Swipe Up Opens up the Browser on Xiaomi – How to Remove This Function Forever

You accidentally swiped your finger across Xiaomi's screen from the bottom up -- and instead of the expected return to the home screen, you opened up a built-in browser with an ad or the last page visited -- a feature that the manufacturer called "smart gesture" annoys many users, especially when it works at the most inappropriate moments, whether during games, watching videos or working with documents.

The problem is that MIUI (and the new HyperOS) defaults to swipe up from the bottom edge of the screen to launch the Xiaomi or Google Discover browser, and even if you've never used it, the system insists on opening it, and fortunately, you can turn it off in a number of ways, from simple settings to radical measures like rollback updates. In this article, we'll look at all the working methods, including hidden options for different versions of the firmware.

Why swipe up opens the browser: the reasons and mechanism of work

The "Gest up to open browser" feature appeared in MIUI 12 and is preserved in newer versions, including HyperOS, which aims to speed up access to web pages, but in practice it often interferes with rather than helps.

• 📱 Zone of operation: gesture is recognized only if you start swiping strictly from the bottom edge of the screen (where the navigation bar is located).
• 🔍 Priority over other gestures: Even if you have navigation buttons enabled, the system can ignore them in favor of the browser.
• 🔄 Automatic update: after update MIUI or HyperOS setting can reset and the browser will start to open again.

It's important to understand that it's not a bug, it's a feature -- this is how Xiaomi promotes its browser and partner services (like Google Discover), but users often confuse this gesture with navigating the system, where swiping up from the center of the screen opens up a list of the latest apps, and it's about a gesture from the bottom of the display that has nothing to do with managing multitasking.

Method 1: Disconnecting through gesture settings (official method)

The easiest and safest way is to use the built-in MIUI/HyperOS settings. It works on most models, including the Redmi Note 10/11/12, POCO X3/X4/X5, Xiaomi 11/12/13 and others with up-to-date firmware.

Instructions:

1. Open Settings → Additional settings → Buttons and gestures (or System Management in HyperOS).
2. Choose Gestures up or Full-screen gestures.
3. Find the Gesture up option to open the browser (may be called Swipe up from the bottom edge).
4. Switch the slider to the off position or select No action.

If there is no such item, then your firmware version is hiding it, in which case one of the alternative methods below will help.

⚠️ Note: On some models (POCO F3/F4, Redmi K40/K50) After the gesture is disabled, the browser can continue to open in the horizontal orientation of the screen. MIUI 13, which is corrected only by resetting gesture settings (see Method) 4).

Method 2: Resetting the default launch settings

If the browser opens even after the gesture is disabled, the problem may be in the default applications.The MIUI system sometimes links the swipe up to the browser as the primary action for web links.

To fix this:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Click on the three dots in the top right corner and select Reset App Settings.
3. Confirm the action. This will reset all default anchors, including the browser.
4. After the reboot, check if the browser opens when swiping.

If the problem persists, try manually specifying another default application for links:

• 🌐 Open the Settings. → Annexes → By default.
• 🔗 Find the browser and choose Chrome, Firefox or No.
• 🔄 Reset the device.

Method 3: Using third-party launchers (bypass)

If standard methods don’t work, you can replace the system launcher with a third-party one (for example, Nova Launcher, Lawnchair or Microsoft Launcher), which will not remove the gesture completely, but will allow you to reassign its action.

How it works:

• 📲 Install an alternative launcher from Google Play.
• 🔧 In the launcher settings, find the Gestures or Control section.
• 👆 Link the swipe up to another action (such as opening a Google Assistant or listing apps).
• 🔄 Reboot your phone and select a new launcher as your primary.

The downside is that some launchers may conflict with MIUI, causing slowdowns, but it's the only way to reassign a gesture without root rights.

Method 4: Reverse system updates (for older models)

On some devices (Redmi 9/9A, POCO M3), the swipe up feature appeared after the MIUI update to version 12.5+. If you don’t want to put up with this, you can roll back to the previous firmware where the gesture was not.

How to do this:

1. Download the desired firmware version from the official Xiaomi website (choose Stable version 1-2 updates older than the current one).
2. Rename the file to update.zip and place it in the root of internal memory.
3. Go to Settings → About Phone → System Update → Click on three points → Select a firmware file.
4. Confirm rollback. The device will restart and install the old version.

⚠️ Note: Firmware rollback will reset all settings and delete data if you do not backup.In addition, after a rollback, some functions may stop working (for example, Google Pay due to certificate inconsistencies.

An alternative to rollback is to install custom firmware (like LineageOS or Pixel Experience) that has no tethered gestures, but it requires unlocking the bootloader and can be insecure.

Method 5: Disable the browser via ADB (for advanced)

If none of the methods worked, the radical solution is to disable the system browser via ADB (Android Debug Bridge), which will block its launch, but can affect the operation of other functions (for example, opening links from messages).

Instructions:

1. Turn on Developer Mode: Go to Settings → About Phone → Click 7 times on the MIUI version.
2. Return to Settings → Additional → For developers and enable USB debugging.
3. Connect your phone to your PC, install it. ADB-Drivers and open the command line in the folder with the platform-tools.
4. Follow the command: adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.android.browser A different command may be required for HyperOS: adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.mi.globalbrowser
5. Reset the device.

To return the browser, use the command:

adb shell pm enable com.android.browser

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Before disabling your browser via ADB, install an alternative one (such as Chrome or Firefox), otherwise links from the apps will stop opening.

What do you do if nothing helps?

If all methods have been tried, and the browser still opens when swiping up, extreme measures remain:

• 🔧 Reset to factory settings: return the system to its original state, but delete all data!
• 📱 Replacement of firmware with custom: for example, LineageOS or ArrowOS do not have built-in gestures from Xiaomi.
• 🛠️ Contacting the service center: if the problem is caused by a firmware failure, specialists can reflash the device with data storage.

It’s also worth checking if your device is fake. On some Xiaomi clones (especially from China), gestures work differently and their settings may not be available. Make sure the phone model matches the one on the box and in the settings (Settings → Phone → Model).

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If the swipe up opens the browser even after resetting, this may be a sign of a modified firmware (for example, from a regional seller), in which case only a complete flashing through Fastboot will help.

FAQ: Frequent questions on swipe up on Xiaomi