Advertising in Xiaomi smartphones: in what models is found and how to remove it

Owners of budget and mid-budget devices often face intrusive ads that appear in system applications. This has become a hallmark of the shell of MIUI and now the new HyperOS, allowing the company to subsidize the cost of iron. Users often wonder what models this feature is in and whether it can be eliminated without flashing it. The answer lies not only in the device but also in the version of the operating system installed.

Global versions (Global) for Europe and the CIS usually contain more advertising modules than Chinese (China) or Indian builds, but even in the most expensive flagship lines, there can be elements of promotion of services, if you do not turn off the appropriate settings at the first launch of the gadget.

We will look at which smartphone series are most likely to be affected, and provide current methods for blocking intrusive content. It is important to understand that completely removing ads requires several steps in different settings menus, since there is no single “magic button” for this.

List of Xiaomi series with built-in advertising

Advertising integrations have affected almost the entire range of the company released over the past five years, with some exclusive models sold only in China’s domestic market without Google services, but there are almost no such devices in international sales, with the emphasis on monetization through advertising being placed in budget and mid-range segments where device margins are lower.

The most aggressive advertising is in the Redmi Note and Redmi series (formerly the A series), owners of Redmi 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 and their modifications (Note, Pro, Pro+) face offers in the Security app, Downloads and even in the notification curtain, due to the democratic price of the devices, which the company compensates for through service revenue.

Xiaomi Mi and Xiaomi’s flagship lineup (digital series, such as Xiaomi 13, 14, 15) are also not without these features, although here their manifestation is often less intrusive by default. In expensive models, advertising is more often in the form of recommendations of content in the topic or offering cloud services, rather than direct banners of third-party stores.

Special attention should be paid to the series. POCO. The brand is positioned as performance-oriented, but the software shell is identical here. MIUI/HyperOS. Models. POCO M, X and F series contain the same system advertising modules (MSA), It is especially important for users of these smartphones to conduct initial configuration of the system to minimize visual noise.

• 📱 Redmi Note Series (all generations 8 to 14)
• 📱 Redmi budget line (digital indices) 9-14)
• 📱 subbrand POCO (series M, X, F)
• 📱 Xiaomi flagships (Mi and digital series)

Even if the older Redmi Note 8 model is running the latest version of HyperOS, the ad mechanisms can be activated again if the locking methods are not used, so the issue is not so much in the smartphone model as in the software configuration.

Technical reasons for the appearance of advertising in MIUI and HyperOS

The system process called MSA (MIUI System Ads) is responsible for the emergence of banner ads, which runs in the background, collects data on application usage (anonymously, according to company policy), and selects relevant ads. In new versions of HyperOS, this mechanism was renamed and integrated deeper into the recommendation system, but the essence remained the same.

Ads can be displayed in various system utilities, and most often, users see them in task manager, memory cleanup, Music or Video app, and banners can pop up in folders on the desktop if the Recommended Content feature is enabled, which is not a virus, but a regular function of the operating system that can be controlled.

It's important to distinguish between in-house and browser ads. If you suddenly start to open windows offering to buy an iPhone or win a ticket when you unlock the screen, it's likely the result of a malicious app or subscription to notifications in Chrome.

⚠️ Attention: Disabling the system process MSA This can cause some Xiaomi apps, such as “Themes” or “Music,” to temporarily unsettled, and they usually restore functionality after a reboot.

The mechanism of work is based on the periodic request of Xiaomi servers for new content. If the server responds with positive code and contains an advertising campaign, it is displayed on the device.

How to disable advertising through smartphone settings

The first and most obvious step is to disable personalization of ads in your account settings, which will not completely remove ads, but will make them less targeted and frequent, and to do this, you need to go to the settings menu, find the Passwords and Security section, and then access to personal data or Advertising and Privacy.

You have to find the Receive References switch and put it inactive, and the system can ask you several times about your decision, claiming that it will improve the experience, insist on your own and turn off all sliders related to personalization and recommendations.

Next, you should go through system applications. Explorer, Downloads, and Cleanup often have their own ad display settings. These are usually located in the Settings menu inside the app itself (three dots or a gear in the corner). Look for items like Get Recommendations or Show Popular.

Pay special attention to the Security app, which is where pop-ups are most often broadcast, go to the app settings (cog at the top), find the Receive References section and turn it off, which is critical to clean interfaces.

Once you do this, the amount of advertising should be significantly reduced, but a deeper approach to shutting down system services is required to remove it completely. Don't be afraid to turn off system components if you understand what they're responsible for, it won't cause any personal data to be lost.

Disabling the MSA system process

The msa (MIUI System Ads) process is the main culprit. It's a key step to turning it off completely. Go to Settings → Apps → All Apps. In the upper right corner, click on three dots and select Show System Processes.

In the list that opens, find the msa app. Click on it and select "Disable." The system will issue a warning that it may affect other applications. Confirm the action. If the "Disable" button is inactive, try turning off the Internet first, perform the action, and then turn the network back on.

Settings → Applications → All applications → (three dots) → Show system → msa → Disable

Sometimes the process can automatically turn on again after a while, in which case it is also recommended to disable the Recommend application if it is present in the list.

The efficiency of this method is about 90%, and the remaining 10% is ads that are sewn directly into the code of some applications, such as Music or Video, where disabling MSA removes only targeted banners, but leaves standard promotional materials.

Blocking Advertising Through DNS (The Advanced Method)

The most radical and effective way to do this is to use the network interface layer, to block ad requests before they even reach the screen, and to do this, you use filtered DNS technology. You don't need root rights.

Go to Connection Settings → Connection & Sharing → Private DNS. Select the option “DNS Provider Host Name” (or “Manual”) and enter the address of the third-party service blocking ads. One of the most trusted is AdGuard DNS.

Once you type in the dns.adguard.com address, click Save. The system will check the connection. If the address is entered correctly, the Internet will continue to work, but the ad domains will be blocked, which will remove ads not only in the system, but also in many applications and browsers.

⚠️ Attention: Use of third-party DNS It can cause some local services to fail or slow down page openings if the server is far away».

This method is versatile and suitable for any model, from the old Redmi Note 7 to the newest Xiaomi 15 Ultra.It also saves traffic, as banner ads simply don't load.

Comparison of Advertising in Different Versions of Firmware

Users often argue about which firmware is cleaner. Indeed, the region of software installation affects the aggressiveness of advertising. Chinese firmware (CN), despite stereotypes, often contains less intrusive advertising in the global sense, because it uses other services (Baidu instead of Google), but they are full of local content that is not clear to a foreigner.

European firmware (EU/EEA) has historically been considered the cleanest due to strict GDPR data protection laws, but with the release of HyperOS, the distinction is blurred, with Indian firmware traditionally considered the most saturated ad modules due to the specifics of the local market.

Below is a comparative table of advertising availability depending on the type of firmware for current models:

If you buy a phone with “Global” firmware, but in the box is a Chinese charging fork, chances are that you sold the Chinese version with a re-flashed global OS. In such “overstitched” smartphones, advertising can behave unpredictablely, and banking applications may not work correctly.

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When buying Xiaomi, always check the About Phone menu. If it says “Development Version” or a strange build, it’s better to reset to the factory settings or reflash officially.

The choice of firmware is a balance between stability and cleanliness of the system. For the average user, the official Global or EEA version is best suited, followed by manual adjustment, described above.

FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions

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Advertising in Xiaomi is a software feature, not a defect of a particular model, and knowing the right settings, you can make the interface clean on any device of the brand.