Why Xiaomi smartphones have ads – and how to deal with it

Xiaomi smartphone owners often face unexpected advertising in the interface MIUI — Banners can appear in the settings menu, on the lock screen, in system applications (for example, Browser or Music) and even in notification panels. For many users, this becomes an annoying factor, especially if the phone is bought for full value, rather than at a promotional price.

But why does Xiaomi integrate ads into its devices at all? MIUI In this article, we'll look at where advertising comes from, how it affects smartphone performance, and what legal (and not very) ways exist to disable it.

It’s important to understand that advertising at Xiaomi is not an accidental mistake, but a deliberate strategy. The company actively monetizes its ecosystem, and inserts are a key source of income beyond selling the devices themselves. However, not all users are willing to put up with intrusive banners, especially if they slow down the phone or distract from basic tasks.

Xiaomi Business Model: Why Advertising is the Norm

Xiaomi has positioned itself as a premium technology company at affordable prices. But how does it keep the prices of top-end smartphones low? The answer is simple: through additional revenue streams, where advertising is a top-ranked company.

According to Xiaomi’s 2022-2023 reports, Internet services (including advertising) accounted for about 30% of the company’s total revenue, meaning that one in three roubles a brand earns is from advertising integrations, subscriptions and microtransactions in the ecosystem. MIUI. For comparison, Apple or Samsung share of such revenues does not exceed 5-10%.

Key sources of advertising revenue in Xiaomi smartphones:

• 📱 System applications: Browser, Music, Themes, Security – all contain ad units.
• ⚙️ Settings menu: Banners can appear in About Phone, Additional or Mi Account sections.
• 🔒 Lock screen: Ads can be loaded along with wallpaper or notifications.
• 📲 Push notifications: Even if you don’t open apps, ads can come in the form of “helpful tips".

Xiaomi does not hide its policy in the user agreement. MIUI It's clearly stated that the company has the right to display personalized ads based on user behavior data, but few people read these agreements when they first turn on the phone.

Global vs. Chinese firmware: where is more advertising?

One of the key factors influencing the amount of advertising in Xiaomi is the regional version of the firmware. Smartphones sold in China, Russia, Europe and India may have different builds. MIUI with varying levels of advertising aggressiveness.

Let’s compare the two main versions of the firmware:

Why is Chinese firmware more ad-containing? In China, Xiaomi competes with other brands (like Huawei or Oppo) that also actively monetize their shells, and Chinese users are used to this format and less likely to complain about ads than European or Russian customers.

Here are the global firmware (Global) ROM) They are usually devoid of most ad inserts, due to legal restrictions in the EU and the US, where intrusive advertising can be considered a violation of consumer rights, but even in global versions, banners sometimes slip, especially if the phone is purchased from unofficial stores.

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Before buying Xiaomi, check the firmware region by IMEI If you are looking for China, be prepared for advertising.

How Advertising Affects Smartphone Performance

Many users are concerned that advertising modules in MIUI They can slow down your phone or increase your battery consumption. Let's see if these concerns are justified.

First, Xiaomi’s advertising works through system services that constantly exchange data with the company’s servers.

• 📶 Increased traffic: banner ads are loaded over the Internet, which can eat up to 50-100 MB per month.
• 🔋 Additional battery consumption: background ad processes (com.miui.systemAdSolution) can increase power consumption by 3-7%.
• 🐢 Slowing down the interface: if the phone is weak (e.g. Redmi) 9A), Advertising can cause slowdowns when opening the settings menu.

Second, personalized advertising requires the collection of user data: search history, installed applications, geolocation, which means that analytics services are running in the background, which also consume resources.

However, on flagship models (for example, Xiaomi 13 Ultra or POCO F5 Pro: the impact of advertising on performance is minimal — a powerful processor can easily cope with background tasks. 10A, POCO M4) The difference can be noticeable.

How to remove advertising in Xiaomi: official ways

If you are annoyed by advertising, the first step is to try legal methods to disable it, most of which do not require root rights and are suitable for global and Russian firmware.

Step 1: Disabling Personalized Advertising

1. Go to Settings. → Mi Account → Mi Advertising.
2. Turn off the option of personalized recommendations.
3. In the same menu, find Show Advertisements and deactivate them.

