Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphone owners often experience intrusive content that appears in standard system applications. Especially annoying is when banner ads pop up in the file manager, interfering with navigating documents or finding the right media files. This is not a bug, but a feature of the MIUI firmware and the new HyperOS, designed to monetize budget devices.
Fortunately, there are several proven ways to permanently eliminate unwanted notifications and banners. You don’t have to be a programmer or root-rights to get back a clean interface. In this article, we’ll look at all the current techniques, from simple switches in settings to deeper system changes.
Ignoring this issue can lead to a decrease in device performance, as background ad processes consume CPU and battery resources. In addition, some ad modules can collect data about your preferences, which calls into question your digital privacy.
Why Advertising Appears in File Manager
The main reason for the emergence of intrusive content is the MSA (MIUI System Ads) service, which is responsible for loading and displaying ad units in various shell interfaces, and by default it is activated immediately after the first activation of the smartphone.
In addition, the Explorer app itself has built-in recommendation settings that are often turned on by default, which developers position as a way to personalize the results, but in practice, the user receives only offers to install games or go to dubious sites.
⚠️ Warning: Complete removal of system applications without proper preparation can lead to unstable operation of the operating system.
Understanding the architecture of these components helps you choose the most effective method of combating, sometimes it is enough to simply disable network access for a particular application to block the download of advertising content.
Disable MSA service through settings
The first and most important step is to deactivate the main ad module, a process that requires care as the system will try to keep the user on hold by offering to wait or cancel the action.
To start, you need to go to the settings menu. Find the Password and Security section and select Data Access. In the app list that opens, find msa and disable the Wi-Fi and mobile access slider.
After shutting down, the system will give a warning that some functions may stop working. You will need to press the "Disable" button and wait 10 seconds. If you fail the first time, repeat the procedure - this is a frequent "protection" of the MIUI shell.
☑️ Checking the shutdown MSA
After successful MSA disabling, the amount of advertising in the system should shrink significantly, but for full effect, you also need to configure the conductor application itself.
Configure the application itself Explorer
Even after disabling system advertising, the application itself can have its own recommendation settings, which are deep in the file manager's menu.
Open the Explorer app and click on the menu icon (usually three bars or dots). Go to Settings, then select About, and you need to find the Receive Recommendations switch and put it inactive.
Some versions of firmware may have different paths. Look for Content Customization or similar. Make sure all ticks related to news, promotions and offers are removed.
| Parameter | Default status | Recommended status | Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Receive recommendations | Included. | Off. | Remove banners on the main screen |
| Access to the network (msa) | Permitted. | Forbidden. | Blocks the loading of ads |
| Usage analysis | Included. | Off. | Increases privacy |
| Auto-update | Included. | Off. | Prevents the return of settings |
These changes take effect immediately. If you don't see any changes, try closing the application completely through Task Manager and reopening it.
Use of Developer Mode and ADB
For advanced users who want to securely remove ad modules, there is a method of using USB debugging and command line, which requires connecting a smartphone to a computer.
First, you need to activate the developer mode. Go to Settings. → About the phone and press 7 times on the build number MIUI Or HyperOS. Then, in the advanced settings, turn on "Debugging by USB».
adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.miui.msa.globalThis command will remove the ad service for the current user without affecting the system partition, it is safe and reversible when resetting, and you can also turn off the com.miui.personalassistant service if it causes pop-ups.
⚠️ Attention: When in use ADB-Be careful of the syntax. Introducing the wrong command can lead to the removal of important system components.
Once you've done the command, restart the device, and you'll notice that the interface is cleaner and the background processes are consuming less resources.
Blocking through DNS (Private DNS)
One of the most effective and simple ways to avoid additional software is to use a secure DNS, which blocks requests to known ad servers at the network level.
Go to the connection settings. Find Connection and Sharing, or just type the word in the settings search «DNS». Select the Private option DNS (Private DNS).
In Host Name mode, enter the address: dns.adguard.com. Save settings. Now all requests that attempt to download ads will be blocked automatically.
What to do if the images in the browser stop loading?
This method also helps to save traffic and speed up the loading of pages in the browser, as you do not need to download heavy advertising scripts.
Alternative File Managers
If standard Explorer continues to cause complaints or seems too overloaded, you can always install an alternative from Google Play. There are plenty of lightweight and fast file managers without ads.
Popular options include Files by Google, Solid Explorer or X-plore File Manager, which offer more flexible functionality, cloud storage support, and a user-friendly interface.
When installing a third-party application, the system may suggest assigning it to the default application to open files. This is normal practice, agree to have documents opened immediately in the new manager.
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Use Solid Explorer for archives and FTP – it is much more functional than the standard conductor and completely devoid of advertising in the basic version.
Using third-party software is often the only solution for older smartphone models that have stopped receiving security updates and patches that close ad vulnerabilities.