How to turn off ads on Xiaomi 8: the full guide

Xiaomi smartphones have been among the most popular on the market for many years due to their excellent price-performance ratio. However, ownership of a device with a MIUI shell is often overshadowed by intrusive advertising that can appear in the most unexpected places of the system. For owners of the Xiaomi Mi 8 model, which remains relevant thanks to the powerful Snapdragon 845 processor, the issue of cleaning the interface from unnecessary visual noise is especially acute.

In this article, we will discuss in detail all the known methods to completely get rid of banner ads in standard applications and system notifications. You do not need to be a programmer or get root rights to make using your phone comfortable. It is enough to consistently perform a number of settings that will take no more 15-20 minutes of your time.

There is a misconception that MIUI advertising is an inevitable evil to be tolerated. In fact, most ad integrations are software modules that can be safely disabled through the standard settings menu. Disabling the MSA service (MIUI System Ads) is a key step, since it is responsible for loading and displaying most banners in the system. Let's start with the most important thing.

MSA Disconnection: The Main Source of Advertising

The main driver of advertising activity in the MIUI shell is the MSA system application. It is this process that collects data about your preferences and loads targeted ads into folders, menus and standard utilities. To effectively combat advertising, you need to turn this component off first.

The shutdown procedure may seem a little confusing because of the way Xiaomi’s security system works: When you try to turn off the service, the phone will insist on telling you to leave it as it is, claiming that it will improve the user experience, you will need to be persistent and confirm your decision several times.

To perform this operation, go to the Settings menu → Password and security → Access to data. In the list that opens, find msa and put the switch in an inactive state, the system will issue a warning, and then the countdown timer will start for 10 seconds.

• 🔴 Press the Disconnect button and wait for the timer to end.
• 🔴 If the system has made an error or the timer has reset, repeat the procedure again. 2-3 successively.
• 🔴 Make sure the switch is turned off after all attempts.

Sometimes, after turning off the MSA service, ads may disappear within 24 hours, because cached ads can be stored in the device’s memory for some time, and if banners remain a day later, you should check other system settings.

Set up personalization and advertising identifiers

In addition to direct advertising, MIUI also has personalization mechanisms that are used for targeting, and disabling these features will not only increase the privacy of your data, but also reduce the frequency of advertising offers from partners.

First of all, you need to limit the use of an advertising ID. This unique code allows advertisers to track your actions in different applications. Go to Settings → Password and Security → Privacy → Advertising Services.

In the menu that opens, activate the option to disable advertising personalization. This action will prevent the system from using your ID to select ads. Also in this section, you should click the Reset Ad ID button to clear the accumulated profile.

⚠️ Note: After resetting the advertising ID, the advertising will not disappear completely, but its content will become less relevant to your interests, and the frequency of appearance may decrease.

Next, check the recommendation system settings, which are often responsible for the appearance of the “Recommended” icons in the application folders, find the password and security section in the settings → Access to data and make sure that the system applications do not have excessive access to the network, unless it is clearly necessary.

Cleaning Standard Apps from Advertising

Even after disabling MSA, some embedded apps can continue to display banners, as they have their own built-in monetization mechanisms, including Explorer, Music, Themes and other standard Xiaomi utilities.

Start with the Security app, which often shows ads when scanning the system. Open the app, click on the settings gear in the upper right corner, and find Receive recommendations. Turn the switch to "Off."

A similar procedure is required for the Themes app, go to the user profile (human icon), select Settings, and turn off the Display Ads and Personal Recommendations options, which will make the design store interface much easier.

Don't forget to check Explorer. It also hides the Receive Recommendations option, which is responsible for the news feed and banner ads at the bottom of the screen, and disabling this feature will make the file manager cleaner and faster.

Removal of advertising widgets and folders

The MIUI shell defaults to the desktop with folders with names like Tools, Travel, or Popular, and these folders often hide links to advertising landing pages or preinstalled apps that cannot be removed in the usual way.

To remove these folders, just click on them and select Delete, but sometimes the system may prevent this from happening, in which case you can try renaming the folder by removing all applications from it, and then delete the empty folder itself.

You should also look at the Mi Video or Mi Music widget if you have it on your desktop, and they can stream banner ads, and the best solution is to replace the standard widgets with alternative ones, or simply remove them from the home screen.

If you use the standard Mi Browser browser, it is also recommended to configure it. Go to Settings → Privacy and Security and disable all items related to personalization and recommendations. However, it is better to use third-party browsers such as Chrome or Firefox with blockers.

Using DNS to Block Advertising

One of the most effective and global ways to remove ads from all apps at once is to use private advertising. DNS-This method does not require the installation of additional software and works at the network connection level of the Xiaomi Mi 8 device.

The idea is that the phone sends requests to known ad servers to a special address that returns an empty response, so the banner can’t load, and for that, Android 9 and higher (and Mi 8 is the version or newer) has a built-in feature.

Go to Settings. → Connection and sharing → Private DNS-Select the option Host Name of the provider DNS and enter the address: dns.adguard.com. Save settings.

dns.adguard.com

After you have set up, it is recommended to restart your smartphone, and you will notice that the ads have disappeared not only in the system, but also in many free apps and games, and the only disadvantage may be the inability to view ads in those applications where they are a condition of receiving bonuses.

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If some apps have stopped working on a private DNS, try temporarily disabling the feature or using an alternative address called dns.adguard-family.com, which also blocks adult content.

Additional measures and handling of notifications

Sometimes the ad notifications come from legitimate applications that you installed yourself, in which case the MIUI system settings may be powerless, and you need to work with each application individually.

When a suspicious notification appears, don't rush to close it. Press your finger on the notification text and click More Details or Settings. The system will show which application sent the signal, and then you can either turn off the notifications for it or delete the application completely.

⚠️ Warning: Be careful when installing apps from unknown sources, often the source of intrusive ads and full-screen pop-ups.

It’s also worth checking for permissions for apps. Go to Settings → Apps → All apps, pick a suspicious app and see its permissions. If a simple calculator requires access to contacts and location, that’s a sure sign of malware.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

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A comprehensive approach, including disabling MSA, configuring DNS and cleaning up standard applications, ensures complete rid of advertising on the Xiaomi Mi 8.