Although the MIUI interface (created by Xiaomi as the interface of its smartphones) improves with each new version, the system applications are another matter. Many consider them “Bloatware”, meaning it is a collection of software that does little more than slow down your phone with little to no benefit. Others don’t care about the apps themselves, but are tired of receiving constant notifications about apps they barely use.
Whichever side you fall into, these solutions will help you disable system apps (including a method for those without root access) and get rid of some of the most annoying notifications.
Disable apps without root access in MIUI 12
Most users do not have root access to MIUI through their phones. This makes sense because root access allows you to do things that could damage your phone, such as deleting crucial apps and files, or allows you to configure the phone in unwanted ways.
Fortunately, MIUI 12 offers a way to get rid of system apps without going through the rigmarole of downloading and deploying an APK to gain root access. Follow these steps to manipulate (and remove) applications from your system:
- Navigate to “Settings” and tap “Display.”
- Disable “Dark Mode” (assuming it is active) as the mode interferes with this process of removing system apps.
- Open “Google Play Store” and tap your profile photo.
- Choose “Help & Feedback” from the resulting menu to bring up a “Support” screen.
- Select “Delete or disable apps on Android.”
- Navigate to “Delete installed apps” and click on the first dot to open “Application Settings”.
Delete the app
A limited number of MIUI system applications have no protection. This lack of protection allows you to simply uninstall the applications using the following process:
- Navigate to the app icon and hold your finger for a couple of seconds.
- Tap the “App Info” option to go to the app info page.
- Select “Uninstall” and tap “OK.”
Note that this method won’t work for most system apps on your device, although it’s worth a try in case you’re lucky and can disable an app by uninstalling it.
Use Android Debugging Bridge
If you don’t have access to the Google Play Store on your MIUI device, or you can’t disable system apps through the store for some other reason, you can use Android Debug Bridge (ADB). This is a risky method, as it involves playing with options normally reserved for developers. You will also need a Windows PC with Android SDK Platform Tools installed and a USB cable.
Assuming you have everything you need, combining the powers of your device and the Android SDK platform tools allows you to disable annoying system apps:
- Navigate to “Settings” and tap “About phone.”
- Tap the MIUI version displayed in the “About Phone” section seven times to access the “Developer Options” section.
- Use your PC to go to the folder where you installed ADB via the Android SDK Platform Tools you downloaded earlier.
- Right click on the ADB icon and select “Open in Windows Terminal”.
At this point, you have basically created a development environment on both your MIUI device and PC. Next, you need to connect the two to be able to modify the applications on your system.
- Use a USB cable (like the one that comes with your phone) to connect your MIUI device to your PC.
- Type “adb devices” in the command line of your PC and press the “Enter” key.
- Type “adb devices” again and run the command to reveal your phone’s serial number, which tells you that you have successfully created a connection.
- Run the command “adb shell” at the command prompt.
- Enter “pm list packages | grep ‘xiaomi” to get a list of all the apps on your device (including system apps) that you can play with
From here, you can repeatedly use the “pm uninstall -k —user 0 PackageName” command to uninstall any of the apps you see listed. Replace “Package Name” with the name of the application (you will see it in the list you just opened) to get rid of the system application.
If you find that the package (i.e. system app) you just removed was essential for your device, you can reinstall a package on your device using the following commands:
- Use a USB cable to reconnect your device to your PC and open an ADB command window.
- Type “adb shell” and press “Enter.”
- Use the command “pm install-existing PackageName” (with “PackageName” being the full package name) to restore a previously removed system application.
Use MIUI hidden settings app
Every phone running the MIUI user interface has hidden settings that developers use to modify how the phones work. With the Hidden Settings app for MIUI, available through Google Play Store, you can access those hidden settings to disable system apps:
- Download and install the Hidden Settings for MIUI App.
- Launch the app and select your Android version when prompted.
- Tap “Manage Apps.”
- Choose a system application and select “Disable” or “Uninstall.”
Note that disabling an app is a better idea if you don’t know what it does and want to test how your device works when it’s not running. Choose to uninstall only if you know that getting rid of the system app will not negatively affect your phone.
Block system app update notifications
Constant notifications from system apps on an MIUI device can feel like mosquitoes buzzing around your head that you need to keep chasing away. Some of these apps, including GetApps and Systems Apps Updater, may send multiple notifications per day. If you want to keep those apps installed but want to get rid of their notifications, you can do so using the device itself.
Disable GetApps notifications
- Navigate to “Settings” and tap “Applications.”
- Select “Manage Apps” and scroll until you see “GetApps.”
- Tap “GetApps” and choose “Notifications.”
- Turn off the “Show notifications” option.
Stop MIUI system apps dead
There is no denying that many of the apps classified as system apps on MIUI devices are actually just bloatware that does little more than take up space or send unwanted notifications. Getting rid of those apps can be easy, especially if you can access and uninstall them. But you may have to use more complicated means to gain developer-level access for more difficult apps.
