How to turn off news on the lock screen Xiaomi

Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones often encounter intrusive content that appears immediately after waking up the device. Instead of a clean interface and familiar widgets, the user sees news feeds, banner ads and articles that are not relevant to current tasks. This feature, known as Glance or “Wallpaper Carousel”, is built into the shell of MIUI and HyperOS by default.

Not only is the information noise on the start screen annoying, it can also be a significant waste of traffic, and it can also reduce battery life. Fortunately, the system provides flexible tools to manage that content. You don't need to be a technician to get personalization back.

In this article, we will take a look at all the available methods of deactivating the news feed, we will look at the standard system settings, hidden developer parameters and additional steps to completely clean the interface of excess debris, you can customize your smartphone as convenient as you want.

⚠️ Note: The menu interface may vary slightly depending on the firmware version (MIUI 12, 13, 14 or HyperOS and regional device binding (Global, EEA, Russia).

Why the news is coming and what is Glance?

The feature that fills the content lock screen is officially called Wallpaper Carousel, and in global firmware versions, it is often integrated with InMobi’s Glance service, which is designed to keep users’ attention and monetize them through targeted advertising.

The system process collects your interests to suggest what the algorithms think are relevant articles and images, but for many users, it becomes a source of constant visual noise, and new backgrounds and texts are automatically downloaded in the background.

It's important to understand the difference between widgets you've added yourself and system tape. If swiping right or left opens up an endless stream of articles with news aggregator logos, that's the service that needs to be turned off. It's not a virus, but it's PUP (potentially unwanted programs) in terms of cleanliness.

Disabling the wallpaper carousel through the theme settings

The most effective and correct way to remove the news feed is to change the settings in the Themes system application. This is where the main feature switch resides. First, unlock the device and find the Themes app icon (usually a yellow folder with a brush) on your desktop.

When you log in, look at the user profile in the top right corner, and if you click on an avatar or a person icon, you'll be taken to the personalization settings menu. Here we're looking at the wallpaper carousel item. In some versions of the shell, it may be called Lock Screen or have a corresponding icon.

Inside the menu, find a switch called "Enable wallpaper carousel" or "Glance." Put it inactive. The system may try to keep you from choosing news categories of interest instead of turning them off completely. Ignore those suggestions and confirm that the feature is off.

Once you do this, the lock screen should become standard. If you still pop up when you unlock the windows to return the functionality, just refuse. The system cache can store old data for a while, so it is recommended to restart the device.

Set up widgets and desktop

Sometimes the news feed is activated not through the theme settings, but through the desktop configuration. The MIUI and HyperOS shells allow you to add Google News or Yandex widgets directly to the lock screen or to the widget area available by swipe.

To check this, unlock your phone and swipe to the right of the first screen. If the news feed opens, click on the settings icon (cog) in the corner of this tape. In the menu that opens, you can turn off the card display or delete the news source.

Also, check the settings of the desktop itself. Press your finger on the free screen to enter edit mode, and select Settings or Additional. Find the item associated with Widget Tape or Google Discover and turn it off if it is active. This will remove unnecessary elements from navigation.

⚠️ Note: Do not confuse disabling the widget with removing the application itself. Deleting the system component of Google or Yandex can disrupt other services.

For users who prefer minimalism, there is the option of installing third-party launchers. However, even in the standard Xiaomi launcher, you can achieve cleanliness if you properly configure content sources. Often users accidentally activate these features when you initially set up the phone.

Managing Notifications from System Applications

Even after the carousel is turned off, pop-up messages from system services recommending hot news can appear on the lock screen, often answered by MIUI News, GetApps or MSA (MIUI System Ads) applications.

To stop this flow, go to the Settings menu → Notifications and Status bar → Notification Management. From the list, find the News app (or Mi News, Google News), click on it and completely disable notifications, and uncheck the Lock Screen.

It is also recommended to limit the background activity of these applications. In the "Applications" section, find the news service, select "Out-Start" and turn it off, which will prevent content from loading in the background, which will positively affect power consumption.

Additional methods of cleaning the interface

If standard methods have not cleared the lock screen completely, you can use deeper settings. In some regions, firmware allows you to turn off ads and recommendations through the security menu. Go to the Security app (green zipper icon).

Inside the app, click on the settings gear in the top right corner. Scroll down to "Get recommendations" or "Recommendations." Disabling this option will remove many intrusive clues that may masquerade as news, a critical step for older model owners.

You should also check your Mi Account settings. Subscriptions for content can be activated in the "Mi Credits" or "Services" section. Although this is rare, you won't need to check the extras. Make sure that the Mi Browser permissions turn off the news on the homepage.

💡

Use Do Not Disturb at night to prevent news notifications from appearing on the lock screen at night, even if they are not turned off completely.

Solution and possible problems

Users often experience a situation where, after updating the firmware, the settings are reset and the news returns. This is Xiaomi’s regular behavior, which introduces new features without explicit consent, in which case the disconnection procedure must be repeated.

Sometimes the disable button in the Themes app may be inactive or hidden, in which case try changing the region in the phone settings (Settings → Additional Settings → Region). Installing the India or US region sometimes changes the content provider, after which it is easier to disable, and then you can return your region.

If nothing works, there's a radical method, which is to turn off the component through ADB. It requires a computer and a cable. If you plug in a phone with USB debugging enabled, you can put a command to freeze the package that's responsible for the carousel, but it requires caution.

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

Using the command line allows you to remove access to system processes without superuser rights. But remember that misuse of ADB can lead to unstable system operation. Use this method only if you are confident in your actions.

⚠️ Attention: Before use ADB-commands to make a complete backup of the data. Freezing system components can cause a cyclical reboot of the device.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

💡

Disabling the news feed completely requires a comprehensive approach: settings in the Topic app, managing notifications, and checking desktop widgets.