How to uninstall the app on Xiaomi: The Complete Guide

Xiaomi smartphones are famous for their availability and functionality, but often come with excessive amounts of pre-installed software. Users often face a situation where internal memory is rapidly filling up and standard cleaning methods do not give the desired result, especially for models with a small amount of built-in storage, where every megabyte counts.

The process of uninstalling software on the shell of MIUI or the new HyperOS has its own features that differ from pure Android. Some system components are hidden from the eyes of the average user, and removing others requires special rights or tools. In this article, we will discuss all available methods, from simple touches to advanced methods through the computer.

It's important to understand that mindlessly deleting system files can lead to unstable work of the gadget. We will consider safe ways of cleaning and point out the components that are strictly not recommended to touch. The right approach will allow you to free up space and speed up the device without the risk of turning it into a brick.

Standard Deletion through Desktop and Settings

The most obvious and safe way to get rid of unnecessary software is to use the operating system's regular interface, which doesn't require a computer connection or special knowledge, but just look for an icon on the screen or go to the program management menu.

On your desktop, find the icon of the app you're planning to remove. Click on it and hold your finger for 1-2 seconds until the pop-up menu appears. If the program is custom, you'll see a "Delete" button with the corresponding basket or cross icon. Drag the icon to that zone or just click on the confirmation button.

If there is no icon on the desktop, or the delete button is inactive (gray), go to the system settings. Open the Settings menu, find the App section and select All Apps. In the list that opens, find the name you want, click on it and select the Remove option at the bottom of the screen.

It is worth noting that some Xiaomi system services do not have an active delete button in this menu, in which case the system will either disable the action or only suggest "Disable" or "Stop" - this is protection against accidental damage to important components of the operating system.

Removing embedded applications through the application menu

The MIUI shell often hides some of the preinstalled software in folders or individual pages, making it impossible to delete them through the desktop, in which case the application management menu, where the list is presented in a more detailed form, helps.

Go to Settings → Applications → All Apps. This shows the full list of installed software, including hidden system processes. Find an unnecessary application, such as Mi Video, Mi Music or partner games, on the list. Click on the name to open the program card.

In the app card, pay attention to the bottom of the screen. If the Delete button is active, feel free to press it. If it is locked but there is a Disable button, it means that the program is system-based, but it can be deactivated. Once it is disabled, it will disappear from the startup list and stop consuming resources, although it will physically remain in memory.

⚠️ Note: Do not disable system components called “System Framework” or “Security», «MIUI Service" or "Google Play Services" This can result in a phone being permanently rebooted or communication lost.

For advanced users, you can see the details of the process, and by clicking on three dots in the corner of the screen, you can sort apps by size, and that helps you identify heavyweights that take up a lot of space but are rarely used, and removing them is the first step to optimizing them.

Use of Superuser Rights and ADB

When standard methods fail, advanced tools come to the rescue: removing system debris that the manufacturer has forbidden to touch, perhaps through USB debugging and a computer, a method that requires caution but gives you complete control over the device.

The first step is to activate the developer mode. Go to Settings → About Phone and quickly click 7 times on the MIUI Version or OS Version field. You will receive a message that you have become a developer. Next on the Additional → For developers, turn on Debugging over USB.

Connect your smartphone to your computer via a high-quality cable. On your PC, you need to install Xiaomi drivers and the ADB platform (Android Debug Bridge). After connecting in the command line, enter a command to check the connection:

adb devices

You'll see a request for debugging permission on your phone screen. Confirm it. You can now use commands to delete packets. You can get a list of all packets by adb shell pm list packages. Find the name of the packet (e.g. com.miui.videoplayer) and use the command to delete:

adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 name packet

This method allows you to remove virtually anything, including the GetApps store or the Mi Browser browser. However, remember that you are acting at your own risk. Deleting critical libraries can disrupt the interface or communication modules.

Third-party programs for uninstallation

For those who don't want to mess with the command line, there are dedicated uninstallation apps that provide a graphical interface for packet management and often have databases that tell you which system processes can be safely removed.

One of the most popular utilities is System App Remover, which scans the device and divides applications into user and system applications, and in the system section, it marks the safe-to-remove components in green and the critical ones in red.

• 📱 System App Remover – a classic tool with easy sorting by application type.
• 🚀 NoBloat Free – allows you to backup before deleting and has a user-friendly interface.
• 🛠️ SD Maid is a powerful cleaning combine that also knows how to manage system packages.

Using such software simplifies the process, but does not make it completely safe. Even if the utility says that deletion is safe, it is always worth checking the information on the Internet for the specific name of the package, especially for services Google and Xiaomi, which can be interconnected by complex dependencies.

Cleaning cache and residual files

Often, an application is deleted, but it continues to take up disk space, because of residual files, cache and logs that are not automatically deleted when uninstalled.

The built-in Cleanup tool in Xiaomi smartphones does a good job of handling basic garbage. Launch the Safety app (green zipper icon) and select the Cleanup function. The system will analyze the storage and suggest that temporary files be deleted.

You can use a file manager to clean it up a little bit more deeply, go to the Android → data root folder, and there are folders with the names of the remote programs, and if you're sure you don't need the program anymore, you can manually delete the corresponding folder, but be careful: this directory stores data and active applications.

Regular cleaning of residual debris helps to keep the performance of the smartphone at a high level, especially for devices that are actively used and on which many new programs are installed.

Typical errors and system recovery

In pursuit of free space, users sometimes delete the extra, and if after removing the application, the phone began to behave strangely, there were constant pop-ups or no sound, then an important system process was affected.

The first thing you can do is try to reboot your device. In some cases, Android itself detects the absence of a critical file and restores it from the hidden recovery section. If the reboot didn't help, you can try resetting the settings of the particular application that is causing the crashes through the Settings → Apps menu.

⚠️ Note: If after removing the system component, the phone goes into a cyclic restart (bootloop), you will need to reset to the factory settings via Recovery Mode.

To restore system packages that have been removed from ADB, you can use the installation command mentioned above, but if the problem is serious, only flashing the device through the Mi Flash Tool will help, which will return the phone to its original state out of the box.

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Before you delete your system applications, back up your data through Mi Cloud or your computer, and save your photos and contacts in case of a critical system failure.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

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The safest way to remove only user applications is to touch system software only if you have accurate information about its purpose and how to restore it.