Xiaomi’s modern smartphones are famous for their value-for-performance ratio, but the company’s aggressive marketing policies often cloud the user experience. Device owners regularly encounter intrusive banners, pop-ups in system applications and recommendation tapes that cannot be ignored. It’s not just visual noise, but the result of complex algorithms embedded deep in the shell of MIUI and its new version of HyperOS.
Fortunately, for most users, there is an effective way to solve this problem without having to obtain root rights or flash your device on global versions. In this article, we will discuss in detail the mechanisms responsible for displaying advertising content and provide a step-by-step algorithm of actions to completely clean the interface of your gadget from unwanted elements.
Before you start setting up, it's important to understand that advertising is built into different layers of the operating system, and disabling one option may not be complete, so a comprehensive approach is needed. We'll look at settings from the MSA system service to the configuration of individual applications like Explorer and Music.
Disabling the MSA system advertising service
The central element in charge of data collection and displaying advertising materials in the Xiaomi ecosystem is the MSA (MIUI System Ads) service, which analyzes your actions and generates personalized offers, and disabling this component is the first and most important step in the fight for a clean interface.
First, you need to go to the advanced settings menu, which is hidden from the average user. Go to Settings → Passwords and Security → Access to personal data. In the list of applications that opens, find msa and put the switch into an inactive state. The system will try to dissuade you from this action, claiming that it will affect the operation of other services.
⚠️ Attention: When disconnected MSA The system will be used several times (usually). 3-5 (x) show the countdown timer and insist on leaving the service on, wait until each timer ends and press the "Disable" button again».
After successfully disabling MSA, the number of banner ads in the system will be significantly reduced, but some embedded applications may continue to work as standard, which is normal, since each system module may have its own recommendation settings.
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Disabling MSA is a basic step that eliminates up to 80% of system advertising, but requires persistence due to multiple confirmations from the system.
Customization of personalization and recommendations
In addition to the main advertising engine, MIUI has a separate mechanism for obtaining recommendations based on user data, which is responsible for the appearance of news feeds, tips and suggestions in various sections of the interface, its deactivation requires special attention and is located in the privacy menu.
Go to Settings → Passwords and Security → Privacy. At the top of the screen, find the section associated with advertising identifiers. You need to turn off the option “Receive recommendations” or “Personalized advertising” here, which will break the link between your unique identifier and the company’s ad servers.
- 🔒 Advertising ID: allows you to reset the current ID, This makes your data about your interests irrelevant to advertisers.
- 📉 Personalization: Disabling this feature stops analyzing your actions in apps to form a recommendation feed.
- 🚫 Data access: limits the ability of apps to request information about your location and search queries for targeting.
It is important to note that after resetting the advertising ID, the ads will not disappear completely, but will become less relevant and intrusive. System algorithms will lose the context of your preferences, making the ad impressions chaotic and less annoying.
Cleaning Embedded Applications from Advertising
Even after disabling global settings, individual system ulites can continue to show advertising content. Each standard Xiaomi app, whether it’s Explorer, Music or Video, has its own built-in recommendation switch.
Consider the algorithm for disabling ads in the most popular system applications. In most cases, the path to settings is the same: you need to open the application, go to the Profile or Settings section (often indicated by three dots or a gear), and find the item “Receive recommendations” or “Show ads”.
☑️ Verification of system applications
Special attention should be paid to the application Security. This is where you often hide your garbage cleanup and antivirus settings, which may also contain advertising modules. Go to the application, click on the gear settings in the corner and find the item "Get recommendations", and then deactivate it.
⚠️ Note: In some versions MIUI The interface of the applications may be different. If you don't find the "Recommendations" item, look for synonyms: "News", "Tape", "Discover" or "Online content».
Removing Advertising in Mi Browser
Xiaomi’s standard browser is one of the main sources of ad traffic on the device, not only showing banners on the home page, but can also embed ads in news feeds. For comfortable surfing, you need to deep-tube this app.
Open your browser and go to the settings menu by tapping the three bars in the bottom bar. Select Settings → Privacy and Security. You need to turn off the Personal References and Receive Notifications options. This will stop news debris from the lock screen and notification curtain.
Then go to Settings → Homepage, and you can select the Simple Page mode, which removes all the news feeds and widgets, leaving only the search bar, which dramatically changes the look of the start screen, making it minimalistic and functional.
Alternative browsers
Also worth checking for browser permissions. In the phone's system settings, find the Mi Browser app and restrict its rights. Disabling location and contacts will not affect basic web browsing functionality, but will improve your digital hygiene.
Blocking Advertising through DNS (Private DNS)
One of the most effective and elegant ways to remove ads from a Xiaomi phone is to use DNS over TLS (Private DNS) technology, which allows you to filter advertising traffic at the network connection level without requiring the installation of third-party applications or complex settings.
The principle is that your phone sends requests to a special server that checks the address of the requested resource, and if the address belongs to a known advertising network, the server returns an empty response, and the ads simply do not load, which speeds up the Internet and saves traffic.
To activate this function, follow the following steps:
- Go to Settings → Connection and Sharing.
- Find the Private DNS (or Personal DNS) item.
- Select the option “DNS Host Name” (manually).
- Enter the address: dns.adguard.com
- Save the settings.
| Parameter | Meaning | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Regime. | Manually. | Activates user DNS settings |
| host | dns.adguard.com | Advertising Blocking Server Address |
| Port port | Standard. | Usually, you don't need to specify separately. |
| Protocol | TLS | Provides encrypted requests |
After applying the settings, it is recommended to restart the device. If the Internet stops working, perhaps the selected one is the device. DNS-The server is temporarily unavailable or blocked by your ISP, and you can try alternative addresses like dns-family.adguard.com, which also filters adult content.
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Use of the DNS-Filtering not only removes ads, but also protects the device from going to phishing sites, since the databases of malicious domains are also updated on the server.
Additional methods and hidden settings
There are additional nuances that can help in the struggle for a clean interface, some of which are specific models or versions of firmware, so it’s worth checking them out if the basic methods have not worked out completely, such as hidden functions and specific settings of the launcher.
Owners of devices with active Wallpaper Carousel often complain about ads on the lock screen. To remove them, go to Settings → Wallpaper → Wallpaper Carousel and turn off all switches related to Recommendations and Getting News. It is best to completely disable this feature, replacing it with a static image.
You should also look at the folders on your desktop, and some versions of MIUI may display a line called "Recommended Apps" inside the application folders to disable this:
- 📂 Open any folder on your desktop.
- 👆 Click on the folder name to open the edit menu.
- 🚫 Find the Recommended Apps switch and turn it off.
⚠️ Note: After major system updates (e.g., switching from the MIUI 13 by 14 or HyperOS) settings may reset. Periodically check the status of switches in system applications.
Another effective method is to disable Mi Video and Mi Music if you don't use them. In the Apps menu, find these services, select Disable or Stop, and prevent background activity and data collection.