Owning a Xiaomi or Redmi smartphone is often overshadowed by intrusive content that appears in the most unexpected places on the interface. Users are faced with banner ads in standard applications, pop-ups when cleaning up memory, and even marketing offers in system settings. This is a fee for the affordable cost of devices, but the situation can be radically corrected.
Disabling advertising mechanisms completely requires several actions to be performed in sequential ways in different sections of the MIUI shell. There is no one “magic button” that will remove all banners at once, so it’s important to go all the way through the setup. In this article, we’ll break down each step that will help you return a clean and comfortable interface.
It is worth noting that after resetting the settings before the factory or major firmware update, some parameters can return to their original values. Therefore, knowing the algorithm of actions will allow you to quickly restore a personalized experience of using the gadget without unnecessary information noise.
Disabling the MSA system service
The centerpiece of the Xiaomi ecosystem’s advertising distribution is the MSA (MIUI System Ads) system application, which collects your preferences and broadcasts personalized offers, and disabling this component is the most important step in the entire cleanup process.
First, you need to find the right section in the settings menu. Go to Settings → Password and Security → Access to personal data. In the application list that opens, find msa and put the slider inactive. The system will try to dissuade you from doing this by starting a countdown of 10 seconds.
After the timer has expired, press the Stop button. If you failed to turn off the service the first time and an error message appeared, repeat the procedure 2-3 times in a row, usually on the second or third attempt the restriction is removed successfully.
⚠️ Attention: Do not remove the application MSA It's a standard shutdown through security settings, the only safe method that doesn't compromise the system's security and stability.
Setting up the "Security" application
The standard Security app is one of the main sources of visual noise, and it regularly offers to install additional antiviruses, clean up memory or speed up the processor, accompanied by banner ads, and to get rid of them, you need to change the settings of the application itself.
Open the Security app on your Redmi device. In the upper right corner of the screen, click on the gear icon to enter the settings menu. Here you are interested in General Settings. Inside this menu, you need to find the Get Recommendations switch and deactivate it.
Also in the same security settings menu, check the Cleanup section, and make sure that it disables any junk notifications that often contain hidden ads from third-party services, which will help make the maintenance process clean and fast.
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Check Security app updates periodically via GetApps or Google Play, as newer versions may change the settings interface, returning old sliders to active state.
Cleaning the Downloads folder and browser
Often users confuse system advertising with the consequences of installing questionable apps or subscribing to push notifications in the browser. If casino or store banners appear on the lock screen or in the notification curtain, the problem lies not in MIUI, but in the permissions for specific programs.
First, check the list of installed apps. Go to Settings → Apps → All apps. Carefully review the list for programs without a name or with a transparent icon. These hidden installers are often responsible for pop-up ads. If you find a suspicious item, delete it immediately.
The second source of problems is the browser. If you're using a standard Mi Browser or Chrome, check the notification settings for sites. Many sites request permission to display notifications, then use it to spam. Turn off this feature for all suspicious sites.
☑️ Virus and spam checks
Disabling Advertising in Standard Applications
The MIUI shell includes many pre-installed utilities that can also showcase marketing materials, and to maximize comfort, you need to “walk” through the main system applications and disable recommendations in each of them.
Let’s look at the main applications where advertising is most common:
- 📁 Explorer: Open the app, click on the menu (three bars), select Settings» → «About the application" and disable "Receive recommendations».
- 🎵 Music: In the Music app, click on the menu, go to Settings» → «Advanced settings" and remove the tick from the item "Show advertising».
- 🌤️ Weather: In the Weather app, go to the settings (three dots in the corner), select Settings, and turn off Get Recommendations».
- 🎥 Video: In the "Mi Video" app, go to "Profile» → «Settings" and disable online recommendations.
Once you do this, the interface of standard utilities will be much cleaner, so you will only see the functional elements you need to work with no distractions, and this is especially important for older users who have difficulty distinguishing a system notification from an advertising banner.
Why does Xiaomi leave these settings on?
Managing personalized advertising
Even after the main services are disabled, there may be traces of targeted advertising in the system, so to have full effect, you need to prevent advertising identifiers from tracking your actions, this is done through a special section in the privacy settings.
Go to the Settings menu → Password and security → Confidentiality → Advertising services. Here you will see the Ad Personalization switch, which you should turn off, and you should also click on the Reset Advertising ID button to reset the accumulated profile of your interests.
This measure will not eliminate ads completely (the banners will remain, but become random), but will significantly reduce their obsession and relevance.
Table: Comparison of disconnection methods
To organize information, consider the main methods of combating advertising content and their effectiveness. Not all methods give the same result, so it is important to combine them.
| Method | What's off? | Difficulty | Efficiency |
|---|---|---|---|
| MSA shutdown | System banners, recommendations | Low. | Tall. |
| Security settings | Advertising when cleaning memory | Low. | Medium |
| Resetting advertising ID | Personalization of proposals | Low. | Medium |
| Deletion of applications | Spam from third-party software | Medium | Tall. |
Using a combination of all these methods allows you to achieve a result close to the “hundred-and-blood” Android, where advertising is present only inside free applications and on sites, but not in the system interface.
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A comprehensive approach, including disabling MSA, configuring system applications and resetting the advertising ID, ensures that 95% of intrusive advertising in MIUI is eliminated.