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How to completely disable Bixby on Samsung Galaxy S9 & S9+

It’s no secret that Samsung has been really pushing for people to use its virtual assistant, Bixby, since launching with the Galaxy S8. One of the ways its done that is by including a physical button on the left side of the phone that can only be used to launch Bixby. Here’s how to completely disable the virtual assistant on the Galaxy S9 and S9+

Steps to disabling the physical Bixby button

  1. Bixby button
  2. Bixby voice
  3. Bixby homescreen
  4. Enjoy

1. Bixby button

After setting up your handset, you will likely be walked through a quick tutorial on how to use Bixby and shown all of its magical AI powers. While you can’t disable Bixby in its entirety, but you just keep accidentally hitting the Bixby button under the volume rocker, there’s a quick way to disable the button’s functionality.

Either single press on the button to be taken to Bixby Home or swipe in from the left side on the main homescreen. From there, locate and tap on the gear icon at the very top of the interface. This should pop down a single option which allows you to disable the Bixby button. Just toggle that off, and the hardware button will now do nothing.

2. Bixby voice

Even with the button disabled, Bixby can still be called upon with the “Hey Bixby” voice action. To turn this off, swipe back to the Bixby Home screen and tap on the three-dot menu icon in the top right corner. From there, tap on Settings and then toggle off Bixby Voice.

3. Bixby homescreen

The last step is to completely remove the Bixby homescreen. From your Galaxy S9 or S9+’s primary homescreen, long press on an empty portion of your display. Next, swipe over to the left-most screen and toggle off Bixby Home.

4. Enjoy

With the Bixby button disabled, you no longer have to worry about any accidental presses or clicks. Unfortunately, Samsung is pretty adamant that it does not like users remapping the button to launch other apps or processes. Here’s hoping the company changes its mind one day or a developer finds a new way to bypass the security measures.

More: How to launch Bixby on the Samsung Galaxy S9 & S9+

If you have any questions, make sure to leave them in the comment section below or hit me up on Twitter.


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Avatar for Justin Duino Justin Duino

I’m a writer for 9to5Google with a background in IT and Android development. Follow me on Twitter to read my ramblings about tech and email me at justin@jaduino.com. Tips are always welcome.