How to permanently disable ads on Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Pro: system and hidden methods

Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Pro with its powerful Mediatek Helio G90T processor and 64-megapixel camera is still one of the most popular budget smartphones. But even years after the release of owners annoyed by aggressive advertising in the firmware MIUI — banners in settings, push notifications from Mi Browser, ad units in standard applications. In this article, we will analyze all the current ways to block advertising, including hidden settings that Xiaomi does not advertise.

It's important to understand that MIUI ads are built-in at the system level, and you can only remove them completely by radical methods (like flashing them to custom firmware), but 90% of banners can be turned off by regular means, without root rights and risk losing warranty. We tested all methods on the Redmi Note 8 Pro with the latest stable version of MIUI 14 (Android 12) and selected only working solutions.

Why does Redmi Note 8 Pro have ads and can it be removed?

Xiaomi’s MIUI firmware was originally designed as a “free” alternative to Android with ad monetization, and even after buying a smartphone, the system continues to display banners in:

📱 Notification panel (push-advertising from Mi Services)
⚙️ System settings (in the section "About the phone", "Themes»)
🌐 Standard applications (Mi Browser, Mi Video, Music)
📁 File Manager (cloud service advertising)
🔍 Search bar (on the main screen)

The Redmi Note 8 Pro is used irrespective of the firmware region (Global, EEA, China) because of the built-in services com.miui.systemAdSolution and com.xiaomi.midrop, which download banners from Xiaomi servers, which can only be completely removed by root access or reflashing to AOSP (e.g. Pixel Experience).

⚠️ Note: On Chinese firmware (China) ROM) advertising 2–3 That's more than the global ones. 8 Pro with AliExpress or in an unofficial store, first check the firmware region in Settings → The phone. → Version. MIUI. If necessary, re-surface the Global/EEA via Mi Flash Tool.

📊 How often do you get annoyed by advertising? MIUI?

Constantly hindering the use of the phone

Sometimes, but tolerably.

There's almost no advertising.

Didn't notice the commercials.

Method 1: Disabling personalized advertising in MIUI settings

The easiest and safest method is to disable targeted ads through the privacy menu, which won't remove all banners, but will reduce their number by one. 30–40%. The instructions are relevant to MIUI 12/13/14:

Open the Settings. → Confidentiality.
Select Advertising Services (or MIUI Services in older versions).
Turn off the slider Personalized recommendations.
Click Reset Ad ID and confirm the action.

After that, the system will stop collecting data about your actions to serve targeted ads, but the banners in the applications and panels will remain — they must be blocked separately.

☑️ What to do before turning off advertising

Check out MIUI (Global/EEA/China)Reset the Advertising IDDisable Auto-Update ApplicationsMake a backup copy of settings

Done: 0 / 4

MIUI has a hidden feature that allows you to disable system-level advertising notifications, which works even without updates and does not require superuser rights:

Go to Settings. → Special facilities.
Select Settings for developers (if there is no item, tap 7 times on the MIUI version in the About Phone section).
Scroll down and find Disable Advertising Notifications (or Limit ad tracking in English firmware).
Activate the slider and restart the phone.

This method removes push ads in the notification curtain, but does not affect banners in apps. For full effect, combine it with other methods from this article.

What to do if there is no “Disable Advertising Notices” item?

If your MIUI version doesn’t have this option, try updating your firmware to the latest stable version via Settings → About Phone → System Update. In extreme cases, you can manually flash MIUI EEA (European Economic Area), where advertising is minimal under GDPR.

Method 3: Removing Advertising in Standard Xiaomi Apps

Most banners appear in pre-installed apps: Mi Browser, Mi Video, Music, Themes, and Cleaner, which can be either customized or removed (if they are not system-based).

Configure applications without removal

🌐 Mi Browser: Open your browser → Settings → Confidentiality → Turn off Personalized News and Recommended Content.
🎵 Mi Music: Go to the Settings → Additionally. → Turn off the recommendations.
🎬 Mi Video: In settings, turn off Autoplay and Advertising Clips.
🧹 Security/Cleaner: Open the app. → Settings → Notifications → Turn off all sliders.

Removing unnecessary applications

Some apps (Mi Browser, Mi Video) can be removed without root rights through ADB.

Install ADB Tools on your PC.
Connect Redmi Note 8 Pro over USB and allow debugging (Settings → About Phone → MIUI Version → 7 taps → Additional settings → For developers → Debugging by USB).
Enter in the command line: adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.miui.browser adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.miui.video adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.miui.msa.global

⚠️ Warning: Removing system applications may cause malfunctions MIUI. Before executing commands, make a backup copy through Settings → Additionally. → Backup and reset: If you have problems after deleting, restore the applications with the command adb shell cmd package install-existing com.miui.browser.

