How to permanently remove ads from the Xiaomi desktop: the complete guide

You just bought a new Xiaomi smartphone or upgraded your MIUI firmware, and instead of having neat icons, you've got intrusive banners on your desktop that advertise games, credits and accessories? It's not a coincidence, it's part of the monetization of your brand shell. The manufacturer integrates ad modules even into basic system applications: weather, calendar, theme, and the launcher itself. The good news is that most of these banners can be disposed of without root rights, you just need to know where to look for settings.

In this article, we’ll look at all the current ways to remove ads on Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO devices (including the 2023-2026 models on MIUI 14/15 and HyperOS). From simple menu shutdowns to advanced methods through ADB, choose the right option depending on your firmware version and technical skills level.

Why Xiaomi is getting ads on the desktop

The banner ads in MIUI are not a virus or a system failure, but a conscious strategy of the company. Since MIUI 10 (2018), Xiaomi has been actively monetizing its firmware by adding ads to:

• 📱 Launcher (desktop and application folder)
• 🌦️ Weather widget (banners at the bottom of the screen)
• 📅 Calendar and notes
• 🎵 Music player and video player
• 🔧 Settings (advertising themes and wallpapers)

The main reasons for the appearance of advertising:

1. Firmware region: Global (Global) and Chinese (China) versions of MIUI have more advertising than European (EEA) versions.
2. System Updates: After the firmware update, some settings are reset and the ad returns.
3. Third-party launchers: If you use a proprietary MIUI Launcher, banners will appear more often than in Nova Launcher or Microsoft Launcher.
4. Mi Account Link: Authorization to Mi Account automatically includes personalized advertising.

It is important to understand that Xiaomi does not violate the law, since the user agrees to the terms of use of the firmware on the first turn on. MIUI EEA) There is no advertising due to local regulations, which confirms that it can be turned off in other regions.

Method 1: Disabling Advertising in MIUI Settings (without root)

The easiest and safest method is to use built-in system options, which is suitable for most MIUI 12-15 and HyperOS devices, but may vary depending on the model and firmware region.

Instructions:

1. Open Settings → Password and Security → Authorization and Locking.
2. Scroll down and look for Personalized Recommendations (or Advertising Services in older versions).
3. Turn off the slider "Show recommendations."
4. Return to the main settings menu and go to Settings → About Phone → MIUI version. Tap the version number 7-10 times to activate the developer mode.
5. Then go to Settings → Additional → Special Features → Developer Settings and find the option “Disable MIUI Optimization” (could be called “Disable MIUI Optimization”). Activate it and restart the device.

After the reboot, check the desktop - the banners should disappear. If the adverts remain, try the following method.

⚠️ Note: On some models (for example, Redmi Note 11 with a MIUI 13) paragraph “Deactivate” MIUI Optimization may not be available. In this case, use the method of ADB (described below).

Method 2: Blocking Advertising through ADB (for power users)

If standard settings don’t work, you can use Android Debug Bridge (ADB), a tool for debugging Android devices, which removes the ad packages at the system level, but requires a connection to a computer.

What you need:

• 🖥️ Computer with Windows, macOS or Linux.
• 🔌 USB-cable (preferably original).
• 📥 Utility. ADB Tools by Google.
• ⚙️ Developer mode enabled and debugging by USB smartphone.

Step-by-step:

1. Download and unpack the platform-tools on your computer.
2. Connect your smartphone to your PC and select the File Transfer mode.
3. Open the command prompt (cmd in Windows or Terminal in macOS/Linux) and go to the folder with the platform-tools:

cd path to folder/platform-tools

1. Enter a command to check the connection:

adb devices

If the device appears in the list, follow the following commands in turn:

adb shell pm hide com.miui.systemAdSolution


adb shell pm hide com.xiaomi.midrop




adb shell pm hide com.android.browser




adb shell settings put global captive_portal_detection_enabled 0

These commands disable the main MIUI advertising modules. After completing, restart the smartphone.

