Xiaomi smartphones out of the box contain dozens of pre-installed apps, from useful Google services to obscure Chinese utilities, many of which not only take up space in memory, but also run in the background, consuming battery power and traffic, but they can’t be simply removed: MIUI blocks most embedded programs from uninstallation.
In this article you will find 5 Proven ways to get rid of unnecessary software – from standard tools MIUI We'll look at what applications can be removed without risk to the system and what applications should not be touched. MIUI 14/15, where the manufacturer has complicated the cleaning process.
All the instructions are valid for Redmi, POCO, Xiaomi and Black Shark models based on MIUI 12-15 (including global and Chinese firmware). If you use custom firmware like LineageOS or Pixel Experience, some methods may not work, as we will mention.
1. Standard removal through MIUI settings
The safest way is to use the system's built-in tools, which are suitable for third-party applications (installed by the user) and parts of pre-installed software with the ability to uninstall.
How it works:
- 📱 Open the Settings. → Annexes → Application management
- 🔍 In the list, find the unnecessary application and tap it.
- 🗑️ Click “Delete” (if the button is active) or “Disable” (for system applications)
- 🔄 Confirm the action in the pop-up window
⚠️ Attention: B MIUI 14/15 The Remove button can be hidden behind an additional menu (three dots in the upper right corner.
☑️ Preparation for removal of applications
What can be removed without risk:
| Type of application | Examples | Can I remove it? |
|---|---|---|
| Party (installed by the user) | Facebook, TikTok, games | ✅ Yeah, totally. |
| Pre-installed Google services | Duo, Play Books, Play Games | ✅ Yes, but some may recover after the update. |
| Xiaomi system utilities | Mi Pay, Mi Home, Themes | ⚠️ You can turn it off, but not all are removed. |
| Critical System Processes | MiuiSystemUI, Security, Settings | ❌ No, risk disrupting the system. |
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If the Remove button is inactive, try first to Stop the app, then Disable, and only then try again to delete.
2. Disable system applications without root rights
For applications that cannot be removed in the standard way (such as Mi Browser or Cleaner), there is an alternative: shutting down. This will not free up disk space, but will stop background activity and hide icons from the menu.
Step-by-step:
- Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management
- Select your target app (e.g. Mi Video)
- Click "Disable" (if there is no button, tap three points in the corner)
- Confirm the action in the dialog window
⚠️ Warning: Disabling system applications such as Security or Finder can cause malfunctions MIUI. For example, after disabling MiuiDaemon, the “Find Device” function will stop working».
List of relatively safe applications to disable:
- 🎵 Mi Music – Music Player (can be replaced by Spotify or Spotify) VLC)
- 📺 Mi Video - Video player (alternative — MX Player)
- 🏠 Mi Home – if you don’t use Xiaomi smart devices
- 📊 Cleaner - built-in cleaning utility (often interferes with the work)
- 🌐 Mi Browser – a browser with ads (better to use Chrome or Firefox)
3. Removal via ADB (no root rights)
For advanced users, there is a method of removing system applications through Android Debug Bridge (ADB).This is Google's official tool that allows you to control a device from a computer without obtaining root rights.
What you need:
- 🖥️ Computer with Windows/macOS/Linux
- 🔌 Cable USB (preferably original)
- 📥 Utility. ADB Tools by Google
- 🔧 Included debugging by USB smartphone
Step-by-step:
- Activate Developer Mode: Go to Settings → About Phone and tap the MIUI version 7 times.
- Return to Settings → Additional → For developers and enable USB debugging.
- Connect your smartphone to your PC and confirm your trust in the computer on the device screen.
- Open the command prompt (or Terminal on macOS/Linux) in the adb.exe folder.
- Enter the command to check the connection: Adb devices must appear serial number of your device.
- Remove the unnecessary application by command (example for Mi Browser): adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.android.browser
⚠️ Attention: Wrong team ADB This can lead to loss of functionality (e.g., deleting com.miui.securitycenter will disable the security center).Always check the application packet names through the command:
adb shell pm list packages | grep 'miui'List of batch names of popular Xiaomi apps
4. Use of third-party utilities (with root rights)
If you're ready to get root access, the ability to clean your device is expanding. Popular utilities for removing system applications:
Top 3 programs for rooted devices:
| Utility. | Features | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Titanium Backup | It allows you to delete, freeze and back up any application, and there's a batch processing feature. | Play Market |
| System App Remover | Simple interface, support for mass removal, backup before removal. | Play Market |
| SD Maid | Not only does it delete apps, it also cleans residual files, and there's a junk search feature. | Play Market |
⚠️ Attention: Getting root rights voids the warranty on the device and increases the risk of hacking through vulnerabilities.On new Xiaomi models (e.g. Xiaomi) 13T Or the Redmi Note 12 Pro.+) Unlocking the bootloader can result in a 72-hour Mi Account being blocked.
How to minimize the risks:
- 🔄 Create a full backup through TWRP before removing system applications.
- 📋 Keep a list of deleted packets – this will help you restore them if necessary.
- 🔍 Check reviews about a specific utility on forums 4PDA or XDA-Developers.
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Even with root rights, do not remove applications with batch names that contain: miui.core, android.system, google.services.framework – these are critical components of the system.
5.Resetting to factory settings as a last resort
If the device is full of unnecessary software and standard methods don't work, it's a hard reset, which will delete all the data, including accounts, photos and installed applications, but return the system to a "clean" state.
How to do the reset correctly:
- Back up important data (contacts, photos, documents) through Settings → Google → Backup or manually on your PC.
- Go to Settings → About the phone → Reset settings.
- Select “Erase all data” and confirm the action.
- After the reboot, configure the device as new without restoring data from the backup (to avoid re-installing unnecessary apps).
⚠️ Attention: On devices with MIUI 14/15 After reset, some pre-installed apps (such as Facebook or Netflix) can be automatically installed to avoid this:
- 📴 Turn off the Internet (Wi-Fi and mobile data) immediately after the first setup.
- 🚫 Skip the step of signing in to your Mi or Google account.
- 🔧 Remove unnecessary applications before connecting to the network.
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If the device has become slower after reset, check the animation settings in For Developers - sometimes the reset resets them to standard values (set Windows animation: 0.5x).
6.How to prevent unnecessary applications from reappearing
Even after cleaning the device, some apps may return after the MIUI or Google Play updates.
Methods of blocking automatic installation:
- 🛡️ Turn off automatic app updates in Play Market: Settings → Auto-update of applications → Never.
- 📵 Ban background activity for Google Play Services: Settings → Annexes → Google Play Services → Battery → Limit background activity.
- 🔒 Use it. ADB, To disable the package installer: adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.android.packageinstaller Warning: This will block the installation of all applications through APK.
- 🛑 Install an alternative app store (such as the Aurora Store) that doesn’t have automatic updates.
For owners of devices with MIUI 15 (for example, Xiaomi 14 or Redmi K70): the manufacturer has added protection against disabling some system applications.
- 🔄 Regularly check the list of applications in Settings → Annexes.
- 📦 Using Island to isolate unnecessary applications.
- 🔧 Manually remove updates for system applications through Settings → Annexes → three-point → Show the system.