Owners of budget and mid-budget smartphones often face intrusive content that appears when unlocking the device. Redmi Note 8, despite its popularity and excellent characteristics, was no exception to the rules of marketing policy of the company. Advertising banners, pop-ups and suggestions to install applications can significantly reduce the comfort of using the gadget. Users often wonder why the manufacturer allows this to happen and whether it can be changed.
The answer lies in the business model, where hardware is sold at a minimal margin and the company receives revenue from advertising and services. Fortunately, MIUI provides enough tools to limit this flow of information. In this article, we will discuss in detail all the methods that allow you to get rid of unsolicited notifications and banners on your device.
⚠️ Note: Some system applications may require Internet access for basic functionality.A complete shutdown of network activity for all services may disrupt weather widgets or news feeds.
Before taking drastic measures, we need to understand which application generates ads. Often users mistakenly assume that the banner is part of the operating system, while its source is a specific system component. On Xiaomi devices, embedded applications such as MSA (MIUI System Ads), Mi Browser, Security (Security) or GetApps are most likely to respond to the display of ads. If the advert appears immediately after the screen is turned on, it is likely that the the the theme or lock is most likely to be displayed by the embedded applications, such as MSA (MIUI System Ads), Mi Browser, Security (Securance), or GetApps can be checked by the recent use window. Systemic process MSA responsible for aggregation of advertising data and their display in the interface MIUI, So you have to make sure that you're setting it up, and you can use the built-in traffic controls to make a good diagnosis, and you can go to your data settings and see which apps are driving the most traffic in the background. The discrepancy between the functionality of the application and the amount of data transferred is a sure sign of hidden advertising activity. 📱 MSA — main service of the advertising system MIUI, data-collecting user preferences. 🌐 Mi Browser – often launches pop-ups and push notifications with news and offers. 🛡️ Security – a security application that can display ads when cleaning up memory or checking for viruses. 📦 GetApps – an app store that strongly recommends installing new software.
Turning off personalization of ads in your Mi Account is the first step in the fight for a clean interface, and it's not going to remove the ads completely, but it's going to make them less intrusive and stop collecting your interests for targeting. This is a safe procedure that doesn't affect the basic functions of your Redmi Note 8 smartphone. To do this, you'll need to access the Internet. Go to your device's settings menu and find the password and security section. There's a key switch that many users ignore. Disabling this option breaks the link between your behavior and the company's advertorts servers. ⚠️ Note: After disabling the personalization function, the ads may not disappear completely, but they will no longer be tied to your interests and search history. You must follow the following steps: 1. Open Settings. 2. Go to Passwords and Security. 3. Select Privacy. 4. Find Advertising Services. 5. Turn off Personalized Advertising Switch. 📊 How often do you worry about advertising on Xiaomi?Daily I notice, but do not interfere?Almost I can not see Everything I already disabled After that the system will request confirmation of action. the countdown timer will be 10 seconds, after which you will need to press the confirmation button. This mechanism is designed to prevent accidental disconnection, as it is a loss of potential revenue for the company.
Setup of a system application MSAabbreviation MSA decipher MIUI System Ads: It's a system application that doesn't have a graphical interface in the conventional sense, but it's active in the background, and it's responsible for integrating the ad modules into different parts of the shell. MIUI. Turning off the recommendations in this app is a critical step. MSA, You need to be careful, because the item is hidden deep enough in the menu, the path may vary slightly depending on the version of the Global firmware or the Internet. EU, But the logic is the same. You need to find the section that's associated with getting recommendations from the system. Open Settings and go to Passwords and Security. Next, select Access to Personal Data. In the list that opens, find the msa app and turn off the access slider. The system will warn you that some features may stop working correctly. Don't pay attention to the warnings, because for the average user, the shutdown is not possible. MSA It has no negative consequences except for the absence of advertising. ☑️ Checking the shutdown MSAFind the msa item in data access Disable the slider Wait 10 Click Stop Confirm Action Completed: 0 / 5 After the access is disabled, it is recommended to restart the device, which will allow the system to apply new settings and complete the background processes associated with the advertising module. If after a while the slider turns on itself (which sometimes happens after updates), the procedure must be repeated.
