Owners of budget and mid-budget smartphones Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO often face intrusive advertising built into the shell of MIUI or HyperOS. This is a fee for the low cost of the device, but put up with pop-ups when opening folders or in standard applications is not necessary. Modern versions of firmware offer hidden settings to minimize visual noise.
The process of disabling ad modules does not require superuser rights or device flashing. It is enough to go through the settings menu sequentially and deactivate several system services. It is important to understand that advertising is built deep into the ecosystem, so you can't remove it completely with a single click, you need a comprehensive approach to configuring the system.
In this article, we will look at all the ways we currently know how to block advertising traffic, including disabling msa, customizing personalization, and hiding recommendations in standard utilities, and following these steps will make smartphone use much more comfortable and cleaner.
Disabling the MSA System Service
The central element in charge of displaying ads in the MIUI shell is the system application msa (MIUI System Ads), which collects data about your preferences and broadcasts banner ads in various sections of the interface, the first step to a clean screen should be to turn off this service.
To start, you need to go to the Security Settings menu. Find Settings, then select Passwords and Security (in some versions of Data Access). In the application list, find msa and switch the slider to Off. The system will require you to wait 10 seconds before confirming the action.
⚠️ Note: If after the shutdown, the msa service automatically turned on again after a while, repeat the procedure 2-3 Sometimes the system needs several attempts to permanently deactivate the process.
In parallel with msa, it is recommended to restrict network access for other system services responsible for analytics. In the same Data Access menu, find the Mi Credit, Mi Video and GetApps apps (if you do not use them) and deny them access to mobile Internet and Wi-Fi. This will prevent advertising content from loading in the background.
☑️ Checking the ad-off
Once you do this, the number of pop-ups should be significantly reduced, but to maximize the impact, you need to adjust other personalization options, which will be discussed later.
Customization of personalization and advertising recommendations
Even after you turn off msa, you may still have settings that allow you to display personalized ads, which are in the privacy and security section, and disabling them breaks the link between your actions and the company's ad servers.
Go to Settings → Passwords & Security → Privacy. You can find Advertising Services (or Advertising Recommendations) on the menu, and you can turn off Ad Personalization from the menu. You can also click Reset Advertising ID to clear your profile.
Then go back to the main settings menu and look for Passwords and Security → Data Access (or Data Use) section. The top of the screen often features an Advertising Services button or similar. Make sure the Receive Recommendations switch is off.
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After resetting your ad ID in the early days, you can noticing more diverse but less relevant ads until the system recollects the data, unless you have disabled the services completely.
You should check your Mi Account settings. Go to Settings → Mi Account → Privacy. If there are items related to improving the user experience or sending statistics, it is also better to deactivate them, which will not only remove advertising, but also increase the overall privacy of your data.
Removing Advertising in Standard Apps
Ad units are often built directly into Xiaomi’s standard utilities, such as Explorer, Music, Video, and Cleanup. Each of these tools has its own independent settings that need to be configured separately from the system’s global settings.
Start with the Security (or Cleanup) app. Open the app, tap the gear in the top right corner to enter the settings. Find Receive recommendations and turn it off. This will remove the news and suggestions advertising cards that appear on the app's home screen after scanning.
The Explorer (Files) algorithm is similar. Open the menu (three bars), select Settings → About (or Settings in new versions). Find the Receive recommendations switch and deactivate it. In some versions of the shell, this item may be called Recommendations.
For the Music and Video (Mi Video, Mi Music) application, the actions are similar:
- 🎵 Open the Music app, go to profile or settings, find Receive recommendations and turn it off.
- 🎬 In the Video app, go to profile → setting → Turn off Online Recommendations and Auto Launch Video.
- 🧹 In the Cleaner app, you also need to find the settings and remove the tick from the Receive recommendations.
What if the “Receive recommendations” item is not available?
Remember that when you update your firmware, your settings may reset. Check those sections periodically to keep ads from coming back, especially after major Android or MIUI updates.
Blocking Advertising in the Browser and Desktop Folders
One of the most annoying features of the MIUI shell is the ads that appear when you open folders on your desktop as well as in your standard browser, which are often perceived by users as part of the interface, although they are advertising modules.
To remove ads in folders, open any folder on your desktop that has multiple apps. Click on the folder name (to edit it) or simply open the folder settings if it is available with a long tap. In the menu that appears, find Recommended (or Featured apps) and disable it. Now, when you open the folder, only the application icons will appear.
The standard Mi Browser browser is also full of news feeds and banner ads.
- 🌐 Open the browser, click on the menu (three bars) and select Settings.
- 📰 Find the Home Page section and disable all switches related to the newsfeed and recommendations.
- 🚫 In the Privacy and Security section, enable the option Ad Blocker.
If you use a third-party browser (such as Chrome or Firefox), Mi Browser recommendations will not affect you, but system advertising in folders still requires a separate disablement through the launcher settings.
Using DNS to Block Advertising
The most effective and versatile way to remove ads from all apps at once, including games and third-party programs, is to use a private DNS filtered, which requires no additional applications to be installed and works at the network connection level.
The essence of the method is that all requests to advertising servers are redirected to a special DNS-A server that returns an empty response instead of an ad. Android 9 and higher MIUI based on newer versions, this feature is built into the system.
To set up, go to Settings → Connection and Sharing (or Additional Settings) → Private DNS (Private DNS). Select the DNS Host Name (or Manual) mode and enter the address of one of the popular blockers. AdGuard DNS is considered the most stable and fastest service for mobile devices.
dns.adguard.comOnce you enter the address, click Save. The device may lose its connection to the Internet for a second, after which the network will recover with active filtering, and you will notice that the banners have disappeared even in places where they were previously not able to be removed.
⚠️ Note: When using a third party DNS Internet connection speeds may change slightly. If you notice problems loading pages, try changing the speed of your Internet connection. DNS-provider 1dot1dot1dot1.cloudflare-dns.com (Although it does not block ads, it provides high speed, or return settings to automatic mode.
This method also improves security by blocking access to known phishing sites and trackers, but some applications may not work properly with hard filtering, so if problems occur, the settings can be temporarily disabled.
Comparison of methods and additional settings
There are many ways to combat intrusive content, but not all are equally effective. Below is a table comparing the main methods of disabling ads on Xiaomi smartphones.
Each method has its pros and cons, and combining multiple approaches gives the best result, for example, disabling msa along with setting up the DNS almost completely cleanses the system.
| Method | Efficiency | Difficulty | Impact on the system |
|---|---|---|---|
| MSA shutdown | Tall. | Low. | Minimum |
| Setting up the DNS | Maximum | Low. | Locks down trackers. |
| Disabling recommendations in annexes | Medium | Medium | It takes time. |
| Resetting advertising ID | Low. | Low. | Resetting profile |
Also worth mentioning is the Game Turbo feature, which often hides points about getting recommendations and news during games, go to the Security app → Accelerate Games → settings (cogs), and turn off all notifications and recommendations.
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The combination of disabling the MSA service and setting up a private DNS (dns.adguard.com) eliminates 99% of all advertising on Xiaomi’s system without the need to install third-party software.
Don’t forget that Xiaomi developers periodically change the paths to settings and item names in new versions of MIUI and HyperOS. If you haven’t found any item, try searching for settings by entering keywords like “advertising”, “recommendations” or “msa”.