How to permanently remove ads on Xiaomi Smart TV: disable banners in PatchWall and MIUI TV

Why is Xiaomi Smart TV Advertising and Can It Be Removed?

Xiaomi’s PatchWall TVs (or MIUI TVs for new models) are initially marketed as budget-friendly, advanced devices, but many users are faced with intrusive ads that appear on the home screen, in the app menu, and even while watching content, due to monetization of firmware: Xiaomi integrates advertising modules into the shell to compensate for the low price of the devices.

The good news is that most ads can be turned off without rooting or manipulating them. The bad news is that some banners (such as those built into system apps like Mi Video or Mi Home) are only removed by radical methods. 5 proven methods, including hidden settings, disabling services through ADB, Important: the effectiveness of the methods depends on the model of the TV and the firmware version (relevant to Mi). TV 4/4A/4C/4S/5/5X, Redmi Smart TV, Xiaomi TV A/A Pro 2020–2026).

Before you start, consider that some actions may result in a reset or warranty violation. If your TV was purchased less than a year ago, check the warranty terms and conditions - in some regions, changing your firmware on your own is considered a violation.

Method 1: Disabling Advertising through PatchWall Standard Settings

The easiest method is to use the built-in PatchWall shell options.It is suitable for most Xiaomi Mi TV and Redmi Smart TV models based on Android TV 9-11. You do not need additional devices or programs, but the effectiveness is limited: this method removes only a part of the banners (for example, content recommendations on the home screen).

Instructions:

1. Open Settings (cog in the upper right corner of the main screen).
2. Go to Accounts and Security section → Advertising.
3. Turn off the sliders: 📢 Personalized advertising (removes targeted banners) 🎬 Content recommendations (hidden lines with movies/series) 🔄 Content updates (stops downloading new banners)

Settings → Applications → Notifications

Mi Video

Mi Home

PatchWall

After applying the changes, restart the TV (Settings → Device → Reboot).Please note: this method does not remove ads in the apps themselves (for example, on YouTube or Netflix), nor does it block system banners that appear when you connect to the Internet.

Method 2: Resetting Advertising ID via ADB (for power users)

If standard settings don’t work, the next step is to reset your Advertising ID via ADB (Android Debug Bridge), which requires connecting your TV to your computer, but removes most of the targeted ads, including banners in Mi Video and PatchWall.

What you need:

• 🖥️ Computer with Windows/macOS/Linux and installed Android SDK Platform-Tools.
• 🔌 Cable USB-A → USB-A (or USB-C, depending on the TV model).
• ⚙️ Included debugging by USB TV-wise.

Step-by-step:

1. Activate USB debugging: Go to Settings → About TV. Click 7 times in a row on the Build Number bar until you become a developer notification appears. Go back to Settings → Additional → For developers and enable USB debugging.

cmd

adb devices

(A device should be displayed, e.g. 192.168.x.x:5555)

adb shell settings put global development_settings_enabled 1


adb shell settings put secure user_setup_complete 1




adb shell pm clear com.miui.systemAdSolution

Reboot the TV.

Critical: After resetting your ad ID, some system applications (such as Mi Video) may stop updating content or showing network errors. This is not critical for the TV to work, but be aware that functionality will be limited.

Method 3: Installation of an alternative launcher (without root rights)

One radical but effective way is to replace the standard PatchWall launcher with a third-party one (such as an ATV Launcher or HalLauncher), which completely removes the ads on the home screen, but requires pre-tuning and can conflict with Xiaomi’s proprietary features (such as voice control).

Advantages of the method:

• ✅ Complete removal of banners and recommendations on the home screen.
• ✅ Possibility of customization of the interface (themes, icons, layout).
• ✅ Compatibility with most models Xiaomi/Redmi TV Android TV.

Disadvantages:

• ⚠️ Loss of access to some PatchWall features (e.g., quick application launch via a button on the remote).
• ⚠️ Manual installation required APK through ADB file manager.

