Xiaomi’s brand smartphones have long proven to be great value for money, but the Redmi Note 9 Pro, despite its popularity, often disappoints users with an abundance of intrusive advertising in the interface. The built-in MIUI monetization system allows the company to sell devices at a low price, but for the end owner this turns into constant visual noise. Ad units can appear in folders, when you unlock the screen, in standard applications and even as pop-up windows on top of the desktop.
Fortunately, engineers have left the ability to deaktivieren most of these elements without having to obtain superuser rights or flash the device. Disabling ads not only improves the visual experience, but also positively affects the autonomy of work, as background processes stop loading advertising content. In this article, we will discuss in detail all known methods of cleaning the system from marketing garbage.
Before you start deep tuning, it’s important to understand that some changes may require you to reboot your device or re-enable certain features after you update your system.The deactivation process is safe for user data, but requires care when switching toggles in hidden menus.We’ll go from simple settings to advanced methods of blocking network requests.
Basic setting of the system and account Mi
The first step to a clean interface is to disable personalized advertising at the account level, which prevents you from analyzing your interests to target ads, and you need to go to your account settings and find the privacy and advertising section.
Go to Settings → Mi Account and select System Advertising (or Advertising Services) where you want to switch to an inactive state, a step that is fundamental because it disables the collection of data about your activities for advertising purposes.
- 📱 Go to the settings menu of your smartphone.
- 🔍 Find the section "Password and security».
- 🚫 Turn off the option “Receive recommendations».
- ✅ Save the changes and restart the device.
⚠️ Note: After disabling this feature, some embedded apps may stop offering you personalized content that is formally also considered advertising.
Next, you should pay attention to the date and time settings. Sometimes, improper synchronization can cause errors in the work of advertising modules, but most often it is just a basic check. Make sure that you automatically determine the time through the network, so that the security certificates work correctly when you block domains.
Deactivation of MSA (MIUI System Ads)
MSA (MIUI System Ads) is the main component responsible for displaying banner ads in system applications and on the desktop, and without disabling this process, all other manipulations may be useless, as the service will be forced to restore its settings.
To find this service, follow the Settings → Apps → All Apps. In the upper right corner, click on three dots and select Show System Services. In the list, find msa and click on it. First, turn off Internet access for this application, and then click Disable.
The system will try to dissuade you by running a countdown of 10 seconds. Don't follow the interface tricks and wait for the timer to end. The shutdown process may not go through the first time because of shell software bugs, so it's recommended to repeat the operation 3-4 times in a row until a message about successful completion appears.
| Parameter | Action. | The result |
|---|---|---|
| Network access | Banned | Blocking the loading of banners |
| Auto-start | Shut down. | Stoppage of service at start |
| Permits | Take it all down. | Isolation of the process |
☑️ Checking the shutdown MSA
It is important to note that after updating the firmware, the settings of the msa services may reset. Regularly checking the status of this component will help keep the system clean. If the shutdown button is inactive, try to clear the application data first and then try again.
Cleaning Standard Apps from Advertising
Even after the system service is disabled, individual applications such as Explorer, Music, Video, and Downloads can continue to display banner ads, each with its own settings that need to be configured separately.
Start with the Safety app. Go to it, click on the gear in the top right corner, and find "Get recommendations." Turn it off. Similar to Explorer: open the menu, select Settings, and uncheck "Get recommendations."
- 🎵 In the Music app, go to the settings and turn off “Show Advertising».
- 🎬 In “Video” (Mi Video) in the privacy settings remove recommendation content.
- 📂 In Downloads, click on three dots and uncheck the box from “Show recommended content».
⚠️ Note: In some versions MIUI The application interface may vary slightly, look for items with the words “Recommendations”, “Advertising” or “Promote».
You should pay special attention to the Themes app, and this is where full-screen banners often pop up, go to the user profile (human icon), then to the settings, and find the "Show Ads" option, and it's also helpful to disable auto-update themes if you're not actively using this feature.
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If the theme app is back, try clearing the cache of that app through the Apps menu in the general system settings.
Blocking Advertising Notifications and Folders
Often, users experience ads appearing directly in desktop folders or as push notifications from system services, the most annoying type of intrusion, as it occurs without the user interacting with a particular application.
To eliminate banners in folders, open any folder on your desktop. Click on the folder name (or three dots, or just an empty space inside, depending on the launcher version). In the menu that appears, find the Recommended Switch and turn it off. The folder name will stop flashing, and the advertising icons will disappear.
To remove notifications, go to Settings → Notifications and Status bar → Application Notifications. Here you need to find suspicious system applications such as Mi Video, Mi Browser, GetApps (formerly Mi Store) and prevent them from showing notifications. Leave only messages from messengers and important services active.
There is also a hidden ad in the form of "Wallpaper Carousel" on the lock screen. To turn it off, go to Settings → Wallpaper and Wallpaper Carousel and deaktivieren Wallpaper Carousel, which not only removes the advertising slides, but also saves battery life.
Advanced methods: DNS and hosts
For users who want to maximize results, ad blocking is available at the network level, which is effective against ads in the browser and some embedded applications that bypass standard blockers.
The easiest way is to use a private DNS. Go to Settings → Connection and General Settings → Private DNS. Select Host Name of DNS Provider and type in the address: dns.adguard.com. Save settings. Now all traffic to your Redmi Note 9 Pro will be filtered through AdGuard servers, cutting off known advertising domains.
dns.adguard.comWhat if the internet is gone after the DNS change?
A more complex but reliable method is editing the hosts file, but on modern versions of Android without root rights, this cannot be done by standard means. The alternative is to use blocker apps like Blokada or AdGuard (a version from the developer’s website) that create a local network. VPN-traffic-filtering tunnel.
- 🛡️ Install an app to block ads from a trusted source.
- 🔄 Update filter lists within the app.
- 🚀 Run the protection and check the speed of page loading.
Specificity of the Mi Browser browser
Xiaomi’s standard browser is known for its aggressive advertising policy, which even after general system settings can continue to show news and banners on the homepage, and the best solution is not to use it at all, installing an alternative like Chrome, Firefox or Brave.
If deletion is not possible, minimize the impact of the deletion. Open your browser, go to settings (three bars → Settings). Find the Home Page and turn off all news sources. Also, in Privacy and Security, turn off the use data.
⚠️ Note: Mi Browser tends to self-repair its permissions. periodically check its settings after major system updates.
Alternatively, you can use the default Incognito mode or install extension blockers if the browser version allows it, but third-party browsers on Chromium or Gecko engines provide much better privacy protection out of the box.
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Completely removing or replacing the standard Xiaomi browser with a third-party counterpart is the most effective way to get rid of advertising noise on the Internet.