How to disable updates on Xiaomi Redmi 3: a step-by-step guide

Owners of the popular budget smartphone Xiaomi Redmi 3 often face intrusive notifications about the release of new versions of the operating system. Auto boot can begin at the most inopportune moment, consuming mobile traffic and taking up precious space in the internal memory of the device. For older models such as the “three”, support is already discontinued or limited, so constant checks of servers only load the processor without real benefit.

Complete disabling of updates allows not only to save resources, but also to get rid of system advertising, which is often implemented through MIUI service applications. In this article, we will consider all available methods of blocking, from standard settings to advanced ways through ADB. Redmi 3 remains an actual device, and the correct configuration of the system will prolong its comfortable life.

Before we start taking drastic measures, we need to understand the difference between checking for a new version and backup files. The MIUI system mechanism is designed so that even when you turn off autoboot, the phone can periodically knock on the server, and our goal is to block all possible communication channels with the update server, while maintaining the stability of the rest of the functions of the smartphone.

Basic settings through the update menu

The easiest and safest way to limit your system appetite is to use the built-in About Phone menu settings, which do not require root rights and is suitable for any version of the MIUI shell installed on Redmi 3. However, it is only a “soft” lock that prevents automatic installation, but does not always completely stop background checks.

You first need to go to the settings section and find the "About Phone" item, then click on the MIUI version icon (three dots in the corner or the icon in the center of the screen) to reveal the additional menu, and this is where the main controls for updating the firmware process are hidden.

⚠️ Note: After resetting the settings to the factory settings (Hard Reset), all changes in this menu can return to the default state, and the procedure will have to be repeated.

In the menu that opens, you need to find the Settings button (usually in the upper right corner) and activate the Download Updates Automatic switch. Disabling this feature will prevent the system from downloading data packets without your knowledge. It is also recommended to manually check for updates and, if the system offers to install a new version, simply ignore the offer or cancel the download if it has already begun.

Disabling the Updater system application

A more effective method is to work directly with the system application that is responsible for updates, which is simply called “Update” or “Update” in the MIUI shell, and by forcing this process to stop, you can break the connection to the server before the next reboot or system trigger.

To do this, go to the settings, select All Apps, and in the list, find System Update. Click on it to open the app information page. Here you are interested in the Stop (or Complete) button, which will force the process to close. Immediately after that, click Clear Data and confirm the action - this will delete temporary files and a cache that may have stored information about the new version.

• 🚫 Go to the All Apps menu and find System Update».
• 🛑 Click the Stop button to force the process to end.
• 🗑️ Select "Clean» → «Clear all data" to reset the cache.
• 🔄 Repeat the procedure after each smartphone reboot unless other methods are used.

The disadvantage of this method on Redmi 3 is that the system can automatically restart the updater service when connected to Wi-Fi. Therefore, this method is better used in conjunction with other restrictions described below. If the Stop button is inactive (gray), first click Clear Data.

Restriction of access rights and permissions

Modern versions of MIUI allow for flexible access control for each application installed. Blocking network access for the system updater is one of the most effective ways to silence it. Without Internet access, the application will not be able to physically communicate with the Xiaomi server.

In the application management menu, find System Update and go to Permissions (or Other Permissions) to find items related to Wi-Fi and mobile network access, set a "Disable" value for them or uncheck the box, and the network access will be completely closed for this component of the system.

Also worth noting is the AutoStart section: If the System Update app has autostart permission, it will activate immediately after the phone is turned on. Disabling AutoStart will prevent service from starting in the background without your involvement. This is especially true for Redmi 3, where there is not much RAM and the system aggressively unloads processes, but system services often have priority.

⚠️ Note: Blocking network access for system applications can lead to errors in system logs, but this does not affect the operation of the phone as a whole.

After making changes, it is recommended to restart the device and check if a pop-up requesting access to the network appears when you try to upgrade the system. If the window does not appear, then the lock is working correctly and Redmi 3 will no longer waste traffic.

Blocking through the hosts file (for advanced users)

For owners of Redmi 3 with root rights or unlocked bootloader, the most reliable method is editing the hosts system file. IP-Adding Xiaomi update server addresses will redirect your phone’s requests to nowhere (local address 127.0.0.1).

To implement this method, you will need a file manager with access to system partitions (such as Root Explorer or Solid Explorer with superuser rights). The file is located on the path /system/etc/hosts. It must be opened in the text editor and add a few lines with the addresses of the MIUI servers at the end.

127.0.0.1 update.miui.com


127.0.0.1 update.intl.miui.com




127.0.0.1 resolver.msg.xiaomi.net




127.0.0.1 api.ad.xiaomi.com

Once you save the file, be sure to restart the device, which blocks not only updates, but also some system advertising, as it blocks access to Xiaomi’s ad servers. However, be careful: when you update the system itself (if you decide to do this manually), the hosts file can be overwritten with the original one, and the procedure will have to be repeated.

Removal of the downloaded firmware package

It's often the case that the user has disabled the auto-update, but the memory is still occupied, which means that the firmware file has already been downloaded and is in a hidden folder. On Redmi 3, with its modest amount of internal memory, every megabyte is in the account, so removing this garbage is an important task.

Update files are usually stored in the directory. /downloaded_rom in the root of the internal memory or in the folder MIUI. To find them, turn on the hidden files in your file manager. Look for files with the.zip extension that are large (usually from the file manager). 1 before 2 GB) and names containing version number MIUI.

Deleting this file will not harm the system, as it is only an installation package that is either already used or is waiting to be installed. After cleaning the folder, free space will immediately be released, which will positively affect the performance of the Xiaomi Redmi 3.

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If you can’t find the update file with a standard Explorer, try connecting your phone to your computer in drive mode and look for a folder. downloaded_rom via Windows interface.

Using ADB to completely deactivate

The most professional approach, which does not require root rights but requires a computer, is the use of the ADB debugging bridge (Android Debug Bridge), which allows you to freeze or even remove the Updater system application for the current user, making it invisible to the system.

First, activate the developer mode on your phone, and then seven times click on the build number in the About menu, then turn on USB Debugging from the Developer menu. Connect Redmi 3 to your PC, install ADB drivers, and type in the command to find service packs:

adb shell pm list packages | grep updater

The answer is that you get the name of the package, usually com.android.updater. To disable it, use the command: adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.android.updater. After that, the application disappears from the installed list and stops running.

This way ensures that no background processes will try to verify the software version. However, when reset to factory settings, the application will return to active state, since we did not delete it from the system partition, but only hid it for the current user.

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The combination of methods (settings + hosts + ADB) gives a 100% guarantee of no updates, but requires a single time to set up.

Possible problems and solutions

Despite all the measures taken, Redmi 3 users may encounter a situation where the update icon appears again, often after a major system failure or rare Google Play Services background processes that can initiate security checks by indirectly affecting system components.

If you see a notification but can’t remove it, try clearing the Security app data, as it’s tightly integrated with the Update Center in MIUI, and check if the Advanced Update mode, which is sometimes included separately in the developer menu, is activated.

• 🔍 Check the list of installed apps for “Google Play Services” and clear their cache.
• 🛡️ In the Security app, disable the option to Get Virus Definition Updates».
• 📉 Make sure that the date and time settings are automatically determined, desynchronization can cause verification errors.

In rare cases, a temporary Internet shutdown, logging into the update menu (where a connection error appears) and then turning on the network helps, which “blows down” the verification timer for some versions of MIUI.