How to completely remove advertising on Xiaomi: system banners, MIUI and applications

Why Xiaomi is showing ads and can it be removed forever?

Xiaomi smartphones have long gained popularity due to the ratio of price and quality, but many users are faced with one unpleasant feature – built-in advertising in the shell. MIUI. Banners appear in the settings menu, on the lock screen, in system utilities and even in standard applications like Browser or Music, and advertising can be displayed even in the premium Xiaomi 14 or Redmi devices. K70.

The reason is simple: Xiaomi monetizes its firmware through partner integrations. According to the company, MIUI advertising revenue accounts for up to 30% of total smartphone revenue. However, users do not have to put up with intrusive banners - most ad modules can be disabled through settings or third-party tools. In this article, we will analyze all the ways, including hidden options that work on current versions of MIUI 14/15 (Android 13/14).

It's important to understand that completely removing ads without consequences is only possible on global and European versions of firmware (MIUI Global/EU). In Chinese builds (MIUI China), some advertising services are hard-wired into the system, and to turn them off will require root access or custom firmware installation. But even in this case, there are workarounds, which we will discuss below.

1. Disabling personalized advertising in MIUI

The first step is to deactivate the targeted ad system, which collects data about your actions on your phone, which works on all Xiaomi devices, including POCO and Redmi, but requires an upgrade to MIUI 12 or later.

Go to: Settings → Google → Ads (or Settings → Additional → Privacy → Advertising Preferences in older versions). Here, disable the option “Personalized Ads.” This will not remove banners completely, but will make them less intrusive, as the system will stop selecting ads based on your activity.

• 📱 For MIUI Global/EU: The path may be different – look for Google or Accounts.
• 🔍 In Chinese firmware, this item is often missing. Use the methods in the following sections instead.
• ⚙️ After Shutdown: Reboot your phone to make changes take effect.

⚠️ Note: Disabling personalized ads does not block system banners in the Settings or Security menu. additional actions are needed to remove them (see Section 3).

2. Removal of Advertising in Standard Xiaomi Apps

Xiaomi’s standard utilities — Browser, Music, Video, Themes and Cleaner — often feature banners and promo content. They can be manually disabled, but the paths to settings vary depending on the model and the firmware region.

Example for MIUI Browser:

1. Open the app and tap on three points (⋮) top-right.
2. Select Settings → Additionally.
3. Turn off the “Recommended Content” and “Show News on Main” options.
4. In the Privacy section, deactivate “Personalized recommendations”.

For Music and Video, the path is similar, but can be called Settings → Recommendations.

If your app doesn’t have these options, try resetting to factory settings through Settings → Apps → [Title] → Storage → Clear Data. This will remove all personal recommendations, but does not guarantee that ads will disappear completely.

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After disabling ads in MIUI, consider installing an alternative – for example, Firefox or Brave, where there are no built-in banners.

3. Hidden MIUI settings: how to remove system banners

The most annoying ads in MIUI are banners in the Settings, Security and Lock screen, which cannot be disabled through the standard interface, but there is a workaround through the hidden developer settings.

First, activate the developer mode:

1. Go to Settings. → The phone.
2. Tap 7 times on the MIUI version (you will be notified “You became a developer”).
3. Back to Settings → Additionally. → For developers.

Now, do the following:

1. Find the option “Debug by USB” and turn it on.
2. Connect your phone to your PC and use the ADB command:

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

This command removes the system application responsible for displaying ads in the settings. After the reboot, the banners will disappear. If the command does not work, try an alternative option:

adb shell settings put global hidden_api_policy 1

This method works on MIUI 12-15, but may require re-execution after a firmware update. For the Chinese version (MIUI China), you additionally need to remove the com.xiaomi.midrop package (responsible for promotional content in Security).

⚠️ Note: Removing system packages through ADB This can cause the phone to work unstable.Before executing commands, make a backup through Settings. → Additionally. → Backup.

Install ADB on PC (download from Android Studio)

Enable debugging over USB in the developer settings

Connect your phone to your PC and confirm trust in your device

Make a backup copy of the data

Download the list of commands for your version MIUI-->

4. Blocking Advertising via DNS and VPN

If you don’t want to dig into the settings, you can block Xiaomi’s ad servers at the network level, two methods are suitable: changing the DNS or using a VPN with traffic filtering.

