Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco smartphones often encounter intrusive pre-installed software that takes up space and consumes resources. Cleaning the operating system of unnecessary software is the first step to speeding up the device and increasing battery life. Fortunately, modern versions of the MIUI and HyperOS shell allow for deep cleaning without the need for superuser rights.
Many users mistakenly believe that removing embedded components like Google Play Services or Xiaomi analytics requires a computer with ADB installed. In fact, there are methods to perform this task directly from the phone using special utilities and debugging settings, which makes the process accessible to any user who has only a smartphone and a charging cable at hand.
In this article, we will discuss in detail the safe ways to uninstall system software, explain the difference between deletion and freezing, and provide a list of components that you absolutely cannot touch. You will learn to free up gigabytes of memory and increase privacy without risking turning your gadget into a brick.
Preparing the smartphone for deep cleaning of the system
Before you start removing any system packages, you need to configure the device correctly. The basic requirement for any operations with system partitions is to activate the hidden developer menu. Without this step, no package management application will receive the necessary privileges.
To activate, go to Settings → About Phone and quickly click on MIUI Version (or OS version) seven times. Once you have become a developer, go back to the main settings menu and find the "Additional" or "Extended Settings" section, which is where the menu we want to find is hidden.
Inside the developer menu, you need to include two critical parameters. USB», It's a system that allows you to access debugging commands — «USB-Debugging (Security Settings)" which allows click simulation and system settings change through third-party apps.
⚠️ Note: After the debugging is enabled USB Confirm the action, but be careful when connecting the device to unfamiliar computers or public charging stations.
The next step is to install a special tool that will take on the role of packet manager. The most proven and functional solution at the moment is the App Manager utility (from MuntashirAkon) or Sui in conjunction with Shizuku, which allows you to work with system processes using vulnerabilities or special bridges without requiring a complete hack.
Using the Shizuku application to manage packages
One of the most effective modern methods is the bundle of Shizuku and App Manager applications. Shizuku is a service that allows regular applications to use system APIs with increased privileges without requiring Root rights.
The setup process is as follows: download Shizuku from Google Play or F-Droid. Launch the app and follow the instructions on the screen. You will need to enable debugging wirelessly in the developer menu. Click on “Configure wireless debugging”, remember the port (usually 5555) and the pairing code.
- 📲 Click “Run” in the Shizuku app and select “Pairing through Wireless Debugging».
- 🔢 Enter the six-digit code that appears in the developer menu.
- ✅ After successful pairing, Shizuku status will change to Shizuku launched».
Now that the service is up and running, you can switch to installing the application manager. App Manager is recommended, as it can work through the Shizuku API. In the App Manager settings, select Shizuku or Root mode (if it suddenly appears, but we need the first one).
Inside App Manager, go to the Apps tab and sort them by type. You're interested in System Apps. You can see the real weight of each component and its dependencies. When you select a removal package, you'll see a "Delete" or "Disable" button. Shizuku allows you to do this instantly.
Alternative method: wireless debugging and ADB-manager
If using Shizuku seems complicated, there is an alternative way that also doesn’t require a computer, but is based on the same principles: it’s about shell applications for ADB (Android Debug Bridge), which can run a local debugging server directly on the device.
One of these tools is Bugjaeger or specialized versions of ADB AppControl, which works by connecting the phone to itself via localhost, and by activating "Wireless Debugging" in the developer's settings.
Once you have a manager like this, you'll get a list of all the packages installed. The interface may be different from the standard one, but the point is the same: search for the package by name and execute the uninstall command. The advantage of this method is that some managers have databases of "safe to remove" applications with descriptions of functions.
pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.miui.analyticsIn some cases, if the GUI doesn’t work, you can use an embedded terminal (e.g., Termux) if the device already has Shizuku installed.The command above is an example of what happens “under the hood”: it removes the analytics package for the current user without affecting the system partition recovery.
☑️ Pre-deletion check
Critical System Components: What to Remove Is Not Removable
Freedom of action in Android does not mean permissiveness. MIUI is built on a complex interconnection of processes. Removing a key component can lead to a cyclical restloop or the failure of basic functions such as calls or Wi-Fi.
Below is a table of components that are highly risky to remove, and even if you don’t use certain features, it’s better to simply disable them than remove them altogether, as other system services may depend on their availability in the registry.
| Package Name (Package Name) | Function | Risk of removal |
|---|---|---|
| com.android.phone | Telephony and calls | Critical (no connection) |
| com.miui.securitycenter | Security and antivirus | High (system errors) |
| com.xiaomi.finddevice | Searching device | Medium (account issues) |
| com.google.android.gms | Google Play Services | Critical (maps not working, push) |
If the name of the application contains the words "Framework", "SystemUI" or "Settings", soberly assess your knowledge. Deleting SystemUI will lead to the disappearance of the interface: you will see only a black screen and possibly a mouse cursor if you connect the manipulator.
⚠️ Note: Deleting the com.miui.cloudservice (Mi Cloud) system component may make it impossible to unlock the device after rebooting if Find Device is enabled. Be sure to unplug your Mi Account in the settings before deleting it.
Dependency Analysis and Safely Removing Advertising
One of the main goals of cleaning up Xiaomi smartphones is to get rid of advertising and telemetry, and the collection of data and display of banner ads in the system are responsible for specific services that can be safely uninstalled, but before that, it is worth checking the dependencies.
App Manager has a "Dependencies" tab when selecting an application, which shows which other applications use the selected package. If there is only one dependency, for example, "Themes" depend on "Theme Services", then deletion is safe. If the package uses system processes, it is better to replace the deletion with "Freeze".
The list of the safest to remove “junk” apps includes:
- 📉 com.miui.misys – System Telemetry and Data Collection.
- 📺 com.miui.video, com.miui.player – stock video players (if not used).
- 🛍️ com.xiaomi.joyose – a service often responsible for notifications and heating in games.
- 📰 com.miui.nextpay, com.xiaomi.scanner – additional services, often duplicated Google features.
To remove ads in system applications, it is also recommended to disable the “Receive recommendations” option in the settings of each application (Trunk, Security, Explorer). This is done through Settings → Passwords and Security → Access to personal data, where you can deny applications access to the Internet, but it is easier to just turn off the switches in the advertising settings themselves.
What is Joyose and should it be removed?
Restore the system after erroneous removal
Even with all the precautions, the human factor was not canceled. If after deleting the application, the smartphone began to behave incorrectly, or an important feature disappeared, you need to know how to retreat. The good news is that without Root rights, we do not physically delete files from the /system partition, but only delete them for the current user.
This means that the packet data stays in the system. To get it back, you just have to re-install the installation command, you can use the reinstall command in the same App Manager or terminal, and if the interface doesn't work, you can try resetting the application settings.
As a last resort, if the device goes into reboot, you need to enter Recovery mode. On Xiaomi smartphones, this is done by pressing the volume button "Up" and the power button on the device turned off. In the Recovery menu (which is controlled by the volume buttons and confirmed by the power button), select Wipe Data.
This operation will completely clean up user data and return the phone to factory status by recovering all deleted system files from the hidden partition, so having a fresh backup of photos and contacts in the Google or Mi Cloud cloud is a must before starting any experiments.
💡
Uninstalling system applications without Root is not irreversible – the data remains in the system partition and can be restored by resetting settings or re-installing the package.