How to permanently remove ads from Xiaomi Redmi phone: from system settings to deep cleaning

Advertising in Xiaomi Redmi smartphones is one of the most annoying features of MIUI firmware, which the manufacturer has integrated into the system to monetize budget devices. Even after buying a phone, users encounter banners in the settings menu, advertising notifications in the curtain, sponsored applications in search and aggressive push messages from Mi Browser or Mi Video. In this article, we will examine all the current ways to remove ads, from standard settings to radical methods like changing firmware or disabling system services.

It’s important to understand that Xiaomi doesn’t provide an official option to completely disable ads on global firmware versions (especially for EEA, Global, India regions).However, there are workarounds that work on most Redmi Note 10/11/12, Redmi 9/10/11, POCO X3/X4/X5 and other devices based on MIUI 12-14. If you are willing to spend 10-30 minutes, you can get rid of 90-95% of ads without root rights.

We warn you beforehand that some techniques require technical training (e.g. ADB or custom recavator). If you're a beginner, start with simple methods and then move on to complex ones. Also remember that after you reset your settings or update your firmware, the ads may come back and you'll have to turn them off again.

1. Disabling Advertising through the standard MIUI settings

The safest and fastest way is to use built-in MIUI options, which partially limit the display of ads, but unfortunately they don't eliminate them completely, but they reduce the number of banners by 40-60%, which is suitable for users who don't want to risk the stability of the system.

The instructions are relevant for MIUI 12-14 (including HyperOS for new models). On older versions (MIUI 11 and below), the menu paths may differ.

📱 Advertising in the settings menu: Go to Settings → The phone. → Version. MIUI (tap 7-10 times to activate Developer Mode. Return to the main settings menu, open Additional → Special facilities → Advertising recommendations and disable slider.
🔔 Advertising Notifications: Go to Settings → Notifications → Additionally. → Advertising notifications and deactivate all switches. also check the App section → Application management → [Select the application] → Notifications for Mi Browser, Mi Video, GetApps.
🔍 Sponsored results in search: Open Settings → Search, find Show recommendations or Personalized recommendations and turn it off.
📊 Advertising in System Apps: For Mi Browser, Mi Video, Music, and GetApps, go to the settings of each app and find sections like Advertising Preferences or Personalization – disable anything related to recommendations.

⚠️ Note: Some firmware (especially for India) may not have the option to disable ads in the settings.

📊 Which advertisements annoy you the most?

Banners in the settings menu

Push notifications

2. Removal of Advertising through ADB (without root)

If standard settings don’t work, the next step is to use Android Debug Bridge (ADB), a method that allows you to disable the system services responsible for displaying ads without obtaining root permissions, suitable for most Redmi models based on Android 10-14.

Before you start, make sure that:

🖥️ Drivers are installed on the PC ADB Fastboot (you can download from the official website of Google or through the Internet) SDK Platform Tools).
📱 The phone has enabled Developer Mode (see previous section) and activated Debugging USB In Settings → Additionally. → For developers.
🔌 Used by the original USB-cable (cheap cables may not transmit data).

Now run the following commands in ADB (in order):

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




adb shell pm hide com.miui.player




adb shell pm hide com.miui.video




adb shell pm hide com.android.browser

After you execute the commands, restart your phone, and this action will disable the main modules responsible for advertising in MIUI. If a command fails (issues an Operation not allowed error), skip it and move on to the next one.

☑️ Preparation for work with ADB

Install ADB on PCEnable the developer mode on the phoneActivate debugging over USBConnect your phone to the original cableCheck the connection with the team `adb devices`

Done: 0 / 5

⚠️ Note: Disabling system applications through ADB It can cause some functions to work in an unstable way (e.g. Mi Drop for file transfer or Mi Video).If you have problems after executing commands, return the applications with the command adb shell pm unhide [name packet].

3. Blocking Advertising via DNS or VPN

Another effective way is to block Xiaomi ad servers at the network level, and you can do this in two ways: by changing the DNS on your phone or by using a traffic filtering VPN, the first is easier, the second is more reliable.

Method 1: Changing the DNS

Go to Settings → Wi-Fi (or Mobile Network), click on the current network → Change Network → Additional → IP settings → select Static. In the DNS 1 and DNS 2 fields, type:

🌍 AdGuard DNS: 94.140.14.14 and 94.140.15.15
🛡️ Cloudflare Family: 1.1.1.3 and 1.0.0.3
🔒 NextDNS: 45.90.28.167 (requires registration to configure filters)

Method 2: VPN with ad blocking

Install one of these apps (available on Google Play):

🛡️ AdGuard – has a built-in VPN-Module with Advertising and Tracker Filtering.
🌐 Blokada – Blocks Advertising at Level DNS plug-in VPN-servers (saving traffic).
🔍 DNS66 — Open source software for blocking hosts (requires manual configuration).

Method	Efficiency	Cons	Is root required?
Change of DNS	60–70%	Do not block local advertising in MIUI	No.
AdGuard VPN	80–90%	It can slow down the internet speed.	No.
Blokada	75–85%	Sometimes you need to set exceptions.	No.
DNS66	80%	A complex setup for beginners	No.

If you use mobile internet (not Wi-Fi), change DNS It won't work in the network settings. In this case, make sure you use it. VPN-decision.

4. Installation of custom firmware (for experienced users)

The most radical, but also the most effective way is to install custom firmware without advertising, which will completely remove all advertising modules. MIUI, But you'll need to unlock the loader, install the Recovery (TWRP) This method is suitable for Redmi Note 10 Pro models, POCO F3, Redmi K40 Other popular devices with an active developer community.