Even after disabling the main advertising mechanisms, some applications may continue to send notifications that visually resemble ads, often news, offers from the theme store or recommendations from the browser. To remove them, you need to (finely customize) notifications for each potential source. First of all, look at the Security app. It has its own notification settings that can be activated by default. Go to the app settings, find the Notifications section, and disable all the ads, promotions, and recommendations. The same procedure should be done for Mi Video, Mi Music, and Explorer. The situation is similar for Mi Browser. Even if you don't use it, it can work in the background. 1. Go to Settings → Annexes → All applications. 2. Find Mi Browser. 3. Go to Notifications. 4. Disable all categories, especially "Recommendations" and "News." It's also worth checking the settings of the theme itself. Some third-party themes downloaded from Themes store may contain built-in ad modules on the lock screen. 🎨 Open the Topics app. 👤 Go to the user profile (human icon). ⚙️ Select Settings. 🚫 Turn off the option to Receive recommendations and show ads.
One of the most annoying features for many users is the "Glance" (Wallpaper Carousel). This feature constantly changes the wallpaper on the lock screen and is often accompanied by text blocks or logos that are easily confused with advertising. If your goal is a static image and no unnecessary visual noise, this feature must be turned off. The process of disconnecting is simple, but requires accurate hitting the desired menu. Go to the lock screen settings. Find the wallpaper carousel. Inside you will see the activation switch for the weather. Press and hold your finger on the blank spot of the lock screen (if the MIUI version allows editing). 2. Or go to Settings → Lock screen → Widgets. 3. Remove any suspicious widgets, especially those called News or Tape.
Different methods of eliminating ads have different degrees of effectiveness and impact on the system, some are “soft” and simply hide content, while others block data channels. Below is a table comparing the main approaches to solving the problem on the Redmi Note 8. MSA High Minimum Low Cut Personalization Medium No Low Lock Through DNS Very high Can slow down page loading Average Removal of system applications Maximum risk of instability High As you can see from the table, the most secure and effective method is the combination of disabling MSA and setting notifications. DNS-filters (e.g. AdGuard) DNS) It also gives excellent results, but requires a connection setup. To do this, in the settings of Wi-Fi or mobile network, you need to specify the address DNS (Private DNS), e.g. dns.adguard.com. ⚠️ Attention: Use of third-party DNS-servers may cause inability to connect to some local area networks or corporate Wi-Fi that require authorization via a web page.
Additional measures and use of third-party solutions If standard settings MIUI And if you don't help clean up the system completely, you can use more advanced methods, and one of them is the use of launcher apps that completely replace the standard desktop and lock screen, but it doesn't take away the system ads, it just hides them visually. A more efficient way is to install specialized root-free blockers, such as Blokada or AdGuard, which create local applications. VPN-A tunnel through which all traffic is filtered. Traffic filtering: Local VPN (Protocol: DNS-over-HTTPS / DNS-over-TLS Installing such software allows you to cut out advertising requests at the network level, not even allowing them to appear on the screen. It’s also worth considering installing custom firmware (like LineageOS or Pixel Experience) if you’re an advanced user.This completely changes the operating system, removing all Xiaomi services, including advertising. However, for the Redmi Note 8 (codenamed ginkgo), this requires unlocking the bootloader, which can lead to loss of warranty and data.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Is it safe to turn off the MSA app completely?
Yes, disabling MSA is safe for the stability of the smartphone, a system service that is solely responsible for displaying ads, and disabling it will not affect the operation of calls, messages or basic applications.
Why did the MIUI update reappear?
With major firmware updates, system settings can be reset to factory values, and you need to re-execute the MSA and personalized advertising in your privacy settings.
Can Mi Browser and GetApps be removed forever?
Without root rights or use ADB-You can't delete them completely, you can only turn them off. When they're turned off, they stop updating and working in the background, which is actually equivalent to deleting them for the user.
Does the ad block affect the speed of the Redmi Note 8?
On the contrary, blocking ads can slightly speed up the device, since the processor does not need to spend resources on downloading and rendering banner ads, and traffic is spent more economically.
What to do if the MSA slider does not turn off?
If the slider returns to its original position, try to turn off the Internet before switching, wait a few seconds, then turn on the Internet. Also helps to clear the cache of the application "Security" before trying.