Instructions for installing ATV Launcher:

1. Download. APK-Launcher file from the official website (for example, ATV Launcher).
2. Transfer the file to USB-drive and connect it to the TV.
3. Install any file manager (such as FX File Explorer) through Google Play.
4. Open the APK through the manager and install the launcher.
5. Launch the ATV Launcher and select it as the default launcher in the application settings.

⚠️ Note: After installing an alternative launcher, you may lose access to Xiaomi’s proprietary widgets (weather, calendar) and you will have to return them to the standard PatchWall through resetting.

Method 4: Blocking Advertising Servers via Hosts File

This method is suitable for users who are ready to manually edit system files. It blocks the TV from accessing Xiaomi ad servers, which removes most banners, but requires access to the root file system.

List of blocked domains (current for Xiaomi Mi TV 2020-2026):

How to edit hosts:

1. Connect to the TV via ADB (see Method 2).
2. Download the current hosts file: adb pull /system/etc/hosts
3. Open the file in the text editor and add the lines: 127.0.0.1 api.ad.xiaomi.com 127.0.0.1 sdkconfig.ad.xiaomi.com 127.0.0.1 data.mistat.xiaomi.com
4. Save the file and download back: adb push hosts /system/etc/hosts adb reboot

Important: Some Xiaomi TV A Pro models have the hosts file protected from recording, in which case Magisk will be required to obtain root rights (see next section).

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If after editing hosts TV stopped connecting to the Internet, check the syntax of the file – extra spaces or the lack of line transfer can cause errors.

Method 5: Completely remove ads using Magisk (root)

The most effective, but also the riskiest, method is to obtain root rights through Magisk and remove the system applications responsible for displaying ads, which will remove all ads, including those built into Mi Video and PatchWall, but will deprive you of warranties and can lead to unstable TV performance.

What will be required:

• 📁 Firmware for your model (download from xiaomifirmwareupdater.com).
• 🔧 Magisk Manager (last version for Android) TV).
• 💾 USB-storage device (formatted in FAT32).

Step-by-step:

1. Unpack the firmware and find the boot.img file.
2. Transfer it to a phone with Magisk Manager installed and create a patch: Open Magisk Manager → Install → Select and fix the file. Select boot.img and wait for the creation magisk_patched.img.

Copy the patch file to USB-drive and connect it to the TV.

Updating the system

Settings → About TV → Software Update → Local Update

magisk_patched.img

Magisk Manager

ADB

adb shell


su




pm uninstall --user 0 com.miui.systemAdSolution




pm uninstall --user 0 com.xiaomi.mitv.appstore




pm uninstall --user 0 com.miui.videoplayer

⚠️ Attention: On Xiaomi TVs TV A Pro 2023+ Android-based firmware 12+ The method may not work due to the enhanced protection of the bootloader, in which case the only option is to roll back to an older version of the software (with the risk of loss of functionality).

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Getting root rights voids the warranty and can lead to a TV breeze, and use this method only if other methods have not worked and you are prepared for the possible consequences.

How to reduce the amount of advertising without technical manipulation

If you don’t want to mess with settings or risk the stability of the TV, use these recommendations:

• 🔄 Clean the cache regularly: Go to Settings → Annexes → All apps, select PatchWall, Mi Video and click Clear Cache. This will temporarily reduce the number of ad impressions.
• 🌐 Use it. VPN: Some ad servers are blocked when connected to VPN (For example, ProtonVPN or Windscribe. VPN-App from Google Play and connect to a server in Europe.
• 📵 Turn off data collection: In Settings → Confidentiality → Diagnostics and reviews, stop sending statistics. It won't take away the ads completely, but it will reduce their personalization.
• 🛒 Install alternative apps: Replace Mi Video with VLC Or Kodi, and Mi Home is on Google Home. Xiaomi's branded apps are most often advertising.

Also worth paying attention to the remote control: on some models Xiaomi Mi TV long press on the Home button opens the menu without ads. Try using this technique for quick access to applications.

FAQ: Frequent questions about advertising on Xiaomi Smart TV