Main stages:

Unlock bootloader: Register on Xiaomi’s official website, get permission to unlock (can take up to 72 hours) and use the Mi Unlock Tool.
Installation TWRP: Download unofficial reclaimers for your model from the forum XDA Developers or 4PDA, It is now available through fastboot flash recovery. twrp.img.
Custom-based firmware ROM: Popular options without advertising: 📱 LineageOS – pure Android without unnecessary applications. 🔄 Pixel Experience – firmware with Google Pixel interface. 🚀 ArrowOS – Optimized Open Source Firmware. 🔥 Xiaomi.eu – modified MIUI without advertising (only for EEA/Global version).

What happens if you interrupt the firmware?

If you interrupt the installation of custom firmware (for example, pull the cable or turn off the phone), the device can go to a state of "brick" (brick), at best, re-routing through fastboot will help, at worst, you will need soldering equipment to restore EMMS memory. Always monitor the battery level (at least 50%) and do not interrupt the process!

⚠️ Note: Installing custom firmware will void Xiaomi’s warranty and may cause the device to run unstable (e.g., camera issues, NFC or 5G some ROM). Before the firmware, make a full backup through TWRP Or OrangeFox Recovery.

5. Disabling Advertising with Root Rights

If you're ready to root, you can remove ads at the system file level, which is 100% effective, but requires an unlocked bootloader and a Magisk installed, and is suitable for users who want full control of the device.

Steps to remove advertising:

Install Magisk and get root rights (instructions are available on 4PDA or XDA).
Download a root-enabled file manager (such as Root Explorer or FX File Explorer).
Go to /system/etc/hosts and add the following lines to block Xiaomi ad domains: 127.0.0.1 ad.mi.com 127.0.0.1 globalapi.ad.xiaomi.com 127.0.0.1 tracking.miui.com 127.0.0.1 sdkconfig.ad.intl.xiaomi.com 127.0.0.1 api.ad.intl.xiaomi.com
Remove or freeze the following system applications via Titanium Backup: 🗑️ com.miui.systemAdSolution – the main module of advertising. 🗑️ com.xiaomi.midrop – file transfer service (often shows ads). 🗑️ com.miui.analytics – analytics collection (can restore ads). 🗑️ com.android.browser – Mi Browser with built-in advertising.

Critical: After you delete system applications, some features (such as Mi Drop or Themes) may stop working. Before you delete, backup to TWRP!

💡

If after obtaining root-rights, the phone stopped updating "over the air", install the Magisk module called MIUI OTA Updater - it will restore the function of OTA-updates without losing root access.

6. Alternative methods: disabling services and resetting settings

If the previous methods didn't work or seemed too complicated, try these alternatives. They're less effective, but sometimes they help reduce the amount of advertising.

Method 1: Disabling unnecessary system applications

Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management and disable (do not delete!) the following services:

🚫 GetApps – Xiaomi app store with aggressive advertising.
🚫 Mi Browser – a browser with built-in banners.
🚫 Mi Video and Mi Music – Media Players with Sponsored Content.
🚫 Mi Pay – if you don’t use Xiaomi contactless payments.

Method 2: Resetting settings to factory

Sometimes the ads appear after updating the firmware or installing third-party applications, in which case the reset to the factory settings will help:

Make a backup copy of important data (photos, contacts, messages).
Go to Settings → About Phone → Resetting → Delete all data.
After reset, do not restore data from the Mi Cloud cloud – this can return advertising settings.

Method 3: Use of third-party launchers

Install an alternative launcher (like Nova Launcher, Lawnchair, or Microsoft Launcher) to hide ads on the home screen and in the app menu. This won’t remove banners in the settings, but will make the interface cleaner.

💡

Resetting only helps temporarily - after the next MIUI update, the ad can return. Use ADB or custom firmware for a permanent solution.

FAQ: Frequent questions about advertising on Xiaomi Redmi

❓ Why After Updating MIUI The commercial reappeared?

Xiaomi regularly returns ad modules through firmware updates.To avoid this: Disable automatic updates in Settings → The phone. → Updating the system → ⚙️ → Auto-update. Use it. ADB-Install custom firmware (e.g. Xiaomi.eu) where the adverts are removed at the build level.

❓ Can you remove advertising without a computer?

Yes, but the effectiveness will be lower. Try: Change the DNS on your phone (section 3); Install AdGuard or Blokada from Google Play; disable advertising notifications manually (section 1); To completely remove ads without a PC, root will be required (but getting it still requires a computer).

❓ Why my Redmi doesn’t have an option to disable ads in the settings?

It depends on the region of the firmware: Firmware for China (China) — no advertising at all (but no Google Services); Firmware for the EU (EEA) — there is advertising, but it can be turned off in the settings; firmware for India (India) and global (Global) — a lot of ads, and the shutdown options are often hidden. Solution: reflash your phone to Xiaomi.eu (if your model is supported) or use ADB.

❓ Will the method of using ADB Redmi with HyperOS?

HyperOS (new firmware for Redmi Note 13, Xiaomi 14, etc.) uses the same advertising mechanisms as MIUI 14. ADB commands in Section 2 must work, but some packages may have changed. Check the current packet names through the command: adb shell pm list packages | grep -i ad If standard commands don't work, look for updated instructions for HyperOS on 4PDA or XDA.

❓ Can I return standard applications after removal ADB?

Yes, use the command: adb shell cmd package install-existing, for example, to return Mi Browser: adb shell cmd package install-existing com.android.browser If this doesn’t work, reset your settings or reflash your phone via Fastboot.