How to permanently remove ads at the bottom of the lock screen Xiaomi

Users of Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones often encounter intrusive content that appears in the most unexpected places of the interface. One of the most annoying problems is advertising at the bottom of the lock screen that overlaps widgets, watches or simply takes up useful space. This phenomenon is typical of the shells of MIUI and HyperOS, where marketing integrations are embedded deep into the system components. However, despite the company’s aggressive policies, there are proven ways to completely get rid of unwanted banners without losing functionality.

In this guide, we will discuss the technical aspects of these notifications and provide a detailed algorithm for eliminating them. You do not have to install third-party launchers or obtain root rights, since all the necessary switches are hidden in the standard settings menu. It is important to understand that the path to the menu may vary slightly depending on the version of Android and the specific model of your device, but the logic of actions remains the same for the entire ecosystem.

Before we start shutting down system services, it’s worth noting that some interface elements may come back after a firmware update, which is why the key step is to disable the msa service (MIUI System Ads), which is responsible for collecting data and displaying targeted advertising, and ignoring this step can negate all other efforts to clean the interface.

The nature of advertising in MIUI and HyperOS

The main source of intrusive banners is the MSA (MIUI System Ads) system application, which runs in the background and analyzes your actions to show relevant content in various sections of the shell, including the lock screen, application folders and the browser, and disabling this component is the first and most important step in the fight for a clean interface.

In addition, ads can be streamed through built-in widgets such as Horoscope, News or Wallpaper Carousel, a standalone app that is often installed by default and replaces the standard static image with dynamic feed with news and inserts, and removing or disabling this service instantly clears the lock screen.

⚠️ Note: After disabling the msa service, the system may request confirmation of the action several times, claiming that it will affect the operation of other applications. Ignore these warnings and insist on turning off, as this is the standard firmware behavior to keep the user in the advertising ecosystem.

It’s also worth mentioning that new versions of HyperOS have slightly changed the architecture of displaying notifications, but the principles have remained the same: Advertising is often disguised as “Recommendations” or “Useful Tips”, which confuses inexperienced users. Technically, all these data streams are controlled by the same permissions that we will change.

Disconnection of MSA (MIUI System Ads)

The process begins with finding and deactivating the main ad module, and to do this, open your smartphone settings and go to the Password and Security section, in the list of options, find Access to Personal Data (or "Authorization and Confidentiality"), and here you can see a list of all system processes that have access to your data.

In the list that opens, you need to find a process called msa. Press the switch next to it to deny access. The system will give a pop-up with a countdown timer (usually 10 seconds), then you will need to press the recall button. If you fail the first time, repeat the procedure 2-3 times, as Xiaomi servers may not respond instantly.

• 📱 Go to Settings. → Password and security → Access to personal data.
• 🔍 Find the msa service in the list and uncheck the tick.
• ⏳ Wait for the timer to end and confirm the action with the button Revoke.
• 🔄 If the button is inactive, wait a few seconds and try again, sometimes you need to. 3-4 try.

After successful permission revoke, restart the device.This action does not remove the application completely, but deprives it of the right to collect data and display advertising. In some regions or on certain versions of the firmware, this item may be referred to simply as "Advertising Services".

Removal of wallpaper and widget carousel

If the ad appears as beautiful backgrounds with text or news feed, it means that the wallpaper carousel function is active. It is a separate application that can be found in the list of all installed programs. To completely remove the adverts on the lock screen, you either need to delete this component or turn it off in the settings.

Go to Settings → Always on screen and lock screen (the path can vary depending on the model).Look for wallpaper carousel and click on it. Inside the menu, turn off the option to turn on wallpaper carousel. If you want to get rid of the app completely, find it in the app list (often called Glance for MIUI or Wallpaper Carousel) and select Remove or Disable.

Also worth checking the folder settings on your desktop. Open any folder with applications, click on the folder name and in the menu that appears, turn off the Recommendations option. This will remove the ad units that Xiaomi adds to the folders with frequently used applications.

Configure security settings and notifications

The Security app is also a source of advertising notifications, and it can offer memory cleanup, speed up or install recommended games. To remove this ad, open the Security app, click on the three dots in the top right corner, and select Settings.

In the settings menu, find the General Settings section and turn off the Receive Recommendations switch. This action will prevent pop-ups with suggestions inside the system utilities. In addition, in the same menu, check Auto Update and disable the Use Mobile Data option so that the phone does not download advertising modules in the background.

⚠️ Warning: Do not disable system notifications for critical errors or low battery power. Only disable items with the word "Recommendations" or "Ads).

Additionally, check for browser notifications. Often, the ads on the lock screen don't come from the system, but from sites you accidentally subscribed to. Go to Settings → Notifications → Notification Management, find your browser (Chrome, Mi Browser) and look at the list of sites that are allowed to send notifications. All suspicious sites block.

Disabling Advertising Personalization

Even after the major services are disabled, Xiaomi continues to collect data for targeting. To minimize this process, go to Settings → Password and Security → Privacy.

In this menu, you need to activate the switch to Disable Ad Personalization. This will not remove the ads completely (since system banners can be static), but will make it less intrusive and relevant to your interests. You can also reset the advertising ID by clicking the appropriate button, which will "nullify" the profile that the system has built based on your actions.

• 🔒 Open the Settings. → Password and security → Confidentiality.
• 📉 Select Advertising Services.
• ✅ Enable the option to Disable Advertising Personalization.
• 🗑️ Click Reset Advertising Identifier to Clean Your Profile Completely.

These settings are especially important for users who value their digital privacy. HyperOS and newer versions of MIUI make this process a little more transparent, but hide these options in the depths of the menu so that the user does not find them by accident.

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After disabling all advertising services, it is recommended to restart the smartphone once and wait 5-10 minutes without active actions so that the system applies new configuration files.

Specifics of working with HyperOS and global firmware

Owners of devices that have upgraded to HyperOS may notice changes in menu layout. Logic remains the same, but item names can be adapted to the new design. For example, the item "Access to personal data" can be moved to the section "Privacy protection".

Global ROMs have traditionally had less advertising than the Chinese version (CN ROM), but they still do. If you have a Chinese version of a smartphone, the number of ad integrations will be maximum. In this case, in addition to the steps described above, it is recommended to change the region in settings (Settings → Additional → Region) to the United States or Germany, which often automatically hides some ad units, as the laws of these countries more strictly regulate digital marketing.

⚠️ Warning: Change of region may affect some local services, weather widgets or voice assistant. If important features are lost after the change of region, return the settings and use manual shutdown of services.

Also, you should consider that some pre-installed apps (GetApps, Mi Video, Mi Music) are the main conductors of advertising, and if you do not use them, they can be safely removed or, at least, disable in the application management menu.

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Changing the region to the US or Germany is an effective life hack to reduce the amount of advertising on the Chinese versions of MIUI and HyperOS firmware without losing warranty.

Using DNS to Block Advertising

For advanced users who want to achieve maximum results, there is a method of blocking ads at the network level. DNS (Private DNS). This method blocks requests to known ad servers, preventing banners from loading even in applications.

Go to Settings → Connection and Sharing (or Wi-Fi) → Private DNS. Select DNS Host Name and enter the address: dns.adguard.com. Save settings. Now all your device traffic will be filtered, and most of the ads will disappear not only in the system, but also in the browser and games.

dns.adguard.com

Using this method can slightly increase battery consumption or slow down pages when a bad connection is bad, but it’s worth it to be effective in fighting advertising. If the Internet stops working, just return the DNS setting to Auto mode.