Xiaomi smartphone owners often face a situation where a new device out of the box is filled with dozens of programs they have never used. This phenomenon is called bloatware, and it is characteristic not only of budget models, but also of flagship lines. The standard shell of MIUI or HyperOS does offer many convenient features, but the abundance of preinstalled software can seriously slow down the operating system and take up precious space in internal memory.
Cleaning your system of excess software is not just a way to free up a couple of gigabytes, but also the ability to extend the battery life of your Redmi or Poco. Many background processes run by unnecessary services constantly consume CPU resources and actively discharge the battery. In this article, we will discuss in detail which components of the shell can be deactivated without risking the health of the gadget.
Before taking drastic action, it is important to understand that removing system components via ADB does not require superuser rights (Root), which makes this method available to any user.However, despite the method’s safety, caution should always be exercised and instructions should be clearly followed so as not to accidentally delete the critical system file responsible for the basic functionality of the phone.
Analysis of pre-installed software: what is in the system
Xiaomi's standard firmware has three main categories of applications: the first group is the system components that make the phone a brick without, drivers, telephony services, System UI and basic frameworks, which are strictly forbidden to touch because it will lead to endless reboot or inability to turn on the device.
The second category is Xiaomi’s branded apps, which duplicate the functionality of third-party counterparts or simply don’t need a particular user, including Mi Browser, Mi Video, Mi Music and various service utilities like Mi Credit or Mi Pay (if you’re not in China), which can be safely removed if you prefer to use products from Google or third-party developers.
The third group is advertising junk and analytics services that collect user data, often hidden under obscure names like MSA (Miui System Ads) or Daemon, which are responsible for intrusive advertising in standard applications and the background transmission of telemetry to the company's servers.
⚠️ Warning: Before deleting any packets, make sure to back up your critical data. Although the risk is minimal, the human factor has not been reversed, and randomly selecting the wrong packet name can cause crashes.
To work with system applications, you will need a computer with the Android Debug Bridge platform installed (ADB). This is a standard developer tool that lets you control the device through the command line. USB-cable in debugging mode, which is activated in the menu "For developers".
Preparing for removal: setting up debugging and tools
The first step to clean the system is to activate the hidden developer menu, and you need to go to the About Phone settings and quickly click on the build number seven times (MIUI Version), and after the message "You became a developer" appears, a new section "Additional" or "Extended settings" will appear in the settings menu.
Inside the menu for developers you need to find the item "Debugging by USB" And you activate it. When you connect your phone to your computer, you'll see a request for debugging permission on your smartphone screen -- make sure you tick "Always allow this computer." Without this step, the computer won't be able to send commands to delete it.
☑️ Pre-testing
The next step is to install tools on your PC, and you'll need to download Platform Tools from Google's official website, and after you unpack the archive, open the command line in the tool folder and type in the adb device command, and if a device with a serial number appears on the list, then the connection is established correctly.
To simplify the process, many users prefer to use graphical shells such as Xiaomi ADB/Fastboot Tools or Universal Android Debloater. These programs automatically scan the device and offer a list of packages with recommendations: safe, dangerous or critical, which reduces the likelihood of error for beginners who do not want to understand the syntax of commands.
List of safe to remove Xiaomi apps
Now, to get specific, here is a list of packages that can be removed without affecting the basic functionality of the smartphone. Note that package names may vary slightly depending on the firmware version (Global, China, EEA) and device model.
- 🗑️ com.miui.misys – Miui System (often associated with advertising and analytics).
- 🗑️ com.miui.msa.global – the main advertising module of the system (MSA), publicity-maker.
- 🗑️ com.xiaomi.joyose – a service that regulates performance in games, often causes heating.
- 🗑️ com.miui.daemon – collects statistics on device usage, secure for removal.
- 🗑️ com.android.browser – Xiaomi’s standard browser (if you’re using Chrome).
- 🗑️ com.miui.videoplayer - built-in video player, easily replaced by VLC or MX Player.
- 🗑️ com.miui.notes – Standard Notes (only delete if there is a replacement).
- 🗑️ com.facebook.katana – integration of social networks, often found in global firmware.
Special attention should be paid to the package com.xiaomi.mipicks (formerly GetApps), which is an alternative app store that duplicates Google Play. If you do not plan to download specific Chinese applications, this service can be safely removed, which also eliminates periodic notifications with offers.
Many users also want to remove Google services, but it is strongly discouraged from doing so on global firmware, which will make most modern applications, including bank clients and navigators, inoperable, and only remove those that you are 100% sure of.
What is the com.android.stk package?
Risk table: what can and cannot be touched
To organize knowledge and avoid errors, it is convenient to use a summary table that lists the main groups of packets and the risk of removing them.
| Package name/Component | Function | Risk of removal | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|---|
| com.miui.securitycenter | Security Center, Antivirus, Cleanup | High-pitched | Leave it. |
| com.android.phone | Telephony, calls, contacts | critical | Don't touch it. |
| com.miui.weather2 | Annex "Weather" | Low. | Can be removed |
| com.miui.screenrecorder | Built-in screen recording | Low. | Can be removed |
| com.miui.personalassistant | Widget tape (left of the desktop) | Low. | Can be removed |
It’s important to understand that removing low-risk apps won’t hurt the system, but it can take away the functionality you’ve been using. For example, if you delete Screen Recorder, you’ll have to look for an alternative in the Play Market if the built-in screen recording function disappears with the package.
Some components, such as com.miui.cloudservice (Mi Cloud), are better off simply disabling in settings rather than being forced out, avoiding potential conflicts when upgrading or resetting to factory settings.
Step-by-step instructions for uninstallation through ADB
The process of uninstallation is as follows: After connecting the phone and opening the command line on the PC, type a command to get a list of all packages: adb shell pm list packages. To find a particular application, use a filter, for example: adb shell pm list packages | grep miui.
To remove a found packet, use the command adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 packet name. The flag --user 0 means that the application is removed only for the current user, but physically remains in the system partition, which makes it easy to restore it if necessary by simply resetting the settings.
adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.miui.msa.global
adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.xiaomi.joyoseIf you delete the extra and want to get it back, use the adb shell cmd package install-existing name to return the application to its place without having to flash the device back, making ADB the safest way to customize.
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Use the adb shell pm list packages -u command to see a list of already deleted packets, which will help you avoid confusion if you decide to clean in several steps.
Impact of cleaning on productivity and battery
Many users expect instant performance gains after removing system debris, and the reality is that on today's Snapdragon or MediaTek processors, the difference in interface speed may not be obvious, but background activity does decrease, which has a positive effect on battery life.
Analytics and ad units constantly wake the processor to transmit data or download new advertising, and turning off these processes reduces the load on the radio and CPU, which is especially noticeable in standby mode, the smartphone is less warm in your pocket and more slowly discharged at night.
Freeing RAM is another important aspect: System applications often have high priorities and occupy a place in RAM that could be used to caching commonly used user applications, which can reduce the number of tabs rebooted in the browser or games.
It’s worth noting that once the firmware update system is cleaned, some remote components can be reinstalled, and this is normal behavior for global firmware to re-enter the Xiaomi ecosystem.
Frequent questions and problems after removal
In the process of optimization, users often face unusual situations, and the following are answers to the most popular questions that will help avoid panic and solve problems.