How to permanently remove ads on Xiaomi with MIUI: from system banners to applications

MIUI is one of the most annoying features of Xiaomi’s smartphones, which the manufacturer describes as “personalized recommendations.” In practice, users encounter banners in the settings menu, notifications from system applications (Mi Browser, Mi Video, Themes), and even advertising in the quick access panels. In this article, we will analyze all the current ways to disable advertising – from standard settings to deep modifications of the system, including methods for MIUI 12/13/14 and HyperOS.

It is important to understand that some of the ads are built into the firmware level, and removing them may require superuser rights (root) or use. ADB. We will look at both secure methods for beginners and advanced solutions for power users. MSA (Miui System Ads, which is responsible for targeted advertising even after disabling all visible options.

Why is Xiaomi showing ads and is it legal?

The manufacturer officially declares that advertising in MIUI is a compromise to keep prices low on devices, which means that users pay for a smartphone not only in money, but also in attention to advertising materials.

• 📜 The user agrees to the terms when the device is first turned on (often without reading them).
• 🔄 Advertising can be disabled through settings (though not all and not always intuitively).
• 🌍 In some regions (e.g. the EU) advertising is less due to local regulations.

However, there are nuances: some advertising mechanisms (such as MSA) continue to work even after manually disabling banners in the settings, which is due to the fact that Xiaomi has integrated advertising SDKs directly into system processes, such as com.miui.systemAdSolution or com.xiaomi.mipicks.

⚠️ Warning: Disabling advertising through modification of system files (hosts, deletion) APK) This can lead to loss of warranty and unstable operation of the device. On models with a locked bootloader (for example, for the Russian market), such actions are fraught with a breeze (complete inoperability) of the smartphone.

Method 1: Disabling Advertising through the standard MIUI settings

To start with, the safest method that most users can use is Xiaomi, which provides the option to disable some of the ads through the settings menu, but these options are often hidden or reset after updates. Here is a step-by-step guide for MIUI 12-14 and HyperOS:

1. Advertising in the settings and panels menu: 🔧 Go to Settings. → The phone. 🔄 Tap 7-10 times on the item Version MIUI, activate the developer mode. 🔙 Return to the main settings menu and open additionally → Special facilities. 🚫 Find the option Remove ads in the settings menu (some firmware may call Disable recommendations) and activate it.

Advertising in system applications:

• 📱 Open the Settings. → Annexes → Application management.
• 🔍 Find Mi Browser, Mi Video, Themes, Mi Music, etc.
• 📛 For each application, go to Notifications. → Disable Advertising (or Recommendations).
• 🔄 Restart the device to apply changes.

Activate Developer Mode |Deactivate recommendations in "Special Features" |Check notification settings for system applications |Reboot smartphone-->

This method removes up to 60-70% of ads, but does not affect deep mechanisms such as MSA or banners in the Security App.

Method 2: Using ADB to Deeply Disable Advertising

If standard settings don’t work, the next step is to use Android Debug Bridge (ADB), a method that doesn’t require root rights, but requires connecting your smartphone to your computer, and the advantage is that it allows you to disable ads at the system package level, including hidden Xiaomi services.

You'll need:

• 💻 Computer with installed ADB-driver.
• 📱 Xiaomi smartphone with enabled debugging USB (Settings → The phone. → Version. MIUI → 7 taps → Developer settings → Debugging by USB).
• 🔌 USB-cable (preferably original).

Instructions:

1. Connect your smartphone to your PC and confirm the debugging permission on the device screen.
2. Open the command prompt (cmd on Windows or Terminal on macOS/Linux) and type:

adb devices

(Your device must be authorized.)

1. Follow the commands in turn (each disables a separate advertising module):

adb shell pm hide com.miui.analytics


adb shell pm hide com.xiaomi.mipicks




adb shell pm hide com.miui.systemAdSolution




adb shell pm hide com.miui.bugreport




adb shell pm hide com.miui.cloudservice




adb shell pm hide com.miui.msa.global

After you execute the commands, restart your smartphone. Ads in the settings menu, Mi Browser and other system applications should disappear. If some commands do not work (Operation not allowed error), then the corresponding package has already been disabled or blocked by the manufacturer.

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If the ad returns after the reboot, repeat the commands and additionally execute the adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.miui.analytics. This will completely remove the analytics collection module (but may cause errors in some Xiaomi services).

