Users of Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones often face a situation where the device automatically launches an inappropriate application when a certain type of file is opened. For example, instead of a video player with codec support, a standard gallery is launched that cannot reproduce the format, or links are opened not in the browser, but in the store app, this is due to preset priorities in the MIUI shell or the new HyperOS.
Android remembers your default choice to speed things up, but sometimes it gets in the way. Fortunately, unlike some other manufacturers, Xiaomi allows you to manage these settings with a lot of flexibility, although hiding the app select button after prioritizing can be tricky. In this article, we’ll look at all the available methods, from simple menu settings to advanced methods through ADB.
We'll see why the system behaves like this. The operating system tends to minimize the number of user actions. If you once clicked "Always" when you select an application to open. PDF-The problem with this is that the Ask Every Time button often disappears after the first forced selection, and the user has to find ways to reset this option manually.
There are several levels of solution to this problem, the simplest one is through the standard settings menu, where you can reset the settings of a particular application, a more complex but effective method is using hidden menus or debugging over USB. Below we will describe each step in detail so that you can regain full control of your device.
Why Xiaomi chooses applications for files
The logic behind MIUI and HyperOS is to aggressively optimize the user experience. When you install a new browser or video player, the system doesn’t always prompt you to choose the primary browser. However, once you open a file of a certain type (such as.mkv or.docx), Android analyzes the installed applications that can handle that format and offers a list.
If you accidentally clicked "Always" instead of "Just now," the system blocks further requests, so you don't get annoyed with questions every time you click. However, if you install a more functional player or file manager, the phone's standard behavior becomes a constraint. Intent Filters is a technical term for the mechanism that decides which application to run.
Often conflicts arise because standard Xiaomi apps have a higher system weight. For example, Xiaomi’s Explorer will take precedence over the “Total Commander” installed from the Play Market until you force the settings to change.
⚠️ Note: Do not attempt to remove standard system applications (such as Downloads or Gallery) through third-party utilities to reset their priority.This can lead to system instability or App Stopped errors when trying to open any media file.
What is Intent Filters in Android?
Resetting the settings of a particular application through the menu
The safest and easiest way to remove the default file opening on Xiaomi is to reset the problem app. You don't need root rights or a computer. This method works 90% of the time when you just need to return the program selection window.
First, we need to figure out which application is currently intercepting the opening of a file, and if it's a standard video player that doesn't read sound, or a browser that you don't like, we're going to work with that one, and the algorithm is universal for all versions of MIUI.
Follow the following steps consistently:
- 📱 Open your smartphone settings and go to the App section.
- 🔍 Find in the list or through search the application that is opening now (for example, “Video”, “Browser” or “Conductor»).
- ⚙️ Click on Default (or “Start by Default»).
- 🗑️ Click the Clean Default Settings button (or “Reset»).
After performing these steps, the next time you open the appropriate file type, the system will ask you again than to open the file. If the Clean button is inactive (gray), then this type of file is not prioritized globally, or the choice is made within the conductor application itself.
☑️ Checking the resetting of settings
It's important to understand the difference between clearing the cache and resetting the default settings. Cleaning up the data (Erase the data) will remove your logins, history and settings inside the application, which we don't need. We only change the system priority of launching. If the application opens itself after the reset, perhaps the file association is written rigidly in the system partition and deeper intervention is required.
Changing the default applications in the system settings
Modern versions of HyperOS and newer MIUI have a more centralized section of standard application management, where you can set global rules like “always open links in Chrome” or “use VLC for all videos,” which is a more powerful tool than app resets.
To get to this section, go on the path: Settings → Applications → Application Management. In the upper right corner, there is often a menu of three points where you need to select the default Apps. If there is no such item on the menu, it can be immediately in the list of application settings.
In this menu you will see a list of categories:
- 🌐 Browser: Selects an application for all web links.
- 🎵 Music: application for playing audio files.
- 🎥 Video: Video player.
- 📁 File Manager: a program to work with the file system.
When you choose a particular application here, you force the system to prioritize it, but this method only works for the main categories. If you want files of a particular extension (such as specific text formats) to open in a particular program, this method may not work, since it operates at the MIME type level, not the file extension.
