Xiaomi and Redmi smartphone owners often face intrusive advertising that appears in system applications and on the desktop, which is a fee for the low cost of the device, but the company provides tools to block it, many users do not even suspect that aggressive marketing can be completely turned off by built-in tools.
In this article, we will take a closer look at all the ways to eliminate banner ads, from official MIUI settings to advanced methods through DNS. You won’t need superuser rights or sophisticated software to regain the comfort of using the gadget.
The main source of irritation is the system application msa (MIUI System Ads), which is responsible for displaying advertising content in the interface, and turning off this service is the first and most important step in the fight for a clean screen of your smartphone.
Disabling system advertising through settings
The first thing you need to do is deaktivirovat' (disable) the main advertising service. → Passwords and security → Data access. In the application list, find msa and switch the network access slider to "Switched off".
The system will try to dissuade you by issuing a warning that some functions may not work properly. You have to wait 10 seconds and press the "Disable" button. If the first time failed, repeat the procedure 3-4 times - this is a known bug of the MIUI interface.
⚠️ Warning: After disabling msa, the ads won't disappear instantly.Full cache cleaning and process completion can take up to 24 hours of active phone use.
Next, disable personalized recommendations. Go to Settings → Passwords & Security → Privacy → Advertising Services. Here, you need to deactivate the "Get recommendations" option. This action will prevent the system from collecting data about your actions for targeted advertising.
Configuring individual system applications
Ad units are often built into standard Xiaomi utilities, and to remove them, you need to go to the settings of each application separately. It takes a few minutes, but the result is worth it.
Start with the Security app. Open it, click on the gear in the top right corner, and find the "Get recommendations." Turn it off. Similar steps should be taken for the Explorer app (Settings menu → About the app).
Download Manager also has hidden ads. Click three dots in the corner, select Settings and turn off Recommended Content. Music and Mi Video have similar settings in Settings → Additional.
- 📱 Topics: Go to profile (human), then to Settings and disable Show Ads and Personal Recommendations".
- 🧹 Cleaning: in the annex “Safety" → "Cleanup" → gear → Remove the box "Receive recommendations".
- 📂 Files: in the annex "Conductor" → menu → "Settings" → "Information" → Turn off "Recommendations".
Don't forget to check the settings of the Ribbon widget (cards to the left of the desktop). Press and hold the blank space on the screen, go to the feed settings and turn off "Receive recommendations" and "Personal recommendations".
☑️ Checklist for disabling ads
Using a private DNS to block
One of the most effective methods that works at the network level is to use DNS with ad filtering, which does not require the installation of third-party applications and blocks requests to ad servers before they are loaded.
For Android 9 and higher (relevant to most modern Redmi), go to Settings → Connection & Sharing → Private DNS. Select the DNS Provider Host Name mode and type in the address: dns.adguard.com.
dns.adguard.comOnce you save the settings, the phone can lose the Internet for a second, and then the connection will recover, which blocks ads not only in the system, but also in many free apps and browsers.
| Parameter | Meaning | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Regime. | Host name | Manual indication of the server |
| Address | dns.adguard.com | Traffic filtering service |
| Efficiency | Tall. | Blocks up to 90% of banners |
| Impact on the battery | Minimum | Background system process |
If the standard AdGuard address stops working or is blocked by the provider, you can try alternative DNS, for example, from NextDNS, pre-registering on their site to obtain a personal address.
What if the internet is gone after the DNS change?
Managing notifications and push messages
Even after disabling system advertising, some apps may continue to send advertising fluffs, not MIUI’s fault, but setting permissions for specific programs.
Go to Settings → Notifications and Status bar → Application Notifications. This is a complete list of programs that can display messages. Go through the list and turn off notifications for suspicious or rarely used applications, especially for games and stores.
Also worth checking your browser settings. In Google Chrome or MI Browser, go to your site settings and stop sending notifications. Often sites mask ads as system messages.
- 🔔 Grouping: In the notification settings, enable Group Notifications so that the advertisement does not occupy the entire curtain.
- 🚫 Block: When an advertising fluff appears, click on it and hold your finger, then select "Disable notifications from this app".
- 🛡️ Protection: Use the built-in antivirus in the Security app to scan for adware (adware).
Pay special attention to the Content Center app, which is often responsible for news feeds and promotional articles, and can be removed or simply disabled in the app settings.
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Tip: If you don't use the standard Mi Browser, you'd better delete it or disable it. It's one of the main sources of push notifications and pop-up ads on the system. Replace it with Chrome or Firefox.
Resetting the advertising ID and cleaning
To improve the effectiveness of the blocking, it is recommended to reset the advertising ID. This will not remove the ads completely, but will knock down the targeting algorithms, making it less intrusive and more random.
Go to Settings → Passwords & Security → Privacy → Advertising Services. Press Reset Advertising ID. This is recommended to be done periodically, for example once a month.
It is also helpful to clear the cache of system applications that are responsible for displaying content. Go to Settings → Apps → All apps, find Security, Topics, Explorer and click Clear → Clear Cache.
Check the boot list. In the app "Security" → "Permissions" → "Stop" leave only messengers and necessary services on. Extra programs in the boot often are a source of background activity and advertising.
⚠️ Warning: Do not clear the Data (cache only) of system applications unless you are confident in your actions. Data reset may return the application settings to factory settings, including the ad options enabled.
Radical measures: debugging through ADB
For advanced users who want to achieve perfect cleanliness, there is a method of removing system components through ADB (Android Debug Bridge).
First, turn on the debugging. USB: Settings → The phone. → 7 times press "Version" MIUI". Then in "For developers" include "Debugging by" USB".
Connect your phone to your PC, install ADB on your computer, and execute a command to uninstall the com.miui.misys (account and advertising system) packet, but be careful:
adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.miui.msaThis command will remove the ad service for the current user without affecting the system partition. To return everything back, use the command: cmd package install-existing com.miui.msa.
This is the most effective method, but it requires technical literacy, and a mistake in command typing can lead to unstable operation of the system.
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A comprehensive approach is key to success: the combination of MSA disabling, DNS setup and manual app cleaning gives 100% of the result in eliminating ads on Xiaomi.