How to permanently remove full-screen advertising on Xiaomi smartphones: a step-by-step guide

You open the Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 or POCO X5 Pro to check the notifications — and suddenly the whole screen is filled with a bright banner offering to install the game or buy a discounted item. Close it, but after 10 minutes the ad appears again. Familiar situation? Owners of Xiaomi smartphones based on MIUI often face aggressive advertising that not only annoys, but also prevents the use of the device. In this article, we will examine why this happens and how to turn off full-screen advertising once and for all, from standard methods to advanced tricks with ADB.

The problem lies in Xiaomi’s monetization policy, where it integrates ad modules into system applications (Security, Mi Browser, Themes) and even settings menus. In some regions (such as India or China), there are more ads than in European firmware. But the good news is that most banners can be turned off without root rights.

Why Xiaomi is getting full-screen ads

There are three types of pop-up ads on Xiaomi, and each has its own “roots”:

• 🔍 Systemic advertising MIUI: It's embedded in firmware and it shows up in the settings menu, the notification center, or the lock screen.
• 📱 Third-party ads: banners from Google AdMob or other networks that show games, social networks, and even some system utilities (for example, Mi Browser).
• 🦠 Malware: If the ad appears even after resetting, the fault is the application installed bypassing Google Play (often masquerading as “optimizers” or “launchers»).

The most insidious option is an ad in the Security app, which has administrator rights and can display banners on top of other windows, such as after scanning the device for viruses or cleaning up garbage, and in some versions of MIUI 13/14, you can't turn off this ad through the interface, you need to edit the configuration files.

Another nuance: the budget models (Redmi 10A, POCO M4 Pro) have more advertising than the flagships (Xiaomi 13 Ultra), which is because Xiaomi compensates for the low price of the device by displaying banners, and there are fewer ads in firmware for Europe (EEA) than in the global or Chinese versions.

Method 1: Disabling Advertising in MIUI Settings

Let’s start with the simplest, the standard MIUI options, which in most cases is enough to remove 70-80% of banners.

Go to Settings → Memory → Cleanup (or Security → Cleaner in older versions).

1. Tap the three-point menu (⋮) top-right.
2. Select Settings.
3. Turn off the Recommendation slider (or Show ads in some firmware).
4. Go back and check if the banners are still in the Security section.

Next, close all system applications that may display ads:

• 🌐 Mi Browser: Settings → Additionally. → Advertising and recommendations → Turn off all sliders.
• 🎵 Mi Music or Mi Video: Settings → Recommendations → Take the boxes off the personalized ads.
• 📱 Themes (Subjects): Profile → Settings → Recommendations → Turn off the ads.

If after these actions, the advertisement continues to pop up, move on to the next method.

Disable recommendations in Security|Close ads in Mi Browser|Check your Mi Video/Mi Music |Switch off banners in Themes|Reboot your phone-->

Method 2: Use of “Advertless” mode (for EEA firmware)

In European firmware (MIUI EEA), there is a hidden Ad-Free Mode feature that blocks system advertising, which can be activated via ADB (Android Debug Bridge), which works on Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO with MIUI 12-14.

You'll need:

• 🖥️ Computer with installed Xiaomi drivers (download from the official website).
• 📱 Included debugging by USB on the phone (Settings) → The phone. → Version. MIUI → tap 7 times on the build number, then return to the Additional settings → For developers → Debugging by USB).
• 🔧 Utility. ADB (download).

Instructions:

1. Connect your phone to your PC via USB (select File Transfer Mode).
2. Open the command prompt (Win + R → enter cmd) and go to the folder with ADB:

cd C:\platform-tools

1. Enter a command to check the connection:

adb devices

If the device is displayed, do:

adb shell settings put global hide_ad 1

This command permanently disables system ads in MIUI, but does not affect banners in third-party applications. Once executed, restart your phone. To return ads (if something goes wrong), use:

adb shell settings put global hide_ad 0

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

This will disable the service responsible for displaying banners in MIUI 13/14.-->

Method 3: Remove Advertising Packages via ADB

If the previous method didn't work, you can manually remove the apps responsible for displaying ads. This is a more radical way, but it eliminates banners by 100%.

List of "advertising" packages in MIUI:

To remove the packet, follow the command:

adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 Name Package

Example for removing system advertising:

adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.miui.systemAdSolution

⚠️ Note: Do not remove packets marked ❌ — This can lead to errors in the work. MIUI. Before deleting, make a backup copy of the data!

If after removing the packets, the phone began to slow down or errors emerge, restore them with the command:

adb shell cmd package install-existing name packet

Method 4: Blocking Advertising via DNS or VPN

If you see ads in your browser or apps, you can block them at the network level.

• 🌍 Private DNS: change the settings DNS on dns.adguard.com or 1.1.1.3 (Cloudflare with ad blocking). → Connections → Private DNS.
• 🔒 VPN Ad-blocking: for example, AdGuard VPN Blokada (available on Google Play).
• 🛡️ Third-party blockers: AdAway (requires root rights) or DNS66 (work-in).

To configure Private DNS:

1. Go to Settings. → SIM-maps and mobile networks → Private DNS.
2. Select the hostname of the private DNS.
3. Enter dns.adguard.com and save.

This method blocks ads in the browser and some applications, but does not affect MIUI system banners.

Method 5: Resetting settings or flashing

If the advertisement appears even after all the manipulations, it may be the fault:

• 🦠 Malware installed from unverified sources.
• 📦 Damaged firmware (especially if the phone was bought with hands).
• 🔄 Residual files after updating MIUI.

In this case, it will help:

1. Reset to factory settings: Settings → About phone → Reset. Attention: all data will be deleted!
2. Flashing through Mi Flash Tool: download the official firmware for your model from the Xiaomi website and flash the phone in Fastboot mode.
3. Installing custom firmware (like LineageOS or Pixel Experience) is a radical method, but it completely removes ads and improves performance.

⚠️ Note: Flashing through the Mi Flash Tool erases all data and can lead to brick if the wrong firmware version is selected. Use this method only if you are confident in your actions!

If you decide on a custom firmware, we recommend:

• 🔧 First, unlock the bootloader through the official Xiaomi tool.
• 📥 Download the firmware from a verified source (for example, XDA Developers).
• ⚙️ Use it. TWRP fitting.

Method 6: Alternative launchers and workarounds

If nothing works, you can simply hide the ad by replacing the standard MIUI launcher with a third-party one.

• 🏠 Nova Launcher – allows you to hide system applications and disable notifications from them.
• 🌈 Lawnchair – lightweight launcher with gesture support and no advertising.
• 🔍 Microsoft Launcher – blocks pop-ups from system applications.

To hide advertising applications:

1. Install Nova Launcher from Google Play.
2. Press your finger on your desktop → Launcher settings → Apps and widgets → Hide applications.
3. Check Security, Mi Browser, Cleaner and other advertising sources.

You can also disable notifications from advertising applications:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Find Security, Mi Browser, Cleaner, etc.
3. Slip notifications → turn off all sliders.

This will not eliminate the advertising completely, but it will make it less intrusive.

💡

Replacing the launcher is the safest way to hide the ad, but it doesn't remove the source. To solve the problem, combine this method with disabling the system banners through ADB.

FAQ: Frequent questions about advertising on Xiaomi