How to completely disable advertising on Xiaomi smartphones: a step-by-step guide

Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphone owners regularly face one of the most frustrating features of MIUI firmware: aggressive ads that appear in system menus, apps, and even on the lock screen. The manufacturer has integrated ad modules into the shell itself to monetize cheap devices, but for users, this has become a real problem. Fortunately, there are several ways to turn off ads on Xiaomi, from standard settings to deep customization of the system.

In this article, we will look at all the current methods of removing ads in MIUI 14/13/12, including hidden settings that are not documented in the official manuals. It is important to understand that some methods require technical skills, while others require just a couple of clicks. We will also analyze which types of ads can be removed without root rights, and where you will need to unlock the bootloader. If you are tired of intrusive banners in the Browser, Music or Themes, this guide will help bring back a clean interface.

Why Xiaomi is getting ads and where they come from

Advertising in MIUI is not a random bug, but part of Xiaomi’s business model, and the company monetizes its devices through:

• 📱 System applications (Themes, Browser, Music, Video)
• ⚙️ Settings menu (sections Additional, About the phone)
• 🔒 Lock screen (banners when unlocking)
• 📲 Push notifications (from Mi Push Service)
• 🌐 Third-party services (advertising on Google Play or Mi App Store)

The main source of advertising is msa (Mobile Services Analytics), which collects user data and displays targeted ads. In older versions of MIUI (up to 12.5), advertising was less intrusive, but with the release of global firmware for the European and Indian markets, its number has increased significantly, while in Chinese versions of MIUI there is almost no advertising – it is intended only for international users.

Fun fact: Xiaomi allows you to disable some of the ads through settings, but some modules (for example, in the Browser or Themes) require manual intervention. Moreover, after updating the firmware, the settings can be reset and the ads return. So it is important to know how to permanently turn off advertising services, not just temporarily hide banners.

Method 1: Disabling personalized advertising in MIUI settings

The easiest and safest method is to disable personalized recommendations in system settings, which does not require root rights and is suitable for all Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO models on MIUI 12/13/14.

Instructions:

1. Open the Settings. → The phone.
2. Tap a few times on the MIUI version until the notification “You’ve become a developer!” appears (this unlocks hidden settings).
3. Return to the main Settings menu and go to Additional → Special Opportunities.
4. Find the Ads section (or Personalized Recommendations) and disable all sliders:

Settings → Additional → Special Opportunities → Advertising


- Personalized recommendations [Off.]




- Show advertisements on the lock screen [Off.]




- Recommendations in the settings menu [Off.]

After that, restart your smartphone. This method will remove most of the banners in Settings and lock screen, but the ads in the apps (Browser, Music) will remain.

Method 2: Removing Advertising in System Applications (Browser, Music, Themes)

Xiaomi system apps are the main source of advertising, and even if you turn off personalized recommendations, banners will appear in:

• 🌐 Browser (tabs, home page, search)
• 🎵 Music (player, playlists)
• 🎨 Topics (Wallpaper and Themes section)
• 📺 Video (content recommendations)

To remove ads in these apps, you have to manually disable the ad modules.

1.Mi Browser browser.

Go to Browser Settings → Additional → Advertising and recommendations and disable:

• 🔘 Show recommendations on the main page
• 🔘 Personalized news
• 🔘 Showing Advertising in Search Results

2.Music by Mi Music

In the Music app, go to Settings → Additionally and deactivate:

• 🔘 Recommendations on the home screen
• 🔘 Show banners in the player

3.Themes themes

In Topics go to profile (human icon) → Settings → Advertising and disable:

• 🔘 Personalized recommendations
• 🔘 Showing advertisements in sections

If the ads still appear after these actions, then the application is updated through the Mi App Store and resets the settings, in which case it will help to remove updates or install alternative versions (for example, Google Chrome instead of Mi Browser).

💡

If you can’t find the ad section in the app’s settings, try resetting it to factory settings: Settings → Apps → Select the app → Storage → Clear the data.

Method 3: Disabling Advertising through ADB (without root)

If standard methods do not help, you can use them. ADB-This method does not require root rights, but requires connecting the smartphone to a computer, the essence of the method is to manually disable advertising services through system commands.

Step-by-step:

1. Download and install ADB Tools on PC.
2. On your smartphone, turn on USB Debugging (Settings → About Phone → MIUI Version → 7 times tap → go back to Settings → Additional → For developers → Debugging by USB).
3. Connect the phone to your computer and confirm the debugging permission.
4. Open the command prompt (or Terminal on Mac/Linux) and type:

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


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




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




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




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

These commands are off:

• 🔧 Main advertising module com.miui.systemAdSolution
• 🌐 Mi Browser (com.android.browser)
• 🎵 Mi Music (com.miui.player)
• 📲 Mi Drop and Mi App Store (Push Notification Sources)

After you execute the commands, restart your smartphone. Ads should disappear from the system applications and menus. If some features stop working (for example, Mi Browser), just return the application with the command:

adb shell pm enable com.android.browser

Method 4: Removing Advertising from the Lock Screen

One of the most annoying types of ads on Xiaomi is the lock screen banners that appear when you unlock or swipe down, and can contain both app ads and news notifications, and you can remove them in a number of ways.

