How to permanently disable application updates on Xiaomi: instructions for MIUI and Google Play

Automatic app updates on Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones often cause unexpected problems, from sudden traffic consumption to software failures after “updates.” Many users find that the system ignores data saving settings or installs updates in the background even when the device is connected to the mobile Internet. In this article, we will examine all possible ways to disable auto updates – both through standard MIUI settings and using hidden Google Play features and third-party tools.

The feature of MIUI firmware is the duplicative update mechanisms: in addition to the Google Play Market, the built-in Xiaomi application manager (com.miui.packageinstaller) is responsible for this. This guide will help to disable auto updates in just one place. We will look at solutions for different versions of MIUI (12 to 14), and also focus on problems with system applications that are often updated forcefully. If you want to completely block the background installation of updates, including hidden services, this guide will help to do this without root rights.

Why is Xiaomi forced to update apps?

The manufacturer motivates automatic updates of applications for three key reasons, which are officially voiced in the MIUI documentation:

• 🔒 Security: Closing vulnerabilities in older versions of programs that can be used to hack into a device.
• 📱 Compatibility: adapting applications to new versions of Android and MIUI, avoidance.
• 🎯 Advertising policy: many pre-installed services (Mi Browser, Mi Video) are updated to show relevant advertising.

However, in practice, users face less obvious consequences:

• 📉 Uncontrolled traffic: Updates can eat up to 1-2 GB per month, especially if you have a lot of games installed.
• 🔋 Battery discharge: background update installation activates processor and communication module, reducing battery life.
• 🚫 Failures: Newer versions of apps aren’t always optimized for a particular smartphone model (e.g., Redmi Note 8 on the phone). MIUI 12.5 May Be Slowing Down After Google Chrome Update).

It is important to understand that Xiaomi divides apps into two categories:

1. System (Mi Security, Theme Store) – Updated via Settings → About Phone → Update MIUI.
2. Third-party (from Google Play) – managed through the store settings.

For full control, you will have to configure both systems separately.

Method 1: Disabling Auto Updates in Google Play

The most obvious method is to set up Google Play Market, but there are nuances: In recent versions of the app (35.0+), the update algorithm has become more aggressive, and standard settings can be reset once the device is rebooted.

To permanently ban auto-updates:

1. Open the Google Play Market.
2. Slip on the profile avatar in the upper right corner → Settings.
3. Select Network → Auto-Update Applications.
4. Set the value of Never.
5. Additionally, disable the option to Update apps automatically via Wi-Fi (if it is active).

Then check if your settings are reset in 1-2 days, and if so, your device is running a background process called com.google.android.gms, which enforces updates.

For devices with MIUI 14 and later, there is another hidden parameter:

adb shell settings put global auto_update_app false

This command disables auto-updates at the system level, but requires USB-debugging and PC connections.

Method 2: Block Updates with MIUI Optimized Setup

In the firmware MIUI 12.5-14 has a hidden menu MIUI Optimized Setup, which is responsible for background processes, including updates, can be accessed through the set USSD-code ADB.

Instructions for MIUI 13/14:

1. Open the Phone app.
2. Enter the combination: ##284### (some models run ##6484##).
3. In the menu that appears, select MIUI Optimization → Auto Update.
4. Turn off all switches associated with App Update and Background Update.

If the code doesn’t work, use ADB:

adb shell am start -n com.android.settings/.MiuiOptimizeActivity

After optimizing, the system will stop forcing updates even to system applications, but this can affect the stability of some functions (for example, Mi Share or Game Turbo).

Method 3: Limiting traffic for updates

If you can't completely disable auto updates, you can block Internet access for the services that download updates, and this works even without root rights.

List of processes that should be limited:

How to limit traffic:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Find the right app by name or package (use search).
3. Select Mobile Data and Wi-Fi → Turn off the switches.
4. For Google Play Services, turn off Background data transfer.

⚠️ Note: Blocking com.google.android.gms may disrupt Google services (maps, contact sync, push notifications). If Telegram or WhatsApp messages stop coming after the restriction, return the settings back.

Method 4: Removing System Application Updates

Xiaomi system applications (Mi Security, Mi Video, Theme Store) are updated through the MIUI Update, and they cannot be disabled by standard methods, but you can roll them back to the factory version to block further updates.

Instructions:

1. Install. ADB on the PC and connect the phone with the switched on USB-debugging.
2. Execute the command to view the list of packages: adb shell pm list packages -f
3. Find a system application (e.g. com.miui.securitycenter for Mi Security).
4. Roll it back to the factory version: adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.miui.securitycenter

Once rolled back, the application will stop updating, but some features (such as virus scanning in Mi Security) may not work properly.

💡

If the application has been updated again after rollback, check the settings Settings. → The phone. → Update MIUI → Settings (⚙) → Auto-update system applications and disable this setting.

Method 5: Using Magisk and Xposed (for advanced users)

If standard methods fail, you can modify the system via Magisk or Xposed, which will block updates at the kernel level, but requires an unlocked bootloader and root rights.

The most effective modules:

• 🔧 App Systemizer – Converts custom applications to system ones so they don’t update through Google Play.
• 🚫 Play Store No Auto Updates – Disables Auto Updates in Google Play Market.
• 🛡️ MIUI Blocker – Blocks background processes MIUI, including updates to system applications.

Installation:

1. Install Magisk Manager and unlock Bootloader (instructions for Xiaomi: official website).
2. Download the desired module in.zip format.
3. Install it through Magisk → Modules → Install it from storage.
4. Reset the device.

⚠️ Note: Using Magisk may result in loss of warranty and problems with MIUI OTA-On some models (Xiaomi) 12T, Redmi K50) After installation of modules, Widevine stops working L1 (no HD Netflix).

What do you do if nothing helps?

If all of these methods fail, radical measures remain:

• 📵 Turning off the Internet for Google Play via the firewall (NetGuard or AFWall app)+).
• 🔄 Reverse to the old version MIUI (14 to 13, where auto-update mechanisms are less aggressive.
• 📱 Install custom firmware (LineageOS, Pixel Experience), where there are no built-in services Xiaomi.

For devices with MIUI 14 on Android 13+, there is another trick: you can freeze update services through ADB:

adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.android.vending


adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.miui.packageinstaller

This will completely block the Google Play Market and MIUI Package Installer, but you can manually install apps through APK-file.

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If you use Xiaomi with global firmware (MIUI Global), some system applications (such as Mi Browser) will update via Google Play, even if you have disabled auto-updates in the settings, in which case only blocking through Magisk or uninstalling the application will help.

FAQ: Frequent questions about updates on Xiaomi