Xiaomi smartphones have been leading the market for many years in terms of price and performance, but for an affordable cost owners often have to put up with intrusive marketing. Owners of the Redmi Note 8 Pro are no exception when faced with banner ads in standard apps, pop-ups and recommendations in the notification curtain.This is not just an annoyance, but a systemic shell feature. MIUI, Which developers implement to compensate for hardware costs.
Fortunately, unlike many other low-end device makers, the Chinese company provides users with enough tools to fine-tune the system. You don't need to get root rights or reflash the device to regain the comfort of using the gadget. You just need to go through several menu items consistently and turn off specific services responsible for collecting data and displaying content.
In this guide, we’ll look at every aspect of cleaning up the interface from system services to specific applications. The centerpiece of the entire advertising system is the MSA (MIUI System Ads) service, which solves about 80 percent of intrusive banner problems. Following this instruction, you’ll turn your smartphone into a pure tool for work and entertainment.
Blocking the MSA service, the main source of advertising
The first and most important step is to deactivate the MSA system service, which is the component that loads and displays ads throughout the shell, and without it, ad servers cannot get a command to display a banner, which makes this method the most effective.
You first need to go to your phone's settings and find the Password and Security section, and you should select Data Access, which lists all the apps that are eligible to access the Internet, and you need to find msa, and you just need to turn off the network slider, and the system will alert you to the possible consequences, but for the average user, there will be no access, except for the disappearance of ads.
⚠️ Attention: When trying to disable msa, the system may display a countdown timer several times (usually 10 seconds) and insistently suggest that everything be left as it is".
If the standard shutdown didn’t work the first time, try repeating the procedure 2-3 times in a row. Sometimes it takes several attempts for the server to authorize your account to be disabled, and it’s also worth checking if the “Receive recommendations” option is activated in the service settings itself, if it’s available for viewing.
After you do this, restart the device to make the changes fully effective, and you will notice that the number of pop-ups in the Explorer and Music interface will be significantly reduced or disappear altogether.
Set up personalization and advertising ID
In addition to direct display service, MIUI has a mechanism for collecting data about your preferences to target ads, which not only increases privacy, but also reduces the relevance of the banners shown, making them less aggressive.
Go to the Settings menu and select Password and Security, where you are interested in Privacy, and inside it is Advertising Services, and in the window that opens, you must turn off the option "Receive recommendations" or "Personalized advertising", which will reset your advertising ID.
- 🔒 Disabling this feature breaks the link between your actions in apps and ad networks.
- 📉 Decreased frequency of advertising based on the history of search queries.
- 🛡️ Increases the overall level of digital hygiene of your smartphone Redmi Note 8 Pro.
You should also check your Mi Account settings, go to your account settings, select System About or Advertising and make sure that you also check the boxes that offer personalized offers, which is especially true for users who are actively using the brand ecosystem.
Why do you need an advertising ID?
Advertising ID is a unique code assigned to your device. Advertisers use it to track your interests and show you relevant ads. Resetting this ID "nullifies" the profile that ad networks have built about you, forcing them to start collecting data again.> Cleaning system applications from banners Even after disabling the MSA service, some embedded applications can continue to show recommendations if they have their own internal settings. This applies to the standard browser, the application "Security", "Conductor" and "Music." Start with the application Security, open the app from inside the app, you to check the ads section, also to check it out the right on the ad. In a standard Mi Browser or Chrome browser (if preinstalled), the situation is similar. Go to your browser settings, look for the Privacy and Security or News section, and turn off the display of news feed and notifications. Often, it is the news feed that is the source of junk traffic. Remember the Downloads app. Sometimes, after downloading files, there is a tab with recommended content. In the settings of this application, you should also look for the switch responsible for displaying recommendations or news. Notifications management in the curtain and on the blocking screen. Go to Settings. → Notifications and status bar → Notification management. This is a complete list of all applications. You need to go through system services (e.g., for example, for example, for the system, MIUI Daemon, GetApps, Music, Video) and disable notification categories marked as "Marketing", "Recommendations" or "Special Offers". → Notifications Music Recommendations, News Settings → Video Push Notifications Settings → Notifications Promotion Topics, News Profile → Settings Also worth checking the lock screen settings. Go to Settings → Always on screen and lock screen. If you activate the wallpaper carousel, turn it off. This service often shows advertising images and news on the locked screen, using up battery power. Disabling recommendations in folders and desktop shell MIUI He likes to add Suggestions to the application folders on the desktop, and when you open the folder with games or utilities, a horizontal feed may appear at the bottom suggesting that you download new applications. This can be fixed. To do this, open any folder on the desktop. Click on the folder name or three dots in the corner (depending on version) MIUI), To open the folder settings, there's a Recommended or Proposal switch, put it inactive, and there's a Card widget on the desktop, or there's a Google Discover tape, which also contains ad inserts. To remove it, make a pinch with two fingers on the desktop (or press on an empty space for a long time), go to Desktop Settings and turn off the item. -1 screen or Google Discover. ⚠️ Attention: After updating the firmware, folder settings may reset. Check folders periodically, especially after major system updates, to make sure recommendations do not turn on again. DNS If system methods are not enough, you can apply a more radical but effective method - change DNS-This allows you to block advertising requests before they reach your device, working for all applications at once. Modern versions of Android (starting with version 9, which is relevant for the Redmi Note 8 Pro) have a built-in feature "Private" DNS". Go to Settings. → Connection and Sharing (or just in the search for settings enter"DNS"). Select the Private option DNS and provide the host name of the provider. dns.adguard.com Enter the address dns.adguard.com in the settings field and save. This server is known for filtering traffic by filtering out requests to known ad servers, which can speed up page loading in the browser and remove banners in games and applications that are not encrypted or use standard ad networks (FAQ) Is it safe to turn off the service? MSA? Will the phone break? Yes, it's absolutely safe. MSA It is responsible solely for displaying ads, and its disabling does not affect the operation of calls, messages, cameras or other system functions of Xiaomi. The phone will work more stable, as one background process will cease to consume resources, will advertising disappear after the system update? MIUI? In case of major shell updates (for example, transition from MIUI 12 by 13 or 14) settings can be reset to factory. In this case, you will have to re-disable msa service and personalization settings, following this instruction. It is recommended to save screenshots of settings. Can you delete advertising applications completely? Uninstall system applications (such as GetApps, Mi Video) without root rights, but they can be "freeze" or simply disable. However, disabling services and settings described in the article is a safer method that does not require complex interference with the system. Why does the advertising appear again after a while? This can happen if the MSA service automatically reactivates after an update, or if you accidentally agree to check the new conditions of the use of the system on a regular basis.