Owning a Xiaomi or Redmi smartphone is often accompanied by one annoying factor - intrusive advertising that can appear in the most unexpected places. Especially unpleasant when banner ads pop up right on the home screen or when unlocking the device, overlapping widgets and app icons. Users rightly wonder why the system they paid for continues to show commercial content without their consent.
Fortunately, the modern MIUI shell and the new HyperOS provide enough tools to take full control of this process. You don't have to be a programmer or get root rights to clean the interface of unnecessary visual noise. You just need to go through a few sections of the settings that we'll discuss in detail in this article.
We will look not only at standard methods of disabling through the security menu, but also at deeper settings of system applications that often remain hidden from the eyes of the average user. Complete elimination of advertising requires a comprehensive approach, since the sources of its appearance can be different from built-in widgets to system recommendation services.
Disabling the MSA Recommendation Service
The main source of advertising offers in the Xiaomi ecosystem is the MSA system application (MIUI System Ads), which analyzes your actions and selects the relevant content for display, and without disabling this service, any other manipulations may be temporary or ineffective.
To deaktivirovat' it, you have to go to the settings menu and find the password and security section, and there's a key switch that controls how you get your ad recommendations, and you can see that the system can ask for confirmation multiple times to try to keep you.
The disconnection process is as follows:
- 🔘 Go to Settings and select Passwords and Security.
- 🔘 Find the section Access to personal data or Special features (depending on the OS version).
- 🔘 In the list, find the msa app and turn off the slider.
- 🔘 Wait 10 seconds and click Disable in the confirmation window that appears.
If you can't turn it off the first time, repeat the procedure 2-3 times. Sometimes Xiaomi servers respond with a delay and the system reports an error, when in fact the restriction has already been lifted. After successfully disabling MSA, the number of banner ads in system applications will be reduced by 90%.
⚠️ Attention: When attempting to disconnect the service MSA The system can say, "No status data." That's the standard behavior of the defense. Just try to turn off the switch several times in a row until the countdown timer appears.
Setting up the main screen and widgets
Desktop ads are often hidden in the widgets themselves, which are installed by default in MIUI. This is particularly true for the Google Discover tape to the left of the home screen and the Cards or Hot Topics widget, which loads news content mixed with advertising posts.
To start, remove the extra panels. Press your finger on the empty desktop to go into edit mode. Select Settings or Add widgets. Here you need to find the option "Ribbon widgets" or -1 screen and switch it to "Disable" or select an alternative without ads, such as "App Vault" (if available in your area).
Also worth checking is the launcher's settings. In some versions of the shell, there is a feature called "Recommended Apps" that can display icons of programs you have installed marked "Advertising" or offer new games. → Desktop.
Here is a checklist of actions to clean the workspace:
☑️ Desktop cleaning
Cleaning system applications from advertising
Even after the MSA is disabled, some embedded apps continue to show ads because they have their own recommendation settings, such as Explorer, Music, Theme and Security, each requiring a customized approach.
Start with the Security app, which most often displays banners when scanning the system. Open the app, click on the three dots in the upper right corner and select Settings. Next, go to Get Recommendations and disable this option. It is also useful to disable notifications from this app in the general Android settings.
The File Manager is similar: Go to the settings through the menu, find the About item (sometimes hidden in the back of the About menu with a quick tap version), or just Settings → Recommendations. Remove the tick from the "Receive recommendations" item. This will remove the news feed on the Explorer's launch page.
Don't forget the Themes store. It often offers paid wallpaper and themes on the home screen. Go to Profile → Settings and turn off the display of ads and personal recommendations. This will make the catalog cleaner, although completely removing banners in the store itself may not work.
Blocking ads in the browser and notifications
Users often confuse system advertising with advertising notifications from sites they accidentally subscribed to in the browser. If you constantly pop up windows with news or offers to download the game, the problem is most likely in the settings of the Chrome browser or MIUI Browser.
For Chrome, go to Settings → Site Settings → Notifications. Here you will see a list of sites that have permission to display notifications. Ruthlessly delete any suspicious addresses. For the built-in MIUI browser, the path is similar: Settings → Privacy and Security → Ad blocking (enable) and checking site permissions.
Also effective is the use of filtered DNS, a system solution that blocks ad requests at the network level.
Instructions for setting up a private DNS:
- Open the phone settings.
- Go to Connect and Sharing (or Wi-Fi) section.
- Find the Private DNS (Private DNS) option.
- Select “DNS Host Name” and type in the address: dns.adguard.com.
- Save the settings.
This method does not require the installation of additional applications and works throughout the system, including some games and browsers. DNS-The server will be unavailable, the Internet may stop working, so keep the address on hand to disable this feature if necessary.
Comparison of blocking methods
There are many ways to combat unwanted content, but their effectiveness varies, some techniques require technical knowledge, others are available to everyone. Below is a table to help you choose the best option for your case.
| Method | Difficulty | Efficiency | Impact on the system |
|---|---|---|---|
| MSA shutdown | Low. | High (systemic) | Minimum |
| DNS setup (AdGuard) | Medium | High (web traffic) | Could slow down the internet |
| Disabling recommendations in annexes | Low. | Medium | Safe. |
| Removing System Applications (ADB) | Tall. | Maximum | Risk of instability |
For most users, a combination of the first two methods (disconnection) MSA and tuning DNS) It's enough to make a smartphone comfortable, and more radical measures, like removing system components through the phone. ADB, caution.
What is ADB and is it worth using?
FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions
Users often have additional questions about the security and consequences of disabling system services during the setup process, and here are some of the most popular ones.
Is it safe to completely disable the MSA service?
Will the ads disappear after resetting?
Can a system update bring back ads?
Will installing a third-party launcher help?
💡
If you’re planning to sell a phone, remember to turn the MSA service back on before resetting, and the new owner will be more pleased to decide for himself if he needs advertising than to deal with potentially missing system components.
💡
A comprehensive approach combining disabling the MSA system service, setting up the DNS and manually cleaning the applications ensures you get rid of 99% of the advertising noise on your Xiaomi Redmi.