Why Xiaomi Mi TV has banner ads and how to fix it
Xiaomi Mi TVs are known for their price-to-quality ratio, but many users face intrusive advertising in the interface. Banners appear on the home screen, on the app menu and even while watching content. This is not a fluke, but part of the company’s business model: Xiaomi monetizes cheap devices through integrated advertising.
Unlike premium TVs (like Sony Bravia or LG OLED), where there are no default ads, Mi TV uses PatchWall's proprietary shell, which is responsible for personalized recommendations — and obtrusive banners at the same time. The good news is that most ads can be turned off without losing functionality. The bad news is that some techniques require technical skills.
Method 1: Disabling personalized recommendations in settings
The easiest and safest way to do this is to deactivate features that analyze your preferences, which won't eliminate ads completely, but will reduce the amount of ads you have. 40–60%. The instructions are relevant for Mi TV 4/4S/4A/4X/5/5X newer models:
- Open the Settings menu → select Account and Security.
- Go to Personalization (or Recommendations in older versions of the software).
- Turn off all sliders: 📊 Personalized recommendations 🔍 Analysis of use 📢 Promotional notices
Settings → About TV → Reboot
After that, banner ads on the home screen will become less intrusive, but they won’t disappear completely, such as Prime Video or Netflix banners that can stay if they are sewn into firmware as “partner content.”
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If after disabling the recommendations, the TV started to “slow down”, clear the cache of the PatchWall application in Settings → Applications → Application Management → PatchWall → Clear the cache.
Method 2: Resetting the Advertising ID
Each Xiaomi TV is assigned a unique Advertising ID, which is used for targeted advertising, and resetting it helps reduce the number of personalized banners.
- Open the Settings. → On TV.
- Find Status (or System Information) and quickly click 5 times in a row on the MIUI TV version until you get a message You are a developer!
- Return to the main settings menu, a new section for developers will appear.
- Select Reset Advertising ID and confirm the action.
This method does not remove ads completely, but resets your preferences history. After reset, banners will become less relevant (for example, instead of advertising militants can show random offers), the effect lasts 1-2 weeks, then the ID is updated automatically.
Method 3: Blocking Ads via ADB (for Advanced Users)
If standard methods don't work, you can use the Android debugging bridge (ADB), which will disable the system applications responsible for displaying ads. Importantly, the wrong ADB commands can cause your TV to fail, and only use this method if you are confident in your actions.
The work will require:
- 💻 Computer with Windows/Linux/macOS
- 🔌 USB-cable (to connect the TV to the PC)
- 📥 Utility. ADB Tools by Google
Step-by-step:
- Turn on USB debugging on your TV: Settings → About TV → MIUI TV version (5 times press) Settings → For developers → USB debugging (enable)
- Connect the TV to your PC via USB and start the command line (or Terminal).
- Check the connection command: Adb devices should appear with a serial number.
- Follow the commands to disable advertising services: adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.miui.systemAdSolution adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.xiaomi.mitv.advertise adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.miui.systemAdSolution.oasverse
After the TV is restarted, the ads on the home screen and in the app menu should disappear. If the banners remain, check if the package names in the new firmware have been updated (they can be found through adb shell pm list packages | grep -i ad).
What if ADB can’t see the TV?
Method 4: Installation of an alternative launcher
PatchWall is the main source of advertising on Xiaomi Mi TV. It can be replaced with a third-party launcher, such as ATV Launcher or HalLauncher.This will remove all banner ads, but deprive you of some features (for example, voice control or quick access to Mi Home).
Installation instructions:
- Download. APK-a launcher file (e.g., HalLauncher) on USB-accumulator.
- Connect the flash drive to the TV and install the application through the File Manager.
- Launch the launcher and select it as the default launcher in the settings.
| Launcher | Pluses | Cons |
|---|---|---|
| ATV Launcher | Simple interface, no advertising, support for widgets | No integration with Mi Home, limited customization |
| HalLauncher | Flexible settings, themes support, quick access to applications | Can brake on weak models (Mi TV 4A) |
| Leanback Launcher | Optimized for Android TV, minimalist design | No Russian language, complicated setting |
Once you install an alternative launcher, the ads will disappear completely, but you will have to manually adjust the location of the apps and widgets, and some system features (such as Mi Share or Game Controller) may become unavailable.
Download APK on a verified source (APKMirror, Aptoide)
Enable installation from unknown sources (Settings → Security → Unknown sources)
Backup your current settings (Settings → Backup)
Prepare. USB-file storage or use Send Files to TV-->
Method 5: Blocking Advertising Through DNS
If the ad appears embedded in the application (for example, in YouTube or Prime Video), it can be blocked at the DNS level. To do this, you need to change the settings of the TV network by specifying the addresses of the servers filtering the ad domains.
Step-by-step:
- Open Settings → Network and Internet → Wi-Fi (or Ethernet).
- Click on your network name → Additional → IP settings.
- Select Static. IP enter: 📡 DNS 1: 94.140.14.14 (AdGuard DNS) 📡 DNS 2: 94.140.15.15 (AdGuard DNS)
Save the settings and restart the TV.
This method blocks ads in all apps that use the internet, but can cause problems with some services (e.g. Disney).+ or OKKO Sometimes they block access when using third-party DNS). If the site stops opening, return the standard ones. DNS your provider.
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Changing the DNS does not remove banners in the PatchWall interface itself, but blocks ads in apps and the browser.
Method 6: Reverse the firmware to an earlier version
Older versions of firmware (e.g. MIUI TV 1.0-2.5) had significantly less advertising. If your TV supports downgrade, you can return an earlier version of the software.
How to check the possibility of a recoil:
- Find out the current firmware version in Settings → About TV → MIUI TV version.
- Find a firmware archive for your model on forums (e.g., 4PDA or Xiaomi EU).
- Download the.zip file and put it in the root USB-storage device update.zip).
- In TV, go to Settings → About TV → System Update → Update via USB.
⚠️ Attention: Firmware rollback can cause your TV to work unstable, lose features (like Google Assistant) or even "brick" (breakdown). → Backup.
If after the rollback, the ads disappeared, but there were bugs (for example, Netflix does not work or the interface is slowing down), go back to the last stable version of the firmware.
Method 7: Physical Internet Shutdown (Radical Method)
The most reliable, but inconvenient way is to completely disconnect the TV from the network. Without the Internet, PatchWall will not be able to download banner ads, but you will also lose access to:
- 📺 Streaming services (YouTube, Netflix, OKKO)
- 🎮 Application and firmware updates
- 🔄 Smart Home (Mi Home, Google Assistant)
- 📱 Remote control from a smartphone
If you don't need online features, turn off Wi-Fi or Ethernet in your network settings. Advertising will disappear completely, but the TV will turn into a "stupid" device for viewing files from USB or HDMI.
⚠️ Note: On some models (Mi) TV Q1/Q2) Even without the Internet, you can still have static banners sewn into your firmware, and you can only remove them through the Internet. ADB (see method 3).