Samsung’s Bixby Sucks. Here’s How to Turn it Off.
If you use Android, you probably use the Google Assistant. If you’re a Galaxy user, Samsung’s own Bixby can get in the way—especially with the Bixby button on the S8, S9, and Note 8. But there’s good news: it’s easy to turn off.
So, Why Is it Bad?
The thing with Bixby is that it’s not really horrible—it’s just unnecessary. Anything Bixby can do, Assistant can do better. Bixby Vision was arguably its most useful feature, but with the rise of Google Lens, even that isn’t so useful anymore. Sorry, Samsung.
But redundancy isn’t even the most annoying part of Bixby. It’s that stupid Bixby button that Samsung just had to throw on the side of the S8, S9, and Note 8. It’s a constant thorn in Galaxy users’ sides, mostly because it’s just too easy to mistake for the volume rocker.
Even if you’re kind of into Bixby (or at least want to give it a go before you decide to get rid of it altogether), you can continue to use it and just disable the button itself. So at least there’s that. We’ll cover all the details down below.
How to Disable the Bixby Button
In order to completely disable the Bixby button, you have to a least press it once, and then set up Bixby. Counter-intuitive to the endgame here, but that’s how it is.
If you plan on using Bixby, just without the button, you’ll want to take the time to set Bixby up properly. If you plan on not using Bixby at all, you can just breeze through the setup.
After you get Bixby set up, it’s time to disable that button. See that little cog icon at the top right? Tap it.
This opens a quick “Bixby Key” menu. The menu literally contains just the one toggle, so turn it off.
From now on, nothing will happen when you tap the Bixby Button. No more Bixby Home for you! The cool thing here is that if you still use Bixby voice for something (anything), you can still long-press the button to bring up Voice.
And if you want, you can now put that button to better use by remapping it with an app named bxActions. Good stuff.
How to Completely Disable Bixby
If you’re all about living that Google Assistant life and want nothing to do with Bixby at all, you’ll want to take things a step further and completely shut it down. Again, you’ll need to have Bixby set up first to do this, so run through the setup process if you haven’t already.
With Bixby up and running, give that hardware button a tap. If you disabled the button and then navigated away, just swipe over to the far left home screen on the stock launcher—this brings up Bixby Home.
Tap the three dots in the upper right corner, and then choose the “Settings” option.
Scroll down to the Voice section, and turn off the “Bixby Voice” toggle. Most all the options below it instantly gray out, meaning they’re disabled. That’s what you want.
There’s one last thing you’ll need to do to get rid of all traces of Bixby: shut down Bixby Home.
To do that, jump to the home screen and long-press it. Swipe over to the far left screen, which is the Bixby Home screen. At the top, turn off the “Bixby Home” toggle, and Bixby is gone forever. Or at least until you re-enable it.
How to Get Bixby Back
If you have a change of heart and want to give Bixby another go, you may be wondering how to get it back. You’ll have to start by re-enabling it in Bixby Home in the stock launcher by following the instructions in the previous section and turning the “Bixby Home” toggle back on.
After that, you can re-enable Bixby Voice in the Settings menu and the Bixby Button. Easy peasy.
It’s worth noting that you can mix and match things from the Bixby feature if you don’t want to completely get rid of it. For example, you could turn off the Bixby Button, but leave Bixby Voice and Bixby Home enabled. Or get rid of Home and use the Button. Or any other variation that you want.