How to remove Yandex Zen from Xiaomi Redmi phone: a step-by-step guide

Xiaomi and Redmi smartphone owners often face intrusive pre-installed services, including the Yandex Zen news feed, which is integrated into the MIUI shell (HyperOS) that appears in desktop widgets, in the Services folder, and sometimes pops up as advertising notifications. For many users, this is not just an annoyance, but also an unnecessary consumption of traffic and RAM devices.

There are a number of ways to remove Zen from your phone, but the effectiveness of each method depends on the version of the operating system and the region for which the gadget is released. Global firmware versions often contain less advertising debris, but they also contain built-in recommendation modules. We will look at all the current methods, from simple concealment of widgets to advanced methods of blocking through ADB.

It is important to understand that complete removal of system components requires caution. Wrong actions can lead to unstable interface. In this article, we will go from the most secure methods available to every user to more complex technical solutions for experienced owners of Xiaomi Redmi.

Disabling the widget tape in the desktop

The easiest and most common way to interact with Zen on Xiaomi smartphones is to swipe left on the desktop, and that's where the recommendation feed is usually located, which is the main source of annoyance, and you don't have to be a programmer to get rid of it, you just go to the interface settings.

To start, unlock the screen and go to the main screen. Do a long swipe (drop and drop) to any free area of the screen or pinch with two fingers to call the desktop editing menu. In the menu that appears, find the Settings button (usually the gear in the corner) or immediately look for Add screen / Screen settings.

In the list of options that opens, you need to find the switch that displays the left panel. In different versions of MIUI, it can be called differently: "Ribbon widgets", "Google Discover" or "Yandex." If you have a choice between Google and Yandex, choose Google or the "No" option to completely clear the space.

• 📱 Press and hold your finger on the empty desktop space to call the menu.
• ⚙️ Go to the Settings section in the lower right or left corner.
• 🔍 Find the widget tape or slide to the left.
• ❌ Select the option No or turn off the Yandex switch.

⚠️ Note: After you turn off the widget tape, swipe left will stop calling any menu. If you are used to using weather or currency widgets, you will have to add them separately through the widget menu.

If the standard method didn't work and the feed keeps popping up, you may have Recommended Widgets activated. Check this item in the same desktop settings menu. Disabling this option will prevent news blocks and promotional cards from appearing in the general widget list, making the search for the desired applications faster and cleaner.

Delete the application and clean the cache

Often, Zen on Redmi devices is not just a widget, but a full-fledged application that can update and take up space in memory. Even if you have hidden the tape, the background process can continue to work. The first step to complete cleaning is to try standard removal or disabling through system settings.

Go to your smartphone Settings and select the Apps section. Go to All Apps. Find Yandex, Yandex.Browser or Zen on the list. Click on the app name. If the Delete button is active, safely delete the program. However, in most cases, only the Disconnect or Turn off button is available for system integrations.

Disabling the application is an effective way to stop it from working, the system will stop loading its code into memory, and the icon will disappear from the menu, but before that, it is recommended to clear the data to delete the accumulated cache and temporary files that may have been left over from previous service activity.

For high-quality cleaning, perform the following actions:

• 🗑️ In the app menu, click Memory or Storage.
• 🧹 Select the option Clear cache to delete temporary files.
• 📉 Click Clear Everything (or Reset) to delete settings and accounts.
• 🚫 Go back and press Disable to block the launch.

It's worth noting that after the MIUI update, the disabled applications can be activated again. So check the list of running processes periodically. If you notice that Zen has reappeared, you will have to repeat the procedure. Also, look at the "Get content" (Msa) application, which is often responsible for (push) advertising in the system.

Personalization and Advertising settings MIUI

In Xiaomi’s ecosystem, a separate system module is responsible for collecting data and personalizing advertising, including offering Yandex services. Disabling ads in the interface is a critical step that is often missed, not only eliminating unnecessary banners, but can also reduce the frequency of Zen recommendations in system folders.

You need to get into a hidden service and update menu, and the path to it may vary depending on the version of the shell, but most often it is located at: Settings → Passwords and Security → Access to personal data or through the Security → Services app (cog icon).

Find the MIUI System Ads service on the list, which is a key component: Turn off the switch next to it, the system will insist you wait 10 seconds and confirm the action, claiming that it will affect the operation of other services, a standard trick designed to get the user to refuse to shut down.

