How to Remove Floating Windows on Xiaomi Redmi: The Complete Guide

Xiaomi and Redmi smartphone owners often encounter an intrusive feature that periodically blocks content with ads or invites them to launch apps, which can be annoying when watching videos or reading articles, and can be removed, but this will require sequentially disabling several system services in the MIUI shell.

Xiaomi’s security and optimization system in phones is designed to monetize its free operating system, so it aggressively promotes its services.Switching off these elements will not only return a clean interface, but also significantly improve the speed of the device. In this article, we will discuss all available methods of blocking.

Disabling MSA Service and Advertising Recommendations

The first and most important step is to deactivate the MSA system component (MIUI System Ads), which is responsible for loading and displaying most banner ads on the system, and without it, all other settings will have only a temporary effect.

You first have to go to the settings menu and find the password and security section, and there's a key switch that's not going to allow the system to display personalized ads, but just turning off the slider is not enough, because the system will insist on leaving the function on.

You'll have to press the shutdown button several times, waiting for the 10 seconds countdown timer to come out, and then after that time, the button will be active, and you can confirm the action, and that's an artificial complication of the process to get the user to give up the idea.

After a successful MSA shutdown, it is also recommended to go to the “Recommendations” section of the Security app and turn off all sliders there, which will prevent pop-ups with suggestions to clear memory or speed up the phone, which are often disguised ads.

Setup of notifications and application permissions

Floating windows are often caused not by system services, but by third-party applications that you installed yourself, garbage programs, memory cleaners and questionable antiviruses like to hang on top of other windows, and to identify the culprit, you need to check the permissions.

Go to the settings and find the Apps section, then select All Apps. You should look for suspicious programs that have permission to "Master on top of other apps," usually calculators, flashlights or low-grade games.

• 🔍 Open the list of applications and sort them by recent ones.
• 🚫 Find programs with the name “Clean”, “Booster” or without a name (empty icon).
• ⚙️ Go to the access rights and disable the item "Show on top of other applications».
• 🗑️ Remove unnecessary software through the built-in controller.

⚠️ Warning: Be careful when removing system applications with Chinese characters in the title if you are not sure of their function.

It’s also worth checking the Notifications section in the settings of each suspicious app, often where permission to create floating windows or floating widgets hides, and disabling notifications from unverified sources is a good security practice.

MIUI window management and multitasking

In the MIUI shell, there is a separate floating window management feature designed for comfortable multitasking, and users can accidentally activate a mode where one app hangs on top of another, which is perceived as an error or virus.

To remove these windows, you swipe from the bottom up to call the menu of running applications. At the top of the screen, often an icon in the form of two rectangles or a window management menu appears, and clicking on it, you will see a list of applications that work in floating mode.

You can force the shutdown of unnecessary processes or resize them, and if you don't use the split screen feature, you'd better turn it off completely in additional settings to avoid accidental activation when you navigate.

Use is available for advanced users ADB-commands to thoroughly clean the system of advertising components, which requires a connection to the computer, but gives the cleanest result without the risk of accidental activation of services.

Blocking advertising in the browser and system applications

Even after disabling system advertising, pop-ups can come from a browser or specific applications such as Explorer or Music. In Xiaomi, these apps have built-in ad modules that need to be extinguished separately.

Open the Explorer app, click on the menu (three bars) and select Settings. Find Receive References and turn it off. A similar procedure should be repeated in the Music, Video and Downloads apps.

For browsers, such as built-in MI Browser or Chrome, it is recommended to install an ad blocker or use it DNS-filtering, which will prevent pop-ups from opening when you visit websites.

In your browser settings, look for the Privacy and Security section and activate pop-up blocking. It is also useful to clear the cache and cookies, as they may have saved scripts that cause advertising.

Using DNS to block at the network level

One of the most effective methods that works globally for the entire smartphone is to set up a private DNS, which allows you to block requests to ad servers before they even reach your Redmi screen.

Go to the connection settings and find Private DNS (usually under Connection and Sharing or Wi-Fi) and select DNS Host Name and type in dns.adguard.com.

Once you save the settings, you need to reboot the device, which not only removes floating windows in applications, but also significantly speeds up the loading of pages on the Internet, cutting off unnecessary advertising traffic.

• 🌐 Open the Settings. → Connection and sharing.
• 🔒 Select the item “Private” DNS».
• ✍️ Manually enter the address dns.adguard.com.
• ✅ Save and restart your smartphone.

⚠️ Attention: When using private DNS Some apps or sites may stop working correctly if they use blocked ad trackers for analytics, in which case, return the setting to Auto mode».

It's important to understand that this method doesn't remove ad units from the system, it just blocks their connection to the server, so you can still see "get recommendations" buttons in the application settings, but they won't work.

Specificity of global and Chinese versions of firmware

Users should consider that the number and aggressiveness of floating windows depends on the firmware version. Chinese versions of MIUI (CN) contain significantly more advertising and services tailored to the local market, which are difficult to remove without deep knowledge.

Global (Global) and European (EEA) versions are usually cleaner, but they also contain ad modules. If you bought a phone designed for the Chinese market and flipped it around, you might have tails left in the form of Chinese system-based Windows apps.

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Before buying Xiaomi, check the region of the firmware version. Global versions have less pre-installed garbage and are more convenient for users from the CIS and Europe.

In some cases, the only radical solution to the floating window problem on Chinese versions is to completely reflash the device to a global version with the bootloader unlocked. However, this is a complex procedure that requires a 7-14 day wait and a PC.

If the firmware is not possible, you can try to freeze advertising services through the ADB-For example, the pm disable-user command. --user 0 com.miui.misys disables the system service responsible for some notifications, but requires caution.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

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A comprehensive approach that includes disabling MSA, checking application rights and configuring DNS is guaranteed to eliminate 99% of pop-up ads on Xiaomi.