Method 1: Through lock screen settings

Go to:

Settings → Lock screen → Additional → Advertising and recommendations

Turn it off.

• 🔘 Show recommendations on the lock screen
• 🔘 Banners when unlocking
• 🔘 Newsfeed

Method 2: Disabling Mi Push

If the ad continues to appear, it is displayed by com.xiaomi.xmsf (Mi Push Framework) to disable it:

1. Use it. ADB-Command: Adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.xiaomi.xmsf
2. Or manually freeze the service via App Freezer (requires root).

After that, push notifications and ads on the lock screen should disappear, but note that some system notifications (for example, updates) will also be disabled along with the ads.

💡

Disabling com.xiaomi.xmsf also blocks notifications from Mi Home and other Xiaomi services.If you need these features, use alternative methods.

Method 5: Using third-party apps to block ads

If you don't want to go through the settings or use ADB, you can use third-party ad blocking apps.

The most versatile option is AdGuard, which works as a local VPN and filters ad requests at the network level, to configure it on Xiaomi:

1. Download AdGuard from Google Play or from the official website.
2. Enable Protection in the main menu of the application.
3. Go to Settings → Filters and activate:

• 🔘 AdGuard Base filter
• 🔘 AdGuard Mobile Ads filter
• 🔘 EasyList China (specially for the MIUI)

After that, most of the ads in the browser, apps, and even MIUI will be blocked, but some system banners (such as Settings) may remain — they will have to be removed by other methods.

💡

If AdGuard doesn’t block ads in Mi Browser, try using Bromite or Firefox with the uBlock Origin extension.

Method 6: Removing Advertising with Root Rights (for Advanced)

If you're willing to take drastic measures, you can get root rights and manually remove the ad units from the system, and this method is 100% effective, but it has risks:

• ⚠️ Loss of guarantee
• ⚠️ Possibility of "bricking" of the device
• ⚠️ Problems with updates MIUI

Instructions:

1. Unlock the bootloader through the official Xiaomi website.
2. Install a custom recavery (TWRP).
3. Please use Magisk to obtain root rights.
4. Install Root Explorer or Titanium Backup.
5. Remove or freeze the following system applications:

/system/app/SystemAdSolution


/system/priv-app/Analytics




/system/priv-app/MiuiDaemon




/system/app/MiBrowser




/system/app/MiMusic




/system/app/MiVideo

After that, the ads will disappear forever, but be careful – deleting system files can lead to unstable work. MIUI. It is recommended to make a backup copy beforehand through TWRP.

Method 7: Transition to custom firmware (radical solution)

If nothing works, you can get rid of MIUI completely and install custom firmware without advertising.

• 🔄 LineageOS – pure Android without unnecessary modules.
• 🔄 Pixel Experience – firmware with Google Pixel interface.
• 🔄 Havoc-OS – customizable firmware with many functions.
• 🔄 MIUI EU — European MIUI Advertising free (but without Google Services in some builds).

Installation process:

1. Unlock the bootloader (as in method 6).
2. Install TWRP or OrangeFox Recovery.
3. Download the firmware for your model from the XDA-Developers forum.
4. Make a complete wipe (clean the data, cache, system partitions).
5. Sweep through firmware and GApps (if you need Google services).

Advantages of custom firmware:

• ✅ No advertising and unnecessary applications.
• ✅ Faster operation of the system.
• ✅ Regular security updates.

Disadvantages:

• ❌ Loss of official Xiaomi support.
• ❌ Possible bugs (e.g., a broken camera or a broken camera) NFC).
• ❌ Difficulty returning to stock firmware.

💡

Before installing custom firmware, check compatibility with your model on XDA. Some devices (such as the Redmi Note 10 Pro) have a closed-loop boot loader, which complicates the process.

What to do if the ad returns after the MIUI update

One of the most common problems is that ads come back after a firmware update, which is because Xiaomi resets some settings or adds new ad modules to avoid this:

1. Turn off automatic updates MIUI: Settings → The phone. → Updating the system → ⚙️ → Auto-update [Off.]

Create a backup copy of the settings:

Use Swift Backup (requires root) to save your current app settings and quickly restore them after you update.

If you do update and the ad returns, repeat the steps from Methods 1-3. In extreme cases, you can roll back to the previous version of MIUI via Fastboot.

0.0.0.0 ota.miui.com


0.0.0.0 update.miui.com

FAQ: Frequent questions about advertising on Xiaomi