Xiaomi and Redmi smartphone owners often face intrusive ads that appear in standard apps and even system menus. For the MIUI-powered Redmi Note 10 Pro, this issue is particularly acute because of the aggressive policy of monetizing free software. However, there is a proven algorithm of actions that allows you to significantly reduce the number of pop-ups or remove them completely.
The deactivation process does not require superuser rights or global reflashing from other markets. The engineering menu and hidden settings allow you to manage most ad modules with regular means. It is important to understand that disabling some services may affect the performance of recommendations in standard widgets, but the functionality of the phone will not suffer.
In this article, we will discuss a step-by-step method for eliminating advertising noise, focusing on MSA service and personalization options. You will learn to customize system applications so that they do not become a source of annoyance. Follow the instructions carefully, as some menu items can be hidden or renamed in different versions of firmware.
Disabling the MSA service, the main source of advertising
At the heart of Xiaomi’s advertising ecosystem is the MIUI System Ads app, known as msa, which collects data about your actions and broadcasts banner ads in the interface, and the first and most important step is to force the service to stop and revoke permissions.
First, you need to go to the advanced settings menu. Go to Settings, then select Password and Security. In the list that opens, find Access to Personal Data. This list shows all the apps that have requested access to your information to display targeted ads.
☑️ Pre-switch check MSA
Find the msa app on the list and turn the switch to "Switch off." The system will warn you that a shutdown may affect some functions, and start a countdown of 10 seconds. Do not confirm the action immediately, wait for the timer to end and only then press "Switch off." If the first time did not work, repeat the procedure 2-3 times, sometimes it takes several attempts.
⚠️ Note: If the Horizon widgets or recommendations in folders stop working after the msa service is turned off, you will have to return the permission back. MIUI.
Setting up personalization and advertising parameters
In addition to the explicit MSA service, there are background processes in the system that collect analytics and show personalized offers, and the ad settings allow you to reset your advertising ID and prevent systems from using your data to select content, which will not completely remove ads, but will make them less intrusive and relevant.
Return to the Password and Security menu and select Advertising (in some versions of MIUI it may be called "Advertising Services"). Here you need to activate the Advertising Settings switch. Once you turn on this option, the system will reset your current advertising ID, which is equivalent to clearing cookies in the browser for ad networks.
Next, disable Ad Personalization. When you're on the same menu, find the appropriate switchboard and deactivate it. This action prevents Xiaomi's algorithms from analyzing your preferences and search history to generate promotional offers. The effect of this action is cumulative and will manifest itself within a few days of using the smartphone.
Also check the settings in Settings → Advanced Settings → Privacy. Make sure that the items related to sending usage data and diagnostic information to the manufacturer’s servers are turned off, which will reduce battery load and reduce the amount of data transferred.
Cleaning up standard apps from advertising junk
Advertising modules are embedded not only in the system, but also in standard utilities such as Explorer, Music, Video and Cleanup. Each of these applications has its own settings that need to be changed manually, ignoring this step will leave banners in the interface even after the MSA is turned off.
Start with the Explorer app. Open it, click on the menu (three bars) and select Settings. Find Receive recommendations and turn it off. Then go to the Security app (lightning icon), click on the settings gear, and turn off the Receive recommendations option. This will remove ads from the virus scanning and memory clearing window.
The Themes app is similar. Go to the user profile (human icon), then to Settings. Turn off the Display ad and Personal Recommendations. Then the theme store will be much cleaner, although the banner ads in the directory may remain, but there will be fewer.
| Annex | The path to adjustment | What to turn off |
|---|---|---|
| Conductor | Menu → Settings | Receive recommendations |
| Security | Settings (cogs) | Receive recommendations |
| Music. | Settings → Advanced | Showing advertisements |
| Downloads. | Settings (three dots) | Receive recommendations |
What to do if the settings are reset?
Management of Notifications and System Services
Even after disabling the main sources, some apps can continue (push) notifications with advertising content, often by standard services such as Mi Video, Mi Music or GetApps. Controlling notifications allows you to completely isolate the user from unwanted content.
Go to Settings → Notifications and Status bar → Notification management. Go through the list of installed applications, paying attention to system. For GetApps, Mi Credit and Services and Reviews, it is recommended that you completely disable notifications.
The Tools folder on the desktop deserves special attention, and it often contains apps that generate pop-ups. If you don't use a standard video player or a music player from Xiaomi, you can block their notifications without affecting third-party apps from Google Play.
⚠️ Warning: Do not disable notifications for system processes with names like System Service or Security unless you are sure of their function, which can cause your phone to malfunction or lose important system alerts.
Disabling Advertising in Mi Browser
Xiaomi’s standard browser is known for its aggressive advertising policy and news feed on the homepage, and if you prefer to use it over Chrome or Firefox, you need to do a deep privacy setup inside the app itself.
Open your browser and click on the profile icon or three dots in the bottom menu. Go to Settings → Privacy and Security. You need to activate Ad Block mode. It is also recommended to enable Tracking Protection, which will prevent data collection about the sites visited.
For complete comfort, clear the start page. In your browser settings, find the Home page and turn off the display of the news feed. This will make the browser launch instantaneous and deprive it of elements that resemble a news aggregator with advertising inserts.
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If the standard browser continues to be annoying, just remove its updates through the app settings and disable.Install a lightweight alternative browser like DuckDuckGo or Brave, which have built-in engine-level ad blockers.
Using DNS to block advertising at the network level
The most effective method, which works globally for all applications and browsers, is to use a private DNS with ad filtering, which requires no additional applications installed and works at the network level of the Redmi Note 10 Pro.
Go to Settings. → Connection and Sharing (or "Wi-Fi"). Find a Private Item DNS (Private DNS). Select the mode "Host Name of the provider" DNS" and enter the address in the field: dns.adguard.com. Save the settings.
Once these settings are applied, all requests to known ad servers will be blocked at the network level, which means that banners will not load even in applications where disabling through the settings has proved ineffective, and the method also increases the speed of page loading.
dns.adguard.comIt is worth noting that using a third-party DNS can slightly increase network response time in some cases, but for most users this will remain invisible. If after turning on the DNS any sites or applications stop opening, just return the setting to Auto mode.
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The combination of MSA disabling, manual app cleaning and Private DNS setup gives 99% of the result of eliminating ads on Xiaomi without losing warranty and functionality.