Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco smartphones often face intrusiveness of standard software. A pre-installed gallery from MIUI or HyperOS may not meet user requirements, take up extra space or simply annoy with its appearance. It is impossible to remove it with standard system tools, since it is a critical component for displaying media files.
But there are proven ways to get rid of the system application without getting the Root rights, USB-It's important to understand that interfering with system processes requires careful attention so as not to disrupt the Android operating system.
In this article, we will detail the safe methods for deactivating and removing a standard gallery. You will learn how to prepare the device, what tools to use and what to do if you have problems viewing photos after deleting. Deleting the system gallery does not erase your photos, they will remain in the device’s memory, but you will need an alternative application to view them.
Why you should consider removing the standard gallery
The standard application often runs slower than third-party counterparts and consumes more resources in the background. Many users complain of intrusive advertising in the recommendation feed and excessive resolutions that the system software requests. Replacing it with a lightweight counterpart can significantly speed up the smartphone.
In addition, the standard gallery MIUI sometimes mistreat RAW-file-format HEVC. Third-party developers offer more flexible sorting settings, cloud synchronization and user-friendly interface.
And privacy is also important. Third-party open source galleries are often more transparent about data collection, and you control what permissions to give an app, as opposed to the system constraints of Xiaomi.
- 🚀 Speeding up the interface by disabling heavy system processes.
- 🎨 More modern and customizable design of third-party applications.
- 🔒 Increased privacy and lack of hidden advertising.
- 📂 Improved support for rare photo and video formats.
Preparing a smartphone to remove system applications
Before any manipulations begin, you need to activate the hidden capabilities of the system, without activating the developer mode, access to debugging via USB will be closed, this is the first and mandatory step to interact with the file system through the computer.
Find Settings → About your phone and quickly click 7-10 times on the MIUI version (or OS version). After the notification “You became a developer”, return to the main settings menu, there will be a new section “Additional” or “Extended settings”.
☑️ Preparation of the device
In the developer menu, find the USB Debugging and activate it. When you connect the cable to your computer, you will see a request for debugging confirmation on your smartphone screen — be sure to click “Allow.” It is also recommended to select USB File Transfer mode so that your computer sees the device correctly.
⚠️ Note: Do not turn off the cable while executing commands through ADB. Interrupting the process can cause the batch installation service to freeze, although user data is usually not affected.
Deletion method through ADB (without Root rights)
The safest and most effective way to uninstall a system application is to use the Android Debug Bridge (ADB) toolkit. This method does not require unlocking the bootloader or obtaining superuser rights, which preserves the device’s warranty.
First, you need to download and unpack Platform-tools to your computer. Once you connect your smartphone, open the command line (terminal) in the tool folder. Check the connection by entering the adb device command. If the device serial number appears in the list, you can proceed to delete.
adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.miui.galleryThis command will force the gallery to be deleted for the current user (user 0), leaving the application file in the system partition, but making it inactive. If you want to return everything as it was, just execute the command adb shell cmd package install-existing com.miui.gallery.
What to do if your computer can’t see your phone?
Alternative ways to hide and disable
If using the command line seems too complicated for you, you can use graphical interfaces that work on the basis of the ADB. Programs like Xiaomi ADB/Fastboot Tools or Universal Android Debloater lets you manage apps through handy buttons.
Some versions of HyperOS have the ability to hide apps without deleting them. Go to Settings → Apps → Hide apps. The gallery may disappear from the desktop, but it will remain on the list of all programs. This will not free up memory, but will remove the icon from view.
Another option is to disable via the app menu. Find the gallery in the list of programs, click About app and select Disable button. However, for Xiaomi system components, this option is often unavailable (gray), making ADB the only working solution for complete removal.
- 🛠 Use of the GUI-scalings to facilitate the operation of ADB.
- 🙈 Hiding the icon through standard system settings.
- 🚫 Attempt to disable via Application Manager (often unavailable).
- 🔄 Installation of an alternative before disabling the stock version.
Selection and installation of an alternative gallery
Before you delete a standard app, it's important to install a replacement. Without a gallery installed, when you try to open a photo from a messenger or browser, the system may give an error or suggest you choose the application every time.
One of the best solutions is Google Photos, which is already on many devices, and it provides smart search, cloud storage and fast work, and for minimalists, Simple Gallery (or its forks) is suitable, which is completely free of advertising and unnecessary permissions.
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Once you install a new gallery, open it and allow access to all media folders. Then go to your system settings and select the new image opening app by default.
Pay attention to options such as support for RAW formats, scrolling speed and the presence of an integrated editor.Some users prefer galleries from OnePlus or Samsung ported to Xiaomi, as they often have a more pleasant design.
| Annex | Size | Advertising | Cloud. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Photo | ~150MB | No. | Yes (15GB) |
| Simple Gallery | ~20MB | No. | No. |
| A Gallery | ~45MB | Optionally. | Yeah. |
| Foss Gallery | ~10MB | No. | No. |
Possible problems and ways to solve them
After deleting the system gallery, users may find themselves in a situation where screenshots are no longer saved to the album or thumbnails in the file manager are not displayed, in which case you need to clear the cache of the Media Storage application through the application settings menu.
Sometimes the system may try to restore a remote application after a major MIUI or HyperOS update. If the gallery is back, the removal procedure through ADB will have to be repeated.To avoid this, some users freeze the application instead of uninstalling, but this requires deeper intervention.
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If after deleting the gallery no longer receive notifications about new photos in messengers, check the notification settings for the new gallery application and allow background work.
⚠️ Note: Do not remove components with the names com.android.providers.media or com.miui.mediaeditor unless absolutely necessary, this can lead to complete inoperability of the camera and the inability to view any images in the system.