How to remove advertising on the smartphone Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Pro

Xiaomi smartphones are famous for their functional interface MIUI, but aggressive advertising policies of the company often overshadow the experience of owning the device. owners of the Redmi Note 8 Pro regularly encounter intrusive banners in system applications, pop-ups and offers to install unnecessary software.

Fortunately, the architecture of the Android operating system in the MIUI shell allows the user to independently manage most of these processes. You don't have to be a programmer or get root rights to clean the screen of unnecessary visual noise. You just need to go through several stages of configuration in a sequence to turn the phone into a convenient working tool.

In this guide, we’ll take a look at all the ways you can eliminate intrusive content, from basic privacy settings to deeper system changes, and by following these steps, you’ll be able to significantly improve the comfort of your Redmi Note 8 Pro.

MSA Disconnection: The Main Source of Advertising

The main culprit behind the appearance of ads in the system is the MSA (MIUI System Ads) service, which is responsible for collecting data about your actions and showing the corresponding banners, and the process of disabling has its own peculiarities, since the system can resist this action.

To start, you need to go to the settings menu and find Password and Security, then select Access to Data, find msa in the app list that opens, and switch the slider to an inactive position, and the system will warn you that a shutdown may affect some functions, and suggest that you wait 10 seconds.

When the timer expires, press the Disable button. If you failed to turn off the service the first time and you received an error notification, just repeat the procedure. Usually, on the second or third attempt, the restriction is removed without problems.

⚠️ Note: After disabling the msa service, it is recommended to restart the device so that the changes take effect permanently.

Setup of system applications and services

In addition to the main advertising service, many of Xiaomi’s standard apps have their own built-in recommendation display mechanisms. To remove ads on the Redmi Note 8 Pro completely, you need to go through each of them and disable the corresponding options.

Start with the Security app. Open it, click on the settings gear in the top right corner. Find Receive recommendations and deaktivate it. It's also worth looking at the Cleaning inside the app's settings and removing the tick from Receive recommendations.

Next, go to the Music app. Click on three menu bars, select Settings, then Advanced Settings. Here you need to find and disable the option to Show Ads. Similar actions are required in the Downloads app: click three dots in the corner, select Settings, and remove the tick from Show Recommended Files.

Don't forget Explorer, and it also has a Receive Recommendations option in its settings that you need to disable, so you can avoid banner ads when you open your file folders.

Managing personalized advertising and data

Modern operating systems actively use location and search queries for targeted advertising, and MIUI has a separate section responsible for collecting this information and creating personalized offers.

Go to Settings → Password & Security → Privacy. Scroll down to Advertising Services. You need to turn off the Personalized Advertising switch. This action will prevent the system from using your Advertising ID to select content.

Also on the same menu, click Reset Ad ID, which generates a new random ID, breaking the link with previously collected data about your preferences, and resetting this option regularly helps reduce targeting accuracy.

⚠️ Warning: Disabling personalized ads does not mean that banners disappear completely.You will still see ads, but they will be less relevant to your interests.

Cleaning the desktop and widget tape

One of the most annoying features of MIUI is the Google Discover widget tape (or Yandex in some firmware) that swipes to the right of the home screen, and that's where the news blocks with adverts pop up most often.

To get rid of this tape, pinch your two fingers across the home screen to go into desktop editing mode, and you'll see a menu at the bottom where you'll find the -1 screen switch or the Widget Ribbon, and you'll put it inactive.

In addition, in the settings of the desktop itself (Settings → Desktop), you can turn off the Recommended Applications function. This will remove the folder with suggestions to download games and programs, which sometimes appears on the desktop automatically.

Disabling notifications in the browser and applications

Often, ads don’t come from the system, but from sites you’ve visited or from apps installed. Browsers like Chrome or the standard MIUI Browser can allow sites to send push notifications that look like system messages.

To clean up your Chrome browser, go to Settings → Site Settings → Notifications. Here you will see a list of all sites that are allowed to send notifications. Ruthlessly delete any suspicious resources or turn off access completely.

If you use a standard Xiaomi browser, go to its settings, look for the Privacy and Security section and turn off notifications. Also check the Settings → Notifications → Notifications → Notification Management in the system itself. You can prevent pop-ups for specific applications, such as Cleanup or Music.

• 🔍 Source Analysis: When an ad appears, don't rush to close the window. Press the menu button (three bars or square) and select App Information, which will show which app launched the banner ad.
• 🚫 Blocking: After identifying the culprit, delete it or deny it access to the Internet in the data transmission settings.
• 🛡️ Install a reliable antivirus, such as Dr.Web or Kaspersky, to prevent the installation of hidden miners or advertising modules.

Using DNS to Block Advertising

The most effective and modern way to remove ads on the Redmi Note 8 Pro without installing additional applications is to configure a private DNS. This method blocks advertising requests at the network connection level.

Go to Settings → Connection & Sharing → Private DNS (the path may vary slightly depending on the Android version). Select the DNS provider hostname option and enter the address: dns.adguard.com. Save settings.

This simple step allows you to filter out the huge flow of ad traffic across all apps and browsers, but it is worth considering that in rare cases this can cause some ad networks to fail within apps, which is our goal.

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If some apps have stopped working on DNS, try temporarily disabling the feature or using an alternative address called dns.adguard-family.com, which also blocks adult content.

⚠️ Attention: Use of third-party DNS-servers means your internet traffic passes through their servers. Use only verified addresses such as AdGuard or Cloudflare.

Frequent questions and problem-solving

Even after completing all the settings, users may have additional questions about how the system behaves, and the following are the answers to the most popular of them.

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A comprehensive approach, including disabling MSA, configuring DNS and checking application permissions, ensures maximum purity of the interface of your smartphone.