Xiaomi smartphone owners often face intrusive marketing that is built into the shell of MIUI. Particularly annoying is the appearance of banner ads on the lock screen that block notifications and prevent you from quickly unlocking the device. MIUI 11 users notice that the system periodically offers “interesting” applications or news that are actually paid promotion.
Fortunately, the company's engineers have made it possible to turn these features off, even though they've hidden them deep enough in the menu. Turning off ads doesn't require root rights or a global flashback, and you just need to go through multiple system and system application settings to get the phone back to a clean interface.
In this article, we’ll take a look at every step you need to completely clean up the interface from marketing noise, where hidden switches are hiding, how to prevent personalization, and what security settings will help block unwanted content at the root, allowing you to use Xiaomi the way it was originally designed – without unnecessary visual load.
Disabling MSA: The Foundation of a Clean Interface
The first and most important step is to disable the MSA (MIUI System Ads) service, which is responsible for loading and displaying banner ads in standard applications and on the lock screen, and without deactivating it, other settings may not have a full effect.
To start, you need to go to the smartphone settings menu. Find the Password and Security section and select Access to Personal Data. In the app list that opens, find msa and put the slider in an inactive position. The system will warn you of the consequences, but for the average user, they are not critical.
Note that the first time you turn off the service, MIUI often tries to convince the user to leave the ad on, suggesting that you wait 10 seconds before you try again, and you have to be patient and turn off the switch until the timer disappears completely, usually taking two to four attempts.
⚠️ Attention: After the service is disconnected MSA Some of the personalized recommendations features in standard apps may stop working, and this is normal behavior in the system to stop collecting data for targeted advertising.
☑️ Checking the shutdown MSA
Setting up the lock theme and screen "Wallpaper-Carousel"
Often the source of ads on a locked screen is the Wallpaper-Carousel feature, which automatically changes the background image and adds news widgets, which are essentially advertising modules, and even if you don't explicitly activate this feature, it can turn on after you update the system.
To remove this item, go to Settings → Always on screen and lock screen. Find the option Oboi-Carousel and turn it off. If this item is active, the system will continue to download content from Xiaomi servers, ignoring your preferences for a static image.
After turning off the carousel, it is recommended to check the installed theme.Some third-party themes from the MIUI Themes store may contain built-in advertising modules that are displayed over the system windows. Return to the standard theme "Classic" or "Standard" to exclude the influence of third-party code.
- 📱 Go to the “Themes” app on the desktop.
- 👤 Go to the user profile (human icon).
- 🎨 Select the “My Topics” section and apply the standard.
- 🔄 Reboot the device to reset the interface cache.
Cleaning system applications from advertising
Ads in MIUI 11 are built into standard utilities such as Explorer, Music, Security and Downloads, and even if banners don’t pop up on the full screen, they can appear as notifications or pop-ups when apps are launched.
Start with the Security app. Open it, click on the settings gear in the top right corner, and find Receive recommendations. Turn off this option. Also, this menu should check the Memory Cleanup settings and uncheck the "Show ads after cleaning" box if you have one in your firmware version.
Next, go to the Downloads app. Click on the three dots in the right corner, select Settings → About app (or just Settings inside the menu). Here you need to find the Receive recommendations switch and deactivate it. This will prevent advertising offers from appearing in the downloaded files folder.
Hidden conductor settings
Don't forget the music player and the Themes app, each of which has a personalization and advertising section in the settings section (usually hidden behind a tripod), and disabling these features significantly reduces the CPU load and saves mobile Internet traffic.
Notification and personalization management
Even after you turn off the basic services, some apps may still send push notifications for advertising purposes, and MIUI 11 does this with a recommendation system that analyzes your actions, and to be completely secure, you need to limit your personalization rights.
Go back to Settings → Password & Security → Privacy. Scroll down to Advertising Services (or Advertising Identifiers) and reset your advertising ID, which equates to creating a new digital profile, and disable personalized ads completely.
It’s also worth checking for settings for specific apps that you rarely use, but that may have permissions to display on top of other windows. Go to Settings → Apps → App Management. Select a suspicious app, click Notifications, and disable all categories, especially those labeled as Marketing or Recommendations.
| Annex | Where to look for settings | What to turn off | Risk of shutdown |
|---|---|---|---|
| Security | Settings (cogs) | Receive recommendations | No. |
| Downloads. | Settings (three dots) | Receive recommendations | No. |
| Topics | Profile → Settings | Personal recommendations | Fewer selections |
| Music. | Settings → Additional | Showing ads | No. |
| Conductor | Menu → Settings | About the annex → Recommendations | No. |
Blocking Advertising through DNS (Advanced Method)
For those who want to get rid of advertising not only in the system, but also in browsers and some applications, there is an effective method of configuring private DNS. This method does not require the installation of third-party software and works at the network connection level.
Go to Settings. → Connection and Sharing (or “Additional Settings” in older versions). DNS (Private DNS). The default is "Auto" or "Disabled." Select "Host Name of the provider" DNS» (or "manually»).
In the field, you need to enter the address of a special server that filters advertising traffic.
dns.adguard.comSave the settings. DNS-Your smartphone’s requests will be passed through AdGuard filters that block known ad domains, which may slightly increase the network response time in rare cases, but completely clear banner traffic.
⚠️ Attention: When using private DNS Some apps or games may stop downloading content if their ad servers match the main ones. DNS in the position of “Auto».
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Use flight mode when entering DNS if the Internet is unstable so that the settings are applied correctly after the connection is turned on.
Resetting Advertising Settings and Final Verification
After completing all of the above steps, it is recommended to perform a full reset of advertising identifiers and reboot, which will allow the system to apply new privacy policies and clear cached data from previous impressions.
Go back to Settings → Password & Security → Privacy → Advertising Services. Click Reset Advertising ID. Confirm Action. This action breaks the link between your device and your accumulated interest profile.
Then, reboot your smartphone completely by pressing the power button and selecting the appropriate item. After turning on, check the lock screen: it should be clean, without news feeds and suggestions. If the ad appears again after a few days, check if the system applications have updated through the GetApps store, and repeat the MSA disablement procedure.
- 🔍 Check the lock screen for new widgets.
- 📉 Monitor traffic consumption in the background.
- 🚫 Turn off auto-update system applications in GetApps.
- 🛡️ Install antivirus to monitor suspicious activity.
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A comprehensive approach, including disabling MSA, configuring DNS and cleaning system applications, ensures that there is no advertising in 99% of MIUI 11 use cases.