How to completely disable advertising on Xiaomi Mi 9T: a detailed guide

Why Xiaomi Mi 9T is getting ads and can it be removed forever?

Xiaomi Mi 9T (also known as Redmi K20 in some regions) runs on the MIUI branded shell, which is famous for its rich functionality, but also intrusive advertising. Even after buying the device, users encounter banners in system applications, notifications and on the lock screen. The reason lies in the business model of Xiaomi: the company monetizes its firmware through integrated advertising, which allows you to keep the prices of devices lower than competitors.

The good news is that most of the ad units can be turned off without root rights or third-party software. The bad news is that some elements (such as ads in Mi Video or Mi Browser) require additional manipulation. In this article, we will look at all the available methods, including hidden MIUI settings, changing region and even alternative launchers. It is important to understand that after major firmware updates, the paths to some options may change - we have taken into account the current data for the latest versions of MIUI 12/13/14.

Before you start, check your firmware version: go to Settings → About Phone → MIUI Version. If you have a global version (marked Global), some of the ads will be less aggressive than in Chinese builds. Owners of the Mi 9T with firmware for India (India) or Russia (Russia) are more fortunate - there are fewer ads initially.

Method 1: Disabling personalized advertising in MIUI settings

The easiest and safest way to do this is to deactivate the ad personalization option, which won't take away all the banners, but it will reduce the number of banners.

1. Open Settings and go to Google → Advertising (or Additional → Privacy → Advertising in older versions).
2. Click on Remove the Advertising ID and confirm the action.
3. Go back to the basic settings and find Special Options → Settings for Developers (if the section is hidden, tap 7 times on the MIUI version in the About Phone section).
4. Activate the option to limit advertising tracking.

This method works at the system level and does not require rebooting, but does not block ads in Xiaomi apps (such as Mi Music or Mi Browser), but only limits data collection for targeted ads.

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If the Ads section is not in the settings, update Google Play services to Settings → Apps → Google Play services.

Method 2: Manual disabling of advertising in system applications

Many standard MIUI programs have built-in ad modules that can be deactivated, and below is a list of key applications and a path to settings:

• 📱 Launcher (Desktop): a long tap in the free space of the screen → Home screen settings → Recommendations → Turn off the recommendations.
• 🌐 Mi Browser: Open your browser → ⋮ → Settings → Additionally. → Advertising and news → Deactivate all switches.
• 🎵 Mi Music: Settings → Additionally. → Recommendations → Turn off the recommendations.
• 📺 Mi Video: Profile → Settings → Recommendations → Take off the boxes from all options.
• 📱 Security (Security): Settings → Cleanup → Settings → Advertising → Turn off all tumblers.

Note: Themes is one of the few places where Xiaomi has forced banners to leave, so if you are hindered by theme suggestions, use third-party launchers (discussed below).

Recommendations disabled in Launcher |Deactivated ads in Mi Browser | Banners turned off in Mi Music | Security settings checked |Removed notifications from GetApps-->

Method 3: Change the firmware region (for advanced users)

One radical but effective method is to change the firmware region from China or Global to EEA, which is not legally advertised in MIUI European builds, but it has some nuances:

1. Download the official firmware for EEA from Xiaomi’s website (select Mi 9T model and EEA region).
2. Rename the file to update.zip and place it in the root folder of the phone.
3. Go to Settings. → The phone. → System update, click on ⋮ → Select the update file and specify the downloaded archive.

⚠️ Note: if you change the region, all settings will reset, and some features (for example, Google Pay or Netflix) will reset. HD) You can also block the bootloader if you bought the phone in China. → Additionally. → Backup.

Method 4: Use of alternative launchers and browsers

If system methods don't work, you can replace standard MIUI applications with third-party ones, and this won't remove the ads completely, but it will minimize them:

• 🏠 Launcher: Install Nova Launcher, Lawnchair or Hyperion Launcher. They have no built-in advertising and allow you to customize the desktop. After installation, select the new launcher as the main one in Settings → Annexes → By default.
• 🌐 Browser: Replace Mi Browser with Google Chrome, Firefox or Brave (the latter blocks engine-level ads).
• 📥 App Store: Use Google Play instead of GetApps (Xiaomi Ads app).

⚠️ Note: When you delete system applications (e.g., Mi Browser via ADB) There's a risk of breaking the firmware. It's better not to delete them, it's better not to use them. If you still want to get rid of them forever, follow the instructions below, but remember, this can lead to errors in the operation of the phone.

Method 5: Blocking Advertising via DNS or VPN

Another effective method is redirecting Xiaomi advertising domains to “empty" IP-There are two ways to do this:

Method 1: Change of DNS

Go to Settings → Connections → Private DNS and select the Host Name of the Private DNS Provider. Enter one of the addresses:

• dns.adguard.com (blocks ads and trackers)
• 1.1.1.3 (Cloudflare Family)
• 94.140.14.14 (AdGuard DNS)

Method 2: Using a VPN with ad blocking

Install. VPN-applications with built-in blocker:

AdGuard VPN (free for basic functions)

1.1.1.1: Faster Internet (from Cloudflare)

- Blokada (blocks ads without ads) VPN-server)

These methods work at the network level and block ads not only in MIUI but also in third-party applications, but they can slow down the Internet connection and are not always effective against embedded advertising in system utilities.

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Changing DNS is the safest way to block ads, but it doesn’t work for banners that are downloaded via HTTPS with certificate verification.

Method 6: Disabling notifications from system services

Many of the ads come from Xiaomi services like Mi Push Service, GetApps or Mi Video to disable them:

1. Go to Settings → Notifications and Status bar → Notification management.
2. Find the app: GetApps (or App Market) Mi Video Mi Browser Cleaner (or Security) Mi Push Service

For each of them, turn off the Show notification switch.

We also recommend you go to Settings → Applications → Application Management and for the same programs to disable Autostart and Background Activity. This will not only reduce the amount of advertising, but also prolong battery life.

Method 7: Resetting settings to factory (last resort)

If none of these methods worked, and the ads became unbearable, you could reset the whole thing, and it would bring the phone back out of the box, but it would delete all the data.

1. Back up via Settings → Additional → Backup or manually copy important files to your PC.
2. Remember the Xiaomi account details (if tied) – after the reset, authorization will be required.
3. Go to Settings → About Phone → Reset settings and select Erase all data.

After resetting, do not restore settings from the backup - this can return the ad modules. Instead, set up the phone manually, following the instructions from this article. We also recommend that you install an alternative launcher and browser immediately to avoid reappearing banners.

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Resetting only helps if the ad appears after updating the firmware or installing third-party applications, otherwise it will return after the first synchronization with Xiaomi servers.

FAQ: Frequent questions about advertising on Xiaomi Mi 9T