Xiaomi smartphone owners often face intrusive visual noise on a locked display. Instead of pure time and date, users see service logos, tips, news widgets or even banner ads.
These cells consume battery life and can distract from the main goal of quickly unlocking the device. Many people confuse system messages with a virus, but in 99% of cases these are regular features of the MIUI or HyperOS shell, which simply require proper configuration.
In this guide, we will take a closer look at all the types of labels that appear on your screen, learn how to turn off cards, widgets, system notifications and ads, returning the device to its original appearance.
The nature of text and widgets on a locked screen
To effectively combat the problem, you need to understand the source of the problem: the lock screen in Xiaomi smartphones is a complex software module that displays not only time, but also useful (or not so) information, and developers implement many elements to retain the user’s attention.
Most often, labels fall into three categories: system statuses, app widgets, and advertising content: the former report battery power, Bluetooth connection, or alarm clock; the latter display news headlines or weather; the third, the most unpleasant, promote Mi Pay services or third-party apps.
Understanding the difference between critical notifications and information debris is the first step to cleaning up the interface, and the system’s algorithms are constantly analyzing your actions to suggest “relevant” content that is often redundant.
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Before making changes, take a screenshot of the current state of the lock screen, which will help you understand which items are missing after setting up if you accidentally turn off something you need.
It's worth noting that in recent versions of HyperOS, the menu structure has changed slightly, but the logic has remained the same. Some labels are part of the theme, so removing them may require a change in visual style.
Disabling cards and widgets in the style of iOS
One of the most annoying features is what's called an "iOS-style screen," which is that when you swipe left or right of the center, you get cards with news, weather or quick access, and it makes you feel cluttered.
To remove these items, you need to enter the lock settings, find the partition that controls the lock screen, and carefully study the items associated with slides or cards, which are usually enabled by default.
- 🔍 Go to Settings. → Lock screen (or Wallpaper and personalization) → Lock screen).
- 🔍 Find the item "IOS-style lock screen" or "Slides".
- 🔍 Turn the switch to the "Off" position".
After that, left-right swipes will stop causing additional panels to appear, the screen will become static and clean. If you use third-party themes from Mi Themes, they can have their own widget settings.
It's important to distinguish between widgets and notifications. Widgets are static blocks of information, and notifications come dynamically from applications. The methods of disabling them vary dramatically.
Removal of advertising and logos of services (Mi Pay, Mi Video)
A common complaint is that Mi Pay, Mi Video or GetApps logos appear at the bottom of the screen, often accompanied by text like "Push to open," which is not a virus, but built-in advertising of the company's own services.
Fortunately, you can turn it off through system settings, although developers sometimes hide this option, you'll need access to the lock screen settings menu, look for items that contain the words "Services", "Recommendations" or "Advertising".
In some versions of MIUI, the path might look like this: Settings → Passwords & Security → Privacy → Special features → Data Access. You can deny system services access to the network, but you better find a direct setting.
⚠️ Note: If you don’t see a switch to disable ad services, try changing the region in your phone settings. In some countries (e.g. India or Russia), ad integrations may differ from the global version.
It’s also worth checking the settings of specific apps. Go to Settings → Apps → All apps, look for Mi Pay or Security and see if there’s a display option on the lock screen.
| Type of inscription | Source | Deleting method | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mi Pay logo | Systems service | Locking settings | Low. |
| News and weather | Widgets/Slides | Disabling cards | Low. |
| Advertising of applications | Recommendations | Disabling MSA/Advertising | Medium |
| Charge status/USB | Hardware status | Not removed (statute) | Impossible. |
Getting rid of ad integrations requires a holistic approach, and sometimes it's not enough to just turn off one switch, you need to check several adjacent settings.
Configure the display of notifications from applications
Text incoming messages, calls, or reminders is useful information, but the excess of it turns the screen into a porridge of characters, and you can flexibly configure which apps have the right to display text on a locked display.
To do this, go to the notification section, and here is a complete list of all installed programs, and you can selectively disable preview content for instant messengers, games, or social networks.
- 🔒 Open the Settings. → Notifications and status line.
- 🔒 Select "Notification Form" or "Block Screen".
- 🔒 Turn off the "Show Content" switch to hide the text of messages.
If you want to remove labels from specific applications, find them in the list below and disable the display on the lock screen, which will preserve the privacy and cleanliness of the interface.
☑️ Checking notification settings
Use Quiet Notifications for less important applications, not waking up the screen and leaving text trails behind them, but just gently accumulating in the curtain.
Changing the theme of design as a way of cleaning
Sometimes the problem is not the settings, but the design theme itself. Third-party designers often embed complex watches, running lines, or logos into their creations that cannot be removed by standard means.
If you notice that after you install a new theme, you get weird labels, try going back to the standard design, and it will instantly show if it was the design.
Go to the Themes app, go to your profile, and select a standard Classic or Default theme, apply it, and restart the device, and if the tags are missing, the reason is found.
⚠️ Note: When using third-party themes from the Mi Themes store, read the description carefully. Often it states that the design includes widgets or special effects on the lock screen.
In some cases, it helps to reset the theme to the factory even without changing the design completely. Just open the theme settings and click Reset or Restore by default.
Deep Cleaning by Shutting Down System Services
For advanced users who are not comfortable with standard methods, there is an option to disable the system services responsible for recommendations, which requires caution, but gives maximum results.
These include MSA (MIUI System Ads) and GetApps, which can remove most of the ads or limit them, but will resist this by requiring a 10-second wait before shutting down.
Settings → Applications → All Applications → (Menu 3 points) → Show System → MSA → DisableAlso, you should turn off Wallpaper Carousel, which is often responsible for changing pictures and showing sponsors' logos in the background.
What happens if you turn off the MSA?
After manipulating the system services, it is recommended to restart the smartphone, this will consolidate the changes and clear the interface cache.
Resetting the lock screen settings
If nothing helps and the labels are chaotic, there may have been a software failure in the locking module, in which case the effective solution would be to reset the settings of this particular component.
You don't have to reset your phone to factory settings, just look up the "Block Screen" system app (or similar) in the app menu and clear the data.
The path usually looks like this: Settings → Applications → Application Management → Screen Lock → Memory → Clear the data. After that, the lock screen will return to the “out of the box” state.
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Cleaning the data of the system application "Screen Lock" is safe and does not delete your personal photos or contacts, it only resets the design settings and widgets.
This method often helps after a firmware update when old settings conflict with newer versions of Xiaomi system components.