How to turn off ads in Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus

Xiaomi smartphone owners often encounter intrusive banner ads that appear in system apps and on the desktop. Redmi 5 Plus, despite its age, remains a popular device, but the MIUI shell running on it continues to try to monetize the user experience.This is not only annoying, but also wastes precious mobile Internet traffic, and also reduces the overall performance of the gadget.

Fortunately, the system allows you to adjust your privacy settings with a lot of flexibility if you know where to look. In this article, we will discuss all the available ways to permanently get rid of pop-ups and promotional offers. You will learn how to turn off the msa system service, remove recommendations in folders and block ads in standard utilities.

It's worth noting that completely clearing out ads requires a few steps to be done in a consistent manner, and just disabling one switch won't be enough, because MIUI marketing mechanisms are spread across different settings, and we'll go through each of them to make sure your device has the cleanest interface possible.

Disabling the MSA System Service

The main source of advertising content in the operating system is the MIUI System Ads service, also known by the acronym msa. This process is responsible for collecting data about your preferences and displaying targeted banners. First, you need to open your smartphone settings and go to the Advanced Settings section.

You can find Authorization and Privacy (in some versions of firmware it may be simply called “Privacy”). In the application list that opens, find the msa string and put the slider inactive. The system will warn you that disabling this service may affect the operation of certain functions, and ask you to wait 10 seconds before confirming.

⚠️ Warning: If you press the "Disable" button and the slider returns to its original position, don't panic. This is the standard defense response of the system. 2-3 Once until the countdown timer appears.

After successfully disabling msa, it is also recommended to deny network access for this component. Go to the Apps section, search the MSA list (use a search filter if the list is long) and select Traffic Control. Make sure that access to Wi-Fi and mobile data is closed.

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Check the permission list periodically after major firmware updates, as the system can automatically reactivate the MSA service.

Setting up security and privacy settings

In addition to the main service, the User Experience Program collects statistics and offers, and collects anonymous data about device usage to “improve company products.” For Redmi 5 Plus owners who value privacy, this feature is better off.

Go back to the Settings menu and find the Password and Security section. In the options list, select Privacy, then scroll down to Participate in User Experience Improvement. Uncheck this box. There may also be an Automatic Send Diagnostics option, which should also be deactivated.

• 📱 Open the Settings. → Password and security.
• 🔒 Go to the Privacy section.
• 🚫 Disable the item Participation in the Improvement Program MIUI.
• 📉 Prohibit automatic sending of diagnostic data.

These actions will significantly reduce the number of background requests to Xiaomi servers, your smartphone will work a little faster, as it will cease to constantly synchronize telemetry, this is especially true for models of the past, where the CPU and RAM resources are limited.

Removing Advertising from Standard Applications

Ad units are often embedded directly into the interface of standard utilities such as Explorer, Music, Themes and Security. Each of these applications has its own settings that need to be checked separately.

Launch the Security app and click on the gear icon in the top right corner of the screen. In the settings menu, find Receive recommendations and turn it off. This will remove banners with news and offers that usually appear on the home screen of the antivirus.

Then we go to Explorer. Open the app, click on the menu (three bars) and select Settings. Here you also need to find the option to Receive recommendations or Recommended content and deactivate it. Similar actions are required in the Theme apps (Profile tab → Settings → Show ads) and Downloads.

Also, be sure to check the settings of the Mi Browser app if you use it by default. Its settings often include news feed and push notifications from partners by default, and it is better to replace it immediately with Chrome or Firefox with an ad blocker installed.

Disabling recommendations on the desktop and in folders

One of the most annoying things about MIUI is that you have recommended apps inside folders on your desktop, and when you create a folder and you put a few icons in there, it automatically loads the "useful" apps that you claim to need.

To remove this visual noise, open any folder on your desktop. Click on the folder name (or the empty space inside it, depending on the launcher version) to open the settings menu. Here you will see the Recommended Apps switch. Turn it to "Off."

Now, the folder will only contain the apps you installed yourself, which not only makes the interface cleaner, but also prevents unnecessary software from being accidentally downloaded, and it's important to do this for every folder you've already created on your device.

You should also pay attention to widgets. Some of them, like News or Horizon, can load advertising content. If you do not actively use them, you better remove them from your desktop after a long press and select Delete.

Blocking Advertising through DNS (Advanced)

For more advanced users who want to maximize their impact, there is a way to block ads at the network connection level. Using Private DNS allows you to filter traffic before it even reaches applications. This is especially effective for Redmi 5 Plus, which can run on the latest version of Android.

You will need to go to Settings. → Connection and Sharing (or Additional Settings) → Privacy, depending on the version MIUI). Find a private item DNS (Private DNS). Select the mode "Host Name provider" DNS" and enter the address: dns.adguard.com.

dns.adguard.com

Once you save your settings, reboot your smartphone, and now most of the ads in browsers and many apps will be cut off automatically, a method that doesn't require any additional software installation, and has little or no effect on the speed of the Internet.

⚠️ Note: When using a third party DNS Some local services or applications with a hard-to-reference operator may not work properly. If you notice network access issues, return the value. DNS on auto or off".

This method is universal and works on almost any version of Android, starting with the 9th. DNS", You can use the AdGuard app or similar that creates a local VPN-traffic-filtering tunnel.

Cache cleaning and final settings

Once all the switches have been moved to the right position, you need to clear the accumulated data. Advertising modules may already caches banners that will be displayed for some time even after the services are turned off. → Annexes → All applications.

Find MIUI Daemon (if you have it in your firmware version) and Analytics on the list. Go to each of them and click Clear → Clear Cache. Also, you can do a full cleanup through the built-in Security app by selecting Cleanup.

The final step is to check for system updates. Sometimes Xiaomi releases patches that return the default ad settings. Regularly check the firmware’s relevance, but be careful: newer versions of MIUI for older devices may contain more ads.

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A comprehensive approach, including disabling MSA, configuring DNS and cleaning applications, ensures 99% of the system is free of advertising.

Now your Redmi 5 Plus should be significantly cleaner, and you'll notice a reduction in the CPU and battery load as the background processes stop loading advertising content. Enjoy using your smartphone without intrusive interruptions.