Flagship smartphone owners often encounter intrusive marketing materials that can distract from the basic work of the device. Xiaomi 13, despite its premium and high cost, by default contains built-in mechanisms for displaying ads in system applications. This can annoy users who are used to a clean interface without unnecessary visual noise.
Fortunately, MIUI (and its global version) provides enough tools to completely disable these features. You don't need superuser rights or complex reflashing, just change a few parameters in a hidden and explicit settings menu in a sequential fashion to enjoy a clean interface.
In this guide, we will discuss all available methods of blocking advertising traffic. MSA, customization of personalized recommendations and use of system DNS-Follow the instructions carefully to exclude any unwanted notifications.
Disabling MSA Service and System Notifications
The main source of intrusive banners in the system is the MSA (MIUI System Ads) service, which is responsible for collecting data about your preferences and displaying ad units in standard applications. Without it, other settings may not be effective.
To start, you need to find the appropriate item in the application management menu. Go to Settings → Applications → All applications. In the upper right corner, click on the magnifier icon and type "msa" into the search bar.
After finding the application"MSA" (or "Service" MSA") So you can see here the "Get recommendations" switch, which needs to be put inactive, and the system will warn you of the consequences by asking you to wait 10 seconds before confirming the action.
⚠️ Warning: If the switch does not turn off the first time and lights up red, repeat the procedure 3-5 This is a well-known feature of protection. MIUI, user-intensive.
After successfully disabling the MSA service, it is also recommended to limit the background activity of the application. Click on "Other permissions" and uncheck the "Pop-up display" box if it is active. This will create an additional barrier for unwanted content.
☑️ Checking the shutdown MSA
Set up personalization and advertising identifiers
In addition to the system service, a separate module is responsible for targeting responses in global search and recommendations, which collects data on the use of the phone to generate an advertising profile, and disabling this module significantly reduces the relevance of the ads shown or eliminates them altogether.
To access these settings, open the Settings menu → Password & Security → Privacy. At the bottom of the screen, look for Ads Services, where the main switch is located, which you need to deactivate.
The menu also provides an option to reset your advertising ID, so by clicking on the button, you can reset the profile of your interests that the system has accumulated, which is useful to do periodically, even if the ads are partially left.
- 📱 Open your privacy settings in the security menu.
- 🚫 Find the "Advertising Services" item and turn it off.
- 🔄 Click Reset Advertising Identifier to clean your profile.
- ✅ Check if banners in the Security app have disappeared".
It is important to note that the path may vary slightly from one firmware version to another, and in some cases, the right item is at Settings → Advanced Settings → Privacy. Look for any word that mentions "ads" or "ads."
What is an advertising identifier?
Cleaning Standard Apps from Advertising
Ad blocks are often built directly into the interface of standard utilities such as Explorer, Music, Themes and Security. Even after disabling MSA, some applications may continue to show promotional materials if recommendations are not disabled in their individual settings.
Consider the example of the Security app that most users are concerned about: Open the app, click on the settings gear in the top right corner, find "Get recommendations" and turn it off. The same procedure should be done for "Conductor" and "Music."
Themes is a little different, so go to the user profile (the person icon), then to the settings, and then you need to find and disable the personalization and recommendation items, and that will remove the banners from the theme store's home page.
| Annex | The path to adjustment | Parameter for deactivation |
|---|---|---|
| Security | Settings (cogs) | Receive recommendations |
| Conductor | Settings → About the annex | Receive recommendations |
| Downloads. | Three points → Settings | Showing Recommended Content |
| Music. | Settings → Advanced | Receive recommendations |
Remember that after updating the system applications, the settings may reset, and periodic checking of these parameters will help maintain the clean interface on Xiaomi 13.
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When removing folder shortcuts on the desktop, advertising widgets sometimes appear. (long press) on the empty screen space and selecting "Settings" will disable "Wallpaper Carousel", which is also a source of advertising.
Use of the DNS-filtering to block traffic
One of the most effective methods that work at the level of the entire operating system is the change of the operating system. DNS-This method allows you to block requests to known advertising domains before they reach your device.
To implement this, go to Settings → Connection and Sharing → Private DNS. The default value is “Auto.” You need to select the option “Host Name of the DNS Provider” (or “Manual”).
The field you see is a reliable filter address, and the most popular and proven option is AdGuard.
dns.adguard.comOnce you enter the address, save the settings. The system may lose its connection to the Internet for a short time, after which the connection will be restored. Now all requests to the ad servers contained in the AdGuard databases will be blocked.
⚠️ Attention: Use of third-party DNS It can slightly increase ping in online games. If you're a professional esportsman, test this method in quiet times.
This method is particularly effective against in-browser advertising and some free apps.However, it won't remove Xiaomi's own ad integrations if they are downloaded from the same domains as system files, so combining with previous methods is a must.
Change of region and additional settings
Xiaomi’s ad policy aggression is directly dependent on the region it chooses, and in some countries, such as India or Indonesia, the number of ads is significantly higher due to the company’s local marketing strategies.
Changing the region to “USA”, “Nepal” or “Andorra” often leads to the complete disappearance of advertising modules, as these jurisdictions have strict privacy laws or the market is considered less priority for aggressive marketing.
To change region, go to Settings → Additional Settings → Region. Select, for example, the United States. The interface may partially switch to English, but the banner ads in the standard apps should be gone.
- 🌍 Go to the settings of the device region.
- 🇺🇸 Select a country with low advertising (USA, Nepal).
- 🔄 Reboot your smartphone to apply changes.
- 🔍 Check for banners in menus and apps.
It is worth considering that changing the region may affect the performance of some local services, weather widgets and voice assistant Xiao AI (if it is active), and the set of pre-installed applications may also change.
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Changing the region to “US” or “Nepal” is the fastest way to remove 90% of system advertising without installing additional software, but it can change the language of some system notifications.
Complex Methods: Debugging with USB and ADB
For advanced users who want to securely remove advertising components, there is a method to disable system packages through USB debugging, which requires connecting a smartphone to a computer and using the command line.
First, activate the developer menu. Go to Settings → About Phone and quickly click 7 times on "MIUI Version." After that, the "Developers" section will appear in the "Additional" menu.
In this section, enable "USB debugging." Connect your phone to your PC. You need to install the ADB (Android Debug Bridge) toolkit on your computer. After you connect, run a command to check the connection:
adb devicesYou can then use commands to freeze or delete specific packages that are responsible for advertising, such as com.miui.misys or com.android.browser (if you use another browser).
⚠️ Attention: Use ADB-Removal of critical system components can lead to unstable device operation or cyclic reboot (bootloop).
This method provides maximum control, but carries risks. If you are not sure about your actions, it is better to limit yourself to the software settings described in the previous sections. For most users, the combination of disabling MSA and changing the DNS is enough.