How to remove the left curtain on Xiaomi: all the ways (including hidden)

The left side curtain in Xiaomi smartphones is a convenient, but not always necessary, element of the MIUI interface. It appears when swiping from right to left of the screen and contains fast app shortcuts, contacts or widgets. However, many users find that the curtain interferes with games, reading or watching videos by accidentally opening from careless gestures, especially for devices with curved screens (Mi 11 Ultra, Redmi K50 Pro), where touch sensors work even when holding the phone in hand.

In this article, we will look at all possible ways to turn off the left curtain, from standard MIUI 14/15 settings to hidden commands via ADB and editing system files. Importantly, some methods require superuser or unlocked bootloader rights, which can affect warranty. We will note these cases separately.

If you use a POCO Launcher or a third-party shell (like a Nova Launcher), the curtain may behave differently, as we will explain below, and for owners of older models (Redmi Note 8, Mi 9T), we will give alternative solutions, since in earlier versions of MIUI the curtain settings were hidden deeper.

1. Standard shutdown via MIUI settings

The easiest way to remove the left curtain is to use the built-in shell settings, which is suitable for most modern MIUI 12-15 devices (including HyperOS).

Open Settings → Desktop and find the Left Sidebar (or Side Curtain depending on the firmware version) section. Here you will see three options:

• 📱 Disable completely - the curtain will stop opening, but the shortcuts will remain in the system memory.
• 🔄 Change content – you can remove unnecessary widgets, leaving only useful ones (for example, a calculator or flashlight).
• ⚙️ Gesture settings – swipe sensitivity is adjusted here (useful for curved screens).

On some models (POCO X3, Redmi 9A), the path may be different: Settings → Additional → Special features → Sidebar. If there is no point, then your version of MIUI does not support standard shutdown and you need to use alternative methods (see the following sections).

⚠️ Warning: Once the curtain is turned off through the settings, the shortcuts will disappear from the system. To return them, you will have to reconfigure the panel or reset the desktop settings (Settings). → Annexes → Application management → Launcher → Warehouse → Clear the data).

2. Disconnection via "Left-handed Mode" (hidden function)

MIUI has a little-known Left-handed Mode that brings the side curtain to the right-hand side of the screen, which doesn't remove it completely, but solves the problem of random swipes for right-handers, and it works on all devices, including the Redmi Note 10 Pro and the POCO F4 GT.

It's activated like this:

1. Open the Settings. → The phone.
2. Tap 5-7 times on the MIUI version until the notification “You are a developer!” appears.
3. Go back to the main settings menu and find the new section for developers.
4. Scroll down to the Enter block and turn on the left-handed mode option.
5. Reboot the phone.

After that, the curtain will only open when swiping from right to left (from the right edge of the screen), minus the method: if you are left-handed, this method will not work, you will have to use ADB or root editing.

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If after turning on the "Mode for left-handed" curtain began to open too easily, reduce the sensitivity of gestures in Settings → Display → Touch sensitivity.

3. Removal of curtain through ADB (no root)

If the standard settings don’t help, you can turn off the curtain using Android Debug Bridge (ADB). This method works on all Xiaomi devices with unlocked debugging. USB It doesn't require superuser rights. 10T, Redmi K40 and other models MIUI 12–15.

Instructions:

1. Download and install ADB Tools on PC.
2. Enable USB debugging on your phone (Settings → Developers → USB debugging).
3. Connect the phone to your computer and confirm the debugging permission.
4. Open the command prompt (Windows) or terminal (macOS/Linux) in the folder with adb.exe.
5. Enter the command: adb shell settings put secure sysui_left_side_panel_enabled 0
6. Reboot the phone.

To return the curtain, use the same command, replacing 0 with 1. If the curtain still opens after the command, try to further disable the service:

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

⚠️ Note: Disabling com.miui.miservice may disrupt some system functions, such as weather notifications or synchronizing your Mi Account. Use this method only if the first one does not work.

Install ADB Tools on PC|

Enable debugging over USB on your phone |

Connect the phone with the original cable |

Allow debugging in the pop-up window on the phone |

Check the connection of the adb device team

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4. editing system files (root required)

For advanced users with unlocked bootloaders and root rights, there is a radical way to delete the system file responsible for the curtain, which is irreversible (you have to restore the file through the backup or reflash the device), but guaranteed to remove the curtain forever.

Procedure:

1. Install a file manager with root support (such as Root Explorer or Solid Explorer).
2. Go to /system/priv-app/MiuiSystemUI/MiuiSystemUI.apk
3. Back up the MiuiSystemUI.apk file (copy it to your PC or cloud).
4. Open the file in the text editor (for example, MT Manager) and find the line: bool config_leftSidePanelEnabled = Replace true with false; replace true with true.
5. Save the changes, set the rights to 644 (r-w-r--r---) and restart the phone.

If the phone doesn’t boot after editing or if there are errors, restore the original file from the backup. Alternatively, delete the entire MiuiSystemUI package, but this will result in the loss of all system animations and themes.

5. Alternative solutions for older models

If you have a device on MIUI 11 or older (Redmi Note 7, Mi 8, POCO F1), the standard methods may not work.

Method 1: Disconnection through the MIUI Laboratory

• 🔧 Open the Security app (shield icon).
• 📊 Go to the Lab. MIUI" (or "Optimization" in global firmware).
• 🔍 Find the option "Sidebar" and turn it off.

Method 2: Using a third-party launcher

Install an alternative launcher (like Nova Launcher or Lawnchair) and turn off MIUI gestures in its settings:

1. Install a launcher from Google Play.
2. Set it with the default launcher (Settings → Applications → Default).
3. In the launcher settings, find "Gests" and turn off all swipes from the left edge.

Method 3: Blocking through "Special Opportunities"

In some firmware, the curtain can be blocked as an "unwanted gesture":

1. Open Settings → Special Options → Gesture Management.
2. Enable the option to "Ignore accidental touches".
3. Add the left edge of the screen to the list of ignored areas.

Frequent problems and their solutions

Problem 1: The curtain is gone, but weather notifications are no longer working.

Solution: Return your com.miui.miservice settings via ADB:

adb shell pm enable com.miui.miservice

Or reinstall the update for Mi Services via Google Play.

Problem 2: After the curtains were turned off, the app shortcuts disappeared.

Solution: Labels are stored in a file /data/system/users/0/left_side_panel.xml. To restore them, you need to:

1. Make a backup file (if any).
2. Remove it (root required).
3. Reboot the phone – the system will create a new file with default settings.

Problem 3: The curtain only appears in some apps (like YouTube or TikTok).

Solution: This is due to a gesture conflict. Open the specific application settings (Settings → Applications → [App Name] → Additional) and turn off the option of Full Screen Mode or Navigation Gestures.

⚠️ Note: On HyperOS devices (e.g. Xiaomi 14), the standard side curtain has been replaced with Toolbar. To remove it, go to Settings. → Desktop → Toolbar and disable the option "Quick access".

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On HyperOS (2026), the side curtain is called the Toolbar and is set up separately from the classic MIUI curtain.

FAQ: Frequent questions