Xiaomi smartphone users often face a situation where clicking on a link in the messenger automatically opens the browser that you used to use. or the video starts playing in a standard player instead of a powerful VLC or MX Player. This is because the system remembers your initial choice and assigns the program “by default”.
Resetting this option isn’t always intuitive, especially in the MIUI shell or the new HyperOS, where the settings menu may be different from stock Android. In this article, we’ll look at all the possible ways to force a phone to ask you about your app choice again.
Sometimes a standard application may not work properly, freeze or simply annoy with its design. Resetting by default is a secure operation that does not delete your personal data, photos or contacts. It only clears the system anchorages for a particular software.
Search for a specific application in settings
The most reliable and versatile way to change a priority program is to manually find it in the system menu. You need to go to Settings → Applications → All applications. This shows the full list of installed software.
Find the app you want to “degrade” on the list, for example, if it’s a browser, look for Chrome, Yandex, or the standard MIUI Browser.
- 🔍 Click on the “Default” option to see the status.
- 🗑️ Select the “Clear Default Settings” button to reset.
- ⚙️ Make sure the switch is active before cleaning.
If the reset button is grey or missing, then the application is not yet in charge for this type of file or action, in which case the system will ask you every time it starts the action, which is normal behavior for Android.
⚠️ Warning: Don’t confuse the “Clear Default Settings” button with the “Clean” button (which is next to the “Run” button). If you click just “Clean” and select “Clean All”, you will delete the cache and authorization data inside the app.
☑️ Pre-reset check
Use of the Global Management Menu
Xiaomi’s shells have a separate menu that aggregates all the default actions, and it’s a convenient way to see the big picture of which programs open links, calls, or maps, and you can find this section by searching the settings.
Type the phrase “default” in the Settings search bar or manually navigate the App path → Settings → Default Apps. Here you will see action categories such as “Browser”, “Phone”, “SMS” and others.
Select the desired category. For example, if you want to change your browser, click on "Browser" and the system will offer a list of compatible applications installed on your device, select the option that suits you.
This is especially useful when you don't remember which application you selected earlier, but you want to set a new rule for the whole system at once.
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Use a Settings search by typing in the action name (such as “browser” or “maps”) to instantly get to the desired menu section without wandering through tabs.
Reset via Application Manager
An alternative path that users often ignore is in the Application Manager, which has advanced functionality in some versions of MIUI: Open the Manager, press the application icon, and select About.
In the menu that opens, find the section related to the launch. Depending on the firmware version, it can be called "Default Start" or "Default Open," and that's where the reset button is hidden.
It’s important to understand the difference between removing updates and resetting default settings. Removing updates will return an app to the factory version, which can be helpful for errors, but doesn’t always solve the problem of choosing a program.
If you have updated a standard app through Google Play and it has stopped working properly as the primary, try removing the updates first and then assigning it or the default alternative again.
The problem with the browser and links
Most users want to remove the default app in the context of link opening, which occurs when you accidentally clicked “Always” instead of “Once” when you opened a link from Telegram or Viber.
To fix this, look for the default browser (often MIUI Browser or Chrome) in the settings. Follow the default settings cleanup procedure described in the first section.
In this window, carefully select the desired application and click “Always” if you want to pin the selection, or “One time” if you prefer to change browsers depending on the situation.
| Action. | Where to change | nuance |
|---|---|---|
| Opening links (HTTP/HTTPS) | Application settings → Browser | You need to reset from the browser that opened the last |
| Calls. | Settings → Applications by default → Phone | Relevant when installing third-party calls |
| Video playback | Application settings → Video / Player | Resets from the current player |
| Sending SMS | Settings → Applications by default → SMS | Important for users of third-party messengers |
⚠️ Note: If the app selection window does not appear after resetting, the Open Supported Links feature may be enabled on the system.
Launcher and desktop settings
Special attention deserves launcher - the shell of the desktop. If you installed a third-party launcher (for example, Nova Launcher or Microsoft Launcher), but pressing the Home button you still throws on the standard MIUI screen, then the settings are lost.
You need to call the launcher again. This sometimes helps to clear the cache of the standard launcher through the application settings.Look for the Louncher or System Launcher app and try to clear its data (this will reset the location of the icons on the desktop, be careful).
The safer way is to wait until the system asks for a launcher (usually after upgrading or installing a new one), and select Always. If the system is silent, use the global Default Apps menu and select the desired option in the Desktop category.
On some models with powerful MIUI protection, Xiaomi Optimization can block the launcher change, in which case, in the “Developers” menu, you need to find the item “Enable MIUI Optimization” and temporarily disable it, although this method does not always work in new versions of Android 12-14.
What to do if the reset button is inactive?
Specifics of working with files and gallery
Viewing photos and documents is another common area of conflict. Xiaomi’s standard “Gallery” may not suit you, and you prefer Google Photos. However, when you open an image from the file manager, it can run the MIUI gallery.
To change this behavior, look in the Gallery app list, go to its settings and click on Clear Default Settings, and now when you try to open an image, the system will ask you what you want to view it.
A similar situation occurs with PDF-Office packages, like files and documents. WPS Office or Microsoft Office often intercepts opening files. The reset mechanism is identical: we find the interceptor app and clear its privileges.
Remember, file managers can also be assigned by default. USB-cable or memory card opens the wrong conductor, check the settings of the applications category Files».
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Resetting your default settings doesn’t delete your files, logins, and passwords; it only gives the system the right to ask you which application is more convenient to open a file with.