How to Remove Xiaomi Update Notifications: The Complete Guide

A constantly pop-up offering to upgrade is a familiar pattern for most Xiaomi smartphone owners. MIUI and its global version of HyperOS are notorious for being obsessive about this issue. Notifications can appear several times a day, overlapping the interface and distracting from important tasks, especially if you prefer the stability of the current build or expect a more reliable version of the firmware.

Users often wonder why the system is so aggressively promoting updates, because Xiaomi is committed to keeping the device fleet up to date, closing security vulnerabilities, and introducing new features. However, for experienced users or custom recavators, these reminders become just an irritant. Fortunately, there are several effective ways to deactivate notifications without losing the functionality of the device.

In this article, we will discuss all available methods, from simple settings in the menu to more advanced ways to block through system applications. You will learn how to hide the red point-indicator, disable automatic packet loading and prevent accidental launch of the installation. Complete removal of the system application Updater is impossible without root rights, but it can be completely neutralized with standard Android tools.

Disabling notifications through standard settings

The easiest and safest way to stop receiving annoying messages is to use the built-in functionality of the operating system. With modern versions of MIUI 12, 13, 14 and HyperOS, the alert mechanism has become more flexible. You don't need to be an engineer to find the right switches. You just need to go to the settings of the Update application itself.

Find the gear icon in the top right corner of the screen when you open the system update menu. This hides the key parameters that control the behavior of the updater. Turn off the "Receive notifications" option to stop the system from displaying banners. It is also recommended to uncheck the "Outload" item, which will save traffic and battery.

However, simply turning off notifications in the settings menu is often not enough, the system can ignore this setting when critical security updates. Therefore, you need to further restrict the rights of the application itself through the Application Manager. Right-click on the application icon (or hold your finger) and select About.

In the menu that opens, look for the Notifications section, and here you will see a list of all the types of alerts that a system service can generate, and turn off the switches for General, Recommendations and Download Status, which will force the system to stop any messages from being displayed in the status curtain.

Blocking through Application Manager and Permissions

If the standard switches didn't help or if the notifications come back after the reboot, you need to apply tougher measures, the method is to limit the background activity of the MIUI Updater application, which will not delete the program, but will deprive it of the ability to initiate the process of checking the servers on its own.

Go to Settings → Apps → All Apps. In the list, look for the Update (or Updater) option. You need access to the advanced settings. Click on the “Other Permissions” or “Other Permits” button, and you need to deny network access if this option is available in your firmware version, or limit background activity.

Pay special attention to Start Up. Make sure the slider is off. This will prevent the upgrade service from starting immediately after the phone is turned on. Also, under Battery (or Energy Saving), select No Limits mode only if you want the upgrade to go, but to lock it, you better select Restricted.

⚠️ Attention: Forced app stops through the Apps menu have a temporary effect. Once the device is restarted or when you try to manually start the update menu, the process will start again.

To fix the result, you can clear the application data. In the same app information menu, click Memory and select Clear. This will reset the cache and temporary files that may store information about the available update. The red dot indicator should disappear.

Use of Developer Mode and ADB

For advanced users who are not afraid of complex manipulations, there is a method of disabling the component through debugging via USB. This method requires connecting the smartphone to the computer and having the ADB (Android Debug Bridge) tool installed, which allows you to hide the application from the system, making it invisible to the user and the OS itself.

First, activate Developer Mode. Go to Settings → About Phone and quickly click 7 times on either MIUI Version or OS Version. After you see the message “You’ve become a developer,” go to the “Additional” menu and turn on “Debugging by USB.”

Connect your phone to your PC with a cable. Open the command line on your computer in the ADB folder and type in the command to find the service pack:

adb shell pm list packages | grep updater

Usually, the package is called com.android.updater or com.miui.updater. To disable it, use the command:

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

Once the command is executed, the application will disappear from the menu and stop consuming resources. Notifications are guaranteed to stop coming, as the system component will be deactivated at the user level, which is one of the most effective methods that does not require root rights.

Change of region and date settings

There is an interesting, though not always stable, lifehack associated with the geographic settings of the device. The logic of Xiaomi servers is built so that for some regions the priority and frequency of updates may differ.

Try changing the region in your phone settings to a country where the brand is less represented or where releases come out later (such as some countries in Africa or South America). → Additional settings → Region. After the region changes, reset the device.

The second method involves manipulating system time: if you set a date in the past (for example, 2020), the SSL security certificate will prevent the phone from connecting to the update server, since the time on the server and device will vary greatly, but this method has side effects: the browser, messengers and other applications that require current time will stop working.

As you can see from the table, using ADB is the best thing, but it requires preparation. Standard settings are the first step that every user should take.

Hiding a red dot (Badge) on the icon

Even if you turn off pop-ups, the red digit or dot on the settings icon can still cornen your eyes, and this interface element is called Badge, and you can remove it through the notification settings without affecting the application itself.

Go to Settings → Notifications and Status bar → Notification icons. Find the Settings or Update app on the list. Uncheck the tick next to “Allow Notification icons.” Now, even if the system receives an update pack, it will not show up visually on the desktop.

In some launchers (shells), the path may be different. For example, in a standard MIUI launcher, you need to press the empty desktop space for a long time, select Settings, and find Notification Indicators, and you can also globally disable the display of points for all applications or selectively for system applications.

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If you use a third-party launcher (Nova, Lawnchair), the badge settings are in the launcher settings itself, not in the Android system.

It's a cosmetic method that doesn't stop you from downloading updates in the background, but it brings back visual comfort and cleanliness, and for users who want to decide for themselves when to check for new firmware, that's often enough.

Blocking through hosts file (requires Root)

For owners of devices with superuser rights (Root), there is a “nuclear” option, which is to block the system from accessing Xiaomi update servers at the network level, this is done by editing the hosts system file.

You will need a file manager with access to the system partition (such as Root Explorer or MiXplorer) or a specialized ad blocking application (such as AdAway). /system/etc/hosts:

127.0.0.1 update.miui.com


127.0.0.1 updater.miui.com




127.0.0.1 api.updater.intl.miui.com

Once the file is saved and rebooted, the phone will try to find the update server at localhost, naturally finding nothing there, and this is guaranteed to block any version checks, packet downloads, and telemetry sent about the current version of the software.

⚠️ Note: System file editing is only possible on rooted devices. Incorrectly changing the hosts file can lead to connection problems to other services or even cyclic restart (bootloop!

This method is also often used to install global firmware on Chinese versions of smartphones to prevent automatic flashing back to the Chinese region, the most radical, but also the most reliable way.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

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The best solution for most users is to combine disabling notifications in the app menu and disabling auto-start through the application manager.

To sum up, the fight against Xiaomi’s intrusiveness is real: Start with simple tweaks inside the Update app. If that’s not enough, move on to restricting rights or using ADB. The main thing is don’t be afraid to experiment with software settings, using caution when working with system files.