Method 3: Editing the hosts file to block ad servers

Another effective method is to block Xiaomi ad servers at the network request level, and this is done by editing the hosts file, which redirects requests to ad domains to a non-existent one. IP-The method works without root, but requires access to the file system through ADB or file manager with superuser rights.

List of the main advertising domains Xiaomi:

For editing hosts:

1. Connect your smartphone to your PC and open ADB.
2. Download the current hosts file:

adb pull /system/etc/hosts C:\hosts_backup.txt

1. Open the downloaded file in the notebook and add to the end of the line:

127.0.0.1 sdkconfig.ad.xiaomi.com


127.0.0.1 tracker.ai.xiaomi.com




127.0.0.1 ad.mi.com




127.0.0.1 data.mistat.xiaomi.com




127.0.0.1 api.brs.intl.miui.com

1. Save the file and upload it back:

adb push C:\hosts_backup.txt /system/etc/hosts


adb shell chmod 644 /system/etc/hosts

If you do not have permission to write to /system, use an alternative method through the AdAway app (requires root) or Blokada (works without root, but blocks traffic at the VPN level).

Method 4: Remove system applications (requires root)

The most radical method is to completely remove the system applications responsible for displaying ads, which requires super-user rights (root) and can lead to unstable device operation.

List of safe packets to remove (checked on MIUI 14):

• 🗑️ com.miui.analytics – Analytics collection.
• 🗑️ com.xiaomi.mipicks - recommendations in the menu.
• 🗑️ com.miui.systemAdSolution – the main module of advertising.
• 🗑️ com.miui.bugreport – sending error reports (contains advertising messages) SDK).
• 🗑️ com.miui.cloudservice – cloud services (may disrupt synchronization).

Use Root Explorer or ADB to remove:

adb shell


su




pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.miui.analytics

Before you delete, make sure to back up via TWRP or OrangeFox! some packages (like com.miui.cloudservice) can be critical to your Xiaomi account.

⚠️ Note: Deleting the com.miui.systemAdSolution package on some firmware causes themes to lose functionality (Themes app stops working.

Method 5: Alternative firmware (for advanced users)

If none of these methods worked, the last resort is custom firmware, which will completely remove all Xiaomi advertising mechanisms, but will require unlocking the bootloader and losing warranty.

• 📱 Xiaomi.eu – modified MIUI without advertising or Chinese services. OTA-update.
• 🤖 LineageOS – pure Android without branded bells and whistles Xiaomi.
• 🔥 Pixel Experience – firmware with Google Pixel interface and minimalist design.

Installation process:

1. Unlock the bootloader through the official Mi Unlock tool (can take up to 720 hours to wait on new accounts).
2. Install custom recovery (TWRP or OrangeFox).
3. Sweep through the selected firmware and GApps (if you need Google services).

Cons of the method:

• ❌ Loss of warranty (on most models).
• ❌ The risk of a breeze in firmware error.
• ❌ Possible problems with the camera or sensors (on unofficial builds).

Stock-stock MIUI|Xiaomi.eu (without advertising)|LineageOS|Pixel Experience|other-->

How to reduce the amount of advertising without technical manipulation

If you are not ready for radical measures, but want to reduce the number of ads, use these recommendations:

• 🔄 Update the firmware - in new versions MIUI (for example 14.0.5+) Advertising has decreased due to user pressure.
• 🌐 Use alternative apps: Replace Mi Browser on Chrome or Firefox.Install VLC Instead of Mi Video, use Google Photos instead of Mi Gallery.
• 🛡️ Turn off ad personalization: Go to Settings → Google → Advertising and deactivate the option Personalized Advertising. → Accounts. → Mi Account. → Privacy Disable Personalized Recommendations.
• 📵 Limit background activity: Settings → Annexes → Application management → [Select the application] → Battery → Limit background activity

These measures will not eliminate ads completely, but they will reduce their obsession by 30 to 50 percent. Also, pay attention to regional settings: if your smartphone is tied to a Chinese or Indian region, there will be a lot more ads.

1. Go to Settings. → Additionally. → Region.
2. Choose the European Union or Russia (there are fewer ads in these regions due to local laws).
3. Reset the device.

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The change to the European Union also disables some system applications (such as Mi Pay), but significantly reduces the amount of advertising in MIUI.

FAQ: Frequent questions about removing ads on Xiaomi