How to Eliminate Bixby | Stop It From Launching

Bixby can’t be removed from most Galaxy phones, but you can stop it launching by changing the Side key behavior and turning off voice wake.

Your phone buzzed in your pocket, and when you pulled it out, the blue Bixby overlay was waiting instead of what you actually needed. Figuring out how to eliminate Bixby starts with an honest truth: you can’t fully uninstall it from most Galaxy phones without developer tools, but you can disable it so thoroughly it might as well be gone. The combination of changing how the side button works, turning off voice activation, and cleaning up home screen panels covers nearly every way Bixby can intrude.

Can You Actually Uninstall Bixby?

No. Samsung ships Bixby as a system-level component on most Galaxy phones, and normal settings menus don’t offer an uninstall option. Disabling the assistant — stopping it from launching through any shortcut — is the realistic goal for most users. On a few carrier-specific or unlocked devices, the app can be force-disabled through Application Manager, but even then the underlying service stays on the phone. The one method that gets closest to a full removal requires ADB commands from a computer and is reversible.

Disabling Bixby: What Actually Works and What Doesn’t

Each setting change blocks one specific way Bixby can activate. Turning off voice wake-up only stops the “Hi Bixby” trigger — the side button can still pull it up. Changing the Side key behavior only blocks the button shortcut — voice wake still listens. An effective disable stacks all of them. Below is the exact method for the most common Bixby annoyance: the button launch.

Change the Side Key or Bixby Key Setting

This is the single most important step. It redirects the hold action on the physical button so Bixby no longer opens when you accidentally hold the side key.

On recent Galaxy phones (Galaxy S20 and newer, running One UI 2.5 or later), open Settings and go to Advanced features > Side key. Tap Press and hold and select Power off menu instead of Wake Bixby. On older devices that use a dedicated Bixby button, the path is Settings > Advanced features > Bixby key, where you can choose a single-press or double-press action and set it to do nothing or open an app of your choice. Android Authority’s Bixby disable guide confirms this workflow across multiple Galaxy generations.

When you hold the side button, the power menu appears instead of the Bixby home screen.

Turn Off Bixby Voice Wake-Up

The button change alone isn’t enough if you want Bixby to stop listening. Open Settings, search for Bixby Voice, then open Bixby Voice Settings. Switch off Voice wake-up or Wake with Hi, Bixby. While you’re in there, turn off Use while phone locked, Marketing notifications, and Show notifications to minimize remaining Bixby reminders and pop-ups.

Saying “Hi, Bixby” does nothing. The phone no longer responds to the wake phrase.

Remove Bixby From Home Screens and Panels

The left-most home screen page on many Galaxy phones hosts a Bixby Home or Samsung News panel. Long-press any empty area on your home screen, swipe to the page on the far left, and turn off the toggle. On some One UI versions this also removes Bixby Routines shortcuts that appear near the notification shade.

Swiping to the left-most screen shows a clean homescreen or a setup prompt instead of Bixby cards.

Unlink Your Device From Bixby

Some Bixby settings menus include a way to remove your phone from the associated Samsung account. Inside the Bixby Voice settings or the main Bixby settings page, look for Unlink device or Leave Bixby. Tapping this removes the phone from your Bixby profile but does not uninstall the app — treat it as a cleanup step after you’ve already blocked the button and voice triggers.

The Bixby settings page shows no linked device under the account section.

The ADB Method for Complete Removal

If you want Bixby truly gone and are comfortable with a command line, ADB (Android Debug Bridge) can disable the relevant system packages. This works on most Galaxy phones but requires a computer and a USB cable.

Start by enabling Developer options: open Settings > About phone > Software information, then tap Build number seven times. Go back to the main Settings screen and open Developer options, then turn on USB debugging.

Connect your phone to your computer and authorize the connection when prompted. Open a terminal on your computer and run adb devices to confirm the phone is recognized. List the Bixby-related packages with pm list packages | grep 'bixby' — the output shows every Bixby component on your specific device. Disable each one with pm disable -k --user 0 <package.name>. To reverse the change later, use cmd package install-existing <package.name> for each component.

This method reaches deeper than the settings alone, but it varies by device and firmware. Some carrier-locked phones resist ADB disable commands, and disabling the wrong package can affect other Samsung services. Stick to packages containing “bixby” in their name and leave unrelated system components alone.

What Happens After Disabling Bixby

The phone runs normally. Samsung’s core services — notifications, camera, phone calls — are unaffected. Bixby Routines stops working if you used it, and the Bixby Vision feature in the camera app may not appear. No other system function depends on Bixby being active, so you won’t break anything by turning off its triggers.

To get the best result without ADB, follow this order:

• Change the Side key hold action to Power off menu
• Turn off Voice wake-up in Bixby Voice Settings
• Remove the Bixby Home panel from the left home screen
• Unlink the device from the Bixby account
• Use ADB to disable system packages if the button and voice changes aren’t enough

That stack covers every practical entry point. Bixby stays on the phone, but it stays silent and invisible — functionally eliminated for everyday use.