Easily Disable Bixby on Your Samsung Galaxy Phone in 7 Ways

Ever find yourself accidentally triggering Bixby when you meant to hit the power button? Or maybe you just prefer Google Assistant. Regardless of the reason, Bixby can be a nuisance for some Samsung Galaxy phone users.

In 2024, Samsung has made it easier than ever to disable Bixby and customize your phone’s functionality to suit your needs better. In this article, I’ll walk you through various methods for disabling Bixby.

Along with disabling the Bixby Key, I’ll also show you how to disable the “Hi, Bixby” wake word, remap the Bixby Key, disable the Bixby Voice app, and even how to uninstall Bixby using ADB commands completely. So, if this is something you want to learn, keep reading.

How to Turn Off Bixby on Samsung Galaxy Phones

Even though Samsung doesn’t let you uninstall Bixby with just one tap, you still have options for silencing or disabling various Bixby features on your Samsung Galaxy phones and tablets. This guide will walk you through several methods, from remapping the Bixby button to completely turning off Bixby Voice — let’s explore.

1. Disable the Bixby Button on Newer Galaxy Phones

Usually long-pressing the Side key (Power button) on other manufacturer’s devices will turn off the device and that is along the expected line. However, on newer Samsung Galaxy phones such as the Galaxy S24, S23, S22, S21, and S20 series, things are a bit different than you’d expected. On these devices, by default, holding down the side key, it launches Bixby.

But the good thing is the Side buttons on these devices are multifunctional and easily customizable. A short press wakes the screen or turns it off, while a long press can bring up the power menu or launch Bixby (depending on your settings). You can even set it to open a specific app with a double press.

Here’s how to reprogram the Side key on your newer Samsung Galaxy to access the power-off menu instead of Bixby.

Step 1: On your Samsung Galaxy phone, swipe down from the top of the screen once to show your notifications panel. Then swipe down again to expand the quick settings.

Step 2: Tap the Power icon in the notification shade to open the Power off menu.

Step 3: Now tap on the Side button settings. From the Press and Hold section, choose the Power off menu.

And that’s it! By following these steps, you’ve taken control of the Side button. From now on, Bixby won’t launch with a long press anymore, and you’ve assigned the side button to the Power off menu. It’ll now bring up the power menu for quick shutdowns, restarts, or emergency calls.

2. Disable/Remap the Bixby Button on Older Galaxy Phones

If you own an older Samsung Galaxy phone like the S8, Note 8, S9, S9+, Note 9, or S10, you’ve likely experienced the frustration of the dedicated Bixby button. By default, a single pressing of this button will wake up Bixby.

Since this is a dedicated button there is no way you can completely disable it — Samsung wants you to use it for Bixby, or not at all. However, to prevent accidental activations of Bixby while holding the phone or when it’s in your pocket, you can switch it to require a double-press instead of a single one.

Step 1: Open the Settings app on your phone.

Step 2: Scroll down and tap on Advanced features. Tap on the Bixby Key.

Step 3: Finally choose Double press to open Bixby.

This is how you can choose what happens when you press the Bixby key on your older Galaxy devices. With it now set to open Bixby with a double press, the chances of unintentional launches will be reduced significantly.

3. Disable “Hi, Bixby” Wake Word Detection

We’ve focused solely on remapping the Bixby key in the previous steps outlined above. Bixby is still active on your device and running in the background, potentially draining your battery and increasing the risk of accidental activations — even if you don’t intend to use it.

Like Google Assistant listens for “Hey Google,” Bixby waits for its wake phrase, “Hi Bixby.” Even though it’s designed to be unique and avoid accidental activation. But if you never use Bixby and want to disable it altogether, here’s how to entirely shut off the “Hi, Bixby” wake word.

Step 1: Open the Settings app on your phone.

Step 2: Scroll down and tap on Advanced features then on the Bixby.

Step 3: Within the Bixby settings, tap on Voice wake-up and finally toggle it off on the next screen to disable the “Hi, Bixby” voice wake-up.

4. Leave Bixby and Disable the Bixby Voice App

While Samsung doesn’t allow you to uninstall Bixby from your device entirely, “Leave Bixby” is as close as you can get to achieving that. This nifty option lets you disable Bixby more simply, effectively removing your user data and putting Bixby to sleep.

