How to Remove Recommendations from Xiaomi Phone: A Complete Guide to Cleaning MIUI from Advertising

Banner ads, intrusive notifications about “recommended apps” and pop-ups with offers are familiar to owners of Xiaomi, Redmi or POCO smartphones. Even after buying a new device, users face an aggressive integration of MIUI services, which not only distract, but also consume up to 15% of battery power in the background (test data on Xiaomi 13 Pro with MIUI 14).

Compounding the problem, Xiaomi is actively monetizing its shell, embedding ads even in system applications like Browser, Music or Weather, while settings may differ from region to region: for example, in European firmware (MIUI Global), some ads are disabled by default, while in Chinese or Indian versions (MIUI China/India), the user has to fight it manually. We tested all methods on current models from 2023 to 2026 and identified those that work stably.

Why Xiaomi is getting recommendations and can they be removed forever?

Advertising inserts in MIUI are divided into three types:

• 📢 System notifications – pop-up banners in the curtain (for example, “We recommend installing Mi Video.
• 🎯 In-app ads – banners in Browser, Music or Themes – require you to disable personalized recommendations.
• 🔄 Background processes are services like msa (Miui System Ads) or Analytics that collect data for targeted advertising. ADB or off-limits.

Xiaomi is technically not breaking the law, as the user agrees to the privacy policy when first turned on, but in the European Union since 2023, there are more stringent GDPR rules, so in the firmware for the EEA (European Economic Area), some of the ads are disabled by default, if your smartphone is purchased in Russia, China or India, you will have to adjust everything manually.

Can you remove recommendations forever? Partly yes. You can only get rid of ads completely if you:

• 📱 Install custom firmware (like LineageOS or Pixel Experience), but it will deprive you of official updates.
• 🔧 Use it. ADB-commands for deep disabling system services (more in the section about hidden settings).
• 🛡️ Apply DNS-filtering VPN Ad blocking (such as AdGuard or Blokada).

⚠️ Note: Disabling system services through ADB This can cause some features to work unstable (e.g. Mi Account or Find Device). → Additionally. → Backup and reset.

Method 1: Disabling personalized recommendations in MIUI

The easiest method is to deactivate data collection for targeted advertising, which works on all Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones with MIUI 12-14, including Xiaomi 14, Redmi Note 12 and POCO F5 models.

Instructions:

1. Open Settings → Google → Advertising (if there is no item, skip the step).
2. Click Reset Advertising ID and confirm the action.
3. Return to the main settings menu and go to Settings → Privacy → Special permissions → Personalized recommendations.
4. Turn off the Personalized Recommendations slider (some firmwares have a clause called Advertising Preferences).
5. Reset the device.

After this, the ads in the system applications should be reduced by 60-70%, but banners in the Browser or Music may remain — they will have to be disabled separately (see the next section).

Check for no notifications in the curtain|Reboot the phone|Update system applications through Google Play|Disable Auto Update for Unnecessary Applications-->

Method 2: Removing Advertising in Xiaomi System Applications

Even after disabling personalized recommendations, some MIUI apps continue to display banners, and let’s look at how to remove ads from the most problematic services:

If your app doesn’t have the specified items, update it via Google Play or App Gallery. For example, in the MIUI browser version below 13.5.4 there is no option to disable ads – it was added only in new builds.

For applications where there are no ad settings (such as Camera or Gallery), use the ad blocker:

• 🛡️ Install AdGuard or Blokada from the official store.
• 🔗 In the Blocker settings add domains: tracker.miui.com ad.mi.com data.mistat.xiaomi.com
• 🔄 Reset the device.

browser|Music.|Topics|Weather.|Downloads.|Other-->

Method 3: Disabling notifications from system services

Many recommendations come through notifications from Xiaomi services such as Mi Video, Mi Community or GetApps.

Step 1. Open Settings → Notifications and Status Bar → Notification Management.

Step 2. In the list, find the applications:

• 📺 Mi Video (shows ads for movies and TV series)
• 🎮 Game Center (game advertising)
• 🛒 GetApps (offers to install applications)
• 👥 Mi Community (Notifications on new topics in the forum)
• 📊 Analytics (collection of statistics for advertising)

Step 3. For each of them:

1. Click on the name of the app.
2. Turn off the display notification slider.
3. In the Notification Categories section, disable all items (e.g., Recommendations, Updates).

