How to Disable Theme Notifications in Xiaomi: The Complete Guide

Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones often face intrusive alerts from the system app Themes, which can be advertising new wallpaper, offering to download a paid font, or simply reminding them to change the design. Such notifications of the theme in Xiaomi are not only annoying, but can drain the battery, as well as clog the notification panel.

Fortunately, the MIUI shell and the new HyperOS have the ability to completely disable these messages, which does not require super-user permissions (Root) and is executed through a standard settings menu. In this article, we will discuss all available methods, including hidden switches in the engineering menu.

Before we make any changes, it's important to understand exactly what we're disabling.Themes app is deeply integrated into the system, so simple deletion isn't always effective.We'll be setting up privacy settings and advertising identifiers to forget about pop-ups forever.

Disabling Advertising and Recommendations in the App Topics

The first and most effective way to stop the flow of ads is to change the settings inside the app itself. By default, the system is set to actively promote the content of the Mi GetApps store. You need to open the Themes app and go to the user profile.

Click on the little man icon at the bottom right of the screen. In the menu that opens, look for Settings (usually as a gear) and you're interested in General. This is where the major switches for personalization and ad impressions are hidden.

You need to find an option called "Receive recommendations" or "Show ads" (names may vary depending on the version of MIUI). Move the slider to an inactive position. This action will prevent the app from analyzing your preferences and offering relevant topics.

⚠️ Note: After disabling recommendations, the tape in the Themes app can become empty or display only basic system designs without preview pictures.

You should also check the notification settings at the bottom of the settings menu, make sure that the tick opposite the Notification item is removed, which will prevent banners from appearing in the notification curtain even when the ads inside the application are turned off.

Set up system notifications through the Application Manager

If the app's internal settings didn't help remove notifications completely, you can use the system limiter. Android allows you to completely prevent any application from sending push messages.

From the Settings menu, select the Apps section, then click All Apps. From the list, find the Themes system app (could be simply called "Themes"). Click on it to open the Management page.

Select Notifications. Here you will see the Show Notifications switch. Disable it. After that, the system will stop allowing any signals from this component, whether it is advertising or system messages about updates.

However, there is a caveat: Disabling notifications completely can cause you to miss critical messages, such as when a major security update has been downloaded or font conflicts.

• 📱 Turn off Sound and Vibration for the Theme app if you want silence, but leave visual tags.
• 🔕 Use Do Not Disturb mode if notifications only appear at certain times of the day.
• ⚙️ Reset your app settings if the menu doesn’t open or doesn’t work properly.

Also on this menu, it's helpful to clear the app data. Click Memory and select Clean. This will bring the app back to factory status, killing all temporary files that could have caused spam.

Disable personalization through MSA services

Xiaomi’s advertising mechanisms are managed by the MSA (MIUI System Ads) service, which collects data about your use and generates promotional offers that come through the Themes app and other system utilities.

To limit your experience, go to Settings → Passwords & Security → Access to Personal Data. Find the msa service in the list and turn off the switch. The system will warn you that this may affect the operation of certain functions.

After the shutdown, a countdown timer will appear for 10 seconds. After the time expires, press Stop. It is important to note that the service may try to turn on again after a while, so the procedure sometimes has to be repeated.

Additionally, it is recommended to disable GetApps (formerly Mi Apps) from the same menu if you do not use the Xiaomi app store, which will significantly reduce the amount of advertising noise throughout the system.

⚠️ Warning: Disabling the msa service may cause the Hot Apps widgets to disappear on the desktop or the Mi Video newsfeed to stop.

For a deeper cleaning, go to your Mi Account settings. In the Privacy section, disable the “User Experience Program” option, which will stop you sending theme usage statistics to the company’s servers.

Hiding notification icons in status bar

Sometimes users are annoyed not by the text of the notification, but by the permanently hanging icon in the top status bar, which can be an icon for updates to themes or new arrivals in the store, and you can remove the visual part through the interface settings.

Go to Settings → Notifications and Control Center (older versions of MIUI just “Notifications”). Find the Notification Icons or Status Indicators section.

Here's a list of all the apps that can display icons. Search the Topics list and uncheck the box. Now, even if the app tries to communicate something, nothing appears in the top line.

The good thing about this method is that it doesn't block the notifications themselves, it just hides the visual display of the notifications, and you can still see them by unlocking the screen or lowering the curtain, but they won't horn your eyes all the time.

Using Developer Mode to Disable MIUI Ads

For advanced users, there is a method of disabling ads through a hidden developer menu, which is more radical and involves the system processes of the ad network, and you first need to activate the developer mode.

Go to Settings → About Phone. Find the MIUI Version (or OS Version) string and quickly click on it 7 times in a row. A pop-up will appear "You became a developer."

Now go back to the main settings menu, go to Additional → For Developers. Scroll down to the bottom of the I/O or Applications section.

Find the option to Disable MIUI Optimization. Switch it. The system will ask for a reboot. Once the smartphone is turned on, ads in system applications, including Themes, often disappear completely, as the mechanism for loading advertising modules is disabled.

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After turning on “Disable MIUI Optimization”, the names of some menu items can shift or change the font size – this is normal system behavior.

Frequent questions and problems when disconnecting

Despite the simplicity of the instructions, users often experience unusual system behavior, such as when a firmware update is updated, all settings may be lost, a feature of automatic updates that return configuration to factory.

Another common problem is the inability to turn off msa. The button may be inactive or return to its original position quickly, in which case try to turn off the Internet (Wi-Fi and mobile data) before performing the shutdown procedure.

Some users notice that when notifications are turned off, notifications stop coming when new versions of themes they previously installed. If this is important to you, use selective disabling, leaving only system notifications.

⚠️ Note: Complete removal of the system application "Themes" through ADB can lead to unstable work of the desktop and the inability to change the wallpaper lock.

If you use a global firmware version, some menu items may be called differently than in the Chinese version. Look for synonyms: instead of "Recommendations," it may be "Personalized recommendations," instead of "Themes."

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A comprehensive approach, including disabling MSA, settings within the application and system restrictions, guarantees complete elimination of advertising topics.