⚠️ Note: When you change your browser by default, some Xiaomi system features (such as news widgets or built-in advertising in Explorer) may stop working correctly if they are tied to the standard Mi Browser browser.
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If you can’t find the category you want in the Default Apps menu, try installing a third-party file manager (like Solid Explorer or CX File Explorer) that often takes over file association management and allows you to choose a program for each type of extension more flexible than the standard system.
Use of hidden test menu (CIT)
Xiaomi devices have an engineering menu that allows you to check the functionality of components and sometimes manage system settings. Although there is no direct button “Reset all file associations” there, you can check whether opening files at the system level is blocked.
To enter the test menu, dial ##6484## in your phone. This will open the CIT (Customer Integration Test) interface, where you can check the touchscreen, speakers and other modules, but for our task, the debugging menu, which is called differently, but often confused by users, is more useful.
A more efficient way for advanced users to access the Package Installer menu, sometimes blocking the selection of an application when installing an APK or opening files, to reset its settings:
- Turn on the system process display. Go to Settings → About Phone and click on MIUI Version (or OS Version) 7 times to become a developer.
- Return to Settings → Advanced Settings → For Developers.
- Find and activate the switch to Enable ADB Action Monitoring (if available in your version).
This section is more diagnostic, and if standard methods don't work, the problem may lie deep in the system, where normal settings are not available, and then computer debugging comes to the rescue.
| Method | Difficulty | Efficiency | Risk to data |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reset in the application settings | Low. | Tall. | No. |
| Default Apps menu | Low. | Medium | No. |
| ADB (Shell) teams | Tall. | Maximum | Minimum |
| Reset to factory settings | Medium | 100% | Total loss of data |
Forced reset via ADB (for advanced)
If the phone interface does not allow you to remove the opening of the file by default, you can use the Android Debug Bridge tool (ADB). This will allow you to send a command to the system directly, bypassing the GUI, USB-cable and on-line debugging USB phone-on.
First, connect your smartphone to your computer and make sure that the debugging confirmation appears on your phone screen. Then, on your computer, enter the command to enter the shell at the command line (terminal):
adb shellNow we need to clear the preferences settings for a particular package or for the entire system, and the command to reset the preferences of a particular application is as follows:
pm clear-defaults --package com.android.browserReplace com.android.browser with the name of your app package. If you don't know the name of the package, you can find it through the App Inspector app or similar. To completely reset all open always preferences (this will affect all applications), the command is used:
pm clear-defaults⚠️ Note: The pm clear-defaults command without specifying the package resets the default settings for all applications on the device. The next time you run any file type, the system will ask you about the choice of program. Be prepared for the fact that you will have to reconfigure your preferences for the browser, calls and messages.
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Using ADB is the only way to guarantee that you will remove the default file opening if the Clean button is locked or missing in the settings, giving you full control of the system.
Once you have completed the command, reboot the device. Check if the application selection window appears when you try to open the file. If the system silently runs the old program again, it may be stitched into the system partition /system/priv-app and has the highest priority, which rewrites user settings at each boot.
Solving problems with the guide and gallery
Xiaomi’s standard Explorer and Gallery apps are also noteworthy, often aggressively capturing all media files, and even after resetting, they can become a priority again after a system update or cache cleanup.
To combat this, you can use a “squeezing out” strategy. Install a quality third-party file manager, such as Files by Google or Solid Explorer. Once installed, the system can itself suggest using it by default. If not, use the reset method described above, but reset the settings of the standard Xiaomi Explorer.
Also worth checking is the settings inside the Gallery app itself. Some versions of MIUI have an option called Open Files to..., which can be hard-fixed. Try to clear the Gallery app data (without deleting photos, only app data):
- 📂 Go to Settings. → Annexes → All applications.
- 🖼️ Find the gallery.
- 🧹 Press Clear Clear. → Clear all data.
This action will reset albums, display settings and, importantly, file associations, and then when you first open a photo, the system may ask again what to open it. Beware: cleaning the gallery data does not delete the photos themselves, but can reset hidden albums or cloud sync settings.