How to Turn Off Advertising on Xiaomi Android Phone: The Complete Guide

Owning a Xiaomi smartphone is often accompanied by an annoying factor: intrusive advertising. Users encounter banner ads not only in apps but also in the system interface of MIUI, which significantly reduces the comfort of the device. The question of how to turn off ads on the Android phone is becoming one of the most popular among owners of these gadgets, since the standard setting “out of the box” involves active data collection and demonstration of commercial content.

The advertising integrations in the MIUI and the new HyperOS shell work through dedicated system services that analyze your actions and offer relevant content. Fortunately, the company's engineers have made it possible to turn off most of these functions manually, although they have hidden the corresponding switches in the depths of the menu. In this article, we will detail all the steps of cleaning the system from intrusive suggestions, so that your smartphone works exclusively for you.

It is worth noting that the complete removal of advertising code from firmware is possible only if root-rights are available, which is not recommended for ordinary users for security reasons. However, using standard settings tools and some system tricks, you can block up to 99% of all advertising traffic without losing the guarantee and stability of the operating system.

Disabling the MSA (MIUI System Ads)

The central element in charge of displaying ads on the system is a service called MSA (MIUI System Ads), which is the process of obtaining data about your preferences and displaying banners in standard applications such as Music, Conductor or Security. To effectively combat advertising, you need to first restrict the rights of this component.

The shutdown procedure requires care, because the system can resist this action. You need to go to the Settings menu, select Passwords and Security, and then click on Access to Personal Data. In the list that opens, find the msa app and move the switch to the "Switched Off" position, the system will warn you of the possible consequences and start a countdown timer for 10 seconds.

After the time has expired, press the "Disable Access" button. It is important to note that the first time this action may not pass: the system may give an error or simply ignore the request, in which case you need to repeat the procedure 3 to 5 times in a row until the switch is finally fixed in the off state.

After successful disabling of msa, the number of advertising offers in the interface should be sharply reduced, however, this service is closely related to other system components, so for maximum effect, it is recommended to also restrict access to data for the applications “Getting Content” and “Usage Statistics”.

Configuring standard MIUI applications

Even after the main (ad) service is disabled, individual embedded apps can continue to show recommendations and banners, which is because each application has its own personalization settings, and to (radically) solve the problem, you need to go through key system utilities.

Start with the Security app, which is the control center of the system. Open it, click on the settings gear in the upper right corner and find "Get recommendations." Turn off this feature. Next go to the Explorer app, call the menu (three bars), select "Settings" → "About the application" and turn off "Receive recommendations."

You need to do the same for the Music app. Go to the profile menu, select Settings, find the "Additional Settings" section, and uncheck the "Show Ads" box. In the Topics app, go to the profile, open the settings, and disable "Show Ads" and "Personal Recommendations."

• 📱 Topics: Profile → Settings → Disable Advertising and Personal Recommendations.
• 🎵 Music: Profile → Settings → Additional settings → Remove the tick “Show advertising».
• 📂 Conductor: Menu → Settings → About the annex → Disable “Receive recommendations».
• 🛡️ Safety: Cogs → Disable “Receive recommendations».

⚠️ Note: Application interface may vary slightly depending on the version MIUI regional firmware (Global, China, EEA). If you don’t find the exact title of the item, look for synonyms with the word “recommendations” or “ads».

Don't forget to check the settings of the Downloads app, too. Often that's where pop-up ads appear after downloading files from the Internet. Open Downloads, click three dots in the corner, select Settings, and turn off Receive Recommendations.

Notification and personalization management

Advertising on Xiaomi often comes in the form of push notifications from system services. To clear the notification curtain from garbage, you need to configure the personalization section. Go to Settings → Passwords and security → Access to personal data and make sure that access to data is disabled not only for msa, but also for the Mi Video service (if you do not use it) and MIUI Daemon.

