Many Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphone owners face the intrusiveness of the built-in voice assistant. Random activations, resource consumption in the background and constant prompts can be annoying, especially if you prefer third-party solutions or do not use voice control at all. Fortunately, the MIUI shell and HyperOS allow you to flexibly manage this component.
In this article, we’ll look at all the ways you can deactivate your service, from simply hiding a button to completely removing system packets through ADB. You’ll learn how to prevent accidental launches and free up your device’s RAM. It’s important to understand that Google Assistant is deeply integrated into your system, so removing it completely requires caution.
Disconnection through Android system settings
The safest and easiest method is to use the built-in limitations of the Android operating system, which doesn't require root rights or a connection to a computer, but it only stops the assistant from working, not deletes its files. You need to go to the basic settings section of your smartphone first.
Find the "Apps" option in the menu and select "All Apps." Search Google in the list (often the assistant is part of the main search engine app). Click on it and select the "Default" option. Here you will see the "Google Assistant" switch, if it is put inactive, the system will stop responding to voice commands and a long press of the "Home" button.
However, in some versions of MIUI, this item can be hidden or redirected to the assistant settings, in which case, go to the Google account settings through the Google app, select the Assistant section and turn it off completely there, which will save the search functionality but remove the voice interaction.
- 🔹 Go to Settings. → Annexes → All applications.
- 🔹 Find the Google app in the list.
- 🔹 Open “By default” and uncheck the Assistant.
- 🔹 Alternatively: run the Assistant and in the settings find the item "Switch off».
⚠️ Note: After the system update, the settings may reset and the assistant will become active again by default.
Hiding the button and managing gestures
Often, users are not so much annoyed by the service as by the call button in the corner of the screen or the reaction to swipes. In the MIUI shell, you can adjust the behavior of the navigation buttons. If you use the classic three buttons, a long press on the central button ("Home") by default calls Google Assistant.
To change this behavior, go to Settings → Advanced Settings → Full-screen (or “Buttons”). Here you can choose an action for a long press. Set the option “Nothing” or “Show the menu of running apps.” This completely eliminates the accidental launch of the voice assistant when using a smartphone with one hand.
If you use gesture control, the assistant is usually triggered by swiping from the bottom corner of the screen. In some design themes or launchers, this feature may be forced on. Check the theme settings in the Themes app and make sure that the active theme does not have specific gestures to call Google services.
- 🔸 Open the Settings. → Advanced settings.
- 🔸 Select "Full screen mode».
- 🔸 In the "Long Press Home" option, select "Nothing».
- 🔸 Check the settings of the active theme design.
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Use third-party launchers like Nova Launcher or Lawnchair to gain full control of gestures and buttons, ignoring the system limitations of MIUI.
Removal via ADB (for advanced users)
For those who want to get rid of excess software, there is a method of removing system packages through debugging via USB. This method requires connecting the smartphone to the computer and installing ADB drivers. It allows you to remove components of Google Assistant that cannot be disabled by standard means.
First, you need to activate the developer mode. To do this, quickly click on the build number in the About Phone section seven times. Then, in the Developer menu, turn on USB Debugging. Connect the phone to your PC and start the command line with administrator permissions.
adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.google.android.apps.googleassistantThis command will remove the assistant for the current user without affecting the system partition recovery. If you want to return everything as it was, just reset to the factory settings. You can also remove other associated packets, but beware: removing critical components of Google Play Services can disrupt other applications.
☑️ Preparation for removal through ADB
⚠️ Note: Removing system packages through ADB This can cause system instability. Create a complete backup of the data before starting the procedure.
Alternative voice assistants on MIUI
After disabling the native solution from Google, users often have a need for an alternative: Xiaomi devices preinstalled its own assistant Mi AI (or Xiao AI), but it is sharpened primarily for the Chinese market and may not work correctly with Russian.
A more viable option is to install third-party assistants from Google Play or GetApps, such as Yandex’s Alice or Siri (through crutches, though this is rare on Android), which can intercept calls if they are designated as the default assistant in the system settings.
| Assistant | Language | Integration with MIUI | Removal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Assistant | All right. | Tall. | Difficult (ADB) |
| Yandex Alice | RU/EN | Medium | Simple. |
| Mi AI | CN/EN | Systemic | Impossible. |
| SimSimi | Different. | Low. | Simple. |
The choice of alternatives depends on your needs. If you want to just search, a widget is enough. If you want to manage a smart home, check the compatibility of the selected assistant with the MIoT ecosystem.
Can I install Siri on Xiaomi?
Impact on autonomy and productivity
Turning off Google Assistant has a positive effect on battery life, as background listening and context analysis consumes processor and microphone resources, and on older Redmi and POCO models, this can increase battery life by up to 5-10% per day.
In addition, RAM is freed. The assistant often keeps its services active, which can lead to more aggressive unloading of other applications from memory in the face of a lack of RAM. Disabling this service is especially important for devices with 3-4 GB of RAM.
It's worth noting that modern MIUI algorithms have learned to manage background processes effectively. If you have a flagship device with a lot of memory, the difference may not be noticeable, but reducing the number of background activations is always good for thermal control.
- 🔋 Reduced background processor activity.
- 🔋 Savings in charge of microphone and communication modules.
- 🔋 Freeing RAM for games and heavy applications.
- 🔋 Reducing the number of network requests in the background.
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Disabling unnecessary system services is one of the most effective ways to extend the life of the battery on older smartphones.
Possible problems and solutions
When you turn off or delete, you may experience errors, such as when you update your firmware, or some apps that are linked to Google Services may start to give you errors when you try to call voice input, and you just need to go back to the shutdown.
If you delete the assistant through ADB and it is resurrected after the reset, that's OK -- the system partition hasn't been affected. You'll have to repeat the deletion command. You may also experience errors in Google widgets if dependent components have been removed.
⚠️ Note: Do not delete the entire com.google.android.googlequicksearchbox if you use desktop search widgets.
If you experience a cyclic bootloop after a deep modification, you will need to flash the device through Fastboot. So always weigh the risks before using uninstallation commands for system applications.