After disabling msa, it is also recommended to go to the Advertising Services section (often at the bottom of the privacy settings list) and disable the Personalized Advertising option, which will break the link between your activity on the system and advertising algorithms, which indirectly affects the frequency of Zen occurrence.

⚠️ Attention: When you turn off msa, you may need to try several times. If the system says "failed to disable" the first time, wait a few seconds and try again.

Using ADB for Advanced Removal

If standard methods don’t work, or you want to remove the system application “clean”, you’ll need to use the ADB (Android Debug Bridge) tool, which requires a computer (Windows, macOS or Linux) and a USB cable, which allows you to remove even those applications that are hidden from the average user.

Before starting work, you need to activate the developer mode on your Redmi. → About phone and quickly press 7 times on the item Version MIUI (Or OS version. You'll see a message saying, "You're a developer." Then, in the Additional Settings menu, turn on Debugging by USB.

Connect your phone to your computer. On your PC, download and unpack Platform Tools from the official Android site. Open the command line (cmd or PowerShell) in the tool folder. Enter a command to check the connection:

adb devices

You'll see a request for debugging permission on your smartphone screen. Check "Always Allow" and press "OK." The command line should show a device. You can now proceed to delete. To remove Zen (the package is often called com.yandex.zen or similar), use the command:

adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.yandex.zen

If the packet is called differently, you can find out the exact name through the command adb shell pm list packages | grep yandex. Once the command is executed, the application will disappear from the system. This action is reversible: resetting the phone settings to factory will return the application to its place, since the files remain in the system partition, but for the current user they are deleted.

• 💻 Install the drivers. ADB computer.
• 📱 Put the debugging on. USB developer-menu.
• 🔌 Connect the phone and confirm access.
• 🗑️ Enter the command to remove a specific package.

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Save a list of deleted packets in a text file. If something goes wrong after you update your system, you will know which components have been removed and you can restore them through reset or re-installation.

Blocking through DNS and hosts

Another effective, but less radical, method is to block an app from accessing the Internet, and Zen won't be able to download new feeds, pictures, and videos if it doesn't have a server connection, and you can do this in two ways: through router settings (hard for a beginner) or through DNS on the phone itself.

Modern versions of Android (starting with 9 and above) have a built-in Private function. DNS (Private DNS). It allows you to redirect requests through a server that filters ads. DNS. To take advantage of this, go to Settings. → Connection and Sharing (or Wi-Fi) → Private DNS.

Select the DNS Host Name option and type in the address: dns.adguard.com. Save settings. Now all traffic on your device will go through the filter, which will remove not only Zen, but also ads in browsers and some applications.

However, there are some nuances to this method: Some legitimate services may not work properly if their domains are blacklisted, and Zen can cache content, so a complete cleanup won’t happen instantly.

⚠️ Attention: Use of third-party DNS It can slow down the speed of opening sites on some networks. If you notice problems with the Internet, return the settings. DNS (c) the "Auto" or "Out" position".

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DNS blocking is a compromise solution: it doesn't remove the application, but it makes it useless, making it impossible to update content.

Possible problems and solutions

Users may encounter various difficulties in dealing with intrusive services, such as when a firmware update is updated, all settings can fly off and applications removed through ADB can return, which is normal behavior for a system that tends to be “standard” by the manufacturer.

Sometimes, after disabling system components, the interface may start to work unstable: icons disappear, animation slows down. In this case, it is recommended to clean the system launcher cache. Go to Settings → Applications → All applications, find the System Launcher (or Desktop) and click Clear Cache. Don’t confuse it with Clear Everything, otherwise the icon settings will be confused.

Also worth mentioning are regional features: In the Russian version of firmware (RU), the integration of Yandex services is maximum, and if you bought a phone specifically for the Russian market, getting rid of Zen completely without root rights can be more difficult than in the global version (Global). In extreme cases, users resort to flashing the device to a global version, but this is a complex procedure that carries risks.

Remember that constantly fighting the system can take longer than using the service itself. If Zen doesn't stop you critically, it may be easier to just turn off its notifications and stop opening the feed, allowing the algorithms to understand that the content isn't interesting to you.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)