Then you should turn off the MDM (Mi Device Manager) or Mi Credit service if they are active in your area, these services can also broadcast advertising content. In the same menu, find them and prevent collection of information. This will not remove the applications, but will deprive them of the ability to target ads based on your actions.

Also worth paying attention to the “Get recommendations” function in the global system settings. It is on the Settings path → Additional (or “Advanced settings”) → Get recommendations. Disabling this switch prevents the system from using your data to generate advertising offers in all built-in services at once.

Blocking Ads in the Mi and Chrome Browser

The Mi Browser system browser is known for its aggressive advertising policy. Even if you have disabled the system banners, the browser itself can display news feeds and ads on the homepage. To fix this, open the browser, click on three menu bars, select Settings → Settings Main and turn off all switches related to news and recommendations.

A more effective way is to change the start page to “Empty” or set your own background without widgets. In the Privacy and Security section inside your browser settings, be sure to turn on the ad blocker if it is available in your version, and activate tracking protection.

If you use Google Chrome, the situation is simpler, but it also requires customization. Go to your browser settings, select Privacy and Security → Safe browsing (select advanced protection). Also in the Settings section → Advertising, make sure that you do not display intrusive ads.

For users who want maximum purity, it is recommended to install a third-party browser, such as Firefox or Brave, which have built-in powerful protection against trackers and engine-level advertising.

Using Private DNS to block the world

One of the most effective methods to remove ads not only in the browser, but also within many applications and games is the use of secure DNS (Private DNS), which redirects requests to ad servers to nowhere, making it impossible to download banners.

To set up, go to Settings → Connection and Sharing (or “Additional Settings» → «Privacy, the path may be different. Find a private item DNS (Private DNS). Select the mode "Host Name of the provider" DNS» (Custom and enter the address:

dns.adguard.com

Once you enter the address, save the settings. Now all traffic on your device will go through AdGuard filters, which will screen out most of the advertising requests, which works at the level of the entire Android operating system and does not require the installation of additional applications.

It's important to understand that this is not a panacea for YouTube, because ads are embedded in the video stream, but it does a great job with banners in games and news apps. If you notice a slowdown in the Internet, try changing the way you're doing it. DNS-provider, for example, 1dot1dot1dot1.cloudflare-dns.com, It filters ads less aggressively.

Resetting the advertising identifier and additional measures

Google and Xiaomi use a unique advertising ID to track your interests. Periodic reset of this ID “nullifies” the profile that advertisers have collected about you, making the ads less accurate and therefore less intrusive. To do this, go to Settings → Google → Advertising and click Reset Advertising ID.

It's also recommended to include the option "Opt out of personalization of ads." This will not remove ads completely, but replace targeted ads with random ads that are less intrusive into personal space.

Find this item through a search in the settings or in the section Additional settings. View the list and disable this right for all suspicious or unnecessary applications, especially for calculators, flashlights and simple utilities that do not need to block the screen.

• 🔄 Reset ID: Regularly (once a month) reset your advertising ID in Google settings.
• 🚫 Opt-out: Enable the opt-out option for opting out of personalizing ads in your Google account.
• 👁️ On top of others: Stop unnecessary apps from outputting over other windows.

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Use Do Not Disturb at night so that system notifications from advertising services do not wake you up. Set up a schedule for this mode in the Sound and Vibration section.

⚠️ Attention: Disabling system services and modifying DNS-settings may affect the operation of certain legitimate functions, such as the display of news in widgets or the correct operation of individual games.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

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The comprehensive approach, including disabling MSA, setting up Private DNS and limiting application rights, allows you to remove 95-99% of all advertising on Xiaomi smartphones without losing warranty.

To sum up, Xiaomi provides the user with enough tools to control the ads, even though they are scattered across different menus. The key is to consistently follow all the steps from disabling MSA to setting up DNS, since using only one method often gives incomplete results. After spending 10-15 minutes on the initial setup, you will get a clean and fast interface that will delight you every day.