How to remove ads on Xiaomi Redmi: a complete guide to disabling

Xiaomi’s modern smartphones and its sub-brand Redmi are known for their superior value for money, but one of the most annoying features of their branded shell is intrusive advertising. Users often encounter banner ads in system applications, on the lock screen and even on the desktop, which significantly reduces the comfort of the device. Fortunately, the company has provided many ways to minimize this effect, although several settings will have to be changed to completely remove ads.

In this article, we will discuss how to disable ads on the Xiaomi Redmi screensaver, as well as remove intrusive banners from folders, browsers and other system services. The process does not require the presence of root superuser rights and can be performed by any smartphone owner in a few minutes. We will look at both standard methods through system settings, and more advanced options for those who want to achieve perfect interface cleanliness.

It is worth noting that the interface MIUI and the new shell HyperOS periodically updated, and the names of some items may vary slightly depending on the version of Android and regional firmware. However, the logic of the system services remains unchanged, so the instructions below are relevant for most current models, including the Note, Pro and Lite series.

Disabling the MSA System Service

The centerpiece of Xiaomi’s smartphone advertising ecosystem is the MSA (MIUI System Ads) service, which is the system process responsible for loading and displaying banner ads across the interface, and to effectively combat advertising, it is necessary to disable this component first, as it is the main source of unwanted content.

To start, go to your device's settings menu and find the Password and Security section. In some firmware versions, this item may be simply called Security or be inside the Advanced Settings tab. You'll need to find the Access to Personal Data (or Special Features) section that displays a list of apps that have access to sensitive information. In this list, you need to find an application called msa and put the slider inactive.

Once the slider is turned off, the system will require you to wait 10 seconds before confirming the action. This is done specifically so that the user does not turn off the service accidentally. Once the timer expires, press the Stop button. It is important to understand that the service may not turn off the first time, this is a known feature of MIUI. If you see an error message or the slider returned to its original position, just repeat the procedure 3-5 times in a row until the system finally allows the shutdown.

⚠️ Attention: After disabling the msa service, the ads will not disappear instantly from all screens. It takes 5 to 10 minutes for the system to completely stop the background processes and clear the cache. Don't panic if the banners appear again in the first minutes after setting up.

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Disabling the MSA service is a fundamental step, without which the rest of the settings may not be effective. Repeat the shutdown attempt until the system confirms success.

Removing Advertising from the Lock and Screen Screen

One of the most annoying forms of advertising is the so-called wallpaper carousel, or Glance, which replaces the standard static image on the lock screen with shifting images, often containing advertising logos or promotional materials, which many users confuse with a virus, but in fact it is a regular, albeit intrusive, feature of the system.

To return a static screensaver, go to Settings and select Always on and Lock (or Lock Screen).Look for the Wallpaper Carousel section (new versions may call it Glance for Xiaomi). Inside this menu, you need to switch the slider to Turn Wallpaper Carousel on in the "Off" position. After that, the lock screen will again display only the time, date and your selected static image.

You should also check your theme settings. If you use third-party themes from Themes, they may contain embedded ads. Go back to the standard Classic or Default theme to rule this out. Also, in the lock screen settings, it is recommended to disable the Recommendations item, if any, as it can download news feeds or promotions.

Configuring folders and desktop

Redmi and Xiaomi smartphone owners often notice that when they open the app folders on the desktop at the bottom, they get recommendations for installing new games and programs, a feature designed to increase user engagement in the ecosystem, but in practice it only takes up useful space and distracts, and you can turn it off through the launcher settings.

Go to Device Settings and scroll down to Desktop. In some versions of MIUI, this section may be hidden inside the Additional menu or only accessible through long-term clicking on the empty desktop space, followed by selecting Settings. Find the Recommendations switch (or Receive Recommendations) and deactivate it. This action will remove the ad line from all folders on the desktop.

Also in this section, it is useful to disable the zoom function if you do not need it, as it sometimes conflicts with navigation gestures. Also, pay attention to widgets: some of them, such as News or Browser, can broadcast advertising content. Remove unnecessary widgets from your desktop, replacing them with useful tools like calendar or weather.

Cleaning system applications from advertising

Even after the MSA service is disabled, some embedded applications can continue to display ads unless they are restricted, including System Utilities such as Explorer, Music, Video and Security, each with its own personalization settings that must be manually disabled.

Start with the Security app (green icon with shield). Open it, click on the three dots in the top right corner and select Settings. Find Receive recommendations and turn it off. It's also helpful to go to the Cleanup in the app and disable recommendation notifications there. Next, open the Explorer app, click on the menu (three bars), select Settings → About app and remove the tick from Receive recommendations.

You need to do the same for Music and Video applications, and you need to find the settings section (usually through a menu or profile), go to the Additional or Advanced Settings subsection, and find the Show Ads or Receive Recommendations switch, and deactivating these items will make your media player use clean and free of pop-ups.

⚠️ Note: In the video app (Mi Video), ads may appear even after disabling recommendations, as this app is heavily tied to online content. If you do not use it, consider installing an alternative player, for example, VLC or MX Player.

Setting up Mi browser and notifications

The built-in Mi Browser browser is another source of advertising noise, which can display the news feed on the homepage and send push notifications about “hot” news, which are essentially disguised advertising.

Open your browser and go to its settings (profile icon or three dots). Find the News Feed or Main Settings section. You need to turn off the newsfeed display and switch the start page to Empty or Classic mode, where only frequently visited sites are displayed. Also, in the general browser settings, find Notifications and prevent sites from sending push messages.

If you don't use the built-in browser, consider deleting or disabling it. Go to Settings → Apps → All apps, find Mi Browser and click Delete or Disable. This will free up space in memory and guaranteed to eliminate ads in that particular application. Instead, you can use Chrome, Firefox or Brave, which have built-in ad blockers.

Table: Comparison of methods of disabling advertising

For ease of perception, we have organized the main methods of combating advertising into a single table, which will help you quickly navigate what actions you need to take to eliminate specific types of banner ads.

Additional methods and DNS blocking

If standard methods did not help to completely clean the smartphone from advertising, you can use a more advanced way – change. DNS-server, private use DNS allows you to block advertising requests at the network connection level, which works effectively even in those applications where you can not turn off advertising settings.

To do this, go to the Settings. → Connection and Sharing (or Wi-Fi). Find a Private Item DNS (Private DNS). Select the hostname of the provider DNS and type in the address: dns.adguard.com. Save settings. After that, all traffic going through known ad servers will be blocked.

dns.adguard.com

This method is universal and works not only on Xiaomi, but also on any devices running Android 9 and above. However, it is worth remembering that in rare cases, activation of such a DNS can lead to incorrect operation of some applications or sites that use advertising to function (for example, some games or free services), in which case DNS can be temporarily disabled.

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Use the "Flight" mode when entering DNS-Addresses, if connected. Once you save the settings, get the network back online, the changes will apply instantly.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)