

If standard settings don’t work, ADB (Android Debug Bridge) is the most reliable tool to disable Google Assistant, a method that works on all versions of MIUI, including MIUI 14, but requires a connection to a computer.

Step-by-step:

1. Install ADB Tools on your PC.
2. Connect your smartphone to your computer and allow debugging over USB.
3. Open the command prompt (cmd) in the folder with adb.exe.
4. Enter the command to check the connection: Adb devices must appear serial number of your device.
5. Run the command to disable Google Assistant: adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.google.android.googlequicksearchbox
6. Reboot the phone.

After that, the Home button will work without calling an assistant. To get it back, use the command:

adb shell pm enable com.google.android.googlequicksearchbox

⚠️ Note: On some devices (e.g. Poco) F4) After disabling Google Assistant through ADB Voice search in Google App may be missing. To fix this, just reinstall Google's app from the Play Market.

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If ADB does not recognize the device, try reinstalling drivers via the Mi Flash Tool or using an alternative device. USB-Also check if File Transfer is enabled (MTP) plug-in.

Method 3: Editing system files (for advanced)

If ADB didn’t help or you want to completely remove Google Assistant from your system, you can edit your system files.

• 🔓 Root rights (unlocked bootloader) + Magisk).
• 📁 Backup of the system (for example, through TWRP).
• 🖥️ Confident possession ADB file manager with root access (e.g. Root Explorer).

Instructions:

1. Install Root Explorer or a similar app.
2. Go to /system/priv-app/Velvet/Velvet.apk (this is the main Google Assistant file).
3. Rename the file to Velvet.apk.bak (or delete it).
4. Reset the device.

An alternative way is to disable the service via ADB with root:

adb shell


su




pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.google.android.googlequicksearchbox

This method removes Google Assistant from the system completely, which can cause some features to fail, such as voice search on YouTube or Google Maps.

Method 4: Use of alternative launchers

If you don’t need to completely remove Google Assistant, but only reassign the Home button, you can install a third-party launcher, for example:

• 🚀 Nova Launcher (with gesture support).
• 🎯 Lawnchair (lightweight launcher with button settings).
• ⚡ Hyperion Launcher (for advanced users).

How to set up:

1. Install the selected launcher from the Play Market.
2. Set it with the default launcher (Settings → Applications → Default launcher).
3. In the launcher settings, find the Gestures and buttons section (or similar).
4. Reassign the action to the Home button (for example, to launch an app or return to the home screen).

Advantages of the method:

• ✅ Does not require root rights or ADB.
• ✅ Keeps Google Assistant for other functions.
• ✅ Allows you to flexibly customize other gestures (e.g. swipe up for search).

⚠️ Note: Some models (e.g. Xiaomi 12 Pro) have system gestures MIUI They may conflict with the settings of the third-party launcher, in which case you have to disable the system gestures through the Settings. → System system → Gestures → System navigation → Button.

Method 5: Third-party applications for button reassignment

If previous methods do not work, you can use specialized applications to reassign buttons, such as:

• 🔄 Button Mapper (no root requirement, but rights required) ADB certain functions).
• 🛠️ Custom Navigation Bar (for changing the navigation bar).
• 🔧 Tasker (Advanced Automation, Including Button Reassignment).

Example of settings with Button Mapper:

1. Install an app from the Play Market.
2. Provide access to Special Features (Settings → Special Features → Button Mapper).
3. Select the Home button in the list.
4. Assign a new action (such as Back, Launch an application, or Open a menu).
5. Save the settings and restart the device.

Limitations of the method:

• ❌ Nana MIUI 14 Some applications may not work without ADB root.
• ❌ Reassignment may be reset after system updates.

Frequent problems and their solutions

When you turn off Google Assistant, users experience common errors, and consider the most common and ways to fix them:

1.The Home button has stopped working completely

If, after disabling Google Assistant, the button stopped responding:

• Check if the third-party launcher conflicts with the system settings.
• Restore button settings via ADB: adb shell cmd overlay enable com.android.internal.policy.impl.PhoneWindowManager
• If you use Button Mapper, reset your settings.

2.Google Assistant starts with a long press

On some devices (e.g. Poco X3), Google Assistant can be triggered when the Home button is held long enough to disable this:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Google → Assistant → Settings → Phone.
2. Turn off the Assistant option when holding the Home button.

3.After the MIUI update, the settings reset

MIUI often resets user settings after updates.

• Backup your ADB settings: adb backup -f backup.ab -apk -obb -shared -all -system
• Use Tasker to automatically apply settings after the update.

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If voice search is lost in other apps (e.g. Chrome) after Google Assistant is disabled, install an alternative voice input application, such as Microsoft’s Voice Search or Speechnotes.

FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions