Users of Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones often encounter intrusive system messages that appear in the most unexpected places of the interface. One such irritant is the Take Back feature, also known in enthusiast circles as a mechanism for returning or forcing advertising to be displayed. This technology is being introduced into the shell of MIUI and HyperOS to monetize free devices, but for many it becomes a serious obstacle to comfortable use of the gadget.
The problem is that the system periodically invites the user to “return” to certain services or applications by blocking the desktop or lock screen. It is almost impossible to disable Take Back using standard methods through the settings menu, since developers deliberately hide this option. However, there are proven ways to circumvent restrictions that allow you to permanently get rid of intrusive functionality without losing warranty.
In this detailed guide, we will look at all the current methods for deactivating this function in 2026. ADB-It's important to understand that every action requires attention, but the result is worth it - your smartphone will again be fast and clean of unnecessary software debris.
What is Take Back and Why Does It Appear on Xiaomi?
Take Back is part of the company’s marketing strategy to keep users in the service ecosystem. When you frequently use third-party launchers or change standard applications, the system sees this as a deviation from the “normal” and tries to return you to factory settings, this manifests itself in the form of pop-ups, suggestions to install missing components or persistent notifications.
Technically, this process is controlled by system services such as MSA (MIUI System Ads) and Daemon processes, which collect usage statistics and activate return triggers. The critical point is that even after the adverts are turned off in the standard menu, background services can continue to work and cause Take Back windows to appear. Understanding the architecture of these services is necessary to effectively block them.
The frequency of these windows depends on the region of use of the device and the firmware version. In global versions of HyperOS, the protection against removing system components has become more stringent, so simple methods like switching regions no longer work.
⚠️ Warning: Before making any changes to system settings, make sure you have a backup of important data. Interference with system services can lead to interface instability.
The main purpose of the mechanism is not just to show ads, but to get the user to interact with preinstalled software, it can be a browser, an app store or cloud storage, and if you prefer alternative solutions, the system will constantly “remind” the existence of native counterparts through the mechanism of forced return.
Preparing the smartphone for modification of settings
Before you start disabling system functions, you need to properly prepare the device. Without the preparatory steps, subsequent commands may fail or cause an access error. The first step is to activate the developer mode, which is hidden by default for security purposes.
You need to go to the Settings → About phone menu and quickly click on the MIUI or HyperOS version several times. After the message “You became a developer”, you can go to the advanced settings. A new “Developers” option will appear in the “Additional” or “Extended settings” menu.
- 📱 Turn on the option. USB-debugging in the developer menu – this will allow the computer to send commands to the phone.
- 🔌 Use quality. USB-cable to connect to the PC to avoid communication interruptions during command transfer.
- 🔒 Unlock the device screen when you first connect to your computer by confirming that computer's trust request.
Next, you need to install the ADB platform tools on your computer, which is a set of tools that allow you to interact with the Android operating system through the command line, without this tool, you can not deeply disconnect system services, download the current version from the official developer website and unpack the archive into a convenient folder.
☑️ Checking the device's readiness
Method of disconnection through ADB-Teams (without root rights)
The most effective and safe way to remove Take Back is to use the ADB command line. This method does not require obtaining super-user rights (root), which preserves the warranty on the device. The essence of the method is to “freeze” or completely remove for the current user the packets responsible for advertising.
Connect your smartphone to your computer, open the command line in the ADB folder, and enter the adb device connection check command. If a device has been listed, you can move on to removing components. We will target the packages that handle system advertising and analytics.
adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.miui.msa.global
adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.miui.daemon
adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.android.adservices.apiThe first command removes the main MIUI System Ads ad service. The second disables the demonic service that collects usage data, and the third blocks the system APIs of Android advertising services. Once these actions are performed, the changes take effect immediately, a reboot is usually not required, but is desirable to clear the cache.
If you use global firmware, the package names may differ, so use the adb shell pm list packages | grep miui to find the exact names. Search for packages with the words ads, daemon or analytics. Be careful to remove only those packages that you are 100% sure of.
⚠️ Note: Do not remove system packages associated with telephony or contacts (com.android.phone, com.miui.securitycore), this may cause the smartphone to be completely inoperable.
Set up date and region settings to lock
There is a less radical, but sometimes effective, way to deal with intrusive windows, which is to manipulate regional settings and time, and some Take Back services are time- and geo-location-based, and changing these parameters can disrupt synchronization with ad servers.
Try changing the region in your phone settings to a country where Xiaomi services are limited, such as Algeria or Andorra. After changing the region, the system may stop receiving current advertising configs.
- 🌍 Change region to Nepal or Zimbabwe in the menu "More" → Region».
- ⏰ Turn off network time synchronization and set a date a year ahead or backwards.
- 📡 Temporarily turn off Wi-Fi and mobile internet when you first start after changing your settings.
This method doesn’t work on all firmware versions, especially newer HyperOS updates, where checks are done through secure channels, but when it comes to limiting application background activity, it can work well, and the key is to remember to return the correct date after you set up, otherwise you may have problems with site security certificates.
Why does the change of region help?
Disabling system services through interface settings
Even without the use of complex commands, there are many switches hidden in the MIUI and HyperOS settings menu that limit data collection, and while they don't remove services completely, they significantly reduce their activity, starting with disabling ad personalization.
Go to Settings → Passwords & Security → Privacy → Advertising Services. You need to activate the Ad Personalization switch, effectively preventing the system from using your data for targeting, and check the Security and Cleanup app settings, where the Get Recommendations boxes are often hidden.
| Service/Application | Where to find the setting | Action. |
|---|---|---|
| MSA (Advertising) | Annexes → MSA | Withdraw consent |
| Mi Browser | Browser settings → Privacy | Disable personalization |
| GetApps | Profile → Settings | Disable notifications |
| Global search | Settings → Global Search | Remove recommendations |
Pay special attention to GetApps (formerly Mi App Store), which often initiates the installation of unnecessary software and returns the user to standard applications. In its settings, find the item “Auto-App Update” and disable it, and also prohibit sending notifications completely.
💡
Use "Freeze" applications. In the battery settings, find a list of applications and set a "No Background Activity" restriction for system ad services, which will prevent them from running without your knowledge.
Prevention and blocking of advertising at the network level
To secure the result and prevent Take Back from returning after a system update, it is recommended to use a DNS-level lock. This is the most reliable way, since it works for all applications at once and does not require constant configuration of each service individually.
The most popular and proven solution is the use of DNS-AdGuard servers. Go to Settings to set up → Connection and sharing → Private DNS. In the settings field, specify the address dns.adguard.com. After saving the device, all requests to known ad servers will be blocked.
This method is effective against most types of advertising, including pop-ups in system applications. However, it is worth considering that blocking ads can sometimes lead to incorrect display of some sites or the inability to run certain applications tied to advertising. SDK. In that case, DNS can be temporarily switched off.
⚠️ Attention: Use of third-party DNS-servers can slightly increase the response time of the network (ping), which is critical for online games. DNS.