How to disable articles on the lock screen Xiaomi MIUI 12: the complete guide

The lock screen on Xiaomi’s MIUI 12 smartphones is often loaded with unnecessary news articles, ads and content from Mijia or Xiaomi News. For many users, it’s not only a distraction, but also a potential privacy threat — especially if the screen displays personalized recommendations. Fortunately, you can turn this functionality off in several ways, and in this article we’ll break down all the current methods.

The MIUI 12 version is different from newer releases (e.g. MIUI 13/14) in terms of menu structure and available settings. So the standard instructions for fresh firmware won't work here. If you're an owner of a Redmi Note 9 Pro, Mi 10T, POCO X3 or another model on MIUI 12, the next steps will help clear the lock screen of unnecessary content. It's important to consider that some methods require administrator rights or additional manipulation of system applications.

Before you start settings, make sure your smartphone is not in power saving mode - this can block changes in background processes. Also check the firmware version in Settings → About Phone → MIUI Version. If you have MIUI 12.0.x or MIUI 12.5, all of the methods described will work. China ROM may require additional region customization.

Why do articles appear on the lock screen?

The news and article display feature on the lock screen in MIUI 12 is integrated at the system level, activated by default and uses data from multiple sources:

• 📰 Xiaomi News is the official news aggregator from Xiaomi that collects content based on your interests (if personalization is enabled).
• 🌍 Mijia Services – Xiaomi ecosystem service that can display ads for smart devices or promotions.
• 🔄 System recommendations - algorithms MIUI Analyze your activity (search queries, installed applications) and select “useful” content.
• 📱 Third-party apps – some programs (such as Mi Browser or Mi Video) may add their widgets to the lock screen.

The main problem is that this functionality can not always be disabled through standard settings: in some regional versions of MIUI 12 (for example, for India or Europe), the option is hidden, and in Chinese firmware it is not at all, and after updating the system, the settings can be reset, and articles will again begin to appear.

In Chinese versions MIUI 12 (China ROM) Disabling news on the lock screen requires changing the region of the device or use ADB-There is no standard way to use the menu, because of Xiaomi's policy that requires users of Chinese firmware to use local services.

Method 1: Disconnect via lock screen settings

The easiest method is to use the built-in MIUI 12 options, which is suitable for global and European firmware versions.

1. Open the settings on your smartphone.
2. Go to Lock Screen (or Lock and Protect in some models).
3. Find the lock screen style or lock screen settings.
4. Slip on Additional settings (may be called Advanced settings).
5. Look for the option to Show recommendations, News on the lock screen or Xiaomi Content.
6. Turn off the slider next to this option.

If you don't see these items, then your version of MIUI 12 doesn't support this menu, so move on to the next way.

⚠️ Note: Some models (e.g. Redmi) 9A or POCO M3) If you turn off the recommendations, the weather or calendar may disappear on the lock screen.

Method 2: Remove system applications (without root)

If standard settings don't work, you can try disabling or uninstalling the apps responsible for showing articles, and MIUI 12 is responsible for this:

• com.miui.weather2 – weather and recommendations (sometimes integrates news).
• com.miui.miservice is a Mijia service that manages a content widget.
• com.xiaomi.channel is a Xiaomi News app (the main source of articles).

To disable them without superuser rights (root), follow the following steps:

1. Activate Developer Mode: Go to Settings → About Phone and tap the MIUI version 7 times.
2. Return to Settings → Additional → For developers and enable USB debugging.
3. Connect your smartphone to your PC and install Android SDK Platform Tools.
4. Open the command prompt in the adb folder and type: adb shell pm hide com.xiaomi.channel For other applications, replace the packet in the command.

This method temporarily hides applications from the system, but does not remove them completely, and after a reboot or a MIUI update, they can be activated again.

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

This command completely disables the application for the current user.-->

Method 3: Change the region of the device

For the Chinese versions of MIUI 12 (China ROM), the only reliable way to remove articles is to change the region to the global one, which can be done through settings or with ADB.

Method 1: Through the settings menu

1. Open Settings → Additional → Language and Region.
2. Choose a Region and install India or Russia (global firmware for these regions usually does not have forced news).
3. Reset the device.

Method 2: ADB (for hidden options)

1. Connect your smartphone to your PC and activate Debugging via USB.
2. Enter the command: adb shell settings put global region IN (where IN is the region code for India; for Russia, use RU).
3. Reset the device.

⚠️ Note: Changing the region may cause some settings (e.g. date/time format) to be reset and local services (e.g. Mi Pay for China) to be disabled.

Method 4: Using third-party launchers

If system methods have not worked, you can get around the restrictions with alternative launchers that replace the standard lock screen. MIUI 12:

• 📱 Nova Launcher + Sesame Lock Screen – allows you to fully customize the lock screen, including removing widgets.
• 🔒 AcDisplay – Minimalist lock screen without news and advertising.
• 🌈 KLCK — Launcher with support for custom themes (you can remove all unnecessary elements).

Installation of a third-party launcher:

1. Download the selected application from Google Play.
2. Open it and follow the setup instructions.
3. In MIUI settings, go to Applications → By default → Launcher and select the installed launcher.
4. Set up the lock screen via the new launcher menu (usually there is a Disable MIUI Lockscreen option).

⚠️ Note: Some launchers may conflict with Miui Optimization, the system process that manages energy saving. If you have lags after installation, disable the launcher optimization in Settings → Annexes → Permits → Auto-start.

Method 5: Disconnecting via Safe Mode (Security Mode)

If articles appear because of third-party software (for example, viruses or malfunctioning applications), you can use Safe Mode - a diagnostic mode where all user programs are disabled.

How to activate Safe Mode:

1. Press the power button on the phone turned off.
2. In the off menu, press and hold the item Disable Power (or Turn Off).
3. Confirm the transition to Safe Mode.

In this mode:

• Check if the articles have disappeared from the lock screen.
• If yes, there is a problem in one of the installed applications, remove suspicious programs (especially those that requested permission to display on top of other windows).
• If not, the MIUI system is to blame, and other ways are to be used.

Additional Advice and Warnings

Before you start radical methods (for example, changing the region or using ADB), consider a few nuances:

• 🔄 Updates MIUI After the update, check if the articles are back.
• 📵 Disabling system applications can lead to unstable operation of the smartphone (for example, the weather or calendar will stop updating).
• 🌐 VPN And the firewall sometimes blocks content from loading onto the lock screen. Try turning it off if the articles are suddenly gone.

💡

If none of these methods worked, consider switching to custom firmware (like Pixel Experience or LineageOS) which is a radical solution, but it will completely remove all of MIUI’s system limitations, including forced newscasting.

For users who don’t want to risk the stability of the system, there is a compromise: turn off the Internet for applications responsible for articles. You can do this in Settings → Applications → Data Management, where mobile traffic and Wi-Fi can be banned for com.xiaomi.channel and com.miui.miservice.

FAQ: Frequent questions about disabling articles on MIUI 12