Xiaomi Mi Max 2 is famous for its huge screen and autonomy, but its MIUI shell often inconveniences users due to intrusive marketing. The built-in MSA (MIUI System Ads) system constantly analyzes your actions to offer relevant but annoying ads in standard applications. It's not just visual noise, but a process that consumes CPU traffic and resources, reducing the overall performance of the device.
Fortunately, the Android architecture in conjunction with the shell from Xiaomi allows you to penetrate the settings and block the channels of advertising data. You do not need to be a programmer or get root rights to make the interface cleaner. It is enough to consistently go through several menu items and change the standard behavior of the system, turning the smartphone into a convenient tool for work and entertainment.
In this article, we’ll break down all the effective ways to combat intrusive content, from standard switches in privacy settings to more advanced methods using DNS. Following these steps will help you regain control of your device and speed it up.
Disabling personalized advertising in the system
The first step towards a clean interface is to disable data collection for targeted advertising. Xiaomi leaves this option on by default to collect statistics about your preferences. Without disabling this setting, any other actions may be less effective as the system continues to build your digital profile.
First, you go to the phone's settings menu and find the password and security section, and this is the key switch that controls msa, and it's the service that loads and displays banner ads in the system utilities, and it's a fundamental action to turn off.
Once you've found the right item, the system can try to dissuade you from that decision several times by showing a countdown timer or warning pop-ups. It's important to persist and wait until the timer ends to confirm the action. This is the standard shell behavior designed to preserve the company's statistics.
- 🔍 Open Settings and go to Passwords and Security.
- 📉 Find the Privacy or Access to Personal Data item depending on the version MIUI.
- ⛔ Find the msa service in the list and switch the switch to an inactive state.
- ⏳ Wait until the countdown is completed (usually 10 seconds) and click Cancel.
⚠️ Note: If after the first attempts to shut down the msa service did not turn off and there was an error "failed to withdraw", wait 24 hours. Xiaomi servers sometimes block repeated requests for revocation of rights for a short period of time.
Once these steps are successfully completed, the system will no longer receive updated ad profiles, which will significantly reduce their number, but to achieve maximum effect, it is also necessary to remove ad modules from specific applications.
Setup of system applications: Browser and Explorer
Xiaomi’s standard apps, such as Explorer and Browser, are the main sources of pop-ups in the news feed and when opening files. They have their own built-in recommendation display settings that work independently of the overall msa system setting. Ignoring these settings will leave your screen filled with news feeds.
In Explorer, ads often appear as banners when you launch or as recommended files. To eliminate this, you need to go to the settings menu of the application itself (usually three bars or dots in the corner) and find the About or Settings section.
The situation with the Mi Browser browser is similar, but requires a more careful approach, which requires not only disabling general recommendations, but also disabling the news feed on the home page, which will free up space on the screen and speed up the browser launch, since it does not have to load heavy media blocks.
Why is the ad coming back?
Remember that after a reset or major firmware update, these parameters can return to factory values. Regularly checking these points will help keep the device clean.
Removing Advertising from the Security and bootloader App
The Security app is a control center that users open quite often, which is why Xiaomi is using it to promote its services and third-party games, and pop-ups here can appear after scanning viruses or cleaning up memory, which is very annoying.
To remove the ads from Security, launch the app and click on the settings gear in the top right corner. In the list you open, you need to find "Get recommendations" and deaktivirovat it. This action will instantly clear the interface of promo blocks and news feeds.
The Downloads app is particularly noteworthy, and it often contains the Recommended tab, which is actually a promotional feed, and it is disabling this function in a similar way: through the settings menu inside the bootloader app itself.
- 🛡️ Launch the Security app and click on the Settings icon.
- 🚫 Take the box off the item Get recommendations.
- 📥 Open the application bootloader (Downloads).
- ⚙️ In the bootloader settings menu, turn off the display of Recommended Content.
These simple steps will make the system snails functional and devoid of visual noise. The user of the Mi Max 2 will appreciate the increased speed of the menu and the lack of distractions.
Using DNS to block at the network level
The most effective and modern way to combat advertising is the use of the function. DNS (Private DNS), Available in Android 9 and higher. Xiaomi Mi Max 2 received an update to this version of Android, which allows you to redirect everything DNS-requests through a server that automatically filters advertising domains.
The good thing about this method is that it works globally for all applications, including browsers and games, where there are no custom ad settings. You don't need to install third-party software, just write the server address in the network system settings.
To implement this method, it is best to use proven services such as AdGuard DNS. They provide high connection speeds and secure lock trackers. Enter the server address in the appropriate field, and the system will check its availability.
dns.adguard.comOnce you enter the address and save the settings, the phone may require a reboot or simply reconnect to the network, the effect becomes noticeable almost immediately: banners in free applications disappear and pop-ups in the browser disappear.
⚠️ Attention: When in use DNS Make sure you have a stable Internet connection. DNS If you don't answer, the Internet on your phone may be temporarily gone, then you can return the setting to Auto mode".
Use of the DNS-Filtering is the only way to block ads from inside third-party apps without modifying them, making it indispensable for users who don’t want to install complex blockers.
Comparison of Ad Blocking Methods
There are many ways to get rid of intrusive content, but they vary in complexity and effectiveness, some require one-off interventions, others work constantly at the network level, and understanding the differences will help you choose the best strategy for your Mi Max 2 scenario.
Below is a table that will help you compare the basic methods and choose the right one for you, and we have taken into account factors such as the impact on the battery, the complexity of the setup and the scope of the lock.
| Method | Efficiency | Difficulty | Impact on the battery |
|---|---|---|---|
| Disconnecting msa | Medium | Low. | No influence. |
| Setting up the DNS | Tall. | Low. | Minimum |
| Blocking applications | Maximum | Medium | Average. |
| Manual configuration of applications | Low. | Tall. | No influence. |
As you can see from the table, the combination of disabling msa and using DNS gives the best result with minimal resources. Installing heavy-duty blocking applications on the Mi Max 2 may be redundant given the age of the device.
☑️ Checking a successful lockdown
Cache cleaning and final settings
After making all changes to the system, you need to clear the accumulated data so that the old advertising modules do not continue to appear from the cache. MIUI It actively uses caching to speed up work, but in this case it can play against you by saving banners.
It is recommended to perform a full cache clean through the standard Security application, and it is also worth going to the settings of each modified application (Browser, Explorer, Security) and click the "Clear cache" button in the "Memory" section.
Not too much.