Budget smartphone owners often face intrusive advertising and redundant system processes that slow down the device. The question of how to turn off MIUI on Xiaomi Redmi 9, becomes especially relevant for those who want to get the cleanest possible user experience. Complete removal of the shell is impossible without flashing, but deep cleaning of the system from garbage and ad modules is available to every user.
In this article, we will look at all the legal and safe ways to minimize the impact of proprietary Xiaomi services on your smartphone. You will learn to turn off advertising in system applications, stop unnecessary background processes and customize the interface for yourself. Deep customization will significantly speed up the work of the gadget without losing warranty.
Before we start taking any drastic measures, we need to understand the architecture of MIUI. It's not just a wallpaper set, it's a deeply integrated system that manages power consumption and memory. A complete shutdown of the core system will cause the phone to fail, so we're going to talk about deactivating visible and intrusive components.
Disabling system advertising and MSA services
The first step to getting Android clean on your Redmi 9 is to turn off MSA (MIUI System Ads) service, which is responsible for pop-up banners in Explorer, Themes and other system utilities. Without it, further optimization becomes meaningless.
First, you need to go to the settings and find the "Password and Security" section, and then you need to select "Access to Personal Data" and then you can find the msa service and turn off the access slider, and the system will insist on canceling the action, requiring you to wait 10 seconds, so be patient and confirm the disconnect.
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If the MSA slider doesn't turn off the first time, repeat the procedure 3-4 times in a row.Sometimes Xiaomi servers temporarily block the request to disconnect, but persistence usually helps.
Once the MSA is blocked, it is also recommended to disable GetApps if you do not use the Xiaomi app store, which will prevent notifications of “recommended” programs and reduce the load on the device’s RAM.
⚠️ Attention: After the service is disconnected MSA Advertising can disappear within 24 hours, not instantly.
Set up system applications and disable notifications
Even after the main advertising service is turned off, individual MIUI applications continue to generate information noise, including Music, Video, Explorer and Downloads, each requiring customization to achieve maximum comfort.
In the "Security" app (green shield icon), you need to go to the settings and disable all items related to "Receive recommendations" and "Automatic scanning", which will prevent pop-ups with suggestions to clear the memory or speed up the phone, which often lock the screen.
- 📂 Explorer: Open the application, click on the menu (three bars), select Settings" → "About the program" and disable "Recommendations".
- 🎵 Music: In the application settings, find the section "Advanced Settings" and remove the tick from the item "Show Advertising".
- 🎥 Video (Mi Video): Here you need to disable "Online Services" in the settings to hide news feeds and banner ads on the home screen.
Remember that Xiaomi Redmi 9 runs on Android, so many system notifications can be blocked through the standard menu.Plug the icon of any application, select About → Notifications and safely disable anything that is not critical to the operation of the device.
Using ADB to Remove System Garbage
For advanced users who want to go beyond standard settings, there is a method of removing system packages via ADB (Android Debug Bridge), which does not require root rights, but requires a connection to a computer and a certain caution.
First, you need to activate the developer mode. → About the phone and quickly press 7 times on the item "Version" MIUI". After the message “You became a developer” appears, go back to the menu and select “More" → "For developers".
Turn on "USB Debugging." Now connect your smartphone to your PC with a cable. On a computer where ADB is installed, run a command to check the connection:
adb devicesIf the device is identified, you can proceed to delete the packets. Below is a table with the main components that can be safely removed or disabled to clean the interface.
| Package name | Function | Risk of removal | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|---|
| com.miui.player | Standard music player | Low. | Remove if not used |
| com.miui.videoplayer | Standard video player | Low. | Replace with VLC or MX Player |
| com.facebook.katana | Facebook Systems | Absent. | Delete is imperative |
| com.miui.miservice | Support services | Medium. | Disable through settings |
To remove a specific package, use the command: adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 packet name. Be extremely careful when entering a name, as recovering remote system components without resetting data can be difficult.
How to recover applications deleted through ADB?
Replacement of the standard launcher
One of the most effective ways to disable the visual part of MIUI is to replace the standard launcher with a third-party one, which drastically changes the look of the smartphone, making it look like a pure Android.
Popular options include Nova Launcher, Microsoft Launcher or Lawnchair, which disappears Xiaomi’s proprietary widgets, changes the animation of opening apps and menu structure, but it’s worth remembering that the system settings will remain the same.
To make the new launcher work properly, you need to fix it in memory. Go to the phone settings, find the "Applications" section" → "All Apps," select the launcher installed and click "Outstart. Also in the Security menu" → "Permits" → "Other Permits" Give New Launcher All Required Rights.
⚠️ Note: When replacing the launcher, the navigation buttons (back, home, menu) may behave unpredictably.
Some users experience the system periodically resets the default launcher after rebooting, and to avoid this, the developer settings (or special applications like the Defult App) must prevent MIUI from forcibly returning its launcher.
Background activity restriction and energy saving
MIUI is known for its aggressive energy-saving policies, which often kill the applications that the user needs, but for the system processes that we want to disable, these same settings are perfect, and we can make the system freeze unnecessary services.
Under Battery and Performance (or simply Battery), go to settings, and you can set "No Limits" mode for instant messengers only, and for all other applications, select "Energy Savings" to prevent the background work of the ad modules.
☑️ Checklist optimization Redmi 9
It is also useful to disable Advanced Optimization. To do this, you need to click 5 times on the MIUI version in the About Phone menu (under the "Advanced" or "All options", depending on the version of the shell). Once you have become a developer, the "Enable Advanced Optimization" switch will appear in the same menu. It needs to turn off and restart the device. This action often solves problems with notifications and background work.
It’s important to understand that Redmi 9 is not the most powerful Helio G80 processor, so limiting background processes not only removes unnecessary features, but also really adds performance to games and heavy applications.
Radical measures: unlock and Custom ROM
If the software methods do not give the desired result, the only way to completely get rid of MIUI is to install custom firmware (Custom ROM) based on pure Android, for example, LineageOS or Pixel Experience.
Unlocking the bootloader on Xiaomi is possible only through the official Mi Unlock Tool utility. This requires you to link your Mi Account in your phone settings, apply for unlock and wait from 7 to 168 hours. Once you get permission, you can unlock the device, but all data will be deleted.
The process of installing third-party firmware is complex and includes the following steps:
- 🔓 Unlock the bootloader via Fastboot.
- 💾 Installation of custom recaveri (TWRP).
- 📲 Firmware of a new system image and Google services (GApps).
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Installing Custom ROM is the only way to get 100% pure Android on Xiaomi, but it is a guarantee and requires high qualification.
It is worth noting that for Xiaomi Redmi 9 (codename: lancelot) there are many stable builds. However, before starting the procedure, make sure to make a full backup of the data, as in the process all files will be irretrievably deleted (NFC-Payment may stop working without additional security settings (Magisk, Zygisk).
⚠️ Warning: Poor firmware or interruption of the recording process can turn your smartphone into a brick. If you are not confident in your abilities, limit yourself to the settings of the standard shell.