Xiaomi smartphone owners often face intrusive marketing built right into the system. Especially annoying is the appearance of banner ads right on the desktop, blocking the icons of applications and preventing comfortable navigation. This is not a bug, but a feature of the MIUI brand shell, designed to monetize budget devices of the company.
Fortunately, the developers have left the option to disable this feature, although they have hidden the settings deep enough. In this article, we will detail all the steps of the setup that will allow you to clear the desktop of unwanted content, learn how to manage system services and forever forget about sudden pop-ups.
Before you start taking action, you need to understand the nature of this phenomenon. Ad units in the launcher are the work of a special system application that analyzes your habits and offers relevant content. Disabling this feature does not violate the warranty or affect the stability of the Android operating system. On the contrary, it often leads to traffic savings and increased overall responsiveness of the interface.
The Nature of Ad Blocks in MIUI
Desktop advertising comes from a component that can be called differently in different versions of firmware, most often MSA (MIUI System Ads) or built-in Hot Themes and Video widgets, which the system positions as a way to personalize, but in practice they become a source of visual noise. Understanding what element generates content is the first step to solving the problem.
Some users confuse system advertising with viruses or malware. This is a misconception. Advertising modules are a legitimate part of software preinstalled by the manufacturer. They don't steal passwords or mine cryptocurrency, but they actively use the Internet connection to download banners, which is why disabling them through settings or blocking access to the network gives a visible result.
It should be noted that the frequency of the ad appearance depends on the region chosen when you initially set up your smartphone. In some countries, the legislation strictly regulates data collection and display of targeted advertising, so intrusiveness may be lower in global firmware for Europe.
⚠️ Note: Before making changes to system settings, it is recommended to back up important data. Although the methods described are safe, an accidental reset of the launcher settings can temporarily change the location of the icons.
Disabling the MSA service: the main method
The most effective way to remove ads is to deactivate the system service MSA, which is responsible for collecting user data and displaying advertising offers in standard applications and on the desktop. The process of disabling requires care, as the system will try to keep the user, offering to wait or cancel the action.
To start, you need to go to the settings menu. Find the Passwords and Security or Advanced Settings section, depending on the version of your shell. Next, select Access to Personal Data or Authorization and Privacy. In the list of applications that opens, you need to find the msa string and switch the switch to the switch to the "Switched off" position.
After turning off the switch, the system will start a countdown (usually 10 seconds) and prompt you to confirm the action. You need to press the "Disable" button. If the first time you fail and there is an error or the timer resets, try repeating the procedure 3-4 times in a row, which is a well-known feature of the interface that makes the user persist.
☑️ Checking the shutdown MSA
After a successful shutdown, the changes will not take effect immediately; the system can cache some data, so the full effect will become noticeable after the device is restarted. In some cases, re-authorization in the Mi Account may be required, but this is rarely required and depends on the specific version of MIUI.
Setting up desktop widgets
Even after you turn off system ads, you may still have specific widgets on your desktop that broadcast content, most often Hot Themes, Videos, or news feeds, that take up space and consume resources, so removing or configuring them is a must-have interface cleanup.
To remove the widget, you need to pinch your finger in the free space of the screen or directly on the widget itself until the edit menu appears. In the menu that opens, you should select the option to Delete or drag the item to the basket. If the widget is system and does not remove completely, you can often turn it off through the settings. To do this, you need to click on the gear icon or menu available with a long press and uncheck the content display points.
And you should pay special attention to the widget feed, which swipes to the right of the first screen, and often has news and recommendation cards, and to remove them, scroll down to the end, select Settings, and disable unnecessary sources like Recommendations or News, which will not only free up visual space, but also free up the device's RAM.
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Use third-party launchers like Nova Launcher or Lawnchair if Xiaomi’s standard interface seems overloaded, allowing you to customize your desktop completely and ignore the system limitations of MIUI.
Cleaning the “Security” and “Downloads” application
Desktop advertising often comes through notifications from system utilities.Cleaner apps notorious for their pop-ups recommending installing games or clearing memory.These notifications may appear as banners over other windows or in the notification curtain.
To stop this stream, open the Security app. Click on the gear icon in the upper right corner to enter the settings. Find the Receive recommendations or Receive notifications section and deaktivate these options. A similar procedure should be done in the Downloads app: open the menu, go to the settings and turn off Show recommended content.
It is also important to check the notification settings for these apps in the system’s general menu. Go to Settings → Notifications and Status bar → Notification management. Go to the list of Security and Downloads and prevent them from showing pop-up windows or banners. This will create an additional layer of protection against intrusive advertising.
| Annex | The path to adjustment | What to turn off | The result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Security | A gear. → Settings | Receive recommendations | No advertising in memory cleanup |
| Downloads. | Menu → Settings | Showing content | Clean list of files |
| Conductor | Menu → Settings | Recommendations | No banners in the files |
| Music. | Menu → Settings → Additional | Showing ads | Absence of banners in the player |
Personalization and recommendations in topics
Themes is another source of advertising that is integrated into the desktop, and can offer new wallpaper, fonts, and whole themes right on the lock screen or as widgets, and turning off personalization in this service will significantly reduce visual noise.
Open the Themes app. Go to the user profile (usually the person icon in the corner) and select Settings. You can find items related to personalization, recommendations and auto-update here. Disable Personal Recommendations and Auto-Update if you don’t want themes to change without your knowledge, bringing new promotional content with you.
It's also worth checking the lock screen settings. Often, that's where the wallpaper carousels appear, which are advertising slides. Go to Settings → Lock screen and select the standard static wallpaper or turn off the wallpaper carousel function, which will remove one of the most annoying types of ads that appear every time you turn on the screen.
Why does the ad return after the update?
Using DNS to Block Advertising
If standard methods do not give 100% result or you want to block advertising in all applications at once, you can use Private DNS technology. This method does not require the installation of third-party software and works at the network connection level, cutting off requests to known ad servers.
In your smartphone settings, look for Connection and Sharing or Additional Settings. Find Private DNS (Private DNS) and select DNS Host Name (or Manual) and enter the address of a trusted server that blocks ads. One of the most popular and verified is dns.adguard.com.
dns.adguard.comOnce you save your settings, the phone may need to reboot or reconnect to the network, a method that is effective not only for desktops, but also for browsers and games. However, it is worth considering that blocking ads at the DNS level can sometimes lead to incorrect display of some sites or slow down the loading of content if the server is not available.
Frequent questions and troubleshooting
Users often face nuances that need to be clarified during the setup process. Here are the answers to the most popular questions that arise when trying to remove ads from the Xiaomi desktop. If you encounter an unusual situation, check this section.
One of the common questions is about the safety of disabling system services. As mentioned, disabling msa is safe. Another question is why ads appear in specific applications, such as Weather or Calculator. The solution is similar: you need to go to the settings of each particular application and find the Toolbox.
⚠️ Warning: Do not install dubious applications from unverified sources promising to “accelerate” or “complete removal of ads” with superuser rights.This can lead to system instability or personal data leakage. MIUI.
If after all the manipulations, the ads remained, perhaps a malicious application disguised as useful is installed on the device. Check the list of installed programs for unknown icons or applications without a name and delete them. Also helps reset network settings or a complete reset to factory settings (with a pre-backup).
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A comprehensive approach, including disabling MSA, configuring widgets and using Private DNS, ensures that there is no advertising on the desktop and in the Xiaomi system.