Owners of the popular Redmi Note 8 Pro often encounter intrusive banner ads that appear in system applications and the MIUI 12 shell interface.This causes irritation, slows down the device and distracts from the basic process of using the smartphone. Fortunately, the system provides a lot of hidden switches that allow you to completely clean the interface of marketing noise without having to obtain superuser rights.
The process of disabling is not limited to a single button, as the content display is responsible for different system services. You have to go through several settings menus to block all traffic sources. Below is a detailed guide to help you make using Xiaomi comfortable and clean of unnecessary information.
Disconnection of MSA (MIUI System Ads)
The main source of advertising integrations in the shell is the system application MSA (MIUI System Ads), which analyzes your actions and selects the relevant content for display, the first step is to find and deactivate its work through the authorization settings.
Go to the smartphone settings menu and find the Password and Security section. Inside this menu, you will need to select Access to Personal Data or Authorization and Security, which displays a list of all the applications that have access to your data.
⚠️ Warning: When you try to shut down, the system may display a countdown timer several times (usually 10 And then you say, "Let's stay." Don't give in, just wait until the time ends and press "Switch off" again. Sometimes you have to repeat the procedure. 2-3 successively.
After a successful shutdown, it is recommended to restart the device to apply the changes, which blocks the main channel of receiving advertising data from the manufacturer's servers. However, some embedded applications may have their own display settings.
☑️ Checking the shutdown MSA
Setup of Xiaomi system applications
Even after the MSA is disabled, individual system components such as Music, Themes, or Explorer can continue to display banners, each with its own built-in recommendation engine that must be disabled separately.
Start with the Security app. Open it, click on the settings gear in the top right corner, and find Receive recommendations. Turn the slider off. Similar steps should be taken for other system utilities if you use them.
- 🎵 Music: Open the app, go to the menu (three bars), select Settings, then Advanced Settings, and turn off Show Ads».
- 🎨 Topics: Go to the profile (human icon), click “Settings” and remove the tick from the item “Show advertising».
- 📁 Explorer: Click on the menu, select Settings, then About App (or Settings in new versions) and disable Recommendations».
Also, be sure to check the settings of the Downloads app, where popular file recommendations often appear: Open the app, click on three dots in the corner, select Settings, and turn off Show recommended content.
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If banners remain after disabling ads in the Topics, try clearing the cache of this application through the Apps menu → All Apps → Themes → Memory → Clear.
Blocking Advertising in Mi Browser
Xiaomi’s standard browser also tends to show news feeds and advertisements on the homepage, and to turn it into a minimalist surfing tool, you need to change several settings in its settings.
Open your browser and click on the profile icon or three menu bars. Go to Settings. Here you are interested in the block associated with the content. Find Receive recommendations and deaktivate it. This will remove the news feed from the home page.
Next, to block pop-ups on sites, go to Privacy and Security. Make sure Ad Block and Tracking Protection switches are activated, which will significantly reduce the number of intrusive banners when visiting web resources.
| Setup parameter | Location on the menu | Recommended value |
|---|---|---|
| Recommendations | Settings → General | Off. |
| Ad-blocker | Confidentiality and security | Included. |
| Site notifications | Website settings → Notifications | Request/Block |
If you prefer not to set up a standard browser, consider alternative solutions like Chrome or Firefox with content blockers installed.This is often more effective than fighting the built-in Mi Browser mechanisms.
Disabling personalized advertising
Xiaomi, like many other tech giants, collects data about your preferences to target ads, and disabling this feature won’t take away ads completely, but will make them less personalized and intrusive, and increase privacy.
To do this, go to Settings on your smartphone, then select Password and Security. In the list, look for Privacy. Scroll down to the ad-related block.
Click on Advertising Services (or "Special Advertising Opportunities"), where you need to switch Personalized Advertising to Off. The system will warn that the ads are not going anywhere, but will become less relevant, and that's exactly what we need to reduce marketing aggressiveness.
⚠️ Warning: After disabling personalization, the advertising ID is reset, which means that the ad networks will start collecting your preferences again, but without being tied to the old history.
The option to delete the advertising ID may also be included in the menu, and it is useful if you want to completely “reset” the profile that advertisers have built based on your behavior in the MIUI 12 system.
Using DNS to block at the network level
One of the most effective methods of combating advertising in all applications is the use of private DNS with filtering function, which does not require the installation of additional applications and works at the network connection level.
You need to go to Settings. → Connection and Sharing (or “Advanced Settings” depending on version) MIUI). Find a private item DNS (Private DNS). By default, there is “auto” or “off».
dns.adguard.comEnter the address dns.adguard.com in the Host Name Configuration field of the provider DNS. Save the change. DNS-Your Redmi Note 8 Pro traffic will be filtered, which cuts off requests to known ad servers.
- 🚀 Efficiency: Ads are blocked in most free apps and games.
- 🔒 Security: Encryption DNS-Protects against traffic listening by the provider.
- ⚡ Speed: Frequently using quality DNS speeds up the opening of pages.
What to do if the Internet stops working?
Cleaning notifications and push messages
Often, advertising is not just about banners inside the interface, but also about persistent push notifications from system applications, which can report viruses, memory cleanups, or new features that aren’t really needed.
To get rid of them, go to Settings → Notifications and Status bar → Notification management. Go through the list of system applications. Pay special attention to the applications Security, Mi Video, Mi Music and GetApps.
Within the settings of each such application, turn off notification categories related to Recommendations, Promotions, or News. Leave only critical notifications, such as when a download or scan has been completed.
Also check the MIUI Daemon section or similar system processes. Sometimes they may have permission to display notifications that are actually hidden advertising.
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Regularly checking notification permissions for system applications is the best way to prevent unexpected advertising spam from appearing in the notification curtain.