Annex	Package name (package name)	Can I remove it without root?	What happens after removal?
Mi Browser	com.miui.browser	Yes.	Banners in the browser will disappear, but links will open in another browser by default
Mi Video	com.miui.video	Yes.	Commercials will no longer be shown, but the video will be played in another player
Mi Music	com.miui.player	No (systemic)	You can only turn off notifications.
Themes	com.android.themes	No (systemic)	You can turn off automatic downloading themes
Cleaner	com.miui.cleanmaster	Yes.	Notifications about “optimization” will disappear

Method 4: Using third-party ad blockers (without root)

If system methods didn't help, you can install third-party blockers that work at the DNS or VPN level.The best options for the Redmi Note 8 Pro are:

1. Blokada (blocking via VPN)

🔗 Download from the official website (not from Google Play!).
🛡️ Blocking Advertising at Level DNS, no root.
⚡ It works in the background, does not brake the system.

After installation:

Start Blokada and let you create it. VPN-connection.
Select Blocklists → Enable all.
Activate Always-on VPN in Android settings.

2. AdGuard (DNS Blocking)

🌐 Works through Private DNS (Android 9+).
📱 No application installation required (just change network settings).
🔒 Blocks ads in the browser and some applications.

Instructions:

Go to Settings → Connections → Private DNS.
Select the Private DNS Host Name and type dns.adguard.com.
Save and restart the phone.

💡

If some websites (e.g. banking) are no longer open after AdGuard DNS setup, temporarily disable private DNS or use an alternative server: dns.nextdns.io with ID 598652 (blocks ads but does not break sites).

Method 5: Radical methods (for power users)

If you are willing to take risks, you can remove the ads completely in one of the following ways: Please note: these methods can lead to a loss of warranty or unstable phone operation.

1. Flashing on custom firmware (AOSP)

Firmware like Pixel Experience, LineageOS or HavocOS completely remove all Xiaomi services, including advertising.

🔓 Open the bootloader (fastboot oem unlock).
📥 Install TWRP Recovery.
🖥️ Squeeze the custom firmware through TWRP.

Cons:

❌ Loss of guarantee.
❌ Camera or sensor bugs are possible (Widevine often doesn’t work on the Redmi Note 8 Pro). L1 for Netflix HD).
❌ No updates over the air (you will have to sew manually).

2. Removal of advertising services through ADB (requires PC)

With ADB, you can disable system applications responsible for displaying ads:

adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.miui.systemAdSolution


adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.xiaomi.midrop




adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.miui.analytics

These commands don't delete, they just shut down the services. To get it back, use:

adb shell pm enable com.miui.systemAdSolution

💡

Flashing to a custom OS is the most radical way to remove ads, but it's only suitable for power users. - For most Redmi Note owners 8 The system is a combination of system settings and Blokada/AdGuard.

What if the adverts returned after the MIUI update?

Xiaomi regularly releases updates that reset the ad blocking settings. If the banners reappear after the update:

Check if Personalized Recommendations are included back in Settings → Privacy.
Update the block lists in Blokada or AdGuard.
If you use ADB, repeat the commands to disable advertising services.
In extreme cases, roll back to the previous version of MIUI via Fastboot.

To avoid automatic updates that return ads:

Go to Settings → About the phone → System update.
Slap the icon. ⚙️ top-right.
Turn off Auto Booting via Wi-Fi and Auto Update.

FAQ: Frequent questions about ad blocking on Redmi Note 8 Pro

❓ Why does it still appear after disabling the ad in the settings?

You probably only disabled personalized ads, but you didn't block the services themselves. Try: Delete the cache of com.miui.systemAdSolution and com.xiaomi.midrop applications via Settings → Apps → Show everything. Use Blokada or AdGuard DNS to block at the network level.

❓ Can I remove ads without root and without a computer?

Yes, enough: Turn off personalized recommendations in settings; Install Blokada (downloads from the official website); manually disable notifications from unnecessary apps; these actions will remove up to 80% of ads without additional tools.

❓ Why Mi Browser stopped opening links after deleting?

If you removed Mi Browser via ADB, the system lost the default browser. Solution: Install another browser (like Chrome or Firefox). Go to Settings → Applications → Default → Browser. Select the new browser as the default application.

❓ How to check if the ad blocker is working?

To make sure the ads are actually blocked: Open Mi Browser and check if the banners on the homepage have disappeared. Launch Security (Cleaner) - there should be no "optimization" notifications. Pull the notification curtain - there should be no push ads from Mi Services. Open Settings → About the phone - there should be no banners offering to upgrade. If the ad remains, repeat the steps from Method 3 (delete apps) or install Blokada.

❓ Can I return standard applications after removal ADB?

Yes, for this: Connect your phone to your PC and start ADB. Enter a command (for example, for Mi Browser): adb shell cmd package install-existing com.miui.browser Reboot your phone. If the app doesn't recover, you'll have to reset your phone to factory settings or reflash MIUI via Fastboot.