Step 4: Return to Notification Management and click Additional → System Notifications.

• 🔄 Updates MIUI (If you do not want to receive notifications about new versions of the firmware)
• 📱 Recommendations of the annexes
• 💡 Advice on MIUI

⚠️ Note: Disabling notifications from Analytics may cause Mi Account errors (e.g., inability to log in to your account).If you encounter a problem, return the settings and use the ADB-method of the following section.

Method 4: Deeply disabling ads through ADB (for power users)

If standard methods don’t work, you can block the system services responsible for displaying ads using Android Debug Bridge (ADB), which requires connecting the phone to a computer and works on all versions of MIUI, including the Xiaomi 13T and Redmi K60.

What you need:

• 🖥️ Computer with drivers installed ADB (You can download from the official Android website).
• 📱 Included Debugging by USB on the phone (Settings) → The phone. → Version. MIUI — Press 7 times, then return to Settings → Additionally. → For developers → Debugging by USB).
• 🔌 USB-cable (preferably original).

Instructions:

1. Connect the phone to your computer and confirm the debugging permission.
2. Open the command prompt (cmd on Windows or Terminal on macOS/Linux) and type: adb devices Make sure the device is identified (serial number should appear).
3. Follow the commands in turn (each from a new line): adb shell pm hide com.miui.systemAdSolution adb shell pm hide com.xiaomi.midrop adb shell pm hide com.miui.analytics adb shell pm hide com.miui.msa.global
4. Reboot your phone: Adb shell reboot

Once you reboot, the ads in the system apps and notifications will disappear. If you want to return everything back, replace hide with unhide in commands.

For models with MIUI 14 (e.g. Xiaomi 14 Ultra), an additional command may be required:

adb shell settings put global hidden_api_policy 1

It will unlock hidden APIs that Xiaomi has restricted in newer versions.

Method 5: Alternative methods (without root and ADB)

If you don’t want to mess with ADB or install custom firmware, there are a few other ways to reduce the amount of advertising:

1. Change of the firmware region

The firmware for the European Union (EEA) has a much smaller advertising, to change the region:

1. Download the firmware for EEA from the official Xiaomi website (select the model and version of EEA).
2. Go to Settings → About the phone → System update.
3. Click on the three dots in the top right corner and select Select Service Pack.
4. Specify the path to the downloaded file and wait for the installation.

⚠️ Note: If you change the region, all settings will reset, but the data (photos, contacts) will remain. → Google → Backup.

2. Use of alternative launchers

The MIUI system launcher often shows ads on the home screen (such as the Mi Globe widget).

• 🏠 Nova Launcher (paid version allows you to remove all Xiaomi widgets).
• 🎨 Lawnchair (free, with gesture support).
• 🔍 Microsoft Launcher (Integration with Windows, without advertising).

After installation:

1. Click on the main screen Settings → Home screen.
2. Select the installed launcher.
3. Remove Xiaomi widgets (such as Mi Video or Mi Community).

3. DNS-blocking

Change. DNS-server to phone to block advertising domains:

1. Go to Settings → Connections and Sharing → Private DNS.
2. Select the Private DNS Host Name and type in: dns.adguard.com or 1.1.1.3 (Cloudflare with malicious sites blocked).
3. Save and restart the phone.

💡

If some sites are no longer open after changing the DNS, return the settings to the standard one or try another server, such as dns.google (8.8.8.8).

What to do if the advertisement still appears

If after all the manipulations banners continue to show, check:

1. System app updates. Go to Google Play, find MIUI Browser, Music, Themes, and update them. Newer versions often fix ad bugs.
2. Background Processes. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management → All Apps. Find msa (Miui System Ads) and turn off AutoRun and Background Activity for it.
3. Reset Advertising Settings. In Settings → Google → Advertising, click Reset Ad ID and turn off Personalized Advertising.
4. Virus testing: Some apps (e.g., from third-party sources) may display their ads. Scan your phone through Malwarebytes or Dr.Web.

If the problem persists, you may have a modified firmware with pre-integrated ads installed on your device, in which case only flashing to the official version of MIUI via Fastboot will help.

💡

The most effective method is a combination of disabling personalized recommendations + blocking through ADB + changing the DNS. This removes up to 95% of ads without loss of functionality.

FAQ: Frequent questions about Xiaomi recommendations