Xiaomi’s smartphones, TVs and smart devices are known for their value for money, but many users are faced with an unexpected “bonus” – built-in advertising that can appear in system applications, on the lock screen, in the settings menu and even in the MIUI interface. The manufacturer positions this as “personalized recommendations”, but in practice it is about monetiization through banner displays, sponsored widgets and push notifications.
The problem is that ads on Xiaomi are often disguised as system messages or useful content, such as a banner offering to install a new game can look like a notification from Google Play, and a credit product advertisement can look like a notification from Mi Browser. In this article, we will discuss how to distinguish ads from real system messages, where they hide in MIUI and HyperOS, and how to disable or minimize them.
1.Where Advertising Appears on Xiaomi: 7 Hidden Places
Advertising on Xiaomi devices is not limited to banners in the browser, but is integrated at the firmware level and can manifest in the most unexpected places.
- 📱 Lock screen: banners at the bottom of the screen, offers to install applications or promotions from partners.
- ⚙️ Settings menu: in the section Additional or Recommendations, promo blocks with games and services may appear.
- 🔍 Search: In Mi Search or Quick Search, the first 1-2 results are often sponsored.
- 📺 Mi TVs TV: commercials before inclusion of content, banners in the PatchWall menu.
- 🎵 Music app: Mi Music can insert audio ads or premium subscription offers between tracks.
- 📊 Desktop widgets: weather, calendar, or news feeds often contain promo content.
- 🔔 Push notifications: messages from Mi Browser, Mi Video or GetApps with suggestions for installing software.
Advertising is particularly aggressive in Chinese versions of MIUI (e.g. Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Pro+ for the local market), where banners can occupy up to 30% of the lock screen, and in global firmware (Global ROM), it is smaller, but it does not disappear completely.
2. How to distinguish advertising from system notifications: 5 visual signs
The main problem is that advertising often mimics the style of system alerts.
- Partner logo: real MIUI notices only contain the Xiaomi logo (white square with orange outline) if there is a bank, game or store logo, it is advertising.
- Install or Buy button: System messages never contain financial calls to action.
- Link to a third-party site: When you click on a banner, you are redirected to Mi Browser or GetApps – a sure sign of promo.
- Animation or flashing elements: System notifications are static, and ads often use dynamic effects.
- Text in English or Chinese: If your phone is in Russian and your message is in another language, it is likely to be an advertisement for a global audience.
Important: Some notifications from Mi Security (e.g., “Your device is in danger!”) may look like advertisements, but are actually legitimate virus warnings. To check, open Settings → Apps → Application Management → Security and see your scan history.
Example of a real system notification vs. advertising
3. Advertising in Mi Browser: how to identify and disable it
The Mi Browser is one of the main sources of advertising on Xiaomi, which can be expressed as:
- 🌐 Sponsored links in search results (first 1-3 positions).
- 📢 Pop-up banners when opening a new tab.
- 📰 News Feed on the Main Page with Promo Content.
To distinguish advertising from organic search results, look out for:
| Sign. | Advertising | Organic result |
|---|---|---|
| Mark. | Above the link is the inscription “Advertising” or “Sponsored”. | No markings. |
| URL | Contains redirects (e.g. miui.com/redirect?url=...) | Direct link to the site |
| Design | Bright colors, large "Learn more" buttons | Minimalist style, like other links |
| Position | Always in the top of the issue, even if the request is irrelevant | Depends on relevance |
To turn off ads in Mi Browser:
- Open the browser and go to ⋮ → Settings → Main settings.
- Disable options: Show recommendations on the homepage Show news on the homepage Personalized advertising
Firefox
Chrome
💡
If after disabling the settings, the advertisement still appears, clear the browser cache in Settings → Applications → Mi Browser → Storage → Clear the cache.
4. Hidden Advertising in System Applications: Where to Look
Even standard MIUI applications can contain ad units, and consider the most common:
- 📱 GetApps (Mi App Store): Banners with games and “hot offers” on the homepage. Disables in the app settings (Recommendations section).
