How to permanently remove ads on the lock screen Xiaomi: official and hidden methods

Why does Xiaomi’s lock screen have ads and can it be removed?

The lock screen on Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco smartphones often turns into an advertising platform: banners with games, promotions from the Mi Store, offers to install apps or apply for a loan. This is not an accident, but part of the company’s business model. Unlike the Google Pixel or iPhone, where there are no ads on the lock in principle, MIUI (branded shell Xiaomi) monetizes even the system screens.

Reasons for the appearance of advertising:

• 📱 MIUI Ad Services is an integrated service that downloads advertising content from the Xiaomi cloud and is activated by default on all firmware devices for the global market (EEA, Global, India).
• 🔄 Firmware updates: after update MIUI Advertising services can be activated automatically, even if you have previously disabled them.
• 📦 Pre-installed applications (Mi Browser, Mi Video, GetApps) that are integrated into the system and have access to the lock screen.

The good news is that you can remove ads without root rights and without installing third-party programs. Bad — Xiaomi regularly changes the paths to settings, so the instructions for MIUI 12 may not work on MIUI 14. In this article, we have collected current ways for all versions of the firmware, including hidden options that are not written in the official documentation.

Method 1: Disabling Advertising through MIUI Settings (Official Method)

The easiest and safest way is to use the built-in system options. It is suitable for most models (Redmi Note 10/11/12, Xiaomi 11/12/13, Poco F3/F4/F5) and does not require technical skills. Importantly, after the MIUI update, the settings can be reset, so check them every 1-2 months.

Instructions:

1. Open the Settings. → Password and security.
2. Go to the screen lock section.
3. Click on Additional Settings (or Lock Settings in older versions of MIUI).
4. Find the Ads option on the lock screen (or Show recommendations) and turn off the slider.
5. Go back to the basic settings and go to Applications → Application Management → System Applications.
6. Find Msa (or MIUI System Ads) and turn off auto-start.

If the Ads item on the lock screen is not on the menu, then your version of MIUI is hiding it. In this case, move to Method 2.

⚠️ Note: Some Firmware for India Region (IN) The option to disable ads is blocked, in which case only the change of region to the EEA (Europe through Settings → Additionally. → Region. After the region changes, reboot the device.

Method 2: Using a Hidden Mipush Menu for Deep Cleaning

If standard settings don’t work, ads can come through the Mi Push Framework, Xiaomi’s notification system that is used to display banners, which requires commands to be entered through ADB (Android Debug Bridge), but does not require root rights.

Step-by-step:

1. Enable USB Debugging in Settings → About Phone → MIUI version (click 7 times, then go back to Additional Settings → For Developers).
2. Connect the phone to the PC and confirm the debugging permission.
3. Download ADB Tools and unpack the archive.
4. Open the command line in the folder with ADB and enter alternately:

adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.xiaomi.mipush.sdk


adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.miui.systemAdSolution

These commands disable the main modules responsible for displaying ads. After you do, restart the phone.

If after disabling com.xiaomi.mipush.sdk, notifications from banking applications (SberBank, Tinkoff) cease to work, turn the service back on with the command adb shell pm enable com.xiaomi.mipush.sdk.

💡

Before entering the ADB-command, check if debugging is enabled via USB: enter adb devices – if the device is displayed, you can continue.

Method 3: Blocking Advertising via DNS (without root)

If ads continue to appear, they may be from external Xiaomi servers, and DNS-level blocking will cut off connections to ad domains, which works on all versions of MIUI and does not require changes to the system.

How to set up:

1. Go to Settings → Wi-Fi (or Mobile Network if you use mobile Internet).
2. Click on the connected network and select Change Network → Additional settings.
3. In the DNS field 1 enter 94.140.14.14, in DNS 2 - 94.140.15.15 (these are AdGuard DNS servers).
4. Save the settings and restart the phone.

Alternative DNS for blocking ads:

• 🛡️ NextDNS: 45.90.28.167 (requires registration for customization)
• 🌍 Cloudflare Family: 1.1.1.3 (Blocking Malware) + promotion)
• 🔒 CleanBrowsing: 185.228.168.168 (no logs)

⚠️ Attention: Change DNS If the sites are slower to load, return the standard ones. DNS (8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 from Google, or try another server from the list.

Method 4: Remove preinstalled applications (requires ADB)

Many of the banner ads on the block are pre-installed applications (GetApps, Mi Browser, Mi Video) that cannot be removed by standard means, but can be deactivated via ADB.

List of "culprits" of advertising:

• 📱 com.xiaomi.midrop - Mi Drop (advertising in notifications)
• 🎮 com.miui.videoplayer - Mi Video (movie banners)
• 🛒 com.xiaomi.mipicks - Mi Apps (games commercial)
• 🌐 com.android.browser - Mi Browser (pop-ups)

To remove them, do the following in ADB:

adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.xiaomi.midrop


adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.xiaomi.mipicks

The complete list of commands for cleaning the system:

Important: Do not remove applications called com.miui. or com.android. unless you are sure of their purpose - this can lead to unstable system operation.

💡

Removal of pre-installed applications through ADB does not require root rights and does not violate the warranty, as the changes apply only to the current user (--user 0).

Method 5: Change the firmware region to EEA (Europe)

Firmware for the EEA (European Economic Region) region has less advertising required by local law (GDPR).If your phone was purchased in Russia, India or China, you can change region without flashing.

How to change the region:

1. Download the MIUI Region Changer app (available on 4PDA).
2. Open it and select EEA (Europe).
3. Confirm the change and restart the phone.
4. After the reboot, go to Settings → Additional → Region and make sure Europe is worth it.

What will change after the change in the region:

• ✅ Disappeared banner ads on the lock and in the menu of applications.
• ✅ Push notifications from Mi Store will stop coming.
• ⚠️ Some services (such as Mi Cloud for China) may become unavailable.
• ⚠️ Updates MIUI They'll be late (EEA-The firmware comes out later than the global).

⚠️ Warning: Changing the region with third-party apps can cause Mi Account to crash.Untie Xiaomi account in Settings before the procedure → Accounts and make a backup copy of data.

What to do if the advertisement remains?

If none of these methods worked, the problem may be:

1. Customized firmware (e.g. Xiaomi.EU or Pixel Experience) Some builds block standard methods of disabling ads.
2. Viruses or malicious applications that show ads on top of the system. Check the phone through Malwarebytes or Dr.Web.
3. Update MIUI, which reset settings. After the update, re-run Method 1 and Method 2.

Extreme measures:

• 🔄 Reset to factory settings (helps 80% of the time but deletes all data).
• 🛠️ Flashing to clean. MIUI Mi Flash Tool (requires unlocking the bootloader).
• 📱 Install custom firmware (like LineageOS), but it will disable all Xiaomi branded features.

If you’re not ready for radical measures, try an alternative launcher (like Nova Launcher or Lawnchair) that won’t take away ads on the block, but will hide them in the app menu.

FAQ: Frequent questions about advertising on Xiaomi