How to remove a floating window on Xiaomi Redmi: from simple ways to hidden settings MIUI

Floating windows on Xiaomi Redmi smartphones are one of the most annoying features of MIUI, which appears at the most inopportune times, and can be a miniature window with ads, a notification from Mi Browser, or even a system warning that is not closed with a standard swipe. In this article, we will analyze all possible causes of floating windows and give step-by-step instructions for turning them off, from basic methods to advanced settings through ADB.

Xiaomi is actively using floating notifications to promote its own services (for example, Mi Video or Mi Pay), sometimes they appear due to malfunctions in the MIUI shell, and in rare cases due to viruses. We will look at unique methods for the Redmi Note 10/11/12 and Redmi 9/9A/9C models, where the problem is most often manifested due to the features of the firmware.

What is a floating window on Xiaomi and why does it appear?

Floating windows (or floating windows) in MIUI are miniature pop-up panels that are superimposed on top of an active application.

• 📢 System notifications – appear when updates, low battery power or accessories are connected (for example, headphones).
• 🛒 Banner ads are usually from Mi Browser, Mi Video or GetApps, and can be turned off, but not always obvious.
• ⚠️ Failure windows – occur when applications fail (e.g., “Com.miui.home has stopped app").

The main reasons for the appearance:

1. Aggressive advertising in MIUI – Xiaomi even integrates advertising modules into system applications (especially in regional firmware for India and China).
2. Launcher malfunctions – if a floating window appears with the text “Launcher stopped”, the problem is in com.miui.home.
3. Viruses or malicious applications – some programs (especially from third-party sources) create floating windows to display ads.
4. Mistakes update MIUI - after an incorrect update can "hang" system processes that generate pop-up windows.

⚠️ Warning: If a floating window appears with the text "Your device is infected" or requires payment, it is 100% virus. → Google → Security).

Method 1: Disable floating notifications in MIUI settings

The easiest method is to block the display of floating windows for specific applications, which works for advertising from Mi Browser, Mi Video and other system programs.

Instructions:

1. Open Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Find an app that shows floating windows (like Browser or Video).
3. Slip it and select Notices.
4. Turn off the Floating Notifications (or Pop-ups in newer versions of MIUI) switch.
5. To completely disable advertising, also deactivate Personalized Recommendations.

If a floating window comes from an unknown source, check the list of newly installed apps.

• 🎮 Gaming accelerators (e.g. Game Turbo)
• 📱 Launchers from third-party developers
• 🛡️ "Optimizers" and "cleaners" of cache

Disable notifications in Mi Browser|Check the list of recently installed applications|Update MIUI last-minute|Clear the launcher cache (com.miui.home)-->

⚠️ Attention: B MIUI 13/14 The way to set up notifications has changed. → Notifications and status bar → Floating notifications and manually disable unnecessary.

Method 2: Reset the launcher settings (if the window with the error "Launcher stopped")

If a floating window appears with the message "The Launcher app has stopped" or "com.miui.home is not responding", the problem lies in the failure of the system launcher, in which case the reset of its settings will help.

How to do this:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Search for Launcher (or com.miui.home).
3. Open the application page and click Storage.
4. Tap Clear cache and erase data (this will reset the wallpaper and icon location!).
5. Reboot the phone.

After the reboot, the launcher will recreate the cache, and the floating window with the error should disappear. If the problem persists, try updating MIUI to the latest version or reset through ADB (more on this below).

Method 3: Disable floating windows via ADB (for power users)

If standard methods don’t work, you can block floating windows at the system level with the help of ADB (Android Debug Bridge), which is suitable for all Redmi models, but requires a connection to a computer.

Step-by-step:

1. Enable USB Debugging on your phone: Settings → About Phone → MIUI Version (tap 7 times to activate Developer Mode) Settings → Additional → Developers → Debugging on USB
2. Connect the phone to the PC and confirm the debugging permission.
3. Open the command line (Windows) or the terminal (Mac/Linux) and type: adb shell pm grant com.miui.home android.permission.SYSTEM_ALERT_WINDOW adb shell pm revoke com.miui.home android.permission.SYSTEM_ALERT_WINDOW
4. To turn off floating windows in all applications, do: adb shell settings put global hidden_api_policy 1

These commands will disable the floating windows for system applications. If you want to return it, do this:

adb shell settings put global hidden_api_policy 0

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Before using ADB, make sure you have the latest Xiaomi drivers installed, and you can download them on the official website in the Tools section.

Method 4: Removing viruses that cause floating windows

If a floating window appears with suspicious text (e.g., "Your phone is infected!", "You won a prize!" or "Pay a subscription"), it is almost certainly a virus.

How to delete:

1. Launch Google Play Protect: Settings → Google → Security → Play Protect → Scan
2. Install an antivirus (such as Malwarebytes or Dr.Web Light) and perform a full scan.
3. Check the list of installed applications for suspicious ones (such as those with System Update, Flash Player, or Clean Master names).
4. If the virus blocks access to settings, restart the phone in Safe Mode (press the power button → hold “Switch off” → “Safe Mode”).

Typical sources of viruses on Xiaomi Redmi:

• 📱 Installation APK Unknown sources (especially hacked games).
• 🔗 Transitioning to references to SMS or messengers (for example, "Your Mi Account is blocked").
• 📁 Connecting to an infected PC through USB (Viruses can be copied to your phone).

⚠️ Note: Some viruses are disguised as system applications (e.g. com.android.system). Before deleting, check the name of the package through a Google search - real system applications cannot be removed!

Yes, there was a virus with floating windows | Yes, but another type of virus | No, never | I don't know how to check-->

Method 5: Disabling personalized advertising in MIUI

Xiaomi is actively using personalized ads in its firmware, and sometimes it manifests itself as floating windows, which can be turned off in the settings of the Mi Account.

Instructions:

1. Open the Settings. → Mi Account.
2. Go to Mi Cloud → Sync and disable Advertising Preferences.
3. Go back to the basic settings and select Google → Advertising.
4. Turn off Personalized Ads and reset the Advertising Identifier.

Additionally, you can prevent MIUI from collecting data about your activity:

1. Go to Settings → About Phone → MIUI version (tap 7 times to activate the developer mode).
2. Back to Settings → Additionally. → For developers.
3. Turn off Error Reporting and Automatic Data Sending.

These actions will reduce the number of ad floating windows, but will not eliminate them completely. For a radical solution, use ADB (mode 3).

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Turning off personalized ads doesn’t remove all floating windows, but reduces their number by 60-70%.To completely remove you need more radical methods (ADB or firmware reset).

What do you do if nothing helps?

If you’ve tried all the ways, but the floating window still appears, there are two radical options left:

1. Phone flashing: Download the latest version of MIUI for your model from the official website. Use the Mi Flash Tool to run through Fastboot. Select the Clean All option.

Installation of custom firmware

LineageOS

Pixel Experience

• Unlock the bootloader through the Mi Unlock Tool.
• Install TWRP Recovery and run custom firmware.
• Warning: This will void the warranty and may result in the device being locked!

Before the firmware must:

• 🔋 Charge your phone to at least 60%.
• 📱 Make a backup copy of the data (photos, contacts, messages).
• 🔧 Make sure you have the original USB-cable (cheap cables can interrupt firmware).

FAQ: Frequent questions about floating windows on Xiaomi Redmi