How to permanently remove recommendations in Xiaomi folders on MIUI 12: a detailed guide

The upgrade to MIUI 12 brought Xiaomi users not only a fresh design and new features, but also an annoying feature – automatic application recommendations right in the folders. Instead of a neat list of your programs, the system pops up “useful” services, games or utilities that you never installed. Worse, these recommendations take up space, prevent quick access to the desired applications and sometimes even slow down the launcher.

If you're tired of seeing other people's icons in your folders, this article will help you turn off recommendations completely, both with standard MIUI 12 tools and with hidden settings. We've tested all methods on Redmi Note 10 Pro, Poco X3 Pro and Mi 11 Lite models, so the instructions are relevant for most devices based on this firmware. Importantly, some methods require caution to not disrupt the system.

Why does MIUI 12 show recommendations in folders?

The recommendation feature emerged as part of Xiaomi’s ecosystem for monetiizing free software, essentially an embedded ad masquerading as “personalized offers.”

• 📱 Frequently used applications – if you often open messengers, the system will slip analogues;
• 🔍 Search queries – for example, after searching for a “taxi” you may see a Yandex Go icon;
• 🌍 Regional trends – services popular in your country (banks, food delivery);
• 🎮 Game activity - recommendations of new games from the Mi Game Center.

MIUI 12.5 and later have muted the feature a bit, but in the basic MIUI 12, it works particularly aggressively, and the main problem is that recommendations are not just displayed, but loaded in the background, consuming traffic and battery power.

Method 1: Disabling recommendations through launcher settings

The easiest and safest method is to use the built-in MIUI launcher options, which works on most devices without any additional manipulation:

1. Open any folder on the home screen where recommendations appear.
2. Slap three points (⋮) top-right corner of the folder.
3. Select the folder settings item.
4. Turn off the Recommended Apps slider (or Show recommendations depending on the version).
5. Confirm the action by pressing Ready.

⚠️ Note: On some firmware (for example, MIUI 12.0.3 for Redmi 9T) This item may not be available, so move on to the next one.

Check the version of MIUI in Settings → About the phone

Backup the home screen (Settings → Home screen → Backup)

Close all background applications for stable operation

Make sure your phone is at least 30% charged.

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Method 2: Resetting the launcher settings to the factory

If the recommendations come back after the reboot, the launcher reset will help. This method does not affect user data, but will return the standard location of the icons:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Slap three points (⋮) in the upper right corner and select Show Systems.
3. Find the MIUI Launcher (or MIUI Launcher) in the list and open it.
4. Select Warehouse. → Clear the data.
5. Confirm the action and restart the phone.

After discharge:

• 🔄 You will have to reconfigure the main screen (wallpaper, widgets, folders);
• ✅ Recommendations in folders will disappear by 100%;
• ⚠️ Temporary lags are possible at the first launch of the launcher.

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Before resetting the launcher, take screenshots of the current location of the icons - this will save time for re-configuration.

Method 3: Disconnect via ADB (for power users)

If standard methods do not work, you can block recommendations at the system level using the ADB-This requires connecting the phone to a PC and basic command line knowledge.

Instructions:

1. Turn on Developer Mode on your phone: go to Settings → About Phone and tap the MIUI version 7 times.
2. Return to Settings → Additional → For developers and activate Debugging over USB.
3. Connect your phone to your PC, install ADB drivers, and open the command prompt in the adb.exe folder.
4. Enter the commands: adb shell pm hide com.miui.home/.settings.FolderRecommendSettingsActivity adb shell settings put global folder_recommend_enabled 0
5. Reboot the phone.

⚠️ Attention: Misuse of the right ADB If the launcher stops opening after the execution of commands, return the settings by the command:

adb shell settings put global folder_recommend_enabled 1

Method 4: Using a third-party launcher

A Radical but effective method is to install an alternative launcher, such as Nova Launcher, Apex Launcher or Microsoft Launcher, which completely replaces the standard MIUI interface and does not have built-in recommendations.

Pros of the method:

• 🚀 Full control of the main screen (setting gestures, animations, icons);
• 🔒 No advertising and recommendations;
• 📁 Folders work without delay;
• 🎨 Themes and styles for every taste.

Cons:

• ⚠️ Certain functions MIUI (For example, Dual App or Child Mode may become unavailable;
• 🔋 Small increase in battery consumption (by 3-5%);
• 📱 System application widgets (Weather, Calendar) may not be displayed correctly.

Recommended launchers for Xiaomi:

Method 5: Manually remove cache recommendations (temporary solution)

If recommendations appear occasionally, you can manually clear the cache of the service responsible for displaying them, which will not permanently disable the function, but will reduce the frequency of occurrence:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Activate the display of system applications (three points → Show system).
3. Find MIUI Daemon (or com.miui.daemon) and open it.
4. Click Clear the cache and Stop (if the button is active).
5. Repeat steps 3-4 for applications: MIUI Recommendations (com.miui.recommendation); MIUI Services (com.xiaomi.mipicks).

The effect lasts until the next MIUI service update (usually 1-2 weeks) and you can use applications like SD Maid or CCleaner to clean automatically, but they require root rights for deep cleaning.

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Cache cleaning is a temporary solution. To completely disable recommendations, combine this method with method 1 or 3.

What do you do if nothing helps?

If all of these methods fail, the problem may be:

1. Customized firmware — some third-party MIUI builds block system setting changes. Solution: Go back to the official firmware via Fastboot.
2. Regional Restrictions – On China ROM devices, recommendations are turned off differently. Try changing region to Settings → Additional → Region.
3. Damaged system files – reset to factory settings (Settings → About Phone → Resetting), but make a backup beforehand.

Last chance is to upgrade to MIUI 13+. In newer versions of firmware, the recommendations in folders are either completely removed or they can be disabled in 1 click. Check the availability of the update in Settings → About Phone → System Update.

FAQ: Frequent questions on recommendations in MIUI 12