How to Remove Xiaomi Standard Apps: The Complete Guide

Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco smartphones often face the intrusiveness of pre-installed software that takes up useful space and wastes resources. Built-in services are not always necessary for the user, and some of them can even be annoying. Deleting standard Xiaomi applications is an effective way to free up memory and speed up the MIUI interface.

The cleaning process requires caution, as improper removal of critical components can lead to unstable operation of the device. However, most software supplied by the manufacturer can be safely deactivated or removed through the computer. In this article, we will discuss safe methods for cleaning your gadget from excess software debris.

Before you take drastic action, you need to clearly understand the difference between regular and system utilities. System applications are deeply integrated into the shell, and their removal requires enhanced access rights or use debugging over USB. Conventional programs can be removed by standard means of the settings menu in a couple of clicks.

⚠️ Warning: Removing critical system components such as “Security,” “Google Play Services,” or “System” UI», This can lead to an endless reboot of the smartphone (bootloop).

Analysis of pre-installed software: what can be touched

The first step in optimizing a smartphone is to analyze in detail what is installed on the device. MIUI and HyperOS firmware have many programs that duplicate the functionality of existing services or are not used in certain regions. For example, applications for reading books, video services or games are often advertising and do not carry system load, but take up space.

There are a category of programs that are formally system-based, but removing them will not harm the basic functionality of the phone, including browsers, music players, galleries (subject to alternatives), and various cleaning tools, which you can safely get rid of if you prefer third-party counterparts.

And you should pay special attention to regional services, because if you bought a global smartphone, but you see Chinese apps like Mi Video or Mi Music with Asian content on the menu, it's completely safe to remove them, and these programs don't affect your cellular service or your Wi-Fi module.

• 📱 Safe to delete: Mi Browser, Mi Video, Mi Music, Games, GetApps, Mi Credit, various demo versions of games.
• ⚙️ Careful: Calendar, Watch, Recorder, Scanner, Compass (it is better to disable if not used).
• ❌ Prohibited from Deletion: Security, Settings, Google Play Services, System UI, Phone, Messages.

Basic method: disabling through Android settings

The easiest and safest way to get rid of excess software is to use the built-in functionality of the operating system, which does not require a connection to a computer and is suitable for all Xiaomi models. However, it should be borne in mind that technically the application is not removed from the disk, but only shuts down: its icon disappears, processes stop, and it stops consuming RAM.

To implement this method, you need to go to the settings menu of your device. Find the section responsible for managing installed programs. Depending on the version of the MIUI shell, the path may vary slightly, but the logic remains the same for all modern smartphones.

Once you log into the application management menu, select the program you plan to deactivate. If the Delete button is inactive (gray), it means that the program is system-status, in which case only the Disable button is available.

⚠️ Note: After updating the operating system, disabled standard applications can automatically activate again.

Advanced method: removal through ADB without Root rights

To completely remove system applications that cannot be removed by standard means, the ADB tool (Android Debug Bridge) is used, which allows you to send commands directly to the Android system without the interface limitations, the main advantage of the method is that you do not need to unlock the bootloader or obtain root rights, which preserves the guarantee on the device.

Before you start, you need to prepare your computer and smartphone. You need to download the Platform Tools package from the official Android developer website. You also need to activate the developer mode on the phone. To do this, go to Settings → About phone and quickly click on the build number seven times.

Once the developer mode is activated, a new "Developers" item will appear in the menu. Inside it, find and turn on the "Debug by" option. USB». When connecting the smartphone to the computer by cable on the screen of the device will be a request for debugging permission - be sure to tick "Always Allow" and confirm the action.

Run the command line or terminal in the ADB tool folder. Make sure the device is correctly identified by entering the link check command. If you see the device serial number and the word device in response, the connection is successfully established and you can proceed to delete the packets.

adb devices

List of removal packages and risk table

Every application on Android has a unique package name. To uninstall it through ADB, you need to know the exact name of the package. Below is a table with the most common Xiaomi system applications that are often subject to removal, and an assessment of the risk of their removal.

The uninstall process is as follows: you type the adb shell command to go to the device shell, and then use the pm uninstall command with the --user 0 flag. This flag ensures that the application will be removed only for the current user without affecting the system partition, which allows you to restore it by resetting the settings in case of an error.

adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.xiaomi.mipicks

It's important to note that once you run the command, the application disappears instantly. If you delete something that's superfluous, don't panic. The return of the remote packet is done by the cmd package install-existing command with the name of the packet, which is another argument for the security of the ADB method compared to manually deleting system files through root conductors.

💡

Before mass removal of applications, take a screenshot of the list of packages or save it to a text file, which will help you quickly find the name of the remote application if you need to restore it.

Use of specialized utilities for cleaning

For those who do not want to work with the command line, there are graphic shells for ADB. One of the most popular and proven programs is Xiaomi. ADB/Fastboot Tools or Universal Android Debloater. These utilities automatically read the list of installed packages and allow you to delete them with a simple click of a button.

Using such programs makes it much easier, because they often have built-in lists of safe applications to remove. You don't have to remember complex package names like com.miui.cloudservice. It will highlight which components can be removed without harming the system.

However, relying on automation can keep you vigilant, and some utilities may offer to remove components that are important to your use case, such as removing Mi Cloud services will make it impossible for you to sync contacts and photos, even if you are not actively using them right now.

• 🚀 Advantages: Graphic interface, no need to remember commands, security profiles.
• ⚠️ Disadvantages: Requires the installation of drivers, may work unstable on new versions of Android, the risk of error of the developer utility.
• 🔧 Requirements: Active Debugging Mode for USB, fixed ADB-PC drivers.

⚠️ Note: Download Debloat utilities only from official repositories on GitHub. Using third-party forum builds can lead to identity theft or malware installation.

Recovery of Remote System Components

Even experienced users can make a mistake and delete an important component, and if after cleaning, the smartphone behaves incorrectly, the sound is gone, the network or interface is no longer working, you need to return the deleted packets (--user 0, A complete reset is not mandatory, although it is the easiest solution).

The fastest way to restore work is to reset to factory settings, where all data will be deleted, but system applications will return to their original state. If you want to save data, try restoring a specific package via ADB. To do this, reconnect the phone to your computer and use the installation command of the existing package.

💡

Removal through ADB flag-headed --user 0 You can restore an application at any time without flashing your phone just by knowing the exact name of the package.

In some cases, if a remote component has blocked the system from booting, the phone may enter Recovery mode. From there, you can perform a Wipe Data reset, which will return the phone to the “out of the box” state. Therefore, before any manipulation of system files, it is strongly recommended to make a full backup of important data to an external medium or to the cloud.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)