Owners of budget smartphones often encounter intrusive banners that appear in the most unexpected places of the interface. Xiaomi Redmi 7, despite its popularity and excellent autonomy, was no exception to the rule, since the MIUI firmware by default contains a built-in marketing module. Users notice pop-ups when unlocking the screen, in standard applications and even in the settings menu, which significantly reduces the comfort of using the device. Eliminating this digital noise requires a comprehensive approach, since there is no single “Switch All” button in the system.
The process of cleaning the system from advertising debris does not require superuser rights or complex technical equipment. It is enough to consistently go through the key settings sections and disable several specific options that activate targeted mailings. In this article, we will discuss in detail each step necessary to make your Redmi 7 truly your personal device, not a showcase of goods.
It's worth considering that after major operating system updates, some settings may be reset or renamed by developers, so it's important to understand how each component that displays content works. We'll look at both the standard methods available on the menu and more advanced ways to block through changing network settings.
Disabling MSA System Advertising
The centerpiece of the advertising ecosystem in the MIUI shell is the MSA (MIUI System Ads) system application, which is responsible for collecting data on user behavior and generating the promotional offers you see in the interface. The first and most important step is to disable authorization of this service, which will significantly reduce the number of pop-ups.
To do this, you need to go to the settings menu and find the password and security section, and you need to be careful, because the system can ask you several times about your decision, claiming that without this feature, some services will not work correctly, this is a standard trick, and disabling this item will not affect the basic functionality of the phone.
The algorithm of actions is as follows:
- 🔍 Open Settings and go to Passwords and Security.
- 📜 Find and select the option Access to Personal Data or Authorization and Security.
- 🚫 In the list, find the msa item and switch the switch to an inactive state.
- ⏳ Wait for the countdown to end (usually 10 seconds) and press the Disconnect button.
⚠️ Note: If you failed to disable the service from the first time and there was an error, repeat the procedure 3-5 Servers sometimes fail to respond to the first request, but when repeated attempts, the shutdown is successful.
After successful implementation of these actions, the background activity of the advertising module will be suspended, however, to consolidate the result and remove the remnants of marketing integrations, additional configuration of other system components, which will be discussed later.
Set up personalized advertising
Even after the core MSA module is disabled, other services remain in the system responsible for collecting statistics and showing recommendations. In Xiaomi Redmi 7, MIUI Daemon service and built-in analytics tools are often responsible for this, they collect data on running applications and the frequency of use of functions to create a personalized advertising profile.
To stop this data collection, you need to manually restrict access rights for the relevant services, which will not only increase privacy, but can also have a positive impact on the battery life of the device, since the background processes will be less active, and it is important to take this stage seriously, since the settings are scattered across different subsections of the menu.
Follow the following steps to complete isolation:
- 🛡️ Go to Settings. → Passwords and security → Confidentiality.
- 📊 Select Advertising Services and disable Personalized Advertising.
- 📉 In the same menu, find the User Agreement and disable participation in the User Experience Improvement Program.
- 🔒 Go back and find it. MIUI Daemon, by disabling its access to data.
Disabling these features makes it impossible to create a digital footprint on which algorithms select ads, and the security of your data in this case is improved, as the information is no longer sent to remote servers for analysis.
☑️ Checking the privacy settings
Cleaning up standard applications
Advertising integrations are deeply embedded in Xiaomi’s standard suite of apps. Explorer, Music, Downloads, and even Calculator can contain banners or news recommendations. To clean the interface, you need to go into the settings of each of these apps separately and deactivate the corresponding options.
Start with the Security app, which is one of the most intrusive sources of notifications, and it often suggests clearing the memory or speeding up the phone with ad units, and disabling the recommendations in that place will make the interface much cleaner.
Instructions for cleaning key applications:
- 🧹 Security: Open the app, click on the gear (settings) in the corner and turn off Receive recommendations.
- 🎵 Music: Go to the app settings, find the Additional settings section and remove the tick from Show Advertising.
- 📁 Explorer: In the Explorer settings menu, turn off the Recommendations or Get Content Recommendations option.
- ☁️ Downloads: Click on three dots in the corner, select settings and turn off Show recommended content.
And remember the folders on your desktop, and when you open the application folder at the bottom, you often see the recommended programs, and to remove that, open any folder, click on the name of the folder, and in the menu that appears, turn off the Recommended Apps option.
⚠️ Note: In some versions MIUI Item names may vary slightly, such as "Recommendations" may be called "Content." Look for any items related to getting content from the network.
Blocking through DNS and network
The most effective method, which works at the network connection level, is to use a private DNS with ad filtering, which allows you to block requests to known ad servers before they reach your Redmi 7.
To do this, your smartphone must be running Android 9 or higher, which is true for this model, and the idea is to prescribe the address of a special server that sifts out advertising traffic, a universal solution that also speeds up the loading of pages in the browser.
The procedure for setting up the DNS:
- Go to Settings → Connections and Sharing (or Wi-Fi).
- Find the Private DNS (may be in the "Additional" section).
- Select the hostname of the DNS provider.
- Enter the address: dns.adguard.com
- Save the settings and restart the device.
Once this feature is enabled, all ad traffic will be blocked, but it is worth considering that in rare cases this may cause some applications that use advertising to function (for example, free versions of games) to fail, in which case DNS can be temporarily disabled.
Managing application notifications
Often the source of annoyance is not the system banners, but notifications from the applications you install. Many programs request permission to display notifications when they are first installed, and users agree without hesitation, which turns the lock screen into a news feed.
Xiaomi Redmi 7 has a handy tool for mass notification management, which allows you to quickly view the list of all apps that have the right to display messages, and disable unnecessary ones, which helps keep the status bar clean and focus only on important events.
To set up, follow the following steps:
- 🔔 Go to Settings. → Notifications and status bar → Notifications.
- 📱 Go through the list and turn off notifications for apps that don’t need them (games, stores, delivery services).
- 🚫 Pay special attention to apps with names like “Clean Master”, “Battery Saver” or different browsers.
It is also recommended to disable notifications from the GetApps app store itself (formerly the Mi Store), as it is the main source of notifications about discounts and new games. This can be done in the general notification settings by finding the App Store or GetApps app in the list.
Comparison of blocking methods
The best way to combat advertising depends on your technical skills and goals: some users prefer minimal interference, others want total purity at all costs. Below is a table comparing the effectiveness of the methods examined.
| Method | Efficiency | Difficulty | Impact on the system |
|---|---|---|---|
| MSA shutdown | Tall. | Low. | Minimum |
| Setting up the DNS | Very high. | Medium | Absent. |
| Cleaning applications | Medium | Low. | It makes you feel comfortable. |
| Disabling notifications | Tall. | Low. | Improves focus. |
Combining all of these methods will give you the best result. A comprehensive approach ensures that advertising will not bother you in any corner of the operating system, and you should not neglect any of the steps if you want to achieve the perfect result.