How to debloat your Xiaomi 15 Ultra without root access

39 pointsposted 20 hours ago
by spacedrone808
(trackerninja.codeberg.page)

40 Comments

PorciiVorbesc

19 hours ago

Yeah but does all this stick after the next major OS update?

THat's why I avoid all these top bang for the buck Chinese phones with amazing HW. Fighting the bloatware and spyware is too much hassle.

spacedrone808

19 hours ago

You didn't read a single line from the post if you are asking such question.

I am using this phone because of the camera, this is the only reason.

krzs9

19 hours ago

Rather rude tone to take for a reasonable question.

You do note in the article that you are locking at Android 16 - so the cost of following this guide is no security updates thereafter? That is a rather high cost (IMO immediate disqualifier), it is reasonable to discuss it and I don't see why you think it appropriate to rudely dismiss it.

Its great that you use the phone only for the camera. But you decided to post this as a guide and people who use their phones as a general-purpose device might be interested in discussing it too. The specificity of your particular use-case is nowhere visible in the article.

spacedrone808

18 hours ago

i didn't want to offend anybody.

Android come to the point where you choose so-calles "security" trading all your data (read privacy) to random guys in the cloud. Every person choose his own wisdom.

I mentioned my needs in the article and i use device as a phone also.

rerdavies

8 hours ago

If you mentioned your needs in the article, I don't see it. You need to explicitly state somewhere that you are only interested in the camera app and the phone app. I mean I guess it's obvious that you're going to end up with a phone where nothing works. But still...

spacedrone808

3 hours ago

I'll add some clarification in the top of the article, good suggestion

kakacik

18 hours ago

We discuss phones here, which on 2026 host ton of important and sometimes critical functions. Security is #1 concern for anybody at least a bit smart, you can't ignore reality of 2026.

I love photography, but this is exactly reason why I dont consider chinese phones at all, even if they would be for free (carrying it as pure camera phone around - then I can buy proper camera with much better results ie in night and ergonomics anf dedicated battery).

Too cheap phones = I am the product, or my data are.

MichaelRo

19 hours ago

I had many Xiaomi phones roughly from 2014 to 2024 and all were chock full of software bugs, going worse in more recent phones up to the point I couldn't take it anymore and bought a Samsung.

I will never go back to Chinese crapware. The hardware is useless without stable software and what they have is a sad impression of such. Couldn't care less if Xiaomi puts a trillion zillion gigs of RAM and CPUs and cameras and shit, wouldn't pay one dollar for their flagship phone, not to mention asking comparative prices to top Samsung, lol. Never again Chinese!

spacedrone808

18 hours ago

The only reason i use this phone is periscope camera and it's quality, there is simply no other manufacturer who delivers such things.

arend321

17 hours ago

I was afraid of this but switched from Samsung to an Oppo Find X9 Ultra anyway as the new Samsung S26 Ultra feels stuck in the past. I was pleasantly surprised with ColorOS. The only thing Samsung has going for it is OneUI. OneUI is better, but not by a lot.

spacedrone808

16 hours ago

Oppo is also superior as cameraphone comparing to Samsung

mono442

18 hours ago

This matches my experience with xiaomi phones.

hagbard_c

17 hours ago

I may have been lucky then with my Redmi Note 5 Pro (and a similar one for my daughters), possibly because the first thing I did with these phones was root them, remove all bloatware, remove all Xiaomi-specific apps including the 'Mi account'-related things, remove the Googly bits, add F-Droid and install free software. Never had problems with the things for 8 years, I'm currently running one of them with LineageOS 23.2 (Android 16), the other lost its screen so it is playing Linux server. Good hardware, possibly questionable firmware but that can be mitigated. I was forced to move to a new device with NFC (a Motorola G75) by the same app - Swedish BankID (and this time also Dutch DigiD) - which forced me to move from the Motorola Defy+ to the Redmi Note 5 Pro all those years ago. In another 8 years time they'll probably force me to move yet again for reasons as of yet unknown. Since I also used the Defy+ for about 8 years this seems to be the current practical lifetime of an Android device, at least for me. Those now 16 year old Defy+ devices still work but Android 4.4 has gone out of fashion quite a while ago. They are still usable for other purposes though, as trailer camera, sensor device, music player and more.

