Redmi Note 9 smartphones have become incredibly popular due to their excellent price-performance ratio, but many owners are overshadowed by the use of intrusive advertising in the MIUI system. It can appear in the most unexpected places: when you unlock the screen, in standard applications like Explorer or Music, and even on top of the interface of other programs. This is not just annoying, but also consumes traffic and processor resources, which is critical for budget devices.
Fortunately, most of the advertising mechanisms in Xiaomi’s shell can be disabled by regular means, without obtaining superuser rights. You don’t need to be a programming expert to clean the interface. You just need to go through key menu items consistently and disable the corresponding switches. Below we will look at a detailed algorithm of actions that will help you return a clean and fast interface.
Disabling MSA System Advertising
The main source of intrusive banners and pop-ups is the MSA (MIUI System Ads) system application, which analyzes your actions and selects advertising content, the first step is to find it in the list of applications and prohibit it from working.
Go to the Settings menu and select Passwords and Security, where you will need Data Access (or Network Access) to access the Settings menu. From the list that opens, find the msa app and put the slider in an inactive position, the system will warn you that the application requires network access to work, and suggest that you wait 10 seconds.
When the timer expires, press the Disconnect button. If it doesn't work the first time, try repeating the procedure 2-3 times - Xiaomi servers sometimes "resist" shutdown. This action interrupts the phone's communication with the company's advertising server.
☑️ Checking the shutdown MSA
It’s important to understand that MSA is not a virus, but a legitimate, though undesirable, component of the system, and that turning it off won’t disrupt basic smartphone functions like calls or messages, but some embedded widgets may stop updating the news feed if it’s tied to ad units.
Set up personalized recommendations
In addition to direct display of banners, MIUI actively uses a recommendation system based on your interests, which is collected to target advertising, and to limit the collection of information, you need to disable the relevant services in the account settings.
Go to Settings → Passwords and Security → Access to personal data. Here you will see a long list of system applications. Search the list of msa, Mi Video, Mi Music and other services with the MIUI logo. Turn off the sliders in front of them, confirming the action.
⚠️ Warning: After disabling access to personal data, some features, such as automatic photo sorting or smart playlists in music, may work less efficiently or may stop functioning.
Then go back to the main settings menu and look for Advanced Settings (or “More”), and select User Experience or Quality Improvement Program, and disable participation and usage data, which will reduce the amount of telemetry sent to the manufacturer’s servers.
Why is Xiaomi collecting data?
Cleaning Standard Apps from Advertising
Even after disabling the MSA, individual apps can continue to show ad units in their interface. Fortunately, each standard Xiaomi app has its own Get Recommendations switch in the settings.
Let’s look at the main applications where advertising is most common:
- 📂 Explorer: Open the application, click on the menu (three bars), select Settings → About the application and disable "Receive recommendations».
- 🎵 Music: Go to the profile or menu, go to Settings → Advanced settings and remove the tick from the item "Show advertising».
- 🎬 Video: In your profile, find Settings and turn off the Online Recommendations option or Receive Notifications.
- 🧹 Security: Click on the gear in the corner, find the Receive recommendations item and deaktivate it.
These steps need to be done for each application separately, because there may not be a global switch for all in older versions of MIUI. The process takes a few minutes, but the result is worth it - the interface becomes clean.
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When updating standard apps through the GetApps store, your ad settings may reset. Periodically check the internal settings of frequently used programs after major system updates.
Blocking ads in the browser and notifications
Users often confuse Xiaomi system advertising with intrusive notifications from sites they accidentally subscribed to or with ads in the browser. If you constantly pop up windows with news or offers to download antivirus, the problem is most likely in the browser.
Go to your browser settings (e.g. Chrome or the standard Mi Browser). Go to Privacy or Site Settings. You should prevent sites from showing notifications and opening pop-ups. Mi Browser should also disable the Boot Speed feature, which often replaces pages with its ad versions.
You can use the Safe Browse feature for a deeper cleanup, or you can install specialized blockers if you don't want to change your browser, but in most cases, just clean the site data.
| source of advertising | Symptoms | Method of decision |
|---|---|---|
| MIUI (MSA) system | Banners on the desktop, on the menu | Disconnection through "Access to Data" |
| Standard annexes | Recommendations inside "Music", "Video" | Settings within each application |
| Browser notifications | Pop-up windows in the notification curtain | Clearing notifications in the browser |
| Third-party annexes | Advertising over other windows | Malware removal |
If the ad appears suddenly when you’re not even using your phone, check the list of installed apps. Often free programs like flashlights, QR scanners, or simple games contain aggressive ad modules.
Using DNS to block at the network level
One of the most effective and elegant ways to remove ads on the Redmi Note 9 is to set up a private DNS, which blocks requests to known ad servers before they reach your device.
To do this, go to the Settings. → Connection and Sharing (or “Other Connection Settings”). Find Private DNS (Private DNS). Select the mode "Host Name provider" DNS» and enter the address in the field:
dns.adguard.comSave your settings. Now all your smartphone traffic will be filtered through AdGuard servers, which automatically cut off ad domains, and this works not only in the browser, but also within many apps and games.
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Set up a private DNS is a silver bullet against advertising that doesn’t require additional apps to be installed and works at the system level.
It's worth noting that using a third-party DNS can have a slight effect on page opening speed in some rare cases if the server gets overloaded. However, for most users, the difference is subtle, and the cleanliness of the interface is worth it. If the Internet stops working, just return the DNS setting to Auto mode.
Search and Remove Malware Applications
Sometimes the problem is not Xiaomi system services, but third-party programs that you may have accidentally installed, often masquerading as system processes or without desktop icons.
Go to Settings → Apps → All apps. Carefully review the list. Look for apps without a name, with an empty icon, or ones you don’t remember installing. Pay special attention to apps with “Above Other Windows” rights.
Find Special Permissions → Display on top of other applications in the settings. If you see a suspicious process there, immediately disable it and remove the app, often by “memory cleaners,” “battery accelerators,” and various game modes.
If you can’t delete an application (the Delete button is inactive), it has device administrator rights. To fix this, go to Passwords and Security → Privacy → Special Access → Administrator Apps. Uncheck the suspicious application, after which it can be safely removed.