Advertising in Xiaomi smartphones is one of the most annoying features of MIUI firmware, which the manufacturer has integrated to monetize budget devices. Banners in settings, pop-up notifications from Mi Browser, ad units in applications Topics and Security – all this not only spoils the user experience, but also consumes up to 15% of battery power per week on background activity of advertising services. In this article, we will discuss legal and technical ways to remove advertising, including hidden settings, disabling system applications and modifying firmware for advanced users.
It is important to understand that Xiaomi does not provide an official option to completely disable advertising in global versions of firmware (except for devices for the European market marked EEA). However, workarounds exist - from simple actions in the settings menu to deep customization through ADB or obtaining root rights. We tested all methods on current versions of MIUI 14/15 (including Redmi Note 12, POCO X5, Xiaomi 13T) and selected only working solutions.
1. disable personalized advertising in MIUI settings
The safest and most reversible way to deactivate targeted ads is through a standard menu, which is a non-super-user method that is suitable for users who don't want to risk the guarantee, but it doesn't eliminate the ads completely, it just reduces the amount of ads and makes them less intrusive.
Instructions:
- 📱 Open the Settings. → Google → Advertising (on some models the path: Settings) → Annexes → Application management → Google → Advertising).
- 🔄 Switch the switch toggle "Switch off personalized advertising" in the active position.
- 🗑️ Click "Reset advertising" ID" and confirm the action.
- 🔍 Go back to the main settings and go to Settings → Special facilities → Advertising notifications, disable all switches.
This method works on all Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO devices with MIUI 12+ firmware, but has limitations:
- ❌ Does not remove banners in Settings and Weather.
- ❌ Advertising in Mi Browser and Mi Video will remain.
- ✅ Reduces the number of push notifications from Xiaomi.
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If the number of banners has not decreased after resetting the advertising ID, clear the cache of the Google Play Services app in the application settings.
2. Remove ads through hidden MIUI settings (no root)
MIUI firmware contains hidden options that allow you to disable some of the advertising modules without using ADB or root. This method is suitable for users who do not want to go into technical details, but are willing to perform a few non-trivial actions.
Algorithm:
- Open the phone app and enter the combination: ##4636##
- In the menu that opens, select “Phone Information” (or “Testing” in English firmware).
- Scroll down and find the option "MIUI Hidden Settings" (if it is not, then your firmware does not support this method).
- Activate the switches: 🚫 Disable Ads in System Apps 🚫 Disable Miui Analytics 🚫 Disable Personalized Ads
Reset the device.
The effect of this method:
| The Domain | The result | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| MIUI settings | ✅ Removes banners in Topics, Security | It doesn’t work on MIUI 15 for Chinese firmware |
| Push notifications | ✅ Disables Advertising Push from Xiaomi | Does not block notifications from third-party applications |
| Mi Browser | ❌ Does not remove ads in the browser | Separate settings are required (see Section 4). |
| Lock screen | ✅ Removing advertising widgets | It only works on global firmware. |
Backup | Charge your phone at least 50% | Remember your current network settings |Do not interrupt the reboot process-->
Banners in settings|Push notifications|Advertising at Mi Browser|Advertising widgets on the main screen|All of the above.-->
3. Blocking ads through ADB (no root, but from PC)
The Android Debug Bridge (ADB) method is the most effective way to remove ads without getting root permissions. It requires connecting your phone to your computer and executing multiple commands, but it yields a result close to completely removing ad modules. It is suitable for all Xiaomi devices based on Android 10+.
Step-by-step:
- Download and install ADB Tools on PC.
- Activate Developer Mode on your phone: go to Settings → About Phone and click on MIUI Version 7 times.
- Return to Settings → Additional → For developers and enable USB debugging.
- Connect your phone to your PC and in the command line (Windows: cmd, macOS/Linux: Terminal) run: adb devices If the device is displayed, type: adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.miui.systemAdSolution adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.xiaomi.midrop adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.android.browser
If these methods do not help, there are two options:
- Remove applications via ADB (as in Section 3).
- Use root for deep cleaning (Section 5).
5. Complete removal of advertising through root rights
For users willing to take drastic measures, root rights open up access to Xiaomi system files where ad modules are stored, which removes firmware-level advertising, including hidden services that are not blocked in other ways. loss of warranty, possible problems with OTA-Updates and the risk of “bricking” the device.
Tools required:
- 📱 Unlocked bootloader (Bootloader).
- 🔧 Magisk utility for getting root.
- 🛠️ Modified hosts file or AdAway module.
Step-by-step process:
- Unlock the bootloader through the official Mi Unlock Tool (requires a Xiaomi account binding and a wait of 7-15 days).
- Install custom recovery (TWRP) for your model.
- Sweep Magisk through recovery to get root.
- Install AdAway or Xiaomi ADB/Fastboot Tools and activate ad blocking at the system level.
- Remove folders via Root Explorer: /system/priv-app/SystemAdSolution/system/app/MiuiDaemon
Advantages of the method:
- ✅ Remove all advertising, including hidden banners in system utilities.
- ✅ Blocking Xiaomi’s analytics collection.
- ✅ Allows you to customize the firmware to your needs.
⚠️ Attention: On devices with MIUI 14/15 Android 13+ Some modules (such as MiuiDaemon) can be restored after updates. OTA-Update or use custom firmware like LineageOS.
6. Alternative methods: custom firmware and DNS-filtering
If none of the above methods did not suit, there are two radical options: install custom firmware without advertising or block advertising servers through DNS.
Option 1: Castom firmware
Firmware like LineageOS, Pixel Experience or ArrowOS completely remove all proprietary Xiaomi components, including advertising modules.
- ❌ The camera or sensors may not work (requires adjustment).
- ❌ No official support for banking applications (due to lack of SafetyNet).
- ✅ Full freedom from advertising and bloatware.
Option 2: DNS-filtering
Change. DNS-server on the device, you can block access to Xiaomi advertising domains:
- Go to Settings → Connections → Private DNS.
- Select the Private DNS Host Name and type in: dns.adguard.com or 1.1.1.3 (Cloudflare with Ad Blocking).
- Reset the device.
This method blocks up to 70% of ads, but does not remove local banners in system applications.
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Custom firmware is the only way to get rid of advertising forever, but it requires technical skills and can deprive the device of warranty.