general1465

6 hours ago

> THat's why I avoid all these top bang for the buck Chinese phones with amazing HW

I mean Apple and MacOS is not much different. Can you i.e. delete Apple Stocks application without disabling SIP?

nobody42

16 hours ago

https://github.com/Universal-Debloater-Alliance/universal-an...

bityard

16 hours ago

I skimmed the docs for this but couldn't find an answer: Is there something that says what each of those services is actually for and what the trade-offs are for disabling them? Clearly not all of them are strictly bloatware. (Some people probably need com.android.bluetoothmidiservice.)

overflowy

16 hours ago

Yes, you can use Canta[1]. When you select an app, it also provides you with some info (sometimes a bit vague) about what the app does. I used it to debloat my Oppo X9 Pro.

[1] https://github.com/samolego/Canta

spacedrone808

16 hours ago

Well known application, but i chose to do things manually in my way and without puter at all

rationalist

17 hours ago

It says they're freezing at Android 16 because Android 17 has more tracking and that kind of stuff, but then they go on to recommend Nova Launcher which sold out and has ads and who knows what else?

spacedrone808

17 hours ago

Nova version 8.1 no ads at all, way better than native junk

protimewaster

14 hours ago

They should probably explain that, though, since right now they've simply got a link to the website that's hawking the current version.

Markoff

2 hours ago

as Nova Launcher user for more than 10 years I can recommend Lawnchair Launcher, no issues with switching or missing features

https://lawnchair.app

there is no point recommending Nova Launcher for years, it is like recommending QuickPic...

spacedrone808

2 hours ago

Thanks for recommendation, i'll look into it

Markoff

3 hours ago

the whole article is unreadable, so I will write here my whole article with same content in headline:

"How to debloat your Xiaomi phone: Install Shizuku + Canta and read Canta descriptions"

that's all, much shorter and better readable than that horrible website

esafak

17 hours ago

Are the pics that good?

spacedrone808

17 hours ago

Neither Apple nor Samsung are capable of delivering this level of quality, they are just outsiders in terms of cameraphone features.

rTX5CMRXIfFG

16 hours ago

Honestly this level of snobbery is reserved for D/SLR cameras

yunohn

16 hours ago

I have the same phone. And I also use it just as a camera - it truly is that good! Gotta try it yourself to believe it maybe.

greatgib

13 hours ago

Something pretty crazy is that, in its early days, Xiaomi gained traction as a smartphone manufacturer because its devices offered incredible hardware for the price. At the same time, Xiaomi provided its own Android skin with virtually zero bloatware, while giving users an insane level of customization to make the experience fit their needs perfectly.

But that was before, now they pack more bloatware than samsung devices.

Markoff

3 hours ago

that's just not truth, MIUI was always bloated, but Xiaomi had great VFM + unlockable bootloader so nobody cared, nowadays is very difficult to unlock the bootloader, though you can achieve similar result with Shizuku and other tools which take advantage of Shizuku, the VFM ain't that good anymore, same goes for now discontinued OnePlus

inigyou

17 hours ago

Xiaomi openly violates GPL too. If you email them for source code they won't provide it and if you press it they will just say haha sue us, or ghost you.

hodanli

19 hours ago

I hate that this is still a reality in 2026.

LoganDark

18 hours ago

the trick I use is that `adb disable-user` still works without root and it works on anything, including even the most privileged system-level apps. some phones detect this and actually brick themselves (looking at you Samsung Knox), but a lot of phones don't notice at all.

Downside of course is that if you use multiple users, you'll have to repeat it for each user.

colincowardly

17 hours ago

If you don't like the Xiaomi experience, don't buy a Xiaomi phone. Xiaomi ships an intentional set of features and apps that deliver what they believe is a best-in-class smartphone experience.

isaacaggrey

16 hours ago

If you bought the device, then you have the right to do what you want with the device (modify, tweak, repair).