- 🎬 Mi Video: commercials before viewing the content. To remove, go to Settings → About the programme → Disable personalized advertising.
- 📷 Gallery: in some versions MIUI At the bottom of the screen there are banners with a proposal to print a photo or buy cloud storage.
- 🔋 Security: Promotions from partners can be displayed in the Optimization section (for example, discounts on antiviruses).
How to check: Open any system application and scroll down. If there's a block at the bottom or on the side that says you should install something, it's advertising. For example, Mi Calculator sometimes has banners with exchange rates from partners.
Open the lock screen – are there banners at the bottom?| Check the settings menu (Recommendations section)| Run Mi Browser – are there sponsored links in the search? | Open GetApps – are games shown on the homepage? | Scroll through the gallery to the end – do print offers appear?
-->
5 Advertising on Mi TVs: How to Recognize It
Xiaomi TVs (Mi TV 4S, Mi TV Q1, Redmi Smart TV) use the PatchWall shell, where the ads are built into the interface.
- 🎬 Videos before content launch (even on paid services like Netflix or Prime Video).
- 📺 Banners on the home screen in the “Recommendations” or “For You” section».
- 🔊 Voice offers from Google Assistant or Xiao AI (For example, “Order a pizza with a discount of 30%!).
Distinguish advertising from real recommendations can be based on the following features:
- 🔹 Above the banner is a small text “Advertising” or “Sponsorship».
- 🔹 When getting stuck the cursor, a button appears “Learn more” or “Buy».
- 🔹 Content does not match your browsing history (e.g., children's cartoon ads if you only watch news stories).
To reduce the number of ads on Mi TV:
- Go to Settings → Account and Security → Advertising.
- Disable options: Personalized Advertising Content Recommendations
ATV Launcher
Settings → Applications → Unknown sources
💡
On Xiaomi TVs, ads can even appear in Guest mode, as they are tied to firmware, not to an account.
6.Push notifications from Xiaomi: how to distinguish useful from advertising
Notifications from Xiaomi are divided into three types:
- System (updates, security) – important, it is not recommended to disable.
- Service (messages from Mi Cloud, Mi Fit) – you can configure as desired.
- Advertising (from GetApps, Mi Browser, partners) – you can and should turn off.
To disable push notifications:
- Go to Settings → Notifications and Status bar → Notification management.
- Find GetApps, Mi Browser, Mi Video and disable notification permissions.
- To completely disable ads in notifications, run the command in ADB: adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.miui.systemAdSolution Note: requires the developer mode on and PC connection.
💡
If they keep coming after disabling notifications, check the permissions for the Services & feedback app (com.xiaomi.miservice) – it’s often responsible for hidden advertising.
7. How to permanently remove ads on Xiaomi: 5 radical ways
If the standard settings don’t work, you can use more serious methods, and note that some require unlocking the bootloader or root rights, which can lead to a loss of warranty.
- Install custom firmware (such as LineageOS or Pixel Experience) completely removes all advertising modules, but requires unlocking the bootloader.
- Use of the ADB-commands to disable system applications: adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.miui.weather2 # Weather adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.xiaomi.midrop #Mi Drop (advertising) adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.miui.videoplayer # Mi Video
- Blocking advertising through DNS. Set in the settings of Wi-Fi or mobile network DNS-server 1.1.1.3 (Cloudflare Family) or 94.140.14.14 (AdGuard) DNS).
- Blocking apps like Blokada or NetGuard filter traffic and block ad domains.
- Manual removal of ad packages via Titanium Backup (requires root).Remove packages: com.xiaomi.mipicks (Mi Apps) com.miui.analytics (Analytics) com.miui.systemAdSolution (Advertising engine)
⚠️ Note: Removing system applications may cause the device to function unstable.Before experimenting, back up through Settings → Additionally. → Backup and reset.