Android Basics: How to disable ‘Mi Box Recommends’ row on Xiaomi Mi Box

Android TV is a fantastic platform that has always been plagued by sub-par hardware. However, things are looking up as we enter 2017 with new options being released and a few excellent ones already on the market. One of those is the Xiaomi Mi Box, a 4K set top box that hits the sweet spot in pricing.

However, the Mi Box isn’t perfect. While Android TV can’t be altered in any major way, Xiaomi did sneak a “recommendations” row on the homescreen which feels a bit in the way when navigating through apps.

This “Mi Box Recommends” row is composed of popular apps like Netflix, Hulu, and others, which might be fine for some people. However, you can’t customize what shows up in this row; the icons are always there whether the app is installed or not, and you can’t customize the layout.

Luckily, it’s pretty easy to disable that customization if you want to. To disable the “Mi Box Recommends” row on the Mi Box, simply follow the steps below:

1. Go to the Settings app
2. Locate the “Apps” section
3. Scroll to the System Apps section
4. Locate the app titled XiaomiLeanbackCustomizer
5. Click this app and select the Disable option
6. After confirming that you have disabled the app, reboot your Mi Box

If you’ve followed all of these steps correctly, your Mi Box homescreen should no longer show the “Mi Box Recommends” row and instead show only your installed applications in a single row.

For more on the Xiaomi Mi Box, you can read our full review here and keep up to date on all the latest from Android TV here.