Samsung Galaxy Note 8 – How to Disable Bixby

Smartphone virtual assistants are still not as great as users would like them to be. In many cases, the voice recognition software just isn’t advanced enough yet to keep up with different accents, dialects, and complex commands.

But not all assistants are alike. Some virtual assistants are still rudimentary in terms of responsiveness, and Samsung’s Bixby is one of these. It lags and makes it frustrating to schedule meetings, dictate text, call a friend, or change the streaming settings on your browser.

Bixby – Can You Turn It Off?

When the Galaxy Note 8 rolled out, its users simply had to get used to Samsung’s disappointing virtual assistant. It took some time until a software update made it possible to disable the poorly placed Bixby button.

Therefore, before you try disabling it, make sure that your Note 8 is up to date on its software. If you’ve got a brand new device, chances are that it won’t feature the required update to disable the Bixby button. This means you may have to manually install the update before making any changes.

Another thing you should note is that, on the Note 8, you can’t assign other actions to the Bixby button. The key only has two functions – enabling or disabling the Bixby smart voice assistant.

Disabling Bixby Features

Disabling Bixby Voice on the Note 8 is as simple as pressing the Bixby button. However, that button is much too easy to press by accident when you keep the phone in your pocket.

Here is how you can disable the button entirely:

1. Open the Bixby App
2. Tap Settings (gear icon in the top right corner)
3. Highlight and select the Bixby Key option
4. Set it to the second option

This will deactivate the Bixby button. However, you can still access Bixby Home by other means.

Here is how to disable Samsung’s virtual assistant for good:

1. Open the Bixby App
2. Tap Settings
3. Locate and select the Bixby Voice Toggle
4. Set it to OFF
5. Locate and select Bixby Labs
6. Set it to OFF
7. Locate and select Notifications
8. Turn all the options to OFF

This prevents the virtual assistant from responding to any voice commands.

How to Turn Bixby Back On?

Let’s say you want to give the virtual assistant one more chance. Here is what you can do:

1. Go to Settings
2. Select Apps
3. Scroll down, locate, and tap Bixby Home app
4. Tap Storage
5. Select Clear Data

Repeat the same process for all other Bixby apps – Bixby Service, Bixby Voice, etc.

This will reset the Bixby app to its factory settings by discarding all the changes you have made to its settings since.

A Final Thought

Bixby is considered a sub-par virtual assistant compared to Google Assistant or Siri. If you have a Galaxy Note 8, you can just use Google Assistant and spare yourself the annoyance.

Whether or not Bixby will improve in the future is hard to tell. The good news is that the virtual assistant can be easily disabled, even on older models like the Note 8. And, if you do need some assistance when making calls or watching videos, Google Assistant can offer the help you need.