How to permanently disable recommendations on the screen Xiaomi: TVs and smartphones

The banner ads and automatic recommendations on the home screen of Xiaomi devices are one of the most annoying features for users, and the company integrates them into MIUI for smartphones and MI TV OS for TVs, positioning them as “personalized content.” In practice, this means constant notifications about movies, games and apps that you didn’t ask to show. Worse, after system updates, these settings are often reset and the ads come back.

In this article, we will discuss all the current ways to disable recommendations on Xiaomi devices, including hidden settings that are not documented in the official instructions. The methods are tested on the firmware of MIUI 14/15 for smartphones and MI TV OS 3.0+ for TVs (Mi TV A2 models, Redmi Smart TV X, Xiaomi TV Q2, etc.).

Why Xiaomi is showing recommendations and whether they can be removed completely

Xiaomi’s recommendation system works by collecting data about your actions: what apps you run, what movies you watch, what websites you visit, and it’s analyzed by the company’s algorithms, and then “personalized” banners appear on the home screen, which is formally described in MIUI’s privacy policy, but most users don’t consent to such data collection knowingly.

Can you turn off recommendations forever? Technically, yes, but there are nuances:

• 📱 On smartphones: You can turn off most of the ads through settings, but some system banners (such as in Weather or Themes) will remain.
• 📺 On TVs: a complete shutdown requires the internet to be turned off or the use of alternative firmware (e.g. LineageOS for the Internet). TV).
• 🔄 After system updates, the settings may reset - they will have to be configured again.

It’s important to understand that Xiaomi doesn’t provide an official way to completely remove the recommendation system from firmware — it’s part of the company’s business model — but the combination of techniques in this article will help keep advertising to a minimum.

Method 1: Disabling recommendations on Xiaomi smartphones (MIUI 14/15)

On MIUI smartphones, ads and recommendations appear in several places: on the home screen (widgets), in the application menu, in system utilities (Weather, Calendar, Themes). To remove them, you need to turn off several settings.

Step 1: Turning off widgets on the home screen

Recommended widgets (such as Mi Video or GetApps) can be manually removed:

1. Press and hold the empty space on the main screen.
2. Select Widgets from the bottom menu.
3. Find widgets called Recommendations, Mi Video or GetApps and drag them to the cart (image icon) 🗑️ top-screen).

Step 2: Disabling Personalized Recommendations in Settings

Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management and follow the following steps:

Find GetApps → Disable Auto Start and Show Notifications

Find the Mi Video app → Turn off personalized recommendations

Find Topics → Turn off Advertising Notifications

Find the weather. → Turn off the news.-->

After that, restart your smartphone. Advertising in system applications should disappear, but banners in Settings or Security may remain - they are harder to remove.

💡

If after the MIUI update, the ad returned, check the settings again - the Personalized Recommendations option is often reset in Mi Video and GetApps.

Step 3: Disabling Advertising in the App Menu

The app menu (All apps) sometimes displays banners suggesting that you install new programs to remove them:

1. Open the app menu (swipe up from the bottom of the screen).
2. Press three points (⋮) top-right.
3. Select Settings → Application Recommendations.
4. Turn off the slider Show recommendations.

Method 2: Disable recommendations on Xiaomi TVs (MI TV OS)

On Xiaomi TVs (Mi TV, Redmi Smart TV), the ads are integrated deeper than on smartphones, they appear on the home screen, on the app menu, and even while watching movies, and you can only completely remove them by radical methods, but first try the standard settings.

Step 1: Turn off recommendations in TV settings

Do the following:

1. Open the settings (cog in the upper right corner).
2. Go to the Account and Security → Personalization.
3. Turn off the sliders: 🎬 Content recommendations 📊 Analysis of use 📢 Promotional notices

Save the changes and restart the TV.

Step 2: Remove unnecessary widgets from the home screen

On the main screen of MI TV OS, you can remove most of the widgets with ads:

1. Hover over an unnecessary widget (e.g. Mi Video, Prime Video, Recommended).
2. Press and hold the OK button on the remote.
3. In the menu that appears, select Delete or Hide.

If the widget is not removed (such as the Recommended Widget), try replacing it with an empty one:

1. Press Menu on the remote.
2. Select Edit the main screen.
3. Drag the unnecessary widget into the cart or replace it with an Empty widget (if available).

Step 3: Shutting down the Internet for system applications (radical method)

If previous methods have failed, you can block Internet access for applications that display ads.

1. Go to Settings → Network and Internet → Data Use.
2. Find Mi Video, PatchWall (main screen), GetApps.
3. Turn off Wi-Fi and Mobile Data for them.

If you are not sure about your skills, it is best to focus on previous methods or seek help from forums like 4PDA or XDA Developers.

💡

Custom firmware is the last resort, and 90 percent of the time, you just have to turn off ADB ads or system settings.

Method 5: Blocking Advertising via DNS or VPN

If you don't want to interfere with system settings, you can block Xiaomi's ad servers at the network level, which works for smartphones and TVs alike.

Method 1: Change the DNS on the device

Use it. DNS-servers that block advertising:

1. On your smartphone: Settings → Wi-Fi → Additional → IP settings → Static.
2. In the DNS 1 field, type 94.140.14.14 (AdGuard DNS).
3. In the DNS 2 field, type 94.140.15.15.
4. Save and reconnect to the network.

For the TV:

1. Settings → The Internet and the Internet → Wi-Fi → Settings (⚙️) → DNS.
2. Enter the same addresses: 94.140.14.14 and 94.140.15.15.

Method 2: Using a VPN with ad blocking

Some of them VPN-Services have built-in ad blocking. Recommended options:

• 🛡️ AdGuard VPN (there's a free rate).
• 🌍 ProtonVPN (paid but with good tracker locking).
• 🚀 Blokada (works without root, blocks ads at the level of the Internet) DNS).

Install one of these apps on your smartphone or set up a VPN on your router to block ads on all devices, including your TV.

Method 3: Blocking through a hosts file (for root smartphones only)

If you have root rights, you can edit the hosts file to block Xiaomi’s ad domains:

1. Install the Root Browser.
2. Open the file /system/etc/hosts.
3. Add the following lines to the end of the file: 127.0.0.1 ad.mi.com 127.0.0.1 globalapi.ad.xiaomi.com 127.0.0.1 sdkconfig.ad.xiaomi.com 127.0.0.1 tracking.miui.com
4. Save the file and restart the device.

⚠️ Note: Editing a hosts file without root rights or through the wrong tools may result in loss of Internet access.

What to do if the ad returns after the update

One of the most common problems is the return of ads after updating MIUI or MI TV OS. This is because system applications (GetApps, Mi Video, PatchWall) automatically turn on recommendations after the update.

How to Prevent the Return of Advertising

• 🔄 Turn off automatic system update: On your smartphone: Settings → The phone. → Updating the system → ⋮ → Settings → Turn off Auto Update. On TV: Settings → About the device → Update of the PO → Deactivate "Automatic inspection".
• 📦 Freeze system applications: Use App Quarantine or ADB, to disable com.miui.systemAdSolution and com.xiaomi.mitv.appstore.
• 🔒 Use router-level blockers: Set up a Pi-hole or AdGuard Home on your router to block ad domains for all devices on the network.

If the update is already installed

After the update:

1. Check the Personalized Guidelines settings (see Method 1 and Method 2).
2. Execute ADB commands again (see Method 3).
3. If the ad appears in new places (such as Settings), try resetting the app settings: adb shell pm clear com.android.settings

FAQ: Frequent questions about turning off recommendations on Xiaomi