How to remove ads on Xiaomi MIUI 11: the complete guide

Xiaomi smartphone owners often face intrusive advertising that can appear in the most unexpected places of the interface. MIUI 11, despite its popularity and functionality, contains built-in monetization mechanisms that are active by default.

Fortunately, most ad units can be manually disabled without having to install third-party software or obtain super-user rights. The deactivation process requires care, as the settings are scattered across different menu sections. In this article, we will detail how to clean the interface of marketing noise and make use of the gadget comfortable.

It’s worth noting that completely removing the system components responsible for advertising can lead to unstable operation of some applications. So we will focus on safe methods of disabling through standard settings and domain blocking. Disabling system advertising is the first step to personalizing your device.

Disabling the MSA system advertising service

The central element that broadcasts advertising content in the MIUI shell is the MIUI System Ads (msa), which collects usage data and displays banners in standard applications, and to get rid of it, you need to go to the authorization settings.

Go to the Settings menu, then select Passwords and Security, and find Access to Data. From the app list that opens, find msa and turn off the network access slider, and the system will alert you to a 10 second countdown timer, after which you will need to confirm the action.

⚠️ Note: If the first time you can not turn off the service and the timer reset, repeat the procedure 2-3 It's a well-known feature of system protection.

After successfully disabling the MSA service, the number of ads in system applications will be significantly reduced, but this step does not remove all banners completely, since other applications have their own display settings.

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Disabling the msa service blocks the main channel of system advertising, but requires repeated attempts due to the protective mechanisms of MIUI.

Set up standard Xiaomi applications

Each built-in application has its own recommendation switch. Start with the File Manager, because that's where the ads appear most often when you open the folders. Open the Explorer app, click on the menu (three bars), and select Settings.

In the settings menu, find About and click on it several times until the hidden menu appears. You need to turn off the Receive Recommendations option. A similar procedure is required for the Security application.

Go to Security, click on the settings gear in the top right corner. Scroll down to Get recommendations and deactivate it. It's also worth checking the settings of the Music and Themes app.

• 📁 Conductor: Settings → About the programme → switch off.
• 🛡️ Security: Settings (cogs) → disable "Receive recommendations».
• 🎵 Music: Settings → Advanced settings → Turn off "Showing ads».
• 🎨 Topics: Profile → Settings → disable “Show Advertising” and “Auto Update».

Cleaning up Mi Browser and Mi Video apps

Xiaomi’s standard browser and video player are among the most aggressive sources of advertising traffic. In Mi Browser, you need to go to the menu, select Settings, then Privacy and Security, and you should disable all items related to personalization and recommendations.

The Mi Video (Mi Video Player) application uses a similar algorithm: Open the application, go to My (or profile), click on the settings. Find the Notification Settings section and uncheck the Online Recommendations and Push Notifications.

If you don't use these apps, you can simply delete them or disable them, but some system functions (like opening links from messengers) still require a browser, in which case a complete cache clearing and banning notifications will help reduce annoyance.

Blocking Advertising through DNS and Private DNS

One of the most effective methods that do not require additional applications is the use of secure DNS. This method works at the level of the entire Android 9+ operating system, blocking requests to known ad servers.

Go to Settings. → Connection and Sharing (or Wi-Fi). Find a Private Item DNS (Private DNS). Select the mode "Host Name provider" DNS» and enter the address: dns.adguard.com. Save the changes.

This simple step allows you to filter out a significant portion of advertising traffic not only in the browser, but also within some applications and games, but it is worth remembering that when using public DNS connection speeds in rare cases can be slightly reduced.

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If some applications or Wi-Fi in public areas stop working after Private DNS is turned on, temporarily return the setting to Automatic mode.

Managing Notifications and Push Services

Even after the basic services are disabled, some apps may continue to send advertising notifications. To combat them, you need (finely customized) notifications. Go to Settings → Notifications and Status bar → Application Notifications.

Here is a complete list of programs that can display information on the lock screen or in the curtain. Go through the list and turn off notifications for suspicious or rarely used applications, especially those that were preinstalled.

Also check the Guidelines section in the general system settings. Path: Settings → Passwords and security → Data access. Make sure that the network is closed to Mi Credit, Mi Video and other marketing services if you do not use them.

• 🔔 Turn off notifications for the GetApps app (app store).
• 🚫 Disable the display of locks on the screen for system services.
• 📉 Use the “Do Not Disturb” function at night.

Cardinal measures: ADB and removal of system packages

For advanced users who want to completely clean the system of excess code, there is a method of using ADB (Android Debug Bridge), which allows you to delete or freeze system packages that cannot be removed by standard means.

That would require a computer, USB-cable and on-debugging USB on a smartphone (Settings) → The phone. → 7 times press Version MIUI → For developers → Debugging by USB). Toolkit is installed on the PC ADB.

adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.miui.msa.global


adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.miui.analytics




adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.miui.player

Executing these commands will remove the advertising, analytics and standard video player, respectively. Be extremely careful: removing critical system components can lead to a cyclic bootloop of the device.

⚠️ Attention: Use ADB-commands to remove system packets are carried out at your own risk.Always do a full backup of data before starting the procedure.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)