Owners of budget smartphones like Redmi 5 often face intrusive banner ads that appear in system applications and the interface.This is a fee for the affordable price of the device, but the situation is not hopeless. MIUI, the company’s proprietary shell Xiaomi, allows you to flexibly configure privacy settings and disable most advertising modules without obtaining root rights.
Advertising notifications can be annoying at the most inopportune moment, blocking content or slowing down the system. To return the comfort of using a gadget, you need to consistently go through several key settings. In this guide, we will discuss all the known ways that are relevant to the Xiaomi Redmi 5 model and newer versions of firmware.
Before making changes, it is worth noting that some system applications will no longer show personalized offers, but will continue to work normally.
MSA Disconnection: The Main Source of Advertising
The main culprit behind the banners is the MSA (MIUI System Ads) system application, which collects your preferences and broadcasts advertising content, and to block it, you need to find the appropriate item in the authorization settings.
Go to the settings menu of your Redmi 5 and select Password and Security, where you will need to find Access to Data or Authorization and Privacy. From the list of system services, find msa and put the switch in an inactive position.
The system will try to dissuade you from doing this by running a 10 second countdown. This is Xiaomi's standard practice for keeping users in the ecosystem. After the timer expires, press the "Disable" button. If you fail the first time, try repeating the procedure again, as the server may be temporarily overloaded.
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If the msa switch switch is switched on again after a while, just repeat the shutdown procedure 2-3 times in a row until it is completely locked.
It is important to understand that after disabling MSA, ads in system folders and standard applications should disappear within 24 hours, but for maximum effect, it is also recommended to disable advertising personalization in other services.
Advertising personalization in the system
Even after the main service is blocked, tails can remain in the system in the form of personalized recommendations, they are controlled by a separate mechanism that analyzes your actions, and for complete comfort, you need to turn off this parameter.
Go back to Password and Security and look for Privacy, and select Advertising Services or Ad Personalization, and you will see a window that describes how data is used, and your goal is to turn the Ad Personalization slider into Off.
- 🚫 Disabling this option does not remove the ad completely, but makes it random and less intrusive.
- 🔒 This action prevents the system from collecting data about your app usage habits.
- ⚙️ The setting applies to all system services, including the browser and theme store.
It is worth noting that on some versions of MIUI, the path to these settings may be slightly different. If you do not find a paragraph in the specified place, use the search by settings, entering the request for "advertising" or "msa".
☑️ Checking Advertising Settings
Removing Advertising in Standard Apps
Xiaomi system applications such as Explorer, Music, Downloads and Security often contain built-in ad modules, each with its own settings that need to be deactivated separately from the system’s global settings.
Start with the Security app, which is the control center of the system. Open it, click on the settings gear in the top right corner. Find the "Get recommendations" item and turn it off. There may also be a "News" item, which is also desirable to deaktivirovat.
The Downloads app is similar: Go to the settings via the three-dot menu, select Settings, and check the box for Get Recommendations, which will remove the banners that often appear on the app's home screen.
Hidden browser settings
The music and video Mi application have the same procedure: settings, general, getting recommendations, turn off. Remember, after updating the firmware, these settings may reset, so check them periodically.
Cleaning folders on the desktop from banners
One of the most annoying things about MIUI is that you get offers right inside the folders on your desktop, and when you open the app folder, the "Recommend You" box pops up from the bottom, and you can fix it easily.
Open any folder on your Redmi 5 home screen that has at least a few apps. Click on the folder name to enter the name editing mode. Next to the title input box, you'll see a Recommended switch or four-square icon.
Just put the switch in an inactive state, and then the ad unit in the folder disappears, and you have to repeat this for every folder you create on your desktop, because you have to customize it for each container.
| Interface element | Action. | The result |
|---|---|---|
| Application folder | Press the name | Opening folder settings |
| Recommended switch | Turn it off. | Removal of the advertising block |
| Ready button | Push. | Continuing change |
If the switch is missing, try updating the launcher through the Themes app or checking for system updates. Older versions of MIUI for Redmi 5 might have called it something else.
Disabling notifications in Mi Browser and other services
Users often confuse system advertising with push notifications from apps, especially the Mi Browser standard browser and the Cleanup app, which can send notifications about viruses or hot news, which are essentially ads.
To stop this flow, go to Settings -> Notifications and Status Bar -> Notification Management. Search Mi Browser, Security, Mi Video, and Mi Music. Inside each app, find the notification category associated with marketing, news, or recommendations, and disable them from displaying.
Also, in the browser itself, you should disable sync and sign-in to your Mi Account if you are not actively using them, which will reduce the amount of personalized content that the system tries to impose on you.
Additional methods and use of DNS
For advanced users who want to get rid of network-level advertising, there is a method of changing the DNS, which allows you to block ad requests before they even reach your Redmi 5.
The most popular and secure solution is to use AdGuard’s DNS. Go to Settings –> Connection and Sharing –> Private DNS (on Android 9 and above) or use the DNS app for older versions.
dns.adguard.comEnter this address in the private DNS settings field. Once saved, all requests to known ad servers will be blocked, not only will it remove ads in the system, but it will also speed up the loading of pages in the browser.
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Use of the DNS-Filtering is the most effective way to block ads in all apps at once, including games.
However, be careful: if the DNS-The server will stop working, the Internet on the phone may disappear. DNS auto-mode.