Owners of smartphones brand Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco often face intrusive advertising banners that appear in the system applications and interface shell MIUI or HyperOS. This phenomenon has become a hallmark of the manufacturer, allowing you to keep low prices for devices, but for many users it becomes a serious problem. permanent pop-ups distract, consume traffic and reduce the overall speed of the gadget, annoying even experienced technologists.
Fortunately, there are many proven ways to minimize or completely remove ads without having to obtain superuser rights (Root). you don’t need to be a programmer or deeply versed in Android code to make the system cleaner. You just need to go through several settings consistently and disable specific services responsible for collecting data and displaying marketing content.
In this article, we will take a look at all the known blocking methods, from official settings to more advanced options for power users, you will learn which services can be safely disabled and which should not be touched so as not to disrupt the smartphone. We will also look at the specific settings for popular applications like Explorer and Music, where advertising is most common.
Disabling the MSA System Service
At the heart of Xiaomi’s advertising ecosystem is the MSA (MIUI System Ads) service, which is responsible for loading and displaying banners at different corners by the operating system. The first and most important step is to force the suspension and withdrawal of permissions from this component, and without disabling the MSA, all other actions may not be effective.
First, you need to find the right item in the settings menu. Go to Settings → Passwords and Security → Data Access. In the application list that opens, find msa and switch the slider to an inactive position. The system will warn you that the application will not be able to connect to the Internet, and will prompt you to wait 10 seconds before confirming the action.
⚠️ Attention: After pressing the "Disable" button, the system may show an error several times or ask to repeat the action. 3-4 once in a row until a successful completion report is received.
Next, you should prevent this service from automatically starting. Go back to the application menu, find msa and select AutoStart, making sure it is turned off. It is also recommended to clear the application data to remove the accumulated cache of advertising identifiers. This is done through the Apps menu → All Apps → msa → Clear.
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Disabling the MSA service blocks up to 80% of all system advertising, so this step is a priority for all Xiaomi users.
Set up personalized advertising
In addition to explicit banners, the system collects data about your preferences to serve targeted ads, and to stop this process, you need to turn off the personalization function, which will not only increase privacy, but also reduce the burden on the processor when analyzing your behavior.
Go to Settings → Passwords & Security → Privacy. Find the ad service item and turn off the "Receive References" option. In some firmware versions, this item may be called "Personal Advertising" or be located inside the "Special Features" menu.
And you should also look at ad service, which runs parallel to MSA, and is responsible for analytics. Turn off data for this component, like the instructions above. Often users forget this item, leaving the advertiser's loophole open.
- 🔒 Turn off “Get recommendations” in privacy settings for complete tracking ban.
- 📉 Blocking ad service reduces background activity.
- 🔄 After the changes, it is recommended to restart the device to apply all parameters.
Why is Xiaomi collecting data?
Cleaning embedded applications from banners
Even after system services are disabled, some native applications may continue to display ads unless their individual settings are ticked off, including standard Explorer, Music, Themes and Security, each with its own switch.
Start with the most popular one, Explorer. Open the app, click on the menu (three bars) and select Settings. Find "About Service and Advertising" or just "Get Recommendations" and deactivate it. Similar steps should be taken for the Music app: menus → Settings → Advanced Settings → Show ads.
In the Security app (green shield icon), ads often appear after checking the system. To fix this, click on the gear in the upper right corner, select General Settings and turn off Receive Recommendations. In the Themes store, a similar option is in the user profile.
☑️ Checking applications
Don't forget to check your Mi Browser settings if you use the standard one. It's often full of news feeds and banners. Go to your browser settings, look for the Home Page or News Feed, and turn off popular content.
Blocking through DNS (the method for advanced)
The most radical and effective way that works at the level of the entire operating system is to change the operating system. DNS-This method allows you to block requests to ad servers before they reach your device.
Go to the Settings menu → Connection and sharing → Private DNS-Select the option "Host Name of the provider" DNS" (Or "manually") and enter the address of a special server that filters traffic.
dns.adguard.comOnce you enter the address, save the settings. Now all traffic that passes through Wi-Fi and the mobile network will be checked for advertising domains. If a site or application tries to download a banner from a known advertising server, the request will be blocked.
| Parameter | Meaning/Action | The result |
|---|---|---|
| Type DNS | Provider host name | Manual activation |
| Server address | dns.adguard.com | Blocking ads |
| Application | Globally (Wi-Fi + 4G) | Protection in all applications |
| Impact on speed | Minimum | Pages can load faster |
⚠️ Attention: When using private DNS Some apps or sites may stop working correctly if they rely on blocked domains.In case of problems, just return the settings. DNS auto-mode".
Use of third-party blockers
If system methods are not enough, specialized blocking applications come to the rescue. VPN-You can tunnel on the device and filter all incoming traffic, and one of the most popular and efficient solutions is the AdGuard or Blokada app.
Installation of such programs requires permission to create VPN-Once launched, the app will prompt you to download current filter lists, select filters for mobile devices, and lists for blocking trackers and analytics counters.
The advantage of this method is the flexibility of settings: you can add your own rules, create exceptions for certain sites, and see statistics of blocked queries in real time, but it is worth remembering that the constant operation of the blocker can slightly increase battery consumption.
- 🛡️ AdGuard is building a local VPN Filter traffic without transferring data to third parties.
- ⚙️ Ability to fine-tune filters for specific applications.
- 📊 Statistics allow you to see which apps are most often trying to show ads.
There are also lightweight alternatives, such as DNS66, that work exclusively at the DNS level without requiring heavy filter bases to load constantly.
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For maximum efficiency, combine methods: turn off MSA in the settings, use DNS-filtering and install a lightweight browser blocker.