Additionally, if you have multiple devices where you want to turn off Bixby, this option makes it easy to do so. However, note that if you decide to use Bixby again, you’ll need to sign up for your Samsung account on each device.

Step 1: Open the Settings.

Step 2: Scroll down and tap on Advanced features then on the Bixby.

Step 3: Now scroll down to the bottom and tap on Leave Bixby. Tap on Leave Bixby again and finally tap OK to confirm.

That’s how you can disable Bixby and erase all associated data using “Leave Bixby”. Additionally, to prevent accidental activations, you can disable the Bixby Voice app on your Samsung Galaxy by following these steps.

Step 1: Go to Settings and tap on Apps. From the apps list tap on Bixby Voice.

Step 2: While on the App Info page, simply tap on the Disable. Finally, tap on Disable app again to confirm.

This will ensure that Bixby won’t turn itself on again in the future.

5. Disable Bixby Home/Samsung Daily/Samsung Free

Samsung Free is the Samsung alternative to Google Discover — a news aggregator that appears on the leftmost panel of your home screen (aka media page). On the newer Galaxy devices, it’s called Samsung Free, and on the older devices, depending on the One UI version it may called Samsung Daily or Bixby Home.

While it aims to provide a list of curated content, it may not be for everyone as many users find that the majority of its offerings are subpar. Hence, If you prefer a clutter-free home screen or wish to switch to Google Discover, you can follow these steps.

Step 1: Go to Settings and tap on the Home screen.

Step 2: Now tap on Add media page to Home screen. Here, you can toggle it off to disable Samsung Free or choose Google Discover instead.

Disabling this won’t remove the media page forever. If you want you can easily get it back by enabling ‘Add media page to Home screen’ later.

6. Remap the Bixby Key to Something Else

You might already know that holding the Side button (power button) by default triggers Bixby. While you can remap it to access the power-off menu instead, what if you want something more? Here’s where Samsung’s Good Lock app comes in.

With a module called RegiStar from Good Lock, you can unleash the Side button’s potential. Using this module, you can remap the side key to trigger various actions such as toggling the flashlight, opening Google Voice Assistant instead of Bixby, capturing screenshots, and many more.

Step 1: First, download and open the Good Lock app from the Galaxy Store.

Step 2: Navigate to the Life up section. Scroll down and install the RegiStar module.

Step 3: Open RegiStar. You’ll see a prompt requesting permission to access certain functions on your phone. Grant these permissions so RegiStar can work properly.

Step 4: From the settings extensions of RegiStar, tap on Side-Key press and hold action. Next, turn turn the toggle on.

RegiStar offers a wide range of options to customize your long press action. The table below shows the actions you can assign to the long press of the side button on your Samsung Galaxy using the RegiStar module from the Good Lock app. Select any of the available actions that best suit your preferences.

Category	Actions
Quick Actions	– Capture and share a screenshot
	– Toggle the flashlight on/off
	– Mute/unmute all volumes
Navigation	– Display notifications
	– Show recent apps
	– Mimic the Back button
App Launch	– Launch Google Assistant
	– Open any app of your choice
Accessibility	– Enable/disable auto-rotate
	– Enable/disable live captions

7. How to Completely Remove Bixby Using ADB Commands

If you’re not happy with Bixby and prepared to bid it farewell — once and for all, here’s how to use ADB (Android Debug Bridge) to completely uninstall Bixby from your Samsung Galaxy phone or tablet — without rooting the device.

You can easily remove Bixby and other Bixby-related services by running a bunch of ADB commands from your PC. This works on both new and older Galaxy devices, regardless of whether they have a dedicated Bixby key.

For the unaware, ADB commands unlock a powerful toolbox for your Android device. These commands let you boot into various modes like Fastboot and Recovery, open a terminal on the device, and manage apps, including bloatware removal.

Using ADB commands might initially seem daunting for beginners, but don’t worry. I will walk you through each step, making it easy for beginners.

Step 1: First of all, Download and install Samsung USB drivers on your PC. (If you’ve connected your device to your PC before then the drivers might be already installed)

Step 2: Download the ADB platform tools for your specific operating system (Windows, Mac, or Linux). Once downloaded, extract the zip file into a folder you can quickly access.

