Xiaomi and Redmi smartphone owners often encounter intrusive content that pops up in the most unexpected places, such as a banner when unlocking the screen, a pop-up after closing the application, or even sound in system utilities. This behavior of the MIUI operating system is caused by the company’s desire to subsidize the cost of equipment at the expense of advertisers, which is especially true for budget models.
Fortunately, most of these elements are not critical to the operation of the device and can be manually deactivated.The process of disconnecting does not require obtaining super-user rights (Root) or flashing the device, you only need attention and access to system settings to regain the comfort of using the gadget.
In this article, we’ll look at proven ways to help you clean up the interface from marketing noise, going from simple menu switches to more advanced DNS blocking techniques that guarantee results even in system applications.
Disabling system advertising through MSA settings
The main source of intrusive offers in the shell of MIUI is a service called MSA (MIUI System Ads), which is responsible for collecting data about your preferences and showing the corresponding banners in standard applications such as Security, Explorer and Downloads.
To limit its impact, you need to find the appropriate item in the login menu and accounts. If you turn off authorization for MSA, you will prevent the system from transmitting data for targeted advertising, which will significantly reduce its number, but it is worth remembering that it is impossible to completely remove this component without root rights, so we only limit its functionality.
⚠️ Attention: When attempting to disconnect the service MSA The system can show you a countdown timer several times, or tell you to leave it as it is, and it's a standard protection against random changes, requiring you to confirm your actions.
To perform the operation, go to Settings, then select Passwords and Security, and find Access to Personal Data. In the list that opens, find msa and put the slider inactive. Confirm the action by clicking Stop.
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If the MSA slider doesn't activate the first time, wait 10 seconds and try again.The system specifically creates a small delay so the user can abandon their decision.
Set up personalized recommendations
In addition to the system service, MIUI has a separate mechanism called Get Recommendations, which is responsible for showing news feeds, app offers and promotions directly to the interface of standard utilities, which is often confused with viruses, but in fact it is a regular, albeit annoying, shell function.
To remove ads on Xiaomi, you have to turn this off in the global settings of the system. The path to it may vary slightly depending on the version of MIUI, but the logic remains the same. You have to find the section responsible for security and privacy, where the personalized offer switch is hidden.
- 📱 Go to Settings. → Passwords and security.
- 🔍 Select the Privacy item.
- 🚫 Find the line Advertising services or get recommendations.
- ⭕ Turn the switch to the "Off" position".
After these steps are done, the ad units in the folders on the desktop and in the application menu should disappear, and it is also recommended to check the settings of each system application separately, since in some versions of the firmware, the recommendation switch is duplicated within the programs themselves.
Removing Advertising in Standard Applications
Even after global services are disabled, individual applications can continue to show commercial content, such as Explorer, Downloads, Music and Video, each of which needs to be customized, as they have their own promotion modules.
Start with the Explorer app. Open the program, click on the menu (three bars) and select Settings. Find About and turn off Receive Recommendations. Similar steps should be repeated for Downloads, where ads often appear as banners at the bottom of the screen.
The situation is a little more complicated in the Security app, where ad units can appear in the Cleanup or Antivirus section. Go to the app settings (cog in the corner), find the Get Recommendations section and deaktivate it. It's also worth checking the Status Bar section in the security settings to remove unnecessary notifications.
☑️ Verification of system applications
Don't forget to also check the Topics app, which is where you often get notifications for new skins and paid wallpaper, and then you can find the "Show Ads" or "Receive Recommendations" settings and turn it off, which will make the store cleaner and faster.
Blocking Advertising in Mi Browser
Xiaomi’s standard browser is one of the main channels for delivering advertising content: it not only displays banners on visited sites, but can also push notifications with news and offers. For comfortable surfing, you need to carefully adjust (privacy) and blockers.
Open your browser and go to settings (profile icon or three dots). Find the Privacy and Security section. Here you are interested in "Ad Blocking." Make sure it is activated. This is a basic filter that cuts off some pop-ups.
For more effective protection, it is recommended to use Incognito mode to visit suspicious sites or install a third-party browser, such as Firefox or Brave, which have built-in powerful tracker blockers. However, if you prefer the standard solution, further disable Get Recommendations in the browser news feed settings.
| Parameter | Where to find out. | Recommended value |
|---|---|---|
| Blocking ads | Settings → Confidentiality | Included. |
| Notifications from the sites | Settings → Notifications | Request for permission |
| News feed | Main page → Settings | Off. |
| Autoplay video | Settings → Video | Only through Wi-Fi/Off |
⚠️ Attention: Full blocking of ads in the browser may disrupt some sites that require watching videos to access content.
Using a private DNS to block the world
The most effective method that allows you to remove android xiomi ads at the device level (including games and third-party applications) is to configure a private DNS. This method does not require the installation of additional applications and works at the network connection level.
The idea is to redirect requests to ad servers to nowhere, and when an application tries to load an ad banner, it goes to a dedicated server that instead of advertising returns an empty response, which is a great service for AdGuard DNS.
To set up, go to Settings → Connection and Sharing (or “Additional Settings”) → Private DNS. Select “DNS Provider Host Name” and enter the address: dns.adguard.com. Save settings.
dns.adguard.comAfter applying the settings, it is recommended to restart the smartphone, the effect will be noticeable immediately: the amount of advertising in free games and applications will be reduced to almost zero, this method also increases the speed of loading pages, as it blocks heavy advertising scripts.
What to do if the Internet stops working?
Disabling Advertising on the Lock Screen
The wallpaper carousel is a feature that periodically changes the image on the locked screen and shows advertising logos or offers, many users accidentally activate it, updating the system, and to return a static picture, you need to turn off this feature.
Go to Settings → Always on screen and lock screen. Find the option "Wallpaper carousel" (or "Glance"). If the switch is active, turn it off. Also worth checking the theme settings: sometimes the active theme forcibly turns on the carousel.
If the standard method doesn’t work, try changing the theme to a standard one (‘Classic’ or ‘Black’). Third-party themes often contain built-in ad modules that can’t be turned off without changing the design.
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The wallpaper carousel is a separate application in the system, and you can find it in the list of all applications and clear the data or remove updates if a simple switch doesn't work.
Additional Tips and Cleaning Cache
After all the settings are done, it is recommended to clean the cache of advertising services. This will remove the already downloaded banners that can be displayed from the device memory. Go to Settings → Apps → All applications.
Find the msa app on the list, go to Memory and click Clear Cache. Do the same for Security and Explorer, which will clear space and remove any ad data.
- 🧹 Regularly clean the cache of the browser and system applications.
- 🚫 Do not install applications from unknown sources (APK-files, they often contain viruses-miners and advertising modules.
- 🔄 Keep an eye on updates. MIUI, Sometimes new versions have additional privacy settings.
Compliance with these simple rules will allow you to enjoy the work of the Xiaomi smartphone without unnecessary visual noise, the device will work faster, and the battery will be spent more economically, as advertising modules consume the resources of the processor and network.