How to permanently remove floating windows on Xiaomi: system and hidden methods

Floating windows on Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones are one of the most annoying features of MIUI firmware. They appear at the most inopportune moment: during games, watching videos or working with documents, most often advertising banners, notifications from system applications (Mi Video, Mi Browser, GetApps) or “helpful tips” from MIUI, which in practice only interfere.

Compounding the problem, the manufacturer is actively integrating advertising modules into the company shell, and standard settings do not always allow you to get rid of them. In this article, we will discuss all possible ways, from basic settings to hidden parameters and radical measures like disabling system applications. It is important to understand that some methods require root rights or can affect the stability of the device.

If you use Xiaomi on global or Chinese firmware, the algorithms may vary slightly — we’ll give you these nuances. Also, at the end of the article, you’ll find an FAQ answering common questions, including issues after MIUI updates.

1. Disable floating windows in standard MIUI settings

So, to start with, the simplest thing is the built-in shell tools, and in the latest versions of MIUI 12-14, you can turn off some of the ad windows without any further manipulation.

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. In the upper right corner, click on three dots and select Show All Apps.
3. Find GetApps, Mi Video, Mi Browser, Mi Music and open each one in turn.
4. In the Notifications section, turn off all switches (especially Floating Notifications and Advertising push notifications).
5. Return to the main settings menu and go to Settings → Notifications and Status bar → Floating Notifications. Here, turn off the Allow Floating Windows option for all applications.

This method works for most “legal” notifications, but does not affect deeply integrated advertising (for example, banners in the Security menu or Topics).

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In some regional firmware (e.g. India), the Advertising push notifications may be referred to as Personalized Ads or Recommendations.

2. Hidden MIUI settings: disabling ads via MSA

MIUI System Ads (MSA) — It's the internal mechanism that drives ads in system applications, and it can be partially or completely disabled through hidden settings. MIUI 12–14:

1. Open the Settings app.
2. In the search bar (top), enter msa (without quotes).
3. Select the MSA or Advertising Services that appear.
4. Turn off all switches on this menu: 🔹 Personalized recommendations 🔹 Advertising identification 🔹 Showing ads

Reset the device.

This removes most banner ads, but does not guarantee 100% results. For example, floating windows from Mi Video or GetApps may still appear when you open these applications, in which case a more radical solution would be to disable system applications (see section 4).

⚠️ Note: Some of the firmware (especially Chinese) MSA In this case, try an alternative method: go to Settings. → Memory. → Clean, click on the three dots in the top right corner and select Cleaning Settings.

3.Using ADB to Deeply Disable Advertising

If standard methods don’t work, you can use Android Debug Bridge (ADB), a debugging tool that allows you to change hidden system settings, which does not require root, but requires connecting your smartphone to your computer.

What you need:

• 🖥️ Computer with Windows/macOS/Linux
• 📱 USB-cable (preferably original)
• 🔧 Installed drivers Xiaomi and ADB (installation manual)

Step-by-step:

1. Download Google’s Platform Tools and unpack the archive.
2. On your smartphone, turn on Developer Mode: Go to Settings → About Phone. Press 7 times on the MIUI Version until the notification appears.

Settings → Additional → For Developers

USB debugging

Platform Tools

Open the PowerShell window here

adb devices

If the device is displayed, enter the following commands in turn:

adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.miui.systemAdSolution


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




adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.android.browser




adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.miui.video




adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.xiaomi.powerchecker

These commands disable the key system applications responsible for displaying ads. After you perform, restart the device. If floating windows continue to appear, check if the applications have been updated through the Play Market (some of which can restore settings).

4. disabling system applications without root (risky method)

If ADB didn’t help or you don’t want to connect your smartphone to your computer, you can try to disable system applications manually.This method can lead to unstable firmware, so use it at your own risk.

List of applications that can be disabled:

How to turn it off:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Find the desired application from the table above.
3. Click Disable (if the button is inactive, the application is protected by the system).
4. Confirm the action.

⚠️ Warning: Disabling com.miui.systemAdSolution or com.miui.analytics may cause malfunctions MIUI, including problems with updates or some features (e.g. Game Turbo) If there are errors after disabling, return the application to its original state.

Create a backup copy of the data|Check the version. MIUI (Some firmware blocks the shutdown)|Prepare a list of applications for rollback in case of failure|Make sure the battery is charged >50%-->

5. Install custom firmware (for advanced users)

If all previous methods failed, the most radical way is to install custom firmware without advertising, which is only suitable for advanced users, since it requires unlocking the bootloader and potentially deprives of warranties.

Popular firmware without advertising for Xiaomi:

• 📱 Xiaomi.eu – modified version MIUI Advertising-free and Chinese-based.
• 🤖 LineageOS – “pure” Android without a shell MIUI.
• ⚡ Pixel Experience – firmware with an interface, like on Google Pixel.

The short installation instructions for Xiaomi.eu are:

1. Unlock the bootloader through the official Xiaomi tool (requires a Mi Account and wait 7-30 days).
2. Download the firmware Xiaomi.eu for your model from the official website.
3. Install the custom TWRP recavator (instructions are available on the 4PDA forum for each model).
4. Using TWRP, run Wipe → Format Data (this will delete all data!).
5. Install the downloaded firmware and restart.

Advantages of this method:

• 🚫 Complete lack of advertising and floating windows.
• 🔄 Regular updates from the community.
• 🛡️ No Chinese services or surveillance.

⚠️ Note: Installing custom firmware voids warranty and may result in a brick device in case of errors, NFC or IR-blaster) may not work properly.

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Custom firmware is the only way to get rid of advertising forever, but it requires technical skills and takes away official support.

6. Alternative methods: blockers and third-party utilities

If you're not prepared for radical measures, you can try third-party solutions, which don't give you a 100% guarantee, but the number of floating windows.

Popular tools:

• 🛡️ Blokada – Blocker of Advertising at the Level DNS (no root).
• 🔒 AdGuard – filters ads in the browser and some applications.
• 📵 App Ops – allows you to disable permissions for system applications (requires) ADB).

How to set up Blokada:

1. Download Blokada from the official website (not from the Play Market, it’s an outdated version).
2. Launch the app and turn on the protection.
3. Go to Settings → DNS and select Blokada DNS.
4. In the Applications section, blacklist GetApps, Mi Video and other system programs.

Limitations of the method:

• Does not block floating windows in system menus (for example, in Settings).
• Could be in conflict with VPN-applications.
• Requires constant work in the background (consumes battery).

For maximum effect, combine Blokada with disabling ads via ADB (Section 3).

FAQ: Frequent questions about floating windows on Xiaomi