Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco smartphones often face intrusive built-in system services, particularly Google Assistant. Voice assistant can spontaneously activate, consume battery power and collect location data, raising questions about privacy for many users. Complete removal of the system component requires a deep understanding of the structure of the Android operating system.
Unlike regular apps that can be simply removed through menus, Google’s system services are integrated into firmware. MIUI The standard system means that the user can only limit the functionality or disable the start button, but not eliminate the process. ADB (Android Debug Bridge or Root rights.
It is important to understand that there are risks involved in interfering with system processes: Incorrect removal of critical components can lead to unstable interface operation or cyclical reboot of the device. Below is a detailed guide covering all methods from safe shutdown to complete debugging via USB.
Disabling the voice activator and hot button
The first step to getting rid of the intrusive assistant is to turn off all triggers of its activation. By default, Google Assistant is set to start with a long press of the power button or a swipe from the corner of the screen. These settings are easy to change in the menu of the application itself without resorting to complex technical manipulations.
You need to open the Google app on your smartphone and go to the settings section, and you should find the Google Assistant and select the All Assistant Settings tab. In the Phone section, you need to deactivate the Google Assistant option, and you need to disable Hey Google Recognition if it was enabled, which will prevent the device from responding to voice commands.
⚠️ Note: After disabling the voice activator, the dictation function in some applications may stop working, as it is often tied to the same system services.
Additionally, check the navigation and gesture settings in Xiaomi. Settings → Additional settings → Button management (or similar path depending on the version of MIUI) to make sure that a long press of the Home or side button is not assigned to start the assistant. If such a binding exists, it should be changed to Nothing or another convenient feature.
Limitation of background activity and permissions
Even after the hotkeys are turned off, processes associated with Google Services can continue to run in the background, consuming RAM. To minimize their impact on Xiaomi performance, you need to manually restrict access rights and background activities of the corresponding packages.
Go to Settings → Apps → All apps and search for “Google” list. Go to “Allowances” and turn off microphone, location and contacts. Without these rights, personalized data collection will become impossible, which will increase privacy. Next, in the “Saving Charge” menu, select “Limit background activity”.
- 🔒 Turn off microphone access for all Google services to prevent listening to your environment.
- 📍 Disable access to geolocation so that the service does not track user movements.
- 📉 Set background activity limit in battery settings to save life.
- 🗑️ Clean the Google app cache regularly through the Memory Management Menu.
It is also recommended to disable data synchronization for your Google account in areas that are not used. Go to Settings → Accounts and sync, select your account and uncheck unnecessary items such as Google Assistant or Actions and Information, which will reduce the amount of data transferred and reduce the frequency of background connections to servers.
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Use Do Not Disturb or special profiles in MIUI to completely block network activity of system applications at night.
Removal via ADB without Root Rights
The most effective and safe way to remove system components is to use the ADB tool (Android Debug Bridge), which allows you to delete packets for the current user without affecting the system partition recovery, which saves the ability to restore factory settings if necessary.
To get started, activate the developer mode on Xiaomi smartphone. Go to Settings → About phone and quickly click on the MIUI build number seven times. After the message “You became a developer”, open the Additional settings menu → For developers and turn on the “Debugging by USB” option.
adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.google.android.apps.googleassistantExecuting this command via the ADB console will remove the voice assistant packet for the current user. The device will not require superuser rights, but the computer must have Xiaomi drivers installed and the SDK Platform Tools platform. After completing the command, the application will disappear from the menu and stop running.
⚠️ Note: When removing system packets through ADB Be extremely careful with the names of packages.Removing critical services such as com.google.android.gms may cause the Play Market store and other dependent apps to fail.
☑️ Preparation for removal through ADB
List of removal packages and their functions
When you're deep cleaning up your system, it's important to understand what each component you remove is responsible for. Google Assistant is closely linked to other services, and removing one packet may not be enough or redundant. Below is a table of the main packages associated with the voice assistant.
| Packet name | Function | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|
| com.google.android.apps.googleassistant | Main appendix of the Assistant | Delete safely |
| com.google.android.googlequicksearchbox | Google search bar and widget | Delete (Desktop search will disappear) |
| com.google.android.apps.googleassistant | Voice input and recognition | Delete safely |
| com.google.android.gms | Google Play Services (Foundation) | NOT delete (disrupts the system) |
Using the adb shell pm list packages command, you can find the exact packet names if they differ from the standard ones in your firmware version. Often manufacturers add prefixes or change the naming structure. To return a remote packet, you use the adb shell cmd package install-existing <name packet> command.
It’s worth noting that deleting Google’s search bar (googlequicksearchbox) will also affect the Tape widget on the desktop.If you use third-party launchers, this won’t be a problem, but for a standard MIUI interface, it can mean losing functionality on the left desktop page.
What happens if the ADB command is not executed?
Use of third-party debloaters
For users who don't want to work with the command line, there are graphical utilities-debloaters. Programs like Universal Android Debloater or Xiaomi ADB/Fastboot Tools provide a user-friendly interface for managing system applications, they automatically determine the list of installed packages and mark safe to remove.
The way these programs work is similar to manually typing commands through ADB, but all the actions are done through mouse clicks. You plug in your smartphone, the program reads the list of packages, and suggests removing the garbage, including Google Assistant, which reduces the risk of human error when you type long packet names.
- 🖥️ Universal Android Debloater – an open source cross-platform solution.
- 📱 Xiaomi ADB/Fastboot Tools – a specialized utility specifically for Xiaomi devices.
- 🛡️ App Manager – allows you to manage packages directly from your phone (requires wireless debugging).
Despite the convenience, using third-party software requires trust in the developer, and it is recommended to download such tools only from official repositories, such as GitHub, to avoid the introduction of malicious code.
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Graphics debloathers simplify the process significantly, but require an ADB driver installed on your computer anyway.
Possible problems and solutions
Once system components are removed, users may experience unexpected system behaviors, such as an error or nothing happening when trying to activate a voice search, and in rare cases, a launcher setting may need to be reset or the device rebooted to apply changes.
If your Google Assistant stops working after you delete your alarm or reminders, check the settings of the apps that you use, and sometimes they depend on Google services to sync your time, and if you do, reinstall the updates for the Watch or Calendar app through the Play Market store.
⚠️ Note: If the smartphone went into a cyclic restart (bootloop) after removing system packages, you will need to log in to Recovery mode and perform a data reset (Wipe Data.
If you have a critical error, you can restore deleted packets if you didn't follow the wipe command. Reconnecting to your computer and installing the packet through ADB will return the system to its original state. For most users, the assistant is removed without side effects.