How to Remove Google Play Market from Xiaomi Phone: 5 Ways to Remove Google Play Market

Why users want to get rid of Play Market on Xiaomi

Xiaomi smartphones with Google Play Market preinstalled are often the subject of experimentation: some want to make room for memory, others want to get rid of “google addiction”, and others simply do not use Google services. But removing the standard app store is not as easy as it seems. Unlike conventional programs, Play Market is deeply integrated into the MIUI system, and its removal can have unexpected consequences.

Before we start taking drastic measures, we should evaluate the pros and cons. For example, without the Play Market, many applications will stop updating, and some (for example, YouTube or Gmail) may not work at all. Alternative stores like Aurora Store or APKMirror offer similar functionality without being tied to a Google account. In this article, we will discuss all working methods of removal, from the safest to the most risky, requiring root rights.

It's important to understand that on devices with a locked bootloader (most of Xiaomi's official firmware), you can't completely remove the Play Market without consequences - the system will restore it after a reboot or update. So many methods are reduced to disabling or freezing the service.

Method 1: Disable Play Market through Settings (without root)

The easiest and safest method is not to remove the store completely, but simply to turn it off. This will stop background processes, prevent automatic updates of applications and save battery life.

Instructions:

• 📱 Open the Settings. → Annexes → Application management
• 🔍 In the search box, type "Play Market" (or "Google Play Store")
• 🛑 Click on the app, then select Disable (if the button is inactive, first click Stop)
• ⚠️ Confirm the action in the window that appears

After the shutdown:

• ✅ The application will stop updating and consume resources
• ❌ Some games and programs (e.g., with DRM-The protection may stop working.
• ⚠️ The icon will remain on the menu, but when pressed, it will give an error.

⚠️ Note: Some Xiaomi models (e.g. Redmi Note 12 or X-ray) POCO X5) Disabling Play Market may cause Google Play Services to crash, and it is recommended to disable the service, but push notifications in many applications will stop working.

Method 2: Remove updates and reset to factory version

If you don't want to get rid of the Play Market completely, but you want to get it back to the "clean" version without any extra data, you can delete all updates and reset your cache. This is useful if the store is slowing down or is issuing errors.

How to do this:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Google Play Store
2. Click on the three dots in the top right corner and select Remove Updates
3. Then click Storage → Clear the cache and Clear the data
4. Reboot the phone.

After this procedure, Play Market will return to the factory version that was preinstalled on the phone, and updates will no longer be automatically installed, but you can do it manually if necessary.

⚠️ Attention: On devices with MIUI 14 and later, after the data was cleared, Play Market may require re-authorization in your Google account. If you forget your password, this may block access to other services (for example, Gmail or Google Drive).

Method 3: Remove via ADB (without root, but with unlock)

For a deeper removal, you can use Android Debug Bridge (ADB), a tool for debugging Android devices, which does not require root rights, but requires unlocking the bootloader and enabling the developer mode.

Step-by-step:

Install ADB on PC (download from the official Android website)

Enable Developer Mode (7 times click on Build Number in Settings)

Activate debugging over USB in the developer settings

Connect your phone to your PC and confirm your trust in your computer

Open the command line (Windows) or terminal (Mac/Linux) file ADB-->

When you're done, follow the commands:

adb devices

(Your device should appear)

adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.android.vending

This command will only remove Play Market for the current user (without affecting system files). Once the app is restarted, the app will not recover, but system updates can bring it back.

adb shell am force-stop com.android.vending

Then repeat the removal command.-->

Method 4: Complete removal with root rights (for experienced)

If you're willing to take risks and have root access, you can remove Play Market forever, a method that's suitable for firmware like LineageOS or custom MIUI builds with unlocked bootloader.

You'll need:

• 📱 Phone with unlocked bootloader and root rights (for example, via Magisk)
• 💻 PC fitted ADB file manager with root access (e.g. Root Explorer)
• 🔧 Backup of the system (in case of failure)

Instructions:

1. Install Root Explorer or similar manager.
2. Go to /system/priv-app/PrebuiltGmsCore or /system/app/ and find the files: Phonesky.apk (Play Market app itself) Phonesky.odex (optimized cache)

Phonesky.apk.bak

Reset the device.

⚠️ Attention: Removal of system APK-Files can result in bootloop (a looped download) or loss of functionality of other Google services. On some Xiaomi firmware, it can also knock down Widevine certificates. L1, What will stop working Netflix and Disney+ into HD-quality.

Method 5: Alternative App Stores

If the goal is to get rid of the Play Market for alternatives, consider these options:

Installation of alternative stores:

1. Download. APK-file from the official website (for example, Aurora Store).
2. Allow installation from unknown sources in Settings → Security.
3. Install an APK and set up a store (Aurora Store may require anonymous login via Google).

If the problems are serious (for example, the phone does not turn on), the only way out is to flash through the Fastboot or Mi Flash Tool.

1. Download the official firmware for your model from the Xiaomi website.
2. Install the Mi Flash Tool on your PC.
3. Transfer the phone to Fastboot mode (clamp Power + Volume down).
4. Connect to the PC andfollowing instructions of the firmware.

FAQ: Frequent questions about removing Play Market from Xiaomi