Xiaomi Redmi Cleanup: What Preinstalled Apps Can Be Removed

Owners of Xiaomi and Redmi smartphones often face a situation when after buying the device is filled with dozens of unnecessary programs. Pre-installed applications, or bloatware, take up precious space in internal memory and can significantly slow down the operation of the MIUI or HyperOS operating system. Many users wonder: what happens if you remove system components, and will not turn the phone into a “brick”?

Modern firmware versions allow deep cleaning without obtaining superuser rights (root), which opens up wide opportunities for customization of the interface and freeing up the resources of the processor. However, it is important to proceed with caution, since Android system services are closely interconnected, and removing a key component can lead to cyclical reboot or inoperability of individual functions, such as the camera or notifications.

In this article, we will discuss in detail which packages can be safely uninstalled and which are best left alone. ADB-We will also make an up-to-date list of “safe to remove” software for most Redmi models.

Risk assessment before removing system packets

Before embarking on radical cleanup measures, you need to understand the architecture of the operating system. Android is designed so that some applications are dependencies for other processes. Removing an innocuous component can disrupt the chain of operation of important services. For example, removing Google services can lead to incorrect navigation and third-party applications from the Play Market.

Especially careful should be the owners of devices with global firmware, where basic optimization for the international market has already been carried out. In the Chinese versions of MIUI, the amount of pre-installed software is much higher, and there the cleaning gives a more noticeable result. Always assess the need for a particular program: if you do not use it and it does not affect the operation of the system, it can be removed.

⚠️ Warning: Before starting any manipulations, be sure to create a complete backup of data. ADB irreversibly without reinstalling the firmware or resetting to factory settings.

There is a myth that removing all Google services will speed up the phone at times, which in practice often leads to unstable push notifications and contact synchronization failures, and the best approach is to selectively remove only those components that you are 100% sure of.

Removal methods: standard and advanced

The easiest way to get rid of excess software is to use the standard settings menu, which is safe because the system will prevent you from removing critical components. Go to Settings → Applications → All applications, select an unnecessary program and click “Delete.” If the button is inactive, then the application is system and requires deeper intervention.

To remove embedded system applications that cannot be removed through settings, the Android Debug Bridge (ADB) toolkit is Google’s official tool for controlling your device from your computer, and you’ll need to download platform tools for your PC, enable USB debugging in the Developer Menu, and connect your smartphone with a cable.

The process of uninstalling through ADB is as follows: after connecting and logging in on your phone screen, you type a command to uninstall a specific package. This requires knowing the exact package name, such as com.miui.videoplayer.

There are also graphical shells for ADB, such as Xiaomi ADB/Fastboot Tools or Universal Android Debloater. They greatly simplify the process by providing a list of packages with descriptions and buttons for removal. Using such utilities reduces the risk of human error when typing commands, but requires installing additional software on the computer.

Categorization of Removable Software: What You Can Touch

All pre-installed apps on Xiaomi can be divided into several categories according to the degree of danger of their removal. The first group includes third-party applications that are not part of the Android or MIUI system. These are games, social networks, hotel reservation programs and marketplaces, which are often pre-installed in regional firmware.

The second group is Xiaomi services that duplicate Google or standard apps, including Mi Browser, Mi Video, Mi Music, GetApps, which can be removed if you use alternatives from Google or third-party developers, removing them will free up space and turn off the background processes that collect telemetry.

• 🎮 Games and entertainment: Amazon Shopping, eBay, Booking, various casual games - delete without a doubt.
• 🌐 Browsers and search: Mi Browser, Yandex (if you do not use), Google News – safe to delete if there are alternatives.
• 📺 Xiaomi Multimedia: Mi Video, Mi Music, Mi Remote (if you do not need an IR port) - replaced by third-party software.
• 📊 Analytics: MSA (MIUI System Ads), Mi Credit, Mi Pay (if not used) NFC Payment – can be deleted to enhance privacy.

The components of the MSA (MIUI System Ads) advertising system deserve special attention, and this process is responsible for displaying ads in system applications, removing or disabling it is the first step to comfortable use of a smartphone, and removing packages associated with the Xiaomi cloud, if you are not using the ecosystem of this brand, is also worth considering.

Security table: list of packets to remove

For ease of navigation, we have compiled a table with the most common packages found on Redmi devices, which shows the degree of risk and a brief description of the function. Remember that package names may vary slightly depending on the version of MIUI and the region.

Special attention should be paid to the com.xiaomi.joyose package. Often, removing it helps reduce CPU heat and remove trottling in games, although in some cases it can affect the work of the themes of the design, uninstallation of this component is popular among gamers who want to squeeze the maximum performance.

Critical components: what to remove is prohibited

There are a number of system libraries and services that are guaranteed to cause a device or bootloop to run, most notably Android frameworks and basic Google services, and even if you don’t think you’re using them, they’re essential to running most apps.

Never delete packages that contain framework, system (without specifying the brand), settings, phone (calls), sms (messages) and contacts (contacts). The absence of the Phone application will make it impossible to make calls, and deleting Contacts will lead to the loss of the entire phone book, even if it is synchronized with the cloud.

⚠️ Warning: Deleting com.google.android.gms (Google Play Services) will disrupt push notifications, map geolocation, and authorization in many apps (YouTube, Gmail, banks) and do so only with complete confidence in your actions.

Also, you should refrain from removing standard MIUI components, such as Security, com.miui.securitycenter. This control center is responsible for permissions, memory cleanup, antivirus and second space operation, without which you will lose control over many system settings and will not be able to control the autorun of applications.

Recovery of Remote Applications and Troubleshooting

If after removing the system application, the smartphone began to behave incorrectly, or you accidentally deleted something important, do not panic. ADB without completely erasing the system partition (if root rights were not obtained), deleted packets can be restored by the reinstal command. ADB shell.

If the phone is booted (infinitely restarted), you will need to log in to Recovery mode. On most Xiaomi, this is done by pressing the Volume+ and Power button. On the Recovery menu, you need to select Wipe Data, which will return the phone to factory status by deleting all user data, but restoring system files.

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Use the Disable Service app from Play Market for secure testing, which allows you to freeze applications without completely removing them, and if everything works fine after freezing, you can delete the app permanently.

To minimize the risks, it's recommended that you don't delete applications en masse. The exclusion method works best: you delete one or two packets, you reboot, you check the main functions.--Or, move to the next item on the list, and this approach will allow you to accurately identify the problem component in the event of a failure.

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The rule of thumb for system modification is never to remove components that you don't know what they're supposed to be, and it's better to leave an extra app than to lose the ability to use your phone.

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