How to turn off Alice on Android Xiaomi Redmi: The Complete Guide

Owners of Xiaomi and Redmi smartphones often face intrusive behavior of the voice assistant, which can be activated at the most inopportune moment.This is due to the deep integration of Yandex services into the shell of MIUI and HyperOS. Users notice that the assistant starts when you press the power button or lock the screen, which causes irritation and consumes battery power.

What many people don't know is that the standard voice control feature in Chinese smartphones has been replaced by Alice by default. To get the device back to its normal behavior or just get rid of unnecessary interference, you need to make a number of specific adjustments. The deactivation process is not always obvious, since the options are scattered across different menus of the system.

In this article, we will look at all the known ways to disable the voice assistant, we will look at the settings of the system itself, the parameters of the Yandex application and the methods of hiding widgets, you will learn how to reassign buttons and prevent accidental launches, regaining full control of your gadget.

Disconnection through voice assistant settings

The first step to getting rid of the intrusive assistant is to go to the system settings of the smartphone itself, and that's where the main switch for activating the button function is located, and you need to find a partition that can be called differently in different versions of the firmware, but is always associated with voice control.

Go to the Settings menu of your Xiaomi or Redmi device. Find the Google or Apps option where default settings are hidden. However, in Alice's case, the path often lies through the settings of the app itself or through the Additional Features section. If you have a HyperOS shell installed, look for the Voice Assistant section in the general settings list.

Inside the settings menu, find the power button option that you can use, which is usually called "Call Voice Assistant" or "Click and Hold the Power button." Click on this. You'll see the list of available assistants. You'll see the No option, or you'll want to switch to Google Assistant if you prefer services from the search giant.

⚠️ Warning: After changing the settings, be sure to restart the smartphone.Without restarting, the changes may not take effect and the button will continue to call Alice.

If there is no “No” option in the list, try resetting the Yandex application settings. Go to Settings → Applications → All applications, find Yandex and select Clean → Reset. This will return the assistant to factory settings where the call function can be disabled by default.

Control of the power button and gestures

A common reason for activating the voice assistant is the occasional long-term pressing of the power button. In modern versions of MIUI, this feature is repurposed. To change the behavior of the physical button, you need to go to advanced system settings.

Open Settings and go to Additional or Advanced Settings. Find Keyboard Combinations or Button Assignment. This shows the actions for the different combinations of clicks. Find the line "Running Voice Assistant." Click on it and select Nothing or other desired action from the menu that appears.

• 📱 Press Settings. → Additionally. → Keyboard combinations for control access.
• 🔘 Select the “Running Voice Assistant” option from the list of available actions.
• 🚫 Set the "Nothing" value to completely disable the button's response to a voice call.
• ✅ Check the sidebar settings too, if you have it active, there may be hidden triggers there too.

In addition to the power button, check your gesture settings. In some design themes or when installing third-party launchers, a swipe from the corner of the screen can activate Alice. Go through the Settings menu → Lock screen and make sure there are no active voice control shortcuts.

Setup of widgets and lock screen

Another source of irritation is the Alice widget, which is often placed on the default home screen or lock screen. Even if you have turned off voice calling with a button, the visual element of the interface can continue to interfere.

To remove the widget from your desktop, find it among the app icons. Click your finger on the widget and drag it to the top of the screen where it will show the Remove or Recycle Bin icon. This action will only remove the shortcut from your desktop, but it won't delete the app itself.

To remove the lock screen, the algorithm is more complicated. Go to Settings, then select the Lock Screen. Find the Widgets or Slider section. Here you can see the widget of a music player or Yandex news. Turn off the switchboard in front of the corresponding element.

Also check the settings of the search bar. Often it is located at the bottom of the screen and when you click it opens Alice. Click on the search bar, then on the settings icon (cogs), or go to Settings → Screen → Search. Change the search provider to Google or turn off the display line completely.

Restriction of background work and permits

If it is impossible or undesirable to completely remove the app, it can be limited, which will prevent the assistant from working in the background and accessing the microphone, which will effectively put Alice to sleep.

Go to Settings → Applications → All applications. Find Yandex (or Yandex with Alice) on the list. Click on the Permission. You must deny access to Microphone, Geolocation and Contacts. Without access to the microphone, voice control will not work.

Next, find AutoStart in the app settings menu and turn it off. This will prevent the service from starting with the phone on. It is also recommended to go to the charge saving section (within the application settings) and select No restrictions (so that the system does not wake it up) or, conversely, strict savings if you want to minimize its activity, but in MIUI it works better to completely limit background activity through "Security".

⚠️ Note: Disabling the microphone may disrupt other Yandex functions, such as voice search in the browser or navigator.

In the Safety menu (the standard green lightning app), find the Permissions → Autostart section. Make sure the switch opposite the Yandex app is off. This is a critical step to prevent hidden service from working.

Using ADB for Advanced Users

For those who are not afraid of a computer and want to get rid of the system component, there is a method using ADB (Android Debug Bridge), which allows you to remove or freeze the packet responsible for the voice assistant, even if it is built into the system.

You will need a computer, a USB cable and installed ADB drivers. On the phone, you need to turn on Developer Mode (clicking 7 times on the build number in About Phone) and activate Debugging over USB. Connect your smartphone to your PC.

In the command line on the computer, enter the following sequence of commands to disable the component:

adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.yandex.searchplugin


adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.yandex.voiceassistant

These commands disable the search plugin and voice assistant respectively. If you need to return everything as it was, use the command adb shell pm enable with the name of the packet.

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Use ADB AppControl for Windows if you’re afraid to type commands manually.It has a graphical interface and allows you to safely disable Xiaomi system applications with a single button.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

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Disabling Alice completely requires a comprehensive approach: system setup, rights restrictions, and possibly using ADB for system components.