How to Disable Bixby on Samsung Devices
Samsung's built-in voice assistant, Bixby, comes pre-installed on most modern Samsung Galaxy phones, tablets, and even some smart appliances. For users who prefer Google Assistant, prefer silence, or simply find accidental Bixby activations frustrating, disabling it is a reasonable goal — but the steps vary significantly depending on your device model, Android version, and how completely you want to remove Bixby from your experience.
What Bixby Actually Is (and Why It's Persistent)
Bixby isn't a single app — it's a layered ecosystem made up of several components:
- Bixby Voice — the voice assistant activated by saying "Hey Bixby"
- Bixby Key — the dedicated hardware button found on older Samsung devices (Galaxy S8 through S10 series)
- Bixby Routines — an automation tool for scheduling device behaviors
- Bixby Home — the left-swipe panel showing news and recommendations
Each component can be disabled or restricted independently, which is why "disabling Bixby" means different things to different people. A complete removal is generally not possible without rooting your device, since Bixby is a system-level application — but you can silence it almost entirely through standard settings.
Turning Off the "Hey Bixby" Wake Word
The most common complaint is accidental voice activation. To disable the wake word detection:
- Open the Bixby app (or say "Hey Bixby" once to launch it)
- Tap the three-dot menu (top right corner)
- Go to Settings
- Select Voice wake-up
- Toggle it off
This stops Bixby from listening for your voice in the background. It does not uninstall Bixby, but it does remove the always-on microphone activation — which is what most users actually want.
Remapping or Disabling the Bixby Button 🔘
On Samsung devices released between 2017 and 2019 (S8, S9, Note 8, Note 9, S10 series), a dedicated Bixby side key is present. Early software versions gave users no option to remap it. Later software updates from Samsung introduced a native remapping feature:
- Press and hold the Side key (or Bixby key)
- When Bixby opens, go to Settings
- Look for Side key settings or navigate to Settings > Advanced features > Side key
- Change the press action to open Camera, Power off menu, or another app
On newer Samsung devices (S20 and later), the dedicated Bixby key was removed. The side key now doubles as the power button, and you can configure single press, double press, and press-and-hold behaviors directly in Settings > Advanced features > Side key.
Disabling Bixby Home (The Left-Swipe Panel)
If you swipe left from your home screen and land on Bixby Home instead of a widget page, here's how to remove it:
- Pinch inward on your home screen to enter edit mode
- Swipe to the leftmost panel (Bixby Home)
- Toggle the switch at the top to off
This hides the Bixby Home panel entirely without affecting other Bixby features.
Disabling Bixby Routines
Bixby Routines is a separate feature from Bixby Voice — it runs automation tasks based on conditions like time, location, or connected devices. If you don't use it:
- Go to Settings > Advanced features > Bixby Routines
- You can disable individual routines or simply stop adding new ones
- On some One UI versions, you can disable the feature entirely from the app's settings menu
What You Can't Do Without Rooting
Samsung classifies Bixby as a system app, which means standard Android package management won't let you fully uninstall it. You cannot:
- Remove the Bixby app via the Play Store or standard app settings
- Prevent it from appearing in the app drawer
- Fully remove it from the system without developer tools or root access
That said, you canforce stop and disable Bixby Voice through the standard app info page, which prevents it from running in the background:
- Go to Settings > Apps
- Tap the three-dot menu and enable Show system apps
- Find Bixby Voice and tap Disable
This is as close to "off" as most users can get without advanced methods.
How the Experience Differs Across Device Types
| Device Generation | Bixby Key? | Remap Natively? | One UI Version Available |
|---|---|---|---|
| Galaxy S8 / Note 8 | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (early firmware) | One UI 1.x |
| Galaxy S9 / Note 9 | ✅ Yes | ✅ Partial | One UI 1.x–2.x |
| Galaxy S10 / Note 10 | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | One UI 2.x |
| Galaxy S20 and later | ❌ No | ✅ Side key | One UI 3.x+ |
| Galaxy Fold / Flip series | ❌ No | ✅ Side key | One UI 3.x+ |
The Variables That Determine Your Experience
How effectively you can disable Bixby — and whether doing so creates any friction — depends on a few factors that differ from user to user:
- Your One UI version: Newer versions of Samsung's software give users far more control over the side key and system apps than older firmware did
- Your device model: Older flagships with a dedicated Bixby key require different steps than newer ones
- Which parts of Bixby you actually use: Some users unknowingly rely on Bixby Routines for automations they set up and forgot about
- Whether you've set up a third-party launcher: Some launchers (like Nova) bypass the Bixby Home swipe panel altogether
- Your comfort level with developer settings: Fully disabling system-level Bixby components through ADB commands (Android Debug Bridge) is possible without rooting, but requires connecting to a PC and running command-line instructions
The difference between a user on a Galaxy S22 running One UI 5 and a user on a Galaxy S9 still on older firmware is substantial — both in available options and in how much residual Bixby activity remains after trying to shut it down.