How to turn off all ads on Xiaomi MIUI 13

Owning a Xiaomi smartphone often comes with one major inconvenience: intrusive marketing content that appears in the most unexpected places of the operating system. Users are faced with banners in standard applications, pop-ups after launching games and advertising blocks in system folders. This is a fee for the affordable cost of the device, but this is dramatically changed if you know exactly where to look in the settings.

The process of cleaning the interface from unnecessary visual noise does not require superuser rights or deep technical knowledge. MIUI 13 provides a flexible toolkit for managing analytics services and personalized recommendations. In this article, we will discuss in detail each step, from basic switches to advanced methods of blocking traffic.

Doing the steps below will allow you to turn your smartphone into a clean working tool, free of distractions. It is worth noting that after major firmware updates, some settings may be reset or returned to their original position, so periodically checking these parameters will not be superfluous. Let's start to fine-tune your device in detail.

Basic MSA Disconnection and Personalization

The foundation of the entire advertising ecosystem in the shell is the MSA (MIUI System Ads) system process, which is responsible for loading and displaying banners in the interface. The first and most important step is to force the service to stop and withdraw permissions, and without this action, further manipulation may not be effective.

To find the desired option, you need to go to the settings menu and select Password and Security. Next, you should scroll down to the Access to Personal Data or Special Permits section, where you need to find msa in the list of applications. After switching the slider to an inactive state, the system will require you to wait 10 seconds before confirming the action with the Revoke button.

In parallel with the MSA disabling, it is recommended to limit the collection of data to personalize advertising, this is done through a separate switch in the Privacy section, where you need to find the Advertising Services item and deactivate the Receive Recommendations option, which does not remove the ads completely, but makes them less targeted and intrusive.

It is important to understand that the revocation process may not go through the first time due to server instability or network errors. If you see an error message, just repeat the procedure several times until you have confirmed that the operation has been successfully executed. This is standard security behavior. MIUI.

⚠️ Note: After the system processes are revoked, the interface may become slightly less responsive for a few seconds while the background services restructure their work.

Setup of Xiaomi system applications

Advertising modules are embedded in almost every standard application preinstalled by the manufacturer, and to achieve complete comfort, you have to go through each of them and turn off receiving recommendations, which takes time, but the result is worth it.

Start with the Security app, which is often the main source of pop-ups. Go to the app settings (the gear icon in the corner), find the Receive recommendations section and turn it off. Also, turn off the option to Receive important notifications if you don’t want to see sales messages.

Then we go to the standard Mi Browser browser and the Explorer app. In the browser, you open the menu, go to Settings → Privacy and Security and turn off personalization. In Explorer, the settings are in the Settings menu → About the application → Advertising, where you need to uncheck the Receive recommendations item.

• 📱 Topics: Open the profile in the lower right corner, go to settings and turn off personalized recommendations and auto-update themes.
• 🎵 Music: in the application settings, find the Additional settings section and remove the tick from the item Show advertising.
• 🗂️ Downloads: Click on three dots in the corner, select Settings and turn off Receive recommendations.

Also check the GetApps app, even if you don't use it, it can send notifications. Go to the store's settings and turn off all push notifications and promotional mailings.

💡

If you don’t use a standard browser or music player, you can simply remove or disable them in the app settings so they’re guaranteed not to disturb you.

Using a private DNS to block

One of the most effective methods that works at the network connection level is to configure a private DNS, which allows you to block requests to known ad servers before they reach your smartphone.

To start, you need to go to Connect and Share in the main system settings. At the bottom of the list you will find Private DNS. By default, there is Auto or Off mode. We need to choose the DNS Host Name (or Manual).

In the text box, you need to enter the address of a trusted server that blocks ads. One of the most popular and stable solutions is the AdGuard service.

dns.adguard.com

Once you enter the address, click Save. If the address is entered correctly, the system will confirm the connection. From now on, all traffic passing through Wi-Fi and the mobile network will be filtered, which will help remove banners even in some third-party applications and games that use standard ad networks.

Managing Notifications and Folders

Even after the major services are disabled, some apps may continue to send notifications that visually resemble ads, often messages from system services about “hot offers” or news, control of notifications is the key to a clean lock screen.

Go to Settings → Notifications and Status bar → Application Notifications. This is a complete list of programs that can output messages. Go through the list and find system applications such as Mi Video, Mi Music, Cleaner. Turn off the ability to display notifications completely or leave only critical ones.

In MIUI 13, when you open the application folder at the bottom, you can see a line with recommended games and programs. To remove this block, open any folder, click on its name, and in the menu that appears, disable the option Recommended Applications.

• 🔔 Wallpaper carousel: This app constantly changes the background of the lock screen and shows advertising slogans. Disable it in the lock screen settings or remove it through the application management menu.
• 📂 Tools folder: If it has a “GetApps” or “Mi Video” label, it’s best to take them outside the folder or hide them to avoid accidental clicks.
• 🧹 Cleanup: After the Cleanup operation, a window often pops up asking you to speed up your phone or install an antivirus.

⚠️ Warning: When disabling notifications for system applications, make sure you don't hide important warnings about low battery power or system errors. read the notification description carefully before locking.

Disabling Mi Video and Wallpaper Carousel

Mi Video is one of the most aggressive sources of advertising content, not only showing banners inside the interface, but often automatically creating widgets on the desktop or in the notification curtain.

To start, open the Mi Video app. Go to My (or profile), then to Settings (cogwheel), find Settings → Get recommendations and turn it off. Also, in Online Services, turn off auto-start video and download previews.

The second step is to remove or disable the widgets. Press your finger on the video widget on your desktop and select Delete. If the widget returns, you have activated auto-restore or account sync. Check the widget settings in Settings → Desktop.

Regarding the wallpaper carousel, it's a separate application that's often hidden in the tool folder. Find it, go to the settings (three dots in the corner) and click Turn off the wallpaper carousel. If there's no such button, just delete the app as usual through the application management menu. This will return the static image to the lock screen.

Advanced Methods: ADB and System Component Removal

For users who want to achieve absolute sterility of the interface and are not afraid of complex manipulations, there is a method of removing advertising modules through ADB (Android Debug Bridge), which requires connecting a smartphone to a computer and having basic command line skills.

You need to activate the developer mode before you start. To do this, click on the build number in the About Phone section 7 times. Then in the Additional → For developers menu, turn on USB Debugging. Connect the phone to your PC and install ADB drivers.

With the adb shell command, you can remove packets that are responsible for advertising. Be extremely careful: removing critical system components can lead to unstable operation or a “bootloop” (cyclic reboot). Only remove known packages such as com.miui.misys (if not used for an account) or com.miui.yellowpage.

adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.miui.msa.global


adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.miui.personalassistant

The first team removes the global ad service, the second removes the Google Discover/Mi Vision, which often contains news feeds and advertising widgets. Once the commands are executed, the changes take effect immediately, a reboot is usually not required.

⚠️ Attention: Use ADB-commands to remove system applications are carried out at your own risk. Error in the name of the package or removal of an important component may require a complete reset of the device to factory settings (Hard Reset).

💡

Using ADB allows you to remove advertising services physically, rather than simply disabling their settings, which guarantees 100% results, but requires high care.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)