One of the biggest grouse that people have against Xiaomi's phones is the presense of advertisements and huge bloatware, or the number of unwanted apps that form part of its MIUI custom skin.
We have seen a simple method to get rid of ads on any phone. Now let us remove these unwanted apps. Normally for removing system apps, one would need root access, but here is a simple method. This method can not only be used in Xiaomi, but in any android phone as well, regardless of the manufacturer and android version.
Step 1 : Use native Uninstall Tool
Use native Uninstall Tool to remove whatever is possible. Go to the Settings > Apps and click on Uninstall at the top. This will now show you a list of apps that can be uninstalled by the user on the phone. This will include apps installed by the user as well, so you will have to select which unwanted apps you need to uninstall.
Once you are done with this step, you will now have only the system apps to be uninstalled.
Step 2 : Install adb, fastboot and drivers on your computer
A. For Windows computer, please download and install the Minimal ADB and Fastboot Tool application.
B. For Ubuntu/Debian users, open terminal and install adb & fastboot.
Use these commands one after the other:
sudo apt update
sudo apt-get install adb
sudo apt-get install fastboot
sudo apt-get install android-tools-adb android-tools-fastboot
Once this is done, your computer is ready for action.
Step 3 : Enable USB Debugging on your phone
To remove system apps, we need to connect to the ADB or Android Debug Bridge and so we need to enable USB Debugging on the phone.
A. Enable Developer Options. These are hidden developer settings in your phone and need to be enabled. Go to Settings > About Phone. You will find a field called MIUI Version. Continuously tap on the same seven times and then you will get a heads up message that Developer Options have been enabled. (In many other phones, you will need tap seven times on 'Build Number')
B. Enable USB Debugging. Go to Settings > Additional Settings > Developer Options. In this you will have to enable USB Debugging, Install via USB, USB Debugging Security Settings. Once you enable, you will be shown a warning and then asked to accept. You will need to Accept these to enable USB Debugging.
(The warnings are shown because you are making system level changes)
Connect the phone to the computer using a good quality cable. You will get a pop up in your phone requesting to allow connection to the computer. Allow/Accept. Allow Windows to install any drivers it needs to in the background. It might take 2-3 minutes.
In some MIUI versions, you will be asked to connect to create and connect to a Mi Account before USB debugging gets activated. You can use your email or phone to create the same and link your phone to the Mi Account through Settings > Mi Account.
Once done your phone is connected to your computer in USB Debugging mode.
Step 4 : Connect using ADB and use the following commands.
In Windows, open the installed Minimal ADB and Fastboot Tool. In Ubuntu, open Terminal.
A. Check for ADB connection
Type the following command
adb devices
This will show a list of adb devices connected to the computer. You will see a device code listed. It should show description as device. If proper authorization is not given, you will see description as Unauthorized or Unrecognized.
Then type
adb shell
Now it will display shell@phonecodename. This means you have entered adb shell to continue your commands.
B. List all app packages installed. This is an optional step if you want to know the type of packages installed. Type
pm list packages -f
This will give out a full list of all app packages.
pm list packages -s displays a simplified list.
Note that each app package will be listed as 'com.android.xyz' or 'com.miui.pqr' format. You can make a list of all the packages that you need to uninstall. Remember that you should remove only those that do not affect your android system to work properly. Otherwise your phone will stop working properly. So remove only the ones you are confident will not affect the phone.
The app package name can also be obtained by checking the app details in Settings > Apps > XYZ App.
C. Uninstall unwanted packages. To remove the packages, type
pm uninstall -k --user 0 package name
Replace 'package name' with the actual package name of the app you want to remove.
It will take a few seconds to work and will give a Success or Failed message. Remember to type the code and not copy-paste from here as that might pop-up errors.
D. Codes for common MIUI bloatware
AntiSpam
pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.miui.antispam
pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.android.email
Facemoji Keyboard for Xiaomi
pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.facemoji.lite.xiaomi.gp
Feedback Services
pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.miui.bugreport
Games
pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.xiaomi.glgm
GetApps
pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.xiaomi.mipicks
pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.xiaomi.midrop
Mi Pay
pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.mipay.wallet.in
Mi Payment
pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.xiaomi.payment
Mi Recycle
pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.xiaomi.mirecycle
Mi Roaming
pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.miui.virtualsim
Mi Video
pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.miui.videoplayer
MSA - MIUI System Ads
pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.miui.msa.global
Music
pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.miui.player
Notes
pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.miui.notes
Recorder / Sound recorder
pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.android.soundrecorder
Scanner
pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.xiaomi.scanner
Screen Recorder
pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.miui.screenrecorder
SIM Activation Services
pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.xiaomi.simactivate.service
Wallpaper
pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.miui.miwallpaper
Weather
pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.miui.weather2
pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.miui.providers.weather
Yellow Pages
pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.miui.yellowpage
Some other apps that are not used by many. Remove only if you do not use these. Facebook Lite is an official app available on the Play Store and uses less data and battery than the official facebook app.
Google Duo
pm uninstall -k --user 0 om.google.android.apps.tachyon
Google Play Games
pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.google.android.play.games
Google Play Music
pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.google.android.music
Google Play Videos
pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.google.android.videos
Talkback
pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.google.android.marvin.talkback
Facebook Apps
pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.facebook.appmanager
pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.facebook.services
pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.facebook.system
By following the same method, any app can be removed from your phone.
Once you are done, head back to Developer settings and disable USB Debugging. Or even disable Developer settings.
Note: Screenshots & Images would be added soon!
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