Step 2: Disabling Advertising in System Applications

• 🌐 Browser: Settings → Additionally. → Advertising → Turn off all switches.
• 🎵 Music: Settings → Recommendations → Turn off the advertisement.
• 📱 Topics: Settings → Advertising → turn off banners.

Step 3: Resetting advertising ID

This method resets your advertising ID, which temporarily reduces the amount of targeted advertising:

1. Go to Settings. → The phone.
2. Click on the MIUI version 7 times to activate the Developer Mode.
3. Back to Settings → Additionally. → For developers.
4. Find the Reset Advertising ID and confirm the action.

If you still have ads after that, you may have modified your firmware (like custom or Chinese) and you may have to consider more radical methods.

Radical methods: rut, custom firmware and ADB

If the official methods have failed and the advertising continues to be annoying, you can try advanced methods, but they require technical skills and can lead to a loss of warranty or unstable phone operation.

Method 1. Disabling advertising through ADB

This method does not require root rights, but you need installation ADB (Android Debug Bridge on your computer.

1. Activate Developer Mode (as in the previous section).
2. Enable USB Debugging in Settings → For Developers.
3. Connect your phone to your PC and execute the commands: adb shell pm hide com.miui.systemAdSolution adb shell pm hide com.xiaomi.midrop

Method 2: Installation of custom firmware

Firmware like LineageOS or Pixel Experience is completely removed MIUI And then all the advertising. But this process is the same:

• ⚠️ Resets all the data on the phone.
• ⚠️ Can disrupt camera or sensor performance (especially on newer models).
• ⚠️ Deprives of warranty (if the phone is warranty).

Method 3: Use of Magisk modules

If you have root, you can install modules like Disabler for Xiaomi or AdAway that block ad servers at the system level.

⚠️ Note: Some banking applications (e.g. SberBank Online) may stop working on root-righted phones due to security breaches.

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Before use ADB or root rights make a backup of the data through Settings → Additionally. → Backup!

Myths and Truths About Advertising in Xiaomi

There's a lot of rumors going around advertising in Xiaomi, and let's see what's true and what's fiction.

Myth 1: “Advertising in Xiaomi is a virus”

❌ The advertising modules are sewn into firmware. MIUI They're not malware, but they do collect user data to target.

Myth 2: Buying Xiaomi for $30,000 ₽, no advertising"

❌ Advertisements can even appear on flagships like the Xiaomi 13 Pro if they are using Chinese or modified firmware.

Myth 3: “Disabling Ads Violates License Agreement”

✅ Xiaomi's user agreement states that it reserves the right to display ads, but disabling them through settings is not a violation — it's your right as a user.

Myth 4: “Advertising in Xiaomi eats up a lot of internet traffic”

✅ True, but not critical: on average, advertising services consume 50 to 100 MB per month, which is not significant for unlimited rates, but can be noticeable with limited traffic.

Myth 5: “After the update MIUI Advertising is getting smaller"

❌ Not always, sometimes new versions. MIUI They add even more ad integrations, like when you upgrade to MIUI 14 Some Users Have Noticed Increased Banner Numbers in Browser and Settings.

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To reduce the amount of advertising, stop using Xiaomi system applications (for example, replace the browser with Chrome or Firefox).

Alternative solutions: what to do if nothing helps

If you’ve tried all the ways but still have ads, consider alternatives:

1.Purchase of a global firmware phone

Buy Xiaomi smartphones only from official distributors (e.g. M. Video, Svyaznoy or Wildberries marked "Global Version"). Avoid devices marked China ROM — There will be a lot more advertising.

2. Use of alternative launchers

Install a third-party launcher (like Nova Launcher or Microsoft Launcher) to hide system widgets with ads. This won’t remove banners completely, but will make them less visible.

3.Switching to another brand

If advertising fundamentally does not suit you, pay attention to smartphones without pre-installed advertising:

• 📱 Google Pixel – pure Android without unnecessary inserts.
• 📱 Samsung Galaxy (Series S and A) – no advertising, but there are branded services.
• 📱 OnePlus is a minimalist shell of OxygenOS.

4. Appeal in support of Xiaomi

In rare cases, ads may appear due to a firmware failure. Write to Xiaomi official support (via Settings). → Review) describing the problem – sometimes they help reset ad settings on the server.

⚠️ Note: If you bought Xiaomi in China (for example, through AliExpress), chances are that the firmware is not designed for your region.

FAQ: Frequent questions about Xiaomi advertising