Method 1: Set up a private DNS

Go to:

Settings → Connections → Private DNS

Select the host name of the provider and enter one of the addresses:

• dns.adguard.com (blocks ads and trackers)
• 1dot1dot1dot1.cloudflare-dns.com (Cloudflare with filtering)
• dns.nextdns.io (with customization rules)

After saving the phone will reconnect to the network, and some of the ads will no longer appear.

Method 2: VPN with ad blocking

Install one of the applications:

• 🛡️ AdGuard VPN — Blocks trackers and level advertising DNS + VPN.
• 🌍 Blokada – open source traffic filtering software (does not require root).
• 🔒 1.1.1.1 (Cloudflare) - simple VPN plug-in.

Important: Some VPNs may conflict with MIUI Optimization. If you have lags after you connect, add VPNs to the battery setting exceptions.

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Changing DNS is the safest way to block ads, but it doesn’t remove system banners in MIUI.

5. Removal of ads without root: alternative methods

If ADB and DNS didn't work, there are a few other ways to reduce the amount of ads without getting superuser rights, which are less radical, but can be useful for Chinese firmware users or those who are afraid of "breaking" the system.

Method 1: Disabling MIUI services in settings

Some advertising modules can be deactivated through the App menu:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Tap it on three points (⋮) and select Show Systems.
3. Find and disable (or clear the data) for the following packages: com.miui.analytics (statistics collection) com.xiaomi.mipicks (Temes advertising) com.miui.systemAdSolution (banners in settings)

com.miui.analytics

Game Turbo

Second Space

Method 2: Use of App Ops App

App Ops (available on Google Play) allows you to disable permissions for system applications without root, and it can block Internet access for advertising services:

1. Install App Ops and give access to Usage Access.
2. Find the MSA (Miui System Ads) and Analytics applications.
3. Turn off Internet permissions and display over other windows.

This method works on MIUI 13-15, but may require reconfiguration after the update.

6 Radical methods: root and custom firmware

If you're willing to go to extremes, getting root rights or installing custom firmware is guaranteed to remove all ads, but these methods have risks: loss of warranty, unstable phone operation, or even a device "breakdown."

Method 1: Removing Advertising through Magisk

After receiving root (for example, through OrangeFox Recovery or TWRP), install the Magisk module and use the MIUI Debloater script:

1. Download Universal Android Debloater.
2. Connect the phone to the PC and run the script with administrator rights.
3. Select the Remove Xiaomi Bloatware option and confirm that you have removed your advertising packages.

The script will automatically find and remove all unnecessary services, including MSA, Analytics and MiPush.

Method 2: Transition to custom firmware

Firmware like LineageOS, Pixel Experience or crDroid is completely free of advertising, but requires the bootloader Unlock.

1. Submitting an application for unlocking via Xiaomi’s official website (can take up to 72 hours).
2. Installation of TWRP or other custom recaveri.
3. Firmware alternative OS via fastboot.

⚠️ Warning: Unlocking the bootloader resets the phone to factory settings and erases all data, including photos and messages. It also voids the warranty on devices purchased in official Xiaomi stores.

7. Frequent mistakes and how to avoid them

When trying to remove ads, users often face problems, and here are the most common mistakes and solutions:

• 🔄 Advertising returns after update MIUI: System packages (com.miui.systemAdSolution) are restored when updates are made. ADB Or use Magisk for permanent removal.
• 📵 The change is not working. DNS: Some operators (for example, MTS or Beeline) block third-party DNS. Solution: Use VPN private DNS.
• 🔒 You can not disable system applications: In Chinese firmware (MIUI China) some packages are protected. Solution: install App Ops or get root.
• ⚡ Phone brakes after packet deletions: You probably deleted a critical service (e.g. com.miui.home) Solution: reset fastboot or reflash your phone.

If none of the methods worked, check:

1. Firmware version: in MIUI China, advertising is more difficult to remove than in Global/EU.
2. Region of device: on phones for India (MIUI India) advertising more than in European builds.
3. Updates: Sometimes Xiaomi adds new ad modules to updates.

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Before experimenting with the system, always check the phone model and MIUI version. Methods for the Redmi Note 12 may not work on the Xiaomi 13 Ultra due to different firmware builds.

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions