Xiaomi smartphone owners often encounter intrusive banner ads that appear in system apps and the interface.This is a fee for the affordable cost of the device, but the situation is easily fixed manually. Redmi Note 8 users can significantly improve the comfort of using the gadget by disabling hidden marketing services.
The process of deactivating ads does not require root rights or complex flashing. All the necessary actions are performed in the standard settings of the MIUI operating system. It is important to understand that advertising modules are built deep into the system, so you will need to consistently check several menu sections.
Ignoring these settings results in constant consumption of CPU traffic and resources by background services. Disabling MSA (MIUI System Ads) is a critical step, as it is responsible for most pop-ups in the system. Below is a detailed guide to cleaning the interface of your smartphone.
Disabling the MSA System Service
The main source of annoying banners in the system is the MSA service, which operates in the background and is responsible for targeted advertising in standard applications, and to turn it off, you need to go to the appropriate section of authorization settings and accounts.
Find password and security in the menu, then select Access to Personal Data. In the list that opens, find the msa bar and put the switch in an inactive position. The system will warn you of the consequences by suggesting that you wait 10 seconds before confirming.
⚠️ Warning: The service may not be switched off the first time. If the switch is back in its original position, repeat the procedure 2-3 successively.
After successful MSA disabling, the number of ads in system folders and on the desktop will be drastically reduced, but for complete cleanup, it is also necessary to prohibit the personalization of ads.
☑️ Checking the shutdown MSA
Customization of personalization and recommendations
Xiaomi collects data about the use of applications to generate advertising offers, and to stop this process, you need to disable the personalization service, this action will break the link between your actions in the system and the manufacturer's advertising servers.
Go to Settings → Password & Security → Privacy → Special Permits. Here, select Get Use Data (or Personalized Recommendations). Go to msa and disallow access.
You should also check the recommendations settings in the folders. When you open any application folder on your desktop, click on the name of the folder. In the menu that opens, turn off the Recommendations option. This will remove the application promotional offers that often appear at the bottom of the folder.
- 📱 Open your privacy settings in the security menu.
- 🔒 Find permissions for the msa service and prohibit data collection.
- 📂 In each folder on the desktop, turn off the display of recommendations.
- 🚫 Make sure the Receive References switch is turned off globally.
Why do you need MSA?
Cleaning the application Security and Downloads
Security is one of the main sources of advertising notifications, and it regularly offers to clear memory or check viruses, while showing banner ads. To remove them, open the app and click on the gear settings in the upper right corner.
In the settings menu, find the Receive recommendations section and turn it off. It is also recommended to turn off cleaning notifications if you do not need them to avoid unnecessary visual noise.
Open Downloads, click three dots in the corner, and select Settings. You should also find the deactivate option to Show Recommended Content, which will remove the news feed and ads from the file manager interface.
💡
If you can’t find the settings inside the app, try clearing it through the Apps menu → App Management → Security → Clear the data. This will reset the ad settings to factory settings and you can turn them off again.
After these manipulations, standard Xiaomi utilities will become significantly cleaner and more functional, and you will no longer see offers to download games or install antiviruses every time you check the system.
Removing Advertising in Standard Applications
Ads are present in many pre-installed applications, such as Music, Video, Themes and Explorer, each with settings hidden in deep menus, such as the Topics app, you need to go to the user profile (human icon) and disable Ads and Personal Recommendations in the settings.
In the Music app, go to the settings (three bars → Settings) and find the Advanced Settings section. Turn off the Display Ads option. A similar algorithm works for the Video app: Profile → Settings → disable personalization and advertising.
For File Manager, the path may vary in different versions of MIUI. Usually click on the menu (three bars) → Settings → Information → disable Recommendations. If this item is missing, try clearing the application data.
| Annex | The path to settings | What to turn off |
|---|---|---|
| Topics | Profile → Settings | Showing advertising, personal recommendations |
| Music. | Menu → Settings → Extended | Showing advertisements |
| Video | Profile → Settings | Online recommendations, Auto-start video |
| Conductor | Menu → Settings → Information | Recommendations |
Blocking Advertising in Mi Browser
Xiaomi's standard browser often displays banner ads in the news feed and when searching. To minimize the number of banners, open your browser and go to settings (three bars → Settings).
Activate the Ad Blocker switch. This is a built-in feature that filters known advertising domains. It is also recommended to disable the option to Receive news and notifications in the feed settings section so that the browser's home page remains empty.
If you’re a smartphone user, consider installing a third-party browser like Firefox or Brave, which have more aggressive built-in filters, but a standard browser can be made quite convenient if you set its privacy settings correctly.
⚠️ Attention: Built-in blocker does not guarantee 100% protection from all advertising, especially from native advertising in the SERPs. DNS-filtering.
Remember to periodically clean the browser cache, as some advertising scripts can be saved in temporary files, this will help to maintain the performance of the device at a high level.
Using DNS to block at the network level
The most effective way to remove ads from all apps at once is to use a private DNS. This method blocks requests to ad servers at the network connection level. For Redmi Note 8 with Android 9 and above, this feature is available in standard settings.
Go to Settings → Connection and Sharing → Private DNS. Select DNS Host Name (or Private DNS mode). In the box that appears, type in the address: dns.adguard.com. Save settings and restart the device.
dns.adguard.comOnce this option is enabled, ads will disappear not only in the system, but also in most applications and games that use standard ad networks.
💡
AdGuard DNS (dns.adguard.com) is the most powerful method that blocks ads across the system, including browsers and games, without installing additional software.
If some applications or sites stop working after you turn on the DNS, you can temporarily disable this feature or add exceptions to the router configuration, but for most users, this method is the best solution.