• Download ADB Platform tools for Windows
• Download ADB Platform tools for Mac
• Download ADB Platform tools for Linux

Step 3: Now enable USB Debugging on your Galaxy device. To do so, go to Settings > About Phone > Tap on the Build number 7 times to unlock Developer options. Confirm your pattern and the Developer options will be turned on.

Step 4: Again go back to Settings > Developer options > Enable USB debugging. Accept the prompt to Allow USB debugging to finally enable it.

Step 5: Now, connect your Samsung Galaxy to the computer via a USB cable and change it from Charging phone only mode to Transfering files / Android Auto mode.

Step 6: On your computer, browse to the folder where you extracted the ADB platform tools. Once you head over to the platform-tools folder, type in CMD in the address bar, and hit Enter. This will launch the Command Prompt.

Alternatively, you can press Shift + right-click anywhere on the Windows Explorer screen and select Open Powershell Window here.

Step 7: Type in the following command in the CMD window and press Enter.

Step 8: If you’re running adb for the first time then you’ll see a prompt on the device asking to Allow USB debugging. Check Always allow from this computer and tap Allow.

Step 9: Run adb devices the command again and you’ll see your device listed there. If the terminal prints the serial number of your device, you’re ready to move on.

Step 10: Enter the following commands one by one in your terminal window.

The command line will display a “success” message upon successful uninstallation of each application.

Here’s a list of applications targeted by the commands above. Note that some of these applications might not be present on your phone depending on your specific Samsung model and One UI version.

It’s worth noting that although I’ve removed most Bixby features using the ADB commands above, I’ve kept the Bixby Routines enabled as I find it quite helpful for automating tasks.

Also, if you’ve disabled any wrong app or you may want to bring back an app you’ve just uninstalled, you can easily re-enable it using the following command:

This approach deactivates Bixby for your current user profile ( --user 0 ), and not for the entire system. Root access is necessary for system-wide app uninstallation.

While with this method, Bixby might reappear after a software update or factory reset, but it’s a safe approach. It won’t void your warranty and ensures you continue receiving regular official OTA updates from your carrier or OEM. Also, if you ever decide to bring Bixby back, you can reinstall it using ADB commands or by performing a factory reset.

Well, that’s it. We’ve now successfully removed Bixby and other Bixby-related apps via ADB commands. After this, there will be no trace of Bixby and other Bixby-related services/bloatware on your device.

Samsung’s Bixby: Not My Cup of Tea

I like to use a virtual assistant on my Samsung device as much as the next person does. However, I’m not too fond of Samsung’s preinstalled Bixby for many reasons. See, I’m not saying Bixby is completely useless — it can do most of my basic tasks like making phone calls, setting up alarms, taking screenshots, creating notes, and many more.

However, I don’t like Samsung’s approach to imposing their often-unwanted voice assistant on users to this extent. Firstly, if you buy a new Galaxy phone, by default, Bixby will be assigned to its power button (side key), so, whenever you press and hold the power button, Bixby will summon itself. To me, long-pressing the power button should do the task it is meant for — simply switch off the device.

Secondly, Google Assistant comes preinstalled on all Android devices, including Samsungs, and Google Assistant is a far better virtual assistant than Bixby. Many users find Google Assistant appealing due to its personalization features. It learns user preferences, adapts to their communication style, and offers helpful suggestions based on past interactions.

Bixby, on the other hand, feels slow, buggy, impersonal, and, lacks the connection we’ve built with Google Assistant. Thirdly, if you own an older Samsung Galaxy phone like the S8, Note 8, S9, S9+, Note 9, or S10, you’ve already experienced the frustration of the dedicated Bixby button. Ever since its introduction with the S8, this button has been a source of frustration for users.

Mainly because of how the button is placed and functions. Samsung’s decision to place the Bixby button right below the volume controls welcomes nothing but accidental presses. Also, you can’t remap the button to another function — Samsung wants you to use it for Bixby, or not at all.

Therefore, I don’t find any reason to use Bixby, and if you also resonate with me you can easily turn it off on your Samsung phone. With the methods explored in this guide, you can now choose how you interact with your phone, whether it’s disabling Bixby entirely with ADB, remapping the Bixby button, or silencing accidental wake-word activations.

Lastly, if you have any questions about this guide feel free to leave a comment below.