Can you uninstall Android System WebView on Xiaomi and how to do it without harming the system?

Android System WebView is a system component that is responsible for displaying web content inside applications without opening a full browser. On Xiaomi smartphones (including Redmi, POCO and Mi models), it often becomes a source of problems: it takes up a lot of space, slows down the system or conflicts with updates. But can it be removed without consequences? In this article, we will analyze all the ways from safe rollback to radical removal through ADB, and also tell you what risks this carries to your device.

It is important to understand that Android System WebView is integrated into the system at the MIUI firmware level. its complete removal can cause malfunctions in applications using web browsing (e.g. Google Pay, VK, bank clients). However, in some cases - for example, in case of critical errors or version incompatibility - deletion becomes the only solution. We tested all methods on Xiaomi 12T, Redmi Note 11 and POCO F4 devices to provide current instructions.

What is Android System WebView and why you should delete it

Android System WebView is a system application from Google that renders web pages inside other applications. It runs on the Chromium engine and is updated via Google Play. On Xiaomi, it is preinstalled in the MIUI firmware and does not always interact correctly with the shell.

Reasons to delete or roll back version:

• 📉 It takes up too much space (up to 200-300MB in cache and data).
• 🐢 Brakes the system after updates (especially on older Redmi models) 4X, Mi A1).
• 🔄 Conflicts with MIUI, Errors like "WebView stopped working".
• 🛡️ Security vulnerabilities in older versions (relevant to devices without updates).

Before removing, however, check if the problems are due to other factors, such as a crowded cache from Google Play Services on the POCO X3 Pro.

1. Open Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Find Android System WebView and check the cache volume.
3. Clear the cache and data, then restart the device.

Method 1: Disabling updates via Google Play

The safest method is not to delete WebView, but to prevent its automatic updating, which is true if the problems began after the last update.

1. Open the Google Play Store.
2. In the search, type in Android System WebView.
3. On the app page, click on the three dots in the top right corner and select Remove Updates.
4. Confirm the action and restart the smartphone.

After that, the system will return to the factory version of WebView, which works more stable with MIUI, to prevent repeated updates:

• 🔧 In the same menu (three dots) select Disable Auto Update.
• 📵 In Google Play settings, turn off automatic app updates (Settings) → Auto-update of applications → Never).

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If WebView rolls back apps still crash, try clearing the cache of Google Play Services and Google Chrome – they often conflict with web browsing.

Method 2: Remove via ADB (for power users)

If the rollback didn’t help, and the Android System WebView is critically disruptive, you can uninstall it via ADB (Android Debug Bridge), which requires USB Debugging enabled and is only suitable for users with an unlocked bootloader or root rights.

Warning: Removal of the system component may result in:

• 🚨 Errors in applications (bank clients, social networks, messengers).
• 🔄 Cyclical reboot on the next update MIUI.
• 📱 Need to reset before factory settings.

Instructions for removal:

1. Enable USB Debugging in Settings → About Phone → MIUI version (click 7 times, then go back to Additional → For Developers).
2. Connect your smartphone to your PC and confirm the debugging permission.
3. Open the command line (Windows) or terminal (macOS/Linux) and type:

adb shell


pm uninstall --user 0 com.google.android.webview

If the team doesn’t work, try an alternative:

adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.google.android.webview

Method 3: Removal via TWRP (requires custom recovery)

For users with installed TWRP or other custom Recovery, it is possible to manually remove Android System WebView, a method suitable for MIUI firmware based on Android 10–13.

Important: Before you start, back up the /system partition to TWRP so you can restore the system if you crash.

Step-by-step:

1. Boot to TWRP (hold Power + Volume up when turned on).
2. Go to Advanced → File Manager.
3. Open /system/priv-app/WebViewGoogle (the path may vary depending on the version of MIUI).
4. Delete the WebViewGoogle.apk and WebViewGoogle.odex files (if any).
5. Go back to the main menu and select Wipe → Dalvik/ART Cache.
6. Reset the device.

Backup in. TWRP|Check the battery charge (minimum 50%)|Download the original firmware in case of recovery|Disable encryption (if used)-->

Alternatives to Deletion: How to Reduce the Impact of WebView on Your System

If the risks of removal are scary, consider alternative ways to optimize:

On Xiaomi devices with MIUI 14 firmware and later, disabling the Android System WebView can result in blocking access to Google services (such as GMS), in which case the only way out is to flash through Fastboot.

Frequent Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

When working with Android System WebView, users often make critical mistakes.

• 🔨 Delete without backup. Always backup through TWRP Mi Cloud before making changes to system files.
• 🔄 Ignoring dependencies: Some applications (e.g. Google Pay) require a specific version of WebView.
• 📱 Wrong version ADB. Use the current version of Platform Tools (you can download it on the official Android website).
• 🔒 Lock bootloader. On new Xiaomi models (e.g. Xiaomi 13), removing system applications without unlocking the bootloader will lead to bootloop.

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If the smartphone stopped booting after removing WebView, try booting into Safe Mode (keep Volume down when turned on) and restore the application via ADB.

⚠️ Attention: On devices with MIUI Global and MIUI Removal of Android System WebView could lead to loss of Google Mobile Services functionality (GMS). This means that Google Play, Gmail and other services will stop working, and they can only be restored through a complete flashing.

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions