How to Disable Ads, Recommendations and Push Notifications on Chinese Android Phones Without Root

TL;DR

• Time: 30–45 minutes (first run on a single device)
• Difficulty: Basic (you need a PC, a USB cable, and one terminal)
• You need: a Windows/macOS/Linux PC, Android platform-tools (ADB) from the official SDK, a USB data cable, a Chinese-ROM Android phone (Xiaomi/HyperOS, OPPO/realme/OnePlus ColorOS, vivo/iQOO OriginOS), ~50 MB free space for logs
• Result: system ad services, recommendation feeds, and news cards are disabled per user with pm disable-user — no root, no custom recovery, no warranty loss

Requirements and setup

• OS: Windows 10/11, macOS 12+, or any Linux with adb in PATH.
• platform-tools: download the official archive for your OS, unpack it, and add the folder to PATH (Windows: *System properties → Environment Variables → Path*). Check the exact version in the release notes — сверьтесь с документацией for the current build number.
• Phone: Developer options enabled (*Settings → About phone → tap “Build number” 7 times*), then *Settings → System → Developer options → USB debugging* ON.
• Cable: a data cable, not a charge-only one. Charge-only cables are the #1 cause of the “no devices” error below.
• Backup: export your app list before touching anything (Step 1) so you can restore packages later.
• Parallel task: if you also debloat Windows, the same logic applies to telemetry — see How to disable ads, telemetry and AI features in Windows 11.

What to do: install platform-tools and verify that ADB sees the phone.

adb version
adb devices

Why: adb (Android Debug Bridge) is the client that talks to the adbd daemon on the phone over USB. Everything in this guide is executed as the shell user, which is allowed to change package state for user 0 without root.

How to check: the first command prints the client version line; the second prints:

List of devices attached
4C7A1B2C3D      device

If the state column says unauthorized or the list is empty, jump to *Troubleshooting* before continuing.

Step 1. Inventory the packages before you disable anything

What to do: dump the full package list and the list of already-disabled packages into two files, then grep for the ad/recommendation candidates.

adb shell getprop ro.product.model
adb shell getprop ro.build.version.release

adb shell pm list packages            > packages-before.txt
adb shell pm list packages -d         > packages-disabled-before.txt
adb shell pm list packages | grep -iE "msa|mipicks|adsolution|analytics|hiboard|heytap|browser"

Why: pm (Package Manager) is the Android service that owns install/uninstall/enable state. Saving the “before” snapshot is your undo file: if something breaks, you re-enable exactly those packages instead of guessing.

How to check: packages-before.txt contains several hundred lines starting with package:; the grep prints only the candidates. Example output on a Xiaomi build:

package:com.miui.msa.global
package:com.miui.systemAdSolution
package:com.miui.analytics
package:com.xiaomi.mipicks
package:com.mi.globalbrowser

Package names differ between ROM builds and regions — always confirm with pm list packages on your device. If a name from the table in Step 2 does not appear, that component does not exist on your build and there is nothing to disable.

Checklist before you proceed:

• [ ] adb devices shows your serial with state device
• [ ] packages-before.txt exists and is non-empty
• [ ] packages-disabled-before.txt exists (may be empty on a fresh phone)
• [ ] you have written down the model name printed by getprop

Example: on a HyperOS device the inventory contains package:com.miui.msa.global, which is the MIUI System Ads service; on a ColorOS device the same role is played by a com.heytap.* or com.coloros.* package, and the exact name must be read from your own dump.

Step 2. Disable ad, recommendation, and news components

What to do: put the confirmed package names into a text file, one per line, then loop over it with pm disable-user.

cat > packages-to-disable.txt <<'EOF'
com.miui.msa.global
com.miui.systemAdSolution
com.miui.analytics
com.xiaomi.mipicks
com.mi.globalbrowser
com.miui.android.fashiongallery
EOF

while read -r pkg; do
  [ -z "$pkg" ] && continue
  echo "== $pkg"
  adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 "$pkg"
done < packages-to-disable.txt

Why: pm disable-user --user 0 flips the component to the disabled-user state for the primary user only. The APK stays in /system, so OTA updates still validate, and a single pm enable brings it back. This is the non-root equivalent of “freeze” in Titanium Backup.

Typical targets and what they control:

Do not disable com.android.* packages, com.miui.home (launcher), or com.android.systemui — those are core UI, and a wrong hit gives you a boot loop.

How to check: each line of the loop prints a state confirmation:

== com.miui.msa.global
Package com.miui.msa.global new state: disabled-user

Then verify the state directly:

adb shell pm list packages -d | grep -i msa
adb shell dumpsys package com.miui.msa.global | grep -i "enabled"

Expected: the first command echoes the package name; dumpsys prints enabled=2 (disabled) or enabled=3 (disabled-user) instead of enabled=0/enabled=1.

Second lever — Private DNS. Ads and news cards are fetched from remote hosts, so a filtering resolver kills the remaining requests even inside apps you keep.

adb shell settings put global private_dns_mode hostname
adb shell settings put global private_dns_specifier <filtering-dns-host>

Replace <filtering-dns-host> with the hostname published by your DNS filtering provider (the value is provider-specific — сверьтесь с документацией of that provider). This works because Android 9+ resolves all lookups over DNS-over-TLS to that host, so blocked domains fail at the resolver instead of inside the app.

Third lever — notification channels. For apps you want to keep, silence their promo channel instead of uninstalling:

adb shell cmd appops set com.miui.videoplayer POST_NOTIFICATION ignore

POST_NOTIFICATION is available on Android 13+; on older builds use *Settings → Apps → <app> → Notifications* and turn the “Recommendations” channel off manually.

Step 3. Verify the result and reboot

What to do: reboot the phone, then re-check state and behaviour.

adb reboot
adb wait-for-device
adb shell pm list packages -d
adb shell settings get global private_dns_mode
adb shell settings get global private_dns_specifier

Why: some OEM services re-spawn their ad component on first boot after a change; a reboot proves the state survived and that nothing crashed at startup.

How to check: the expected screen output is a list containing each package you disabled, plus:

hostname
<filtering-dns-host>

Then inspect the device by hand — the acceptance criteria are visual:

• The left-swipe page (App Vault / Smart Scene) is gone or empty of articles.
• The lock screen shows no promoted wallpaper after unlocking twice.
• The notification shade contains no “Recommended for you” cards after 10 minutes of normal use.
• The system browser app is missing from the app drawer (if you disabled it).

If a package reappears in pm list packages -d output as enabled, the ROM restored it — repeat the pm disable-user command once; a second failure means the component is protected and you should stop there.

Example: after disabling com.miui.msa.global and setting a filtering resolver, the folder that previously showed three promoted game tiles shows only the apps you installed.

Troubleshooting

Problem. ADB sees no phone at all.

• Error: adb: no devices/emulators found
• Cause: charge-only cable, USB debugging off, or a missing OEM driver on Windows.
• Solution: reconnect with the original cable, set the USB mode to *File transfer (MTP)*, then restart the server and retry:

adb kill-server
adb start-server
adb devices

Problem. The phone is listed but commands are refused.

• Error: error: device unauthorized. Please check the confirmation dialog on your device.
• Cause: the RSA fingerprint prompt was dismissed, or an old key is cached.
• Solution: unplug, on the phone open *Developer options → Revoke USB debugging authorizations*, replug, and tap Allow on the dialog. Verify with adb devices — the state must read device, not unauthorized.

Problem. Disabling a package fails.

• Error: Failure [DELETE_FAILED_INTERNAL_ERROR] or Failure [DELETE_FAILED_USER_RESTRICTED]
• Cause: the package is protected (declared in the system partition manifest as non-removable) or the device has a work profile/device-policy restriction. DELETE_FAILED_* applies to pm uninstall; pm disable-user returns Exception occurred while executing 'disable-user': java.lang.SecurityException: ... for the same protected set.
• Solution: drop the uninstall route and keep the package enabled; instead silence its notifications via appops (Step 2) and block its hosts with Private DNS. Do not chase it further — a protected component is usually wired into the launcher or settings app.

Summary and next steps

You now have a repeatable, root-free procedure: snapshot the package list, disable ad/recommendation components with pm disable-user --user 0, and cut the remaining traffic with Private DNS. Keep packages-before.txt and packages-to-disable.txt in version control so you can reproduce the same state after a factory reset, and replace the preinstalled junk with tools you actually chose — see Best AI apps for Android in 2026 and, if you want a desktop-class terminal on the phone itself, How to Run Linux on Android Without Root: Termux, PRoot, and AI Tools.

FAQ

Do I need root to disable system ads on a Chinese Android phone?

No. pm disable-user --user 0 runs as the shell user over ADB, which is granted permission to change package state for the primary user. Root is only required for editing files inside /system or removing an APK physically.

Will disabling system packages break OTA updates?

The APK stays in the system partition, only its state changes, so OTA validation is unaffected. A major update may reset some states — after each update, re-run adb shell pm list packages -d and re-apply the loop from packages-to-disable.txt.

How do I undo everything?

Run adb shell pm enable <package> for each entry, or restore the whole list at once:

while read -r pkg; do adb shell pm enable "$pkg"; done < packages-to-disable.txt

Expected output per line: Package com.miui.msa.global new state: enabled.

Why do ads come back after a factory reset?

A factory reset wipes /data, including the disabled state, while the APKs in /system remain. Re-run Step 1 to rebuild the inventory (package names may differ on the new build) and re-apply the disable loop.

🤖 AI summary

• Updated: 2026-10-24
• Topics: как отключить рекламу на Android без root, ad-cleaner для Android, убрать рекомендации и новости на Xiaomi, отключить системную рекламу HyperOS
• Summary: Пошаговая настройка Android-очистки через adb и приложение android-ad-cleaner: какие системные пакеты отключать, чтобы убрать рекламу в MIUI, HyperOS, ColorOS и OriginOS, и как всё вернуть обратно.
• Key facts:
  • TL;DR Time: 30–45 minutes (first run on a single device) Difficulty: Basic (you need a PC, a USB cable, and one terminal) You need: a Windows/macOS/Linux PC, Android platform-tools (ADB) from the official SDK, a USB data cable, a Chinese-ROM Android phone (Xiaomi/HyperOS, OPPO/realme/OnePlus ColorOS, vivo/iQOO OriginOS), ~50 MB free space for logs Result: system ad services, recommendation feeds, and news cards are disabled per user with pm disable-user — no root, no custom recovery, no warranty loss Requirements and setup Illustration: Requirements and setup OS: Windows 10/11, macOS 12+, or any Linux with adb in PATH .
  • platform-tools: download the official archive for your OS, unpack it, and add the folder to PATH (Windows: System properties → Environment Variables → Path ).
  • Check the exact version in the release notes — сверьтесь с документацией for the current build number.
  • Phone: Developer options enabled ( Settings → About phone → tap “Build number” 7 times ), then Settings → System → Developer options → USB debugging ON.
  • Cable: a data cable, not a charge-only one.
  • Charge-only cables are the 1 cause of the “no devices” error below.

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