How to permanently remove YouTube from Xiaomi devices: phones, tablets and TV

Owners of Xiaomi devices, from Redmi and POCO smartphones to Mi TVs, often face the need to remove pre-installed YouTube. The reasons range from saving disk space to wanting to get rid of annoying advertising or restricting access to the platform for children. However, standard deletion through the app menu often does not work - the system simply disables updates, leaving the "snip" of the program in memory.

In this article, we will discuss 5 working methods, including hidden settings MIUI, Android TV and radical solutions with the use of ADB We will focus on devices with bootloader lock (for example, Xiaomi). 13T or Redmi Note 12), where standard methods may not work. All instructions are valid for firmware MIUI 14/15 HyperOS (2026 year).

Why is YouTube not being removed in the standard way?

The problem lies in the status of the app. On most devices, Xiaomi YouTube is a system application (even if installed through Google Play).

• 📱 On smartphones: the application is integrated into the firmware MIUI Protected from removal without root rights.
• 📺 On TV, Mi. TV/Redmi TV: YouTube is sewn into Android TV As a mandatory component for Google certification.
• 🔄 Even after “deleting” the settings are still cache and data that take up to 500 MB.

Xiaomi also actively uses dynamic installation of system applications (via Google Play System Updates), which means that even after manual removal, YouTube can recover from another security update, and the only way to solve the problem is through a comprehensive approach - more on that.

Method 1: Disable YouTube without deleting (for beginners)

If you do not need to completely remove, but just hide the application and stop it from working, use the built-in MIUI tools:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Find YouTube on the list and tap it.
3. Select Disable (on some firmware - Remove Updates → Disable).
4. Confirm the action by clicking Disable the application.

⚠️ Attention: This method does not free up disk space, but only stops background processes. The next Google Play update, the app may be activated again:

• 🛑 Stop Auto Updating: Find YouTube on Google Play → ⋮ → Remove from auto-update.
• 📵 Turn off notifications: Settings → Notifications → YouTube → Switch to "Off" position.".

Method 2: Removal via ADB (without root rights)

For users willing to work with ADB (Android Debug Bridge), there is a way to remove YouTube without obtaining root rights.This works on most Xiaomi devices, except models with a locked bootloader (for example, the POCO F5 or Xiaomi 14 for the Chinese market).

You'll need:

• 💻 Computer with Windows/macOS/Linux.
• 🔌 Cable USB (preferably original).
• 📱 Included debugging by USB (Settings → The phone. → Version. MIUI → 7 times to tap → Additional settings → Developer parameters → Debugging by USB).

Steps:

1. Download ADB Tools and unpack it into a folder.
2. Connect the phone to the PC and confirm the debugging permission.
3. Open the command prompt (Win + R → cmd) and go to the folder with ADB:

cd C:\platform-tools

1. Run a command to check the connection:

adb devices

1. Delete YouTube (for the standard version):

adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.google.android.youtube

1. For YouTube Music (if you need to delete too):

adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.google.android.apps.youtube.music

⚠️ Note: On some devices (Redmi 10, POCO X3) After this command, YouTube will disappear from the menu, but will remain in the list of applications as "unplugged.

Method 3: Complete removal with root rights

If you are ready to get root access, this will open up the possibility of permanently removing YouTube and related services.Please note: on new devices (Xiaomi 13, Redmi Note 12 Pro+), unlocking the bootloader can lead to loss of warranty and problems with Widevine L1 (decreased streaming quality).

Instructions:

1. Unlock the bootloader through the Mi Unlock Tool (the official way from Xiaomi).
2. Install custom recovery (TWRP or OrangeFox).
3. Please use Magisk to obtain root rights.
4. Use Root Explorer or Titanium Backup to find and remove:

• 📁 folder /system/priv-app/YouTube (or /system/app/YouTube).
• 🗑️ Cache files in /data/data/com.google.android.youtube.
• 🔗 Symbolic references to /system/product/priv-app.

After deletion, it is recommended to “freeze” the related services through Magisk:

com.google.android.gms (Google Play Services)


com.google.android.gsf (Google Services Framework)

⚠️ Attention: Removing Google system components could disrupt Google Play, Gmail and other services. TWRP!

💡

If other apps (such as Google Photos) have stopped working after YouTube is removed, try installing [MicroG] (https://microg.org/), an easy alternative to Google services.

Method 4: Remove YouTube from Mi TV/Redmi TV

On Xiaomi TVs with Android TV or Google TV, YouTube is stitched up at the firmware level, and standard methods don't work.

Option A: Reset to factory settings (with deletion of Google account)

This method removes all apps, including YouTube, but requires a complete reconfiguration of the TV.

1. Go to Settings → Device → Reset → Full reset.
2. Do not connect your Google account at the setup stage.
3. Youtube will not be installed after downloading (but neither will Google Play).

Option B: Blocking through parental control

If the reset is not suitable, you can hide YouTube through restrictions:

1. Set a password for Settings → Security and Restrictions → Parental Controls.
2. Add YouTube to the list of blocked apps.
3. Hide the app from the feed: press the Home button on the remote → Change rows → remove YouTube from your favorites.

⚠️ Attention: On TVs with Google TV (Like Mi. TV Q2 2023) YouTube may recover from a firmware update. To avoid this, disable auto-updates in Settings → Annexes → Auto-update.

Method 5: Alternative firmware (for advanced)

If none of the methods worked, consider installing custom firmware without Google services.

Installation instructions:

1. Unlock the bootloader (via Mi Unlock Tool).
2. Install TWRP for your model.
3. Download the firmware from the official website (for example, [Xiaomi.eu](https://xiaomi.eu/) or [LineageOS](https://lineageos.org/)).
4. Fly through TWRP by pre-doing Wipe → Format Data.

⚠️ Attention: On Mi TVs TV Custom firmware installation is not possible due to the closed architecture of Amlogic. The only way out is to physically disconnect the Internet for YouTube through the router (blocking the domain youtube.com in the router settings).

💡

Custom firmware is the only way to permanently get rid of YouTube and other system applications, but it requires technical skills and can be unwarranted.

What if YouTube has recovered after being deleted?

If the app appears again, the reasons may be as follows:

• 🔄 Auto Update via Google Play (solution: disable auto-update in Google account settings).
• 📦 Recovery after reset (solution: delete your Google account in Settings before resetting) → Accounts).
• 🛠️ Update of firmware (solution: roll back to the previous version) MIUI Block updates via Magisk).

For a radical solution:

1. Install App Inspector from Google Play and find YouTube UID.
2. Through ADB, do:

adb shell pm hide com.google.android.youtube

This command hides the application at the system level, but does not physically remove it.

adb shell pm unhide com.google.android.youtube

FAQ: Frequent questions about removing YouTube from Xiaomi