How to remove news on the lock screen Xiaomi: the complete guide

Xiaomi’s current smartphones, including its Redmi and POCO sub-brands, offer users a variety of features but are often overloaded with advertising content. One of the most annoying features of the MIUI shell and the new HyperOS is the automatic activation of news feeds on the lock screen.This feature, known as “Wallpaper Carousel” or “Glance,” not only consumes traffic but can also noticeably affect the speed of the device unlock.

Many device owners are faced with a situation where after another system update or reset, the information stream appears on the locked display again. You can remove news using standard system tools, but the location of the desired switches often changes by developers. In this article, we will discuss in detail all the current methods of deactivating advertising blocks for various versions of firmware.

It’s worth noting that the process of disabling may vary slightly depending on the regional version of the software (Global, CN, EEA) and the specific model of your gadget. Below are universal steps that will help you return a clean and minimalistic lock screen, getting rid of intrusive content.

What is a wallpaper carousel and why it turns on itself

A feature popularly referred to as “news,” Xiaomi’s system settings feature Wallpaper Carousel, a service developed by the company to promote partners and display advertising content, originally conceived as a way to diversify the appearance of a locked screen by changing images, it has been transformed into a news aggregation tool.

Automatically turning this option on often happens after major operating system updates. The developers of MIUI and HyperOS are looking to increase user engagement in the ecosystem, so every major change in software, privacy and personalization settings can be reset to default values, which means that even if you previously disabled the tape, after the update it can be activated again.

⚠️ Warning: Wallpaper carousel has internet access and can download heavy media files in the background, which contributes to additional battery consumption and mobile traffic.

Then there is the concept of "Recommended" or "Glance" (depending on the region), which are analogous to the Carousel, but with more aggressive integration of news widgets right on top of the watch. Understanding the differences between these services will help you choose the right method to disable them in a particular case.

Disabling the Carousel tape through screen settings

The easiest and most effective way to remove news is to use the regular theme settings menu, which works on the vast majority of devices with MIUI 12, 13, 14 shells and up-to-date HyperOS. You don’t need third-party apps or root rights, the whole procedure takes less than a minute.

You need to go to your smartphone's Settings menu to start with, find the partition that's responsible for the look of the system, depending on the firmware version, it can be called Wallpaper, Always Screen and Lock, or just Lock Screen, and that's where the switch that activates the ad content is hidden.

Inside the menu, find the Wallpaper Carousel (or Wallpaper Carousel) item, and if you click on it, you will open an additional window with a preview of the available images. In the upper right corner or at the bottom of the screen (depending on the interface version), there is an icon of a gear or three menu points, and clicking on them, you will be placed in the service settings.

In the options list that opens, you need to find a switch called Turn on the wallpaper carousel and put it in an inactive position. The system can request confirmation of the action or suggest leaving only the change of wallpaper without news - agree to completely shut down. After that, when you press the power button, the screen will be blocked by a standard static image.

Configure Glance Services and Recommendations

In some regions, such as India or Europe, Glance may be used instead of Carousel or simply Recommendations, but the path to shutdown may be different, and if the standard method didn't work, it's worth checking your locking settings in more detail.

Go to Settings → Screen Lock. Scroll down to “Advanced” or “Advanced Settings.” Here you can find “Receive recommendations” or “Get recommendations,” which is the setting that loads news widgets over time and date.

Also worth looking at is the Security app, which is Xiaomi's system control center, which often duplicates ad settings inside it. Go to Ads (usually on a three-point menu) and turn off personalized recommendations, which will not remove the tape itself, but will reduce the frequency of banner ads in the system as a whole.

⚠️ Note: After the Glance or Carousel service is disabled, old cached images may be temporarily displayed.

Using Third-Party Themes to Block Content

If the system settings do not give the desired result or the interface constantly returns to the original state, you can resort to a radical but effective method - changing the theme of the design. Themes app allows you to completely replace the system elements of the interface, including the lock screen.

There are many options in the theme catalog that have minimalist designs that simply don't have a news feed function, and if you download and apply a theme like this, you won't be able to physically see the news because the theme code doesn't have a module to display it, a workaround that advanced users often use.

To find the right design, search for the Themes app for queries like Minimal Lock Screen or No Ads Lock. When installing the theme, the system will warn you about the use of all elements (icons, sounds, wallpaper), you can agree or choose a selective application, leaving only the Lock Screen.

Problems with updates and resetting settings

A common reason for news to reappear is a firmware update. When your Xiaomi, Redmi or POCO receives an update to a new version of Android or MIUI, the system configuration file can be overwritten, in which case all (manually) changes to the lock settings are reset.

To minimize the risks, it is recommended that after each major update, immediately check the Settings → Wallpaper section. Experienced users are advised to take screenshots of the current settings before updating to quickly restore the desired settings if they get lost.

In rare cases, a full reset to factory settings (Wipe Data) helps. However, this is an extreme measure that requires a full backup. When you first set up your smartphone after reset, carefully monitor every step of the setup wizard — often the “Enable news and recommendations” tick is the default and must be removed at the time of the first turn on.

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Tip: If you can't find the news switch, try temporarily changing the device region in settings (Settings → Additional settings → Region) to another country, such as Kazakhstan or Indonesia. The settings interface may change, and the desired item will become available or disappear altogether.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

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Disabling the news feed completely requires checking multiple settings sections, as Xiaomi can duplicate these features under different names depending on the software version.