How to permanently remove ads on Xiaomi phone: a step-by-step guide

Advertising in Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones has become one of the most annoying features of MIUI firmware. Banners in settings, push notifications from system applications, ad units in the launcher – all this not only spoils the user experience, but also consumes up to 15% of battery power per week on background activity of advertising services. In this article, we will analyze legal and technical ways to remove advertising, including hidden settings, ADB commands and alternative methods for different versions of MIUI (from 12 to 14).

It’s important to understand that Xiaomi has integrated ad mechanisms at the system level, so simply disabling notifications in Settings → Apps won’t help. It will take a comprehensive approach – from manually disabling advertising identifiers to using specialized tools like Mi Ad Free or ADB AppControl. We will also look at the risks of each method and give recommendations for beginners.

If you are using a smartphone older than 2020 (such as the Redmi Note 8 Pro or Mi 9T), please note that some methods may not work due to outdated versions of MIUI.

1. disable personalized advertising in MIUI settings

The easiest and safest way is to deactivate advertising services through a standard menu, which is suitable for all Xiaomi models, but only removes a portion of banners (for example, in Security or Topics).

Instructions:

• 📱 Go to Settings. → Google → Advertising (or Settings) → Additionally. → Confidentiality → Advertising in older versions MIUI).
• 🔄 Turn off the Personalized Ads option and reset the Advertising Identifier (Reset button).
• 🚫 Go back to the basic settings and open the Apps → Application management → All apps. Find Msa (Mobile Services Ad), MiuiDaemon and Analytics — turn off notifications and background activity.

This method removes up to 40% of ads, but does not affect the system banners in Settings → About Phone or Security.

⚠️ Note: Resetting the advertising ID may cause temporary disruptions to Google Play services (e.g., no apps will be updated) and after 24 hours, the functionality will automatically recover.

2.Using ADB to Deeply Disable Advertising

The Android Debug Bridge (ADB) tool allows you to disable system applications and services responsible for displaying ads, a method that requires connecting your phone to a PC, but does not need root rights.

Step-by-step:

1. Download ADB Tools and unpack the archive to the root of the C:\ disk.
2. On your phone, activate Developer Mode (7 times click on the MIUI version in Settings → About Phone) and enable Debugging over USB.
3. Connect the phone to the PC and type in the command line:

adb devices


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




adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.xiaomi.midrop




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

After you execute the commands, restart the device. Advertising in settings, launcher and system notifications will disappear.

Install Xiaomi drivers on PC|Download ADB Tools from the official website|Enable debugging on USB phone-on|Connect your phone to the original cable|Check the visibility of the device by the adb device command-->

⚠️ Warning: Disabling com.miui.hybrid may disrupt weather and calendar widgets. If important functions are lost after completing the command, return the application with the command adb shell pm enable com.miui.hybrid.

3.Advertising blocking applications without root

If ADB seems complicated, you can use specialized tools that automate the process of disabling advertising modules and do not require technical skills.

Top.-3 apps:

• 🛡️ Mi Ad Free – Blocking Advertising in the MIUI, including banners in Security and Topics, works without root, but requires permission for Special Access.
• 🔧 ADB AppControl – a graphical shell for ADB-Allows you to disable system applications in a few clicks.
• 🚫 Blokada – Blocks Advertising at Level DNS. Effective against push notifications, but does not remove banners in settings.

How to use Mi Ad Free:

1. Download APK from GitHub (official source).
2. Install the app and give access to Special Opportunities in Android settings.
3. Click Clear the ad cache and reboot the phone.

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Before using Mi Ad Free, check if your antivirus is blocking APK installation from unknown sources. Add the file to exceptions or temporarily disable protection.

4. Removing Advertising through Hosts File Editing

The method involves blocking Xiaomi ad servers at the system level, by editing the hosts file, which is responsible for redirecting domain names, which works without root, but requires an ADB or file manager with access to system folders.

Instructions:

1. Download the ready-made hosts file with ad blocking.
2. Connect your phone to your PC and copy the file to /system/etc/hosts via ADB: adb push hosts /system/etc/
3. Change the access rights: adb shell chmod 644 /system/etc/hosts
4. Reset the device.

This block up to 90 percent of ads, including banners in Mi Video, Mi Browser and system notifications, but once the MIUI is updated, the hosts file may reset and have to be replaced again.

5. Alternative firmware: complete removal of advertising

If none of these methods worked, the last resort is custom firmware, a radical solution that removes all Xiaomi ad modules completely, but requires unlocking the bootloader and having TWRP.

The best firmware without advertising for Xiaomi:

• 🌍 Pixel Experience - pure Android without unnecessary services. Supports most models of Redmi and POCO.
• ⚡ LineageOS is a stable, open source firmware. all Xiaomi proprietary modules are missing.
• 🔄 MIUI Pro - modified version MIUI free of advertising and unnecessary applications.

How to install custom firmware:

1. Unlock the bootloader via Mi Unlock Tool (requires a Xiaomi account and wait 7 days).
2. Install TWRP for your model (see instructions on XDA Developers).
3. Download firmware and GApps (if you need Google services), then run through recovery.

⚠️ Note: Installing custom firmware will void the warranty and may cause the device to break. Before you make a firmware backup through TWRP → Backup and check firmware compatibility with your model in the forum XDA.

6. Hidden MIUI settings: disabling ads for advanced

In the depths of MIUI, undocumented settings are hidden that allow you to disable ads without ADB or third-party apps, and these settings are available through engineering menu codes or configuration file editing.

Ways:

• 📞 Enter the dialer code ##4636##, then go to Phone Information → Menu (three dots) → Show hidden settings. Find the Advertising Service setting and turn it off.
• 📄 Open the file. /data/data/com.android.providers.settings/settings.db Root Explorer and find the key miui_ads_enabled. Replace the value with 1 on 0.
• 🔧 Use Activity Launcher (available on Google Play) to find and disable hidden services from com.miui.ad.

These methods require caution - improper modification of system files can lead to failures.

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Hidden MIUI settings allow you to turn off up to 100% of ads, but editing them can disrupt system stability. Use these methods only if other methods have not worked.

7. Frequent mistakes and how to avoid them

When removing ads, users often face preventable problems, and these are the most common mistakes and solutions.

If after all the manipulations the advertising remained, check:

• 🔍 Are there any third-party launchers (for example, POCO Launcher that can display their ads.
• 📱 Are not push notifications activated in Settings → Notifications → Additionally.
• 🔄 Have you reset your settings after the update (check the version) MIUI In Settings → The phone).

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions