How to permanently remove ads from the lock screen on Xiaomi: step-by-step instructions for MIUI

The lock screen on Xiaomi smartphones is one of the most annoying places to display ads. Even after buying a new device, users encounter intrusive banners that appear every time they unlock the phone, and the problem is relevant for both the budget Redmi and the flagship Xiaomi 13/14 or POCO F5. In this article, we will analyze all the current ways to remove ads, from official settings to hidden MIUI features that the manufacturer does not advertise.

It is important to understand that the ads on the lock screen are not a bug, but a feature. Xiaomi monetizes its MIUI firmware by showing ads in system applications. However, in most regions (including Russia and CIS countries), this advertising can be turned off without root rights or complex manipulations. The main thing is to know where to look for the right switches and which services are responsible for displaying banners.

Why Ads Appear on Xiaomi’s Lock Screen

The reason for the appearance of advertising lies in the architecture of the firmware MIUI. Unlike the “pure” Android, where the lock screen is controlled by the system, Xiaomi has several components for this:

• 📱 The system application "Block screen" (com.miui.lockscreen) is the main module that downloads banner ads from Xiaomi servers.
• 🔄 Personalization service MSA (com.miui.msa.global – collects user data and selects “relevant” ads.
• 📊 Analytics MIUI (com.miui.analytics – tracks activity and shows targeted ads.
• 🌍 Regional settings – in some countries (for example, India) advertising is turned off automatically, in others (Russia, Ukraine) requires manual intervention.

Fun Fact: Even if you’ve never set up an ad manually, it can appear after an update. MIUI. The fact is that Xiaomi periodically resets some settings to default values, including permission to display ads. MIUI 13 on MIUI 14) it is worth checking the settings again.

Method 1: Disabling Advertising through MIUI Settings (Official Method)

The easiest and safest way to do this is to use the built-in MIUI settings, which works on most devices starting with MIUI 12 and doesn't require any additional applications.

1. Open the Settings app (cog icon).
2. Go to Lock Screen (or Lock and Password → Lock screen settings on new versions).
3. Find Advertising on the lock screen (may be called Recommendations or Useful Information).
4. Turn off the slider near this point.
5. Return to the main settings menu and go to Applications → Application Management.
6. In the search bar, type in msa and select the MSA (Miui System Ads) application.
7. Click Disable (if the button is inactive, click Stop first).

If you don't have Ads on the lock screen, it means your version of MIUI uses a different ad display mechanism, in which case try the following method.

Method 2: Using a hidden menu to disable ads (for power users)

MIUI has a hidden menu that allows you to turn off ads at the system level, which works even where standard settings don't work, but beware: wrong actions can cause firmware to crash.

Instructions:

1. Open the phone app and enter the combination: ##846446##
2. You will be taken to the MTK Engineer Mode menu (if the combination doesn't work, try ##4636###).
3. Go to Network Information (or Network Testing on newer versions).
4. Find Advertisement or MIUI Ads and turn it off.
5. Return to the main menu and select Reboot to reboot the device.

Important: This method only works on devices with a MediaTek processor (e.g. Redmi Note 11/12, POCO M4/M5). On smartphones with Snapdragon (Xiaomi 12/13, POCO F4), the hidden menu may be missing or have a different interface.

Method 3: Disabling Advertising through ADB (for Advanced Users)

If previous methods have failed, you can use ADB (Android Debug Bridge), a tool for debugging Android devices, which requires connecting a smartphone to a computer, but is guaranteed to remove ads at the system level.

Step-by-step:

1. Download and install ADB Tools on your computer.
2. Turn on USB Debugging on your smartphone: Settings → About Phone → MIUI version (click 7 times to activate Developer Mode), then go back to Settings → Additional → Developers → Debugging on USB.
3. Connect the phone to your computer and confirm the debugging permission.
4. Open the command line (Windows) or terminal (macOS/Linux) and type:

adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.miui.msa.global


adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.xiaomi.midrop




adb shell pm hide com.android.browser




adb shell settings put global captive_portal_detection_enabled 0

These teams:

• 🗑️ Remove the app MSA (Responsible for personalized advertising).
• 🔍 Disable the Mi Drop service, which sometimes shows ads.
• 🌐 Hide the standard browser (another source of banners).
• 🚫 Disable captive-portal check (can block some functions).

Warning: After these commands are executed, some system functions (such as transferring files via Mi Drop) may stop working.

adb shell cmd package install-existing com.miui.msa.global

💡

If push notifications from system applications (such as “Security”) stop working after MSA is disabled, try restarting your device or resetting notification settings in the “Applications → Application Management → Three Points → Resetting Notification Settings” section.

Method 4: Using third-party applications (without root)

If you don't want to mess with settings or ADB, you can use third-party apps.

Example of QuickShortcutMaker:

1. Install the app from Google Play.
2. In the search box, enter Advertisement or MSA.
3. Find activities called com.miui.systemAdSolution or com.miui.msa.global.MainActivity.
4. Click on the item found and select Try (start activity).
5. In the menu that opens, turn off all sliders associated with advertising.

💡

The side of an application like Blokada blocks ads at the network level, but doesn't remove them from the system, which means that banners are still loaded, but not displayed. For complete removal, it's better to combine ADB and third-party blockers.

Method 5: Reset Advertising Settings via Mi Account (for global firmware)

If your smartphone is running MIUI global firmware (such as MIUI Global or EEA), you can reset your ad settings through your Xiaomi account, a method that is especially effective after updates when settings are reset to default.

Instructions:

1. Open Settings → Xiaomi Account and log in (if not authorized).
2. Go to Mi Cloud → Synchronization.
3. Find the Settings of the system and turn off synchronization.
4. Go back to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
5. Find Settings (com.android.settings) and click Storage → Clear the data.
6. Reset the device.

After the reboot, the ads on the lock screen should disappear. If not, check if the ad settings are synchronized in Mi Cloud (sometimes they are activated automatically).

💡

Before resetting your settings via Mi Account, make sure you have a backup of important data (contacts, SMS, notes) sync with Mi Cloud can wipe local settings.

What to do if the advertisement still appears

If none of these methods worked, the problem may be as follows:

• 📦 Regional firmware: Some devices in India or China only disable ads via root.
• 🔄 Update MIUI: After the update, the settings may reset.
• 🛠️ Castom firmware: If you use an informal firmware (e.g. xiaomi.eu), there should be no advertising. If there is, it is fake firmware.
• 📡 Xiaomi server problems: sometimes ads are shown because of a failure on the Xiaomi side.

If you are sure that the problem is not the settings, try the following algorithm:

1. Make a backup copy of the data.
2. Perform a reset to factory settings (Settings → About Phone → Resetting).
3. When you first set up, do not connect to Wi-Fi and do not sign in to Mi Account.
4. Skip all personalization steps (including MIUI Guidelines).
5. After loading the desktop, immediately disable the advertisement through the settings (see Method 1).

Warning: Resetting to factory settings will remove all data from the device, including photos, messages and installed apps. Use this method only as a last resort.

FAQ: Frequent questions about ads on Xiaomi lock screen