How to permanently disable advertising in Mi Browser on Xiaomi smartphones

The built-in Mi Browser browser on Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones is known for its aggressive advertising policy: banners in a new window, pop-up notifications and even ad units on the homepage. The manufacturer has integrated advertising mechanisms so deeply that standard shutdown in settings often doesn't help. In this article, 5 proven methods to get rid of intrusive advertising once and for all, including hidden system settings and alternative solutions.

Compounding the problem, Mi Browser cannot be completely removed without root rights — it is a system application. However, even without superuser rights, you can significantly reduce the number of ad impressions. We tested all methods on MIUI 12-14 (including global and Chinese versions) and highlighted those that work consistently. Importantly, some methods require disabling personalized ads in your Xiaomi account, which can affect other services in the ecosystem.

Why does Mi Browser show ads and can it be removed?

Advertising in Mi Browser appears for three main reasons:

• 🔹 Built-in advertising SDK Xiaomi and partners (such as Mintegral or AppLovin) who upload banners even when notifications are disabled.
• 🔹 Personalized recommendations linked to your Mi Account – they analyze your browsing history and show “relevant” ads.
• 🔹 Partnering with search engines (such as Bing or Yandex) that embed ads in search results.

It is impossible to completely remove ads without root, but you can minimize them. For example, disabling personalized ads in a Xiaomi account reduces the number of targeted banners by 60-70%. And blocking domains through a hosts file removes up to 80% of pop-ups. Below are detailed instructions for each method, from simple to complex.

Method 1: Disabling Advertising in Mi Browser Settings

Start with basic browser settings, which is the safest method that doesn’t require any changes to the system, but it doesn’t work on all versions of MIUI (Chinese firmware may not have some points).

1. Open the Mi Browser and tap the three dots in the upper right corner.
2. Select Settings → Basic settings.
3. Find the Ads and Recommendations (or Personalized Content) section and turn off all switches: 📢 Show recommendations on the main page 🔍 Personalized search results 📱 Notifications of new functions

Privacy → Clearing the data

cash

cookie

After this, the number of banners on the home page and in search results will decrease, but pop-up ads may remain when you open new tabs. If this method does not help, move on to the next ones.

Method 2: Disabling personalized advertising in Mi Account

Xiaomi’s account collects data about your browsing and other ecosystem apps to show “relevant” ads, which reduces the number of targeted ads, but does not eliminate them completely.

1. Open your phone settings → Xiaomi account.
2. Slip on your profile and select Mi Account → Account settings.
3. Find Personalization and Advertising (or Advertising Preferences)
4. Turn off all switches: 🎯 Personalized recommendations 📊 Analysis of application use 🔄 Synchronization of data with the cloud (optional)

Save the changes and restart the phone.

This method is particularly effective for MIUI Global users, as in Chinese versions of firmware, some of the advertising mechanisms work through other services. If after the shutdown, the ads still appear, check the settings of Google Ads (see the next section).

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After disabling personalized ads in Mi Account, clear your browser data (Settings → Privacy → Clear Data) This will reset cached banner ads.

Method 3: Blocking Advertising Domains via Hosts File (without root)

The hosts file in Android is responsible for redirecting domain names to IP-If you add entries for ad domains, the browser will not be able to download banners, which does not require root rights, but requires a third-party application to edit system files.

We recommend using the AdGuard app (free version) or Blokada.They automatically update lock lists and don't require manual editing of hosts.

1. Install AdGuard from Google Play.
2. Launch the application and go through the initial setup.
3. Turn on DNS Protection and select AdGuard DNS or NextDNS server.
4. Activate the Ad Block module and add filters: 🛡️ AdGuard Base filter 🛡️ EasyList China (for Chinese versions) MIUI) 🛡️ Xiaomi Ad Block List (specialized filter)

Reboot the phone.

The advantage of this method is that it blocks ads in all apps, not just Mi Browser. However, some banners can slip if the ad domains change addresses, in which case, manually update the filters every 1-2 weeks.

Method 4: Remove Mi Browser via ADB (without root)

If you don't use the Mi Browser, you can turn it off completely without deleting system files. You'll need ADB (Android Debug Bridge), a tool for debugging Android devices, which works on all versions of MIUI and does not require unlocking the bootloader.

Attention! Incorrect use of ADB can cause system failures. Follow the instructions accurately.

1. Turn on Developer Mode: Go to Settings → About Phone. Tap the MIUI version 7 times until the notification appears You became a developer.

Settings → Additional → For Developers

USB debugging

ADB-driver

adb devices


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

If the first command doesn’t show your device, check the connection and drivers.

Once you run the Mi Browser, it will disappear from the app menu and all links will open in the default browser (such as Chrome or Firefox).

adb shell cmd package install-existing com.android.browser

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Disabling through ADB is the most radical way, but it doesn't physically delete the browser, it just hides it for the current user. It's safe and reversible.

Method 5: Alternative browsers with ad blocking

If none of these methods worked, consider switching to a third-party browser with built-in ad blocking. We tested 5 popular options and compiled a comparison table:

For maximum protection, we recommend Brave or Kiwi Browser with the installed extension uBlock Origin. These browsers not only block advertising, but also encrypt traffic, which is especially important when using public Wi-Fi networks.

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Before removing Mi Browser, export your bookmarks: open your browser, go to Settings → Import/Export → Export bookmarks and save the file to the cloud or PC.

Frequent Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

When trying to disable ads, users often face typical problems, and here are the most common ones and ways to address them:

⚠️ If some features (such as bookmark sync) have stopped working in Mi Browser after disabling ads, check your Mi Account settings. You may have disabled data synchronization, which is responsible not only for advertising, but also for cloud services.

• 🔄 Advertising returns after browser update: After each update, Mi Browser resets some of the settings. Solution - disable automatic update for the browser in Google Play or use ADB, to block updates: adb shell pm hide com.android.browser.updater
• 📵 AdGuard filters don’t work: Make sure Android settings are allowed VPN-Mode for AdGuard (Settings) → Networks and the Internet → VPN). Also check if your antivirus is blocking the application.
• 🔒 ADB not seeing the device: The problem is most often driver-related.Install Mi USB Driver and reconnect. Also check if File Transfer is enabled when you connect to the USB.

If none of the methods worked, your version of MIUI may have unique limitations (e.g., Chinese firmware for Redmi Note 12 or POCO F5), leaving you with a switch to an alternative browser or custom firmware installation (e.g., LineageOS).

FAQ: Answers to popular questions