How to remove ads on the lock screen Xiaomi Redmi: 7 working ways

You picked up your Xiaomi Redmi to check notifications, but instead of time and date, the lock screen flaunts an intrusive advertisement for a game, credit offer or promotion from AliExpress. Is the situation familiar? It's not a virus or a system failure - that's how Xiaomi's aggressive monetization of MIUI firmware works. The company embeds ad units even into basic interface elements, including the lock screen, to offset the low price of smartphones.

In this article, we will look at all the possible causes of ads on the Redmi block (including the Note 10/11/12, Redmi 9/10/13C and others), and give 7 proven ways to disable it, from standard settings to radical methods for advanced users.

Why Ads Appear on Redmi's Lock Screen

Controlled ads on lockdown are part of the MIUI ecosystem and are activated in several scenarios:

• 📱 Regional firmware. In versions. MIUI In India, Indonesia and China, the adverts are sewn in at the system level (MIUI Global) does not contain it, but users often install "castom" builds for the sake of new features, receiving advertising in addition to the new features.
• 🔄 Update to the system after update to the new version MIUI (for example, MIUI 12 on MIUI 13/14) Advertising modules can be activated automatically, even if they were not previously available.
• 📦 Third-party applications: Some programs (especially from unverified sources) have permission to display over other windows (SYSTEM_ALERT_WINDOW) They can project advertising to the block.
• 🎯 Personalized recommendations: The system analyzes your actions (search queries, installed applications) and selects “relevant” advertising through Xiaomi Ads services.

Critical detail: Ads on the lock never appear on smartphones with MIUI firmware for the EU (EEA), as it violates GDPR. If you see banners, you either have the Asian version of MIUI, or third-party software loads them.

Before you get to the solution, check if the ads are virus-related.

1. Restart your phone in Safe Mode (press the power button → long tap on "Switch off" → "Safe Mode").
2. If there's no ad, it's a third-party problem. If there's any, it's the firmware.

Method 1: Disabling Advertising in MIUI Settings

The safest method is to use the built-in options of the system. Xiaomi provides the ability to disable some of the advertising modules, but not all:

1. Open Settings → Password and Security → Locking settings.
2. Find the "Recommendations on the Lock Screen" (or Lock Screen Recommendations) item and turn off the slider.
3. Return to the main settings menu, go to Settings → Additional → Special features → Advertising (the path may vary depending on the version of MIUI).
4. Turn off the options: 🔘 Personalized recommendations (personalized recommendations) 🔘 Advertising (Received recommendations)

If you don't have an ad item in your settings, your version of MIUI doesn't support disabling it through the interface, so move on to the following methods.

Disabled recommendations on the block|Advertising personalization turned off|Safe mode checked.|Updated firmware to the latest version-->

⚠️ Note: On some firmware (for example, MIUI 14 for Redmi Note 12) Disable Advertising option hidden, it may be necessary to change the system region to India or Russia in the Mi Account settings to see it.

Method 2: Resetting the Advertising ID (without root)

Each Xiaomi device is assigned a unique Advertising ID, which is used for targeted advertising, and resetting it can temporarily fix the problem:

1. Go to Settings → Google → Advertising (or Settings → Apps → Google → Advertising).
2. Click "Reset Advertising ID".
3. Turn off the option of "Personalized Advertising" (if any).

Steps to remove advertising packages:

adb shell


pm uninstall --user 0 com.miui.systemAdSolution # Main Advertising Module




pm uninstall --user 0 com.xiaomi.midrop # Advertising in Mi Drop




pm uninstall --user 0 com.miui.analytics # Analytics collection




pm uninstall --user 0 com.xiaomi.ab # Module A/B- of Advertising Testing

After you execute the commands, restart your phone. The ads on the lock should disappear. If not, it means that it is from another package (see the table below).

⚠️ Attention: Removing system packages can cause unstable phone operation.Before executing commands, make a backup through Settings → System system → Backup. If you have errors after deleting, restore the packets with pm install-existing.

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If ADB-Commands are not working, try to run adb shell pm list packages first | grep 'miui\|xiaomi\|ad' to see all the advertising packages on your device.

Method 4: Change the firmware region (for advanced)

Block ads are often tied to the firmware region, for example, in Indian and Chinese MIUI builds, they are sewn into the system level, whereas in European (EEA) they are not by default.

Instructions:

1. Install the Mi Tool app (such as Mi Flash or Xiaomi ADB/Fastboot Tools).
2. Connect your phone to your PC and select the “Change Region” option.
3. Choose Europe (EEA) or Russia (if available).
4. Confirm the change and wait for the reboot.

After the change of region:

• 🔄 Update the firmware through Settings → The phone. → Updating the system.
• 📱 Perform a reset settings (Settings) → System system → Resetting settings) to make changes effective.

The downside is that when you change region, some features (such as Mi Pay or local services) may be lost, and you may also risk locking your phone if you choose an incompatible region (such as China for the global model).

Method 5: Install custom firmware (for experienced)

If nothing works, you can replace the firmware completely with a modified version without advertising.

• 📱 MIUI EEA — Official European firmware without advertising (suitable for most Redmis).
• 🛠️ LineageOS or Pixel Experience - custom firmware based on pure Android.
• 🔧 Xiaomi.eu – unofficial assembly MIUI with remote advertising and additional features.

Firmware process:

1. Unlock bootloader through the official Mi Unlock tool (requires a Mi Account binding and wait 7-14 days).
2. Install a custom recap (TWRP) for your model.
3. Download the firmware (e.g. from xiaomi.eu) and run through TWRP.

Warning: Unofficial firmware may contain bugs, and unlocking the bootloader resets the phone to factory settings. Also, some features (such as Widevine L1 for watching Netflix in HD) may stop working.

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Custom firmware like Xiaomi.eu removes ads completely, but requires unlocking the bootloader and can take away warranties. Use them only if you are prepared for risks.

Method 6: Blocking Advertising via hosts file (root)

If you have root rights, you can block Xiaomi ad servers at the system level by editing the hosts file.

Instructions:

1. Install a file manager with root support (such as Root Explorer or Solid Explorer).
2. Go to /system/etc/hosts and open the file in the text editor.
3. Add the following lines at the end of the file: 127.0.0.1 ad.xiaomi.com 127.0.0.1 sdkconfig.ad.xiaomi.com 127.0.0.1 track.ad.xiaomi.com 127.0.0.1 data.mistat.xiaomi.com
4. Save the file and restart the phone.

This method blocks the connection to the ad servers, but does not remove the modules themselves. If the ad is already cached, you may need to clean up the data of the com.miui.systemAdSolution and com.xiaomi.msa.global applications.

Method 7: Radical measures (if nothing has worked)

If advertising remains despite all efforts, extreme measures remain:

1. Reverse to the old version MIUI. Some assemblies (e.g, MIUI 12.5) contained less advertising, you can flash it through Mi Flash, but it can lead to data loss.
2. Use an alternative launcher: Install a launcher like Nova Launcher or Lawnchair and set it up as a lock screen through applications like LockScreen Gestures.
3. If advertising is critically intrusive, consider POCO models (based on Redmi but with less advertising) or smartphones from other brands (Realme, Motorola).

Last tip: if you buy Xiaomi Redmi "hands-on", always check the firmware version through Settings → About phone. Asian builds (IN, CN) are almost guaranteed to contain ads on lock.

FAQ: Frequent questions about Redmi ads