What applications are not needed in Xiaomi: clean smartphone from garbage

Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco smartphones often face the paradox of buying a device with a large amount of memory, they find that a significant portion is already occupied with preinstalled software. This phenomenon, known as bloatware, involves dozens of programs that can be not only useless, but also intrusive. Many of them consume CPU resources, consume battery power in the background and create information noise.

Deep cleaning not only frees up precious gigabytes, but also significantly improves the autonomy of the gadget. However, removing components at random can easily disrupt MIUI or HyperOS, turning the phone into a brick or losing critical functions. In this article, we will discuss which packages are safe to remove and which should be treated with caution.

Before taking drastic action, it is important to understand the difference between regular applications and system services: Simple programs can be removed through the standard menu, while hidden system processes often require the use of ADB (Android Debug Bridge) or specialized tools like Xiaomi ADB/Fastboot Tools.

Google Standard Apps: Duplicates and Excessive

Xiaomi smartphones come with a full range of Google services, which is the standard for Android. However, the manufacturer often adds its own counterparts, creating a duplicate of the functionality. For example, you can have both Google Chrome and MI Browser, or two different music players. Having two browsers is rarely justified.

If you don't use Google's ecosystem actively, you can disable or remove most of their apps by replacing them with lighter ones, such as Google TV, Google Play Music (which has already been replaced by YouTube Music), and various news services, removing these components reduces the load on RAM.

⚠️ Note: Do not remove Google Play Services (com.android.vending) is a critical system component that handles push notifications, third-party geolocation and authorization, and its removal will cause most programs to run insecurely.

For users who prefer minimalism, there is an option to replace heavy Google apps with their lightweight version (Go edition) or open source alternatives, which is especially true for low-cost models with low RAM.

• 🗑️ Google Play Movies and Books is a rarely used service that you can safely remove if you do not buy content from the Google Store.
• 🗑️ Google One – Cloud storage management app that often hangs in the background; you can uninstall if you don’t use a paid subscription.
• 🗑️ YouTube Kids is a standalone app for kids that takes up space if you don't have kids or use a restricted profile mode in the main app.

Advertising garbage and services Mi: MSA and Mi Credit

One of the most annoying features of the MIUI shell is the built-in advertising that is broadcast through system applications, which is the responsibility of the MSA service (MIUI System Ads), which disables or removes it is the first step to comfortable use of a smartphone, without this component, advertising in standard applications ("Conductor", "Themes", "Music") ceases to appear.

In addition, there are financial services in the firmware, such as Mi Credit and Mi Pay (in some regions), if you do not use Xiaomi credit products or Mi Pay (which is not supported in some countries), these applications only take up space, they can request permissions to access contacts and geolocation without an explicit need.

Removing the ad modules requires caution, because they are deeply integrated into the system. Simply removing the shortcut will not help - you need to delete the package itself through ADB or special debloaters, which will return you a clean interface without intrusive offers.

Also worth noting is Get Content, an alternative app store from Xiaomi that often sends notifications about "discounts" and "new games," and if you only use Google Play, you don't need that store.

System duplicates: conductors, browsers and galleries

The system often preloads multiple applications to perform the same tasks. For example, standard Xiaomi Explorer is functional, but if you are used to Total Commander or Solid Explorer, the system can be removed. The same goes for the Mi Browser browser, which, despite having a traffic saving mode, often contains news feed.

The gallery is another controversial point. The standard MIUI gallery can sync with the Xiaomi cloud, but many users prefer Google Photos or Simple Gallery. Deleting the standard gallery is possible, but requires installing an alternative, otherwise some applications (such as WhatsApp or Telegram) may not open the photo selection correctly.

Calendar and notes are classic examples of apps that can be replaced. If you sync with a Google account, standard Xiaomi apps will simply duplicate events, removing them frees up resources and removes unnecessary widgets from the desktop.

Always check if the reproduction works after removal.

Social Media and Games: Should You Keep It?

Many users are surprised to find social media shortcuts (Facebook, TikTok) or games pre-installed on a new phone, often not full-fledged apps, but "stubs" that, when clicked, offer to download content from the Internet, such shortcuts that take up space on the menu and are annoying.

If apps are installed but you don't use them, removing them is a hygiene issue. Social media is known for its high energy consumption and traffic in the background. Removing unnecessary Facebook or LinkedIn customers can significantly extend battery life.

• 🎮 Pre-installed games - almost always advertising partners and do not carry system load, but take up space.
• 📘 Facebook/Facebook Services – if you do not use this social network, delete it cả The main application and service packages, as they are deeply embedded in the system.
• 🛒 Online stores (AliExpress, Amazon) — often come with a bundle. If you don't use it, delete it, they often send out sales notifications.

For those who want to leave social media but don’t want heavy apps, there are Lite versions or web versions through a browser, which significantly reduces the device’s RAM.

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Use web versions of social media instead of apps, which will save up to 30 percent of your battery life and hundreds of megabytes of RAM.

Hidden System Processes: What You Can't Touch

In a deep cleaning through ADB There are a number of packages that, if you delete them, will result in a bootloop or loss of communication. SIM-Maps, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and Android frameworks.

For example, MIUI Daemon collects usage statistics and is safe to remove, but you can’t delete MIUI Security without settings and application permissions. You can also leave the Xiaomi Service Framework services that are responsible for Mi Account operation and synchronization.

⚠️ Warning: Before removing any system components, make sure to make a full data backup. An error in the packet name may lead to the need to flash the device with loss of all data.

Be especially careful with applications that have the words "System", "Framework", "Provider" in their name. Even if they seem useless, they can enable other, more important functions, for example, removing Print Service will turn off the ability to print, and removing NFC Service will work contactless payment.

Tools for safe cleaning: ADB and debloathers

Removing system applications that are not removed in the usual way will require a computer and a cable. USB. The most reliable method is the use of debugging by USB and command line ADB. This allows you to remove applications for the current user (--user 0), without affecting the system partition, which allows you to restore all factory reset.

There are also graphical shells like Xiaomi ADB/Fastboot Tools (from Szaki) or Universal Android Debloater.These programs automatically determine your smartphone model and offer a list of safe apps to remove, marking dangerous ones in red.

adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 name packet

This command is the main cleaning tool. It removes the application only for your user. If something goes wrong after deleting, the factory reset will return everything as it was. However, you should not remove more than 10-15 system applications at a time without checking the stability of the work.

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Using ADB to remove applications is safe, as it does not require root rights and makes it easy to restore remote through resetting settings.

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