Owners of the legendary Poco F1 often encounter intrusive banner ads that appear in system applications and the MIUI interface. While this smartphone is valued for its performance and pure Android-like experience, the manufacturer's proprietary shell sometimes overloads the device with unnecessary content. It's not only annoying, but also wastes traffic and battery power. Disabling advertising is the first step to comfortable use of the gadget after buying or upgrading.
The process of getting rid of marketing inserts requires several actions in succession in different settings sections. There is no simple switch to turn off everything in the system, so you need to go through the key menu items. In this article, we will discuss in detail how to block the MSA system service, remove banners from standard applications and protect the device from pop-ups in the browser.
It is worth noting that some changes may require a stable Internet connection to take effect. MSA (MIUI System Ads) is responsible for displaying advertising content on the system, and stopping it is a critical step. Don't be afraid to make changes to your security settings, since we are only considering standard methods that do not require superuser rights.
Disabling the MSA system service
The first and most important step is to deactivate the main ad module. MSA is a system application that collects data about your actions and shows targeted ads. To limit its performance, you will need access to advanced authorization settings, a process that can take a couple of minutes as the system will try to dissuade you from turning off.
Go to the settings menu and find the password and security section, and you'll need to find the authorization and registration item for your Mi Account, and you'll need to find a switch that lets you get promotional recommendations, and when you try to turn it off, you'll see a countdown timer, which is a security mechanism that you just have to wait.
Once the time has expired, press the confirmation button again. If the system detects a connection error, try again by switching from Wi-Fi to mobile Internet or vice versa. Disabling the MSA will not delete the application completely, but will stop its active data collection and display banners.
Removing Advertising in Standard Applications
Even after the main service is disabled, some built-in utilities can continue to show promotional materials. Each application in the Xiaomi ecosystem has its own personalization settings. You need to go to each one separately and uncheck the corresponding ticks. This is the most time-consuming part of the process, but it is necessary to completely clean the interface.
First of all, look at the Security, Conductor, Music and Video app. In each of them, look for the "Receive Recommendations" or "Show Ads" section, which are often hidden in the back of the menu or marked in small print. Personalized recommendations are a euphemism for emails, so be sure to turn them off.
For ease of checking the actions performed, use the following checklist, which will help you not to miss any important application where banners may be hiding.
☑️ Verification of system applications
Be careful when updating system applications through the GetApps store. After updates, privacy settings may reset to factory values, and the procedure will have to be repeated. Check the updates regularly and return the privacy settings to the desired state immediately.
Setting up the Mi Browser browser
Xiaomi’s standard browser is often a source of pop-ups and news feeds that are not relevant to your work. If you prefer to use it over Chrome or Firefox, you need to do a deep setup (privacy).
Open your browser and go to the settings through the menu. Find the Privacy and Security section. You need to turn off the Personalized Recommendations option. You also need to check the homepage settings and remove all news widgets, leaving only a blank search bar, which will significantly speed up the loading of the start page.
⚠️ Note: Some versions of the Mi Browser may have a separate "Push Notification" option in the Android Notification Settings section. Make sure the browser is not allowed to send you notifications to avoid advertising fluffs in the curtain.
If you don’t use a standard browser, you can simply turn it off in the application settings so it doesn’t work in the background.This will also free up some RAM on your Poco F1.
Cleaning up folder Downloads and file manager
The MIUI file manager has a built-in analysis and cleaning feature that often comes with ads for third-party apps or games. To get rid of this, you need to change the settings of the application itself. Open Explorer, click on the menu and select Settings.
In the list that opens, find the "Get recommendations" item and put the slider in an inactive state. It is also recommended to turn off the display of banner ads on the main page of the explorer. After that, when you start cleaning the memory, you will no longer see offers to install "super accelerators" or games.
Also, it is worth checking the download folder for availability. APK-Often, the ads are caused by questionable user-installed crawler applications or "optimizers" that are the best way to prevent pop-ups on top of other applications.
Why does the ad return after the update?
Blocking Advertising at DNS Level
For those who want to go further and block ads not only in the system, but also in applications and browsers, there is a method of changing the system. DNS-server, private use DNS It allows you to filter traffic at the network level, cutting off requests to known ad servers. It's an effective method that works globally for the entire device.
In the smartphone settings, go to the "Connection and General Settings" section (or "Other Settings" depending on the version). MIUI). Find the "Private" item. DNS" (Private DNS). Select the mode "Host Name of the provider" DNS" and type in the address of a trusted server blocking ads, for example, dns.adguard.com.
Once you save your settings, reboot your device, a method that is particularly effective for blocking ads in free games and apps that don’t have their own privacy policies, but be prepared for the fact that some sites may stop showing correctly if their ad units are part of the page structure.
| Parameter | Default value | Recommended value | The effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| MSA Service | Included | Off. | Blocking system advertising |
| Personalization | Active. | Disconnected. | Termination of data collection |
| Private DNS | Auto/Off | dns.adguard.com | Blocking in annexes |
| Notifications | Permitted. | Limited. | Clean curtain notifications |
Additional security and optimization measures
In addition to software settings, you should pay attention to what permissions you give to applications. Often ads enter the system through applications that require access to the display on top of other windows. Check the list of applications with this right in the security settings and leave it only for really necessary programs, such as instant messengers.
It is also recommended to regularly clean the cache of the browser and system applications. Accumulated temporary files may contain elements of banner ads that continue to appear even after the main services are disabled. Use the built-in cleaning function, but do this through the storage settings, bypassing advertising offers.
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Use Flight mode when you first set up your new smartphone or after you reset it, which will prevent the initial loading of advertising profiles and allow time to disable the MSA before you first connect to the network.
Remember that completely removing system components (debloating) via ADB is an advanced method that requires caution. Removing critical system packages can lead to unstable operation of the Poco F1 or loss of warranty.
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Integrated approach including shutdown MSA, setting up privacy in each application and use DNS-filter, guarantees complete disposal of advertising without loss of functionality of the smartphone.