⚠️ Note: Pm hide commands only work on the MIUI 12+ They require an activated developer mode (2026 year) some packages may have different names - specify them through the command adb shell pm list packages | grep -i ad.

Method 3: Installation of an alternative launcher

If you're tired of not only advertising, but also the MIUI interface itself, the best solution is to install a side launcher, which completely replaces the desktop, application folder and widgets, removing all banners from Xiaomi.

Top.-3 launcher for Xiaomi:

How to determine:

1. Download the launcher from Google Play.
2. After installation, click the Home button and select the new launcher as the main one.
3. Configure the interface for yourself (themes, icons, gestures).

The main advantage of this method is that advertising disappears forever, even after MIUI updates.

💡

If you have lost your device search after installing a third-party launcher (as in MIUI), use the Google Search widget or the Sesame Shortcuts app for quick access to files and settings.

Method 4: Manual removal of advertising applications (requires root)

For users with root rights or custom firmware (like LineageOS), there is a radical way to completely remove ad packages from the system, which is irreversible and can lead to unstable firmware if critical components are removed.

List of the main advertising packages in MIUI:

• 📦 com.miui.systemAdSolution – the main module of advertising
• 📦 com.xiaomi.midrop – banners in the conductor
• 📦 com.android.browser – a browser with advertising
• 📦 com.miui.analytics – statistics collection (indirectly affecting advertising)
• 📦 com.xiaomi.gamecenter.sdk.service – game promos

How to delete:

1. Install a file manager with root support (such as Root Explorer or FX File Explorer).
2. Go to /system/priv-app/ or /system/app/.
3. Find the folders with the names from the list above and delete them (or rename them by adding.bak at the end).
4. Clear the cache and data in Settings → Apps → Show all applications for remaining system applications.
5. Reset the device.

⚠️ Note: Removing system packages may result in loss of functionality (e.g., the theme or weather widget will stop working). TWRP Or Orange Backup.

Method 5: Blocking Advertising via DNS or VPN

If you don't want to interfere with system settings, you can block Xiaomi's ad servers at the network level.

• 🌍 Change of change DNS alternatives (e.g. AdGuard) DNS or Cloudflare Family).
• 🔒 VPN Ad-blocking (e.g. AdGuard) VPN or Blokada).
• 🛡️ Local firewall (applications like NetGuard or AFWall)+).

Instructions for AdGuard DNS:

1. Open Settings → Connections and Sharing → Private DNS.
2. Select “DNS Provider Host Name” and type:

dns.adguard-dns.com

1. Save the settings and restart the smartphone.

For Blokada:

1. Download the app from the official website (not from Google Play – there is an outdated version).
2. Turn it on. VPN-mode and activate the ad blocking.
3. Add domains to the blacklist:

api.ad.xiaomi.com


sdkconfig.ad.xiaomi.com




tracker.ai.xiaomi.com

This method doesn't remove ads completely, but it reduces the amount of ads, and the main advantage is that it doesn't require root or complex manipulation.

💡

DNS/VPN blocking only works for online advertising. Local banners (such as in theme settings) will remain and require other removal methods.

Why Ads Are Returning After MIUI Update

Many users find that after updating the firmware, the ads appear again.

• 🔄 Resetting: Some settings (such as “Personalized Recommendations”) are reset to default values.
• 📦 System Package Recovery: Update May Return Remote Ads.
• 📡 Policy changes MIUI: New versions of the firmware may appear new advertising mechanisms.

How to avoid the return of advertising:

1. Turn off automatic updates in Settings → The phone. → Updating the system → ⚙️ → Auto-update.
2. Before updating, back up your settings through Settings → Additional → Backup and Reset.
3. Once updated, re-execute the steps from Method 1 or Method 2 (ADB).
4. Use Custom Recovery (TWRP) to create a backup of current firmware without ads.

If you are updating through MIUI bootloader or manually (via fastboot), select the firmware version for the EEA region (Europe) - it does not have built-in advertising.

FAQ: Frequent questions about advertising on Xiaomi