How to Remove Pop-ups on Xiaomi: The Complete Guide

Ownership of a Xiaomi smartphone is often overshadowed by the sudden appearance of banner ads in the most unexpected places of the interface. This can occur when you unlock the screen, while using standard applications or even on top of the desktop. Users are annoyed that system advertising takes up useful screen area and distracts from the main work with the device. Fortunately, MIUI firmware and the newer HyperOS provide enough tools to completely eliminate this problem.

Before we start radical methods, we need to understand the nature of these windows. Most often, the culprits are built-in Xiaomi services, such as MSA (Mi System Ads), which are activated by default. However, the source of intrusive banners can also be third-party Android applications that have received excessive permissions. In this article, we will examine everything from simple switches in settings to deep cleaning of the system.

It's worth noting that removing ads completely requires you to do several steps in a sequence, you can't just turn off one setting and expect an instant result, you'll need to go through the list of system applications and change your privacy settings. 10-15 But the result is worth it – your smartphone will be much cleaner and faster in operation.

Disabling system advertising through MSA settings

The most effective way to combat intrusive banners is to turn off the MSA service. This is the component responsible for collecting user data and targeting advertising in the interface. The process of disabling requires care, as the system will try to keep the user in the ecosystem. First go to the Settings menu → Passwords and security → Access to personal data.

In the list that opens, find msa. Click on it and turn off the access slider. The system will give a warning that some features may stop working correctly. Ignore and wait 10 seconds until the "Disable" button becomes active. If you fail the first time, repeat the procedure 2-3 times, sometimes Xiaomi servers delay the response.

⚠️ Attention: After the service is disconnected MSA Hot Apps widgets on the desktop may stop updating or show empty cells. This is normal behavior, as they are directly dependent on the ad module.

Next, check the settings for other system services. In the same Access to Personal Data menu, find Statistical Service and Mi Video, Mi Music if you don't use them. Disabling data for these applications will significantly reduce the amount of information you collect about your activities, an important step to improve the digital hygiene of your device.

Setup of built-in Xiaomi applications

Even after the MSA is disabled, individual system applications can continue to show promotional recommendations, which must be turned off individually in the settings of each component, which takes time, but ensures the cleanliness of the interface.

For the Security app, the path is to launch the app, click on the settings gear in the top right corner, find the "Receive recommendations" item, and put the switch in the inactive position, and then go to the "Clean up" section inside the app's settings and turn off the recommendation, which will remove the banners that appear after scanning the system.

Themes is the same. Open the app, go to the profile (human icon), then to the settings. Find the "Show ads" or "Recommendations" option and turn it off. In some versions of MIUI, this item may be called "Personal recommendations." After that, restart the application to make the changes effective.

Don't forget File Manager. Open the menu, select the settings, and find the About section. There's often a "Get recommendations" switch hidden there. Downloads also has settings checked and recommended content disabled. The comprehensive approach ensures that no corner of the system will be left affected by advertising.

Blocking pop-up windows in the browser

If the ad windows appear while surfing the Internet, the problem lies in the browser settings or in the installed extensions. The standard Mi Browser browser has built-in protection mechanisms, but they are not always effective against aggressive advertising.

Open your browser, go to settings (three bars or dots), look for the Privacy and Security section. Make sure that Pop-Up Lock is enabled. It is also recommended to activate Tracking Protection. However, for more reliable protection, it is better to use specialized solutions or third-party browsers such as Firefox or Brave.

If you prefer to stay in the Xiaomi ecosystem, you can try to clear your browser data. Go to Settings → Apps → All apps → Mi Browser. Select Storage and click Clear. This will delete temporary files that could have been used for targeting. In some cases, resetting permissions for a site that constantly issues ads helps.

Using a private DNS to block

One of the most elegant and effective ways to remove ads throughout the system, including games and apps, is to use a private DNS. This method does not require the installation of additional software and works at the network connection level, the essence of the method is to redirect requests to the ad servers to nowhere.

To set up, go to Settings → Connection and Sharing → Private DNS. By default, it is “Auto”. Select the option “Host Name of the DNS provider” (or “Manual”). In the field that appears, you must enter the address: dns.adguard.com. After saving the phone can lose the Internet for a second, and then the connection will be restored with filtering enabled.

This method blocks most known ad trackers and domains, but it won’t help if the ads are “sewn” inside the application’s code or broadcast from the same domain as useful content (as is often the case with YouTube or Instagram), however, for the overall cleaning of the system from pop-ups in the browser and simple games, this is the best solution.

Search and Remove Malware Applications

Sometimes pop-ups are not from system services, but from applications you have recently installed, and most often flashlights, memory cleaners, scanners, and so on. QR-And there are some modified versions of popular software, and these apps can show ads over other windows, even when you're on your desktop.

To find the culprit, look at the time the ad appears. If the window pops up when you haven't run any apps, try clicking on the "Recent Apps" button (square or swipe) that the list of running processes may show an app without a name or with a transparent icon, which is a sure sign of a miner virus or ad module.

To remove, go to Settings → Apps → All apps. Carefully review the list. Look for apps that:

• 📱 No name or icon (empty place on the list).
• 📅 It was established around the time the problem began.
• 🔋 They have permission "Over other windows" (Display over other apps).
• 🕵️‍♂️ Require strange permissions that do not match their function (for example, a flashlight requests access to contacts).

⚠️ Warning: Some malicious applications masquerade as Android system processes. If you see a process called Android System, Update Service, or similar, but with a robot icon that consumes a lot of traffic, check its installation date. System processes cannot be removed, but they can be “deactivated” by disabling in the settings if it is a third-party fake.

If you can't find an app through the standard list, you can use safe mode. Press the on button, and then hold your finger on the off button on the screen for a long time until you get a suggestion to go to safe mode. This mode only works system applications. If the ad is missing, then it's the third-party application that needs to be calculated by exclusion.

Deep cleaning and resetting of advertising settings

If previous methods didn’t completely fix the problem, you can try deeper cleaning methods, which are about resetting advertising identifiers and cleaning the cache of Google’s system services, which will not delete your personal data (photos, contacts), but reset targeting settings.

Go to Settings → Passwords & Security → Privacy → Advertising Services. Here you will see the option “Reset the Ad ID.” Click on it. This action will assign your device a new ID, and the old ad base will no longer be relevant. You can also turn off ad personalization, which will make it less intrusive, although it will not completely remove it.

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Use Xiaomi’s Security app for deep cleaning. Run virus scanning and garbage cleanup – Avast and AVL’s built-in antivirus databases often find ad modules that a user missed.

As a last resort, if the ad is caused by a system failure or corrupting firmware files, a full factory reset may be required.Be sure to back up the data before doing so. Go to Settings → About Phone → Settings → Erase all data. This will return the phone to a “out of the box” state, guaranteed to remove all viruses and incorrect settings.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

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A comprehensive approach, including disabling MSA, configuring DNS and checking installed applications, ensures complete elimination of pop-up ads on Xiaomi.