How to disable updates on Xiaomi devices: the full guide

Automatic updates on Xiaomi devices are a double-edged sword, providing security, fixing bugs and adding new features, and can drain the battery at the wrong time, interrupt important tasks, or even install unstable versions of software that disrupt the gadget, especially for owners of Redmi, POCO and Mi TV, where updates sometimes lead to interface failures or loss of functionality.

In this article, we’ll look at all the ways you can disable updates on Xiaomi smartphones and TVs, from standard settings to hidden commands for power users. You’ll learn how to block automatic firmware downloads via MIUI or Android TV, and what you risk by completely abandoning updates. The instructions are relevant for devices on MIUI 12-14 and Android 10-14, including Xiaomi 13/14 models, Redmi Note 12, POCO F5 and Mi TV A2/Q2.

Why users want to disable updates on Xiaomi

At first glance, refusing to update seems counterproductive, but there are good reasons for this decision:

• 🔋 Battery discharge in the background: the system can download heavy firmware files (up to 2-3 GB) via mobile Internet, consuming charge and traffic.
• 🐢 Device slowdown. New versions MIUI often optimized for flagship models, and on budget smartphones (Redmi) 9A, POCO M3) can cause lag.
• 🚫 Unwanted UI changes: Xiaomi regularly reworks design MIUI, removing familiar features (such as Topics or Super Wallpaper in the latest versions).
• 🔧 Glitches after update: Users complain of problems with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or camera after installing new firmware.
• 📱 Root access and custom firmware. Updates can suture vulnerabilities used to gain superuser rights or install TWRP.

According to a survey on the forum XDA Developers, 37% of Xiaomi owners at least once disabled automatic updates due to negative experience. At the same time, on Mi TVs, the risk of “breaking” the system after an update is 2 times higher than on smartphones – due to the features of firmware based on Android TV.

Method 1: Disable updates through standard MIUI settings

The easiest and safest method is to use the built-in system options, which is suitable for most Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones on MIUI 12-14.

Instructions:

1. Open the Settings app (the gear icon on the home screen).
2. Go to About Phone (or About Device on some models).
3. Slip on the item MIUI Update (or System Update).
4. In the upper right corner, press three dots (⋮) and select Settings.
5. Turn off the automatic download slider via Wi-Fi.
6. Optionally, disable Update Notices so that the system does not remind you of new versions.

On some firmware (for example, MIUI Global may not have a full shutdown option, in which case the system will check for updates, but not download them automatically. ADB-commands (see Method 4).

⚠️ Attention: On devices with a locked bootloader (most official firmware), disabling updates through settings does not prevent the system from downloading critical security patches.

Method 2: Disable updates on Mi TVs

Xiaomi TVs based on Android TV They're updated differently than smartphones. There's no separate section here called "Update." MIUI», But the procedure is no less simple.

Step-by-step:

1. On the remote, press the Settings button.
2. Select Device Preferences → About (About TV)
3. Scroll down to System Update and press OK.
4. In the window that opens, select Auto-update and switch the slider to Off position.
5. Confirm if the system requests a password (by default it is 1234 or 0000).

Some models (e.g. Mi TV Q1E or Mi TV A2 43) may require the option to turn off Check for updates automatically if this option is missing, then the TV does not support a complete shutdown – you will have to use alternative methods (see Method 5).

⚠️ Note: On Xiaomi TVs with PatchWall firmware (Indian models), disabling updates may cause Google Play Services to malfunction.In this case, it is recommended to use background traffic restriction for the Updater app (see Method 3).

Method 3: Traffic Limitation for the Update App

If standard settings do not allow you to completely disable updates, you can block the Updater app (or System Update) access to the Internet, which works on all Xiaomi devices without root rights.

How to do this:

1. Open Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. In the search bar, enter Updater (or Update on Russian firmware).
3. Select the app from the list and tap Mobile Data (or Data).
4. Turn off the sliders: 📶 Mobile traffic 📶 Background traffic 📶 Wi-Fi (if available)

Battery

Limit background activity

This method does not delete update files that have already been downloaded, but prevents new ones from being downloaded, but it will still check for updates when you manually start Updater. To completely hide notifications, you will need to disable permissions for the application:

1. In the Updater app menu, go to Permissions.
2. Turn it off: 🔔 Notifications 📱 Change of system settings (if available)

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If, after limiting traffic, the Updater app continues to show notifications, clear its cache and data in the Warehouse menu.This will reset all downloaded update files.

Method 4: Disabling updates via ADB (for power users)

If standard methods don’t work, you can use Android Debug Bridge (ADB), a tool for debugging Android devices, which requires a connection to a computer, but gives a 100% guarantee that all automatic updates will be disabled.

What you need:

• 💻 Computer with installed ADB-driver.
• 📱 Included Debugging by USB on a smartphone (Settings) → The phone. → Version. MIUI → 7 times to tap the version number → return to → For developers → Debugging by USB).
• 🔌 USB-cable (preferably original).

Instructions:

1. Connect your smartphone to your PC and open the command line (or Terminal on macOS/Linux).
2. Enter the command to check the connection: Adb devices should appear the name of your device.
3. Run the command to disable the update service: adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.android.updater For Mi TVs use: adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.mitv.tvupdate
4. Reboot the device: adb reboot

Once these commands are executed, Updater will be deactivated and the system will stop checking and installing updates. To get it back, use the command:

adb shell pm enable com.android.updater

⚠️ Attention: On devices with MIUI 14 and later, the pm disable-user may not work due to security limitations, in which case you will need to use Magisk or other tools for rooted devices.

Method 5: Manually Delete Update Files

If the system has already downloaded the update, but you don't want to install it, you can manually delete the firmware files. This won't disable automatic verification, but will free up space on the device and prevent accidental installation.

Where to look for files:

• 📁 On smartphones: /sdcard/Download/rom or /sdcard/DownloadedRom.
• 📁 On TVs: /storage/emulated/0/Download/update.zip.

How to delete:

1. Connect your device to your PC or use a file manager (such as Mi File Explorer).
2. Follow one of the paths indicated.
3. Delete all files with the.zip extension or names like miui_*.zip.
4. Clear the cache of the Updater app (Settings → Apps → Updater → Storage → Clear the cache).

On some firmware, update files can be stored in a hidden folder. /data/ota_package. To access it, root rights or TWRP. Without them, deleting files from here can cause crashes.

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Deleting update files does not prevent them from automatically downloading in the future.To prevent re-downloading, combine this method with traffic restriction (Method 3) or ADB-teams (Method 4).

Risks of disabling updates on Xiaomi

The downside of not updating completely is that there are some problems that can arise:

The safest trade-off is to disable the automatic installation, but leave the update check on, so you can manually choose which updates to install and which to skip. For example, on Xiaomi 12T, users often ignore MIUI 14.0.4.0 updates due to bugs with Always-on Display, but put security patches.

FAQ: Frequent questions about disabling updates on Xiaomi