Ownership of Xiaomi or Redmi smartphones is often marred by intrusive marketing built right into the system, with users facing banners in standard apps, pop-ups after memory clearing and recommendations in the settings menu, not a bug, but a feature of the MIUI shell designed to compensate for the low cost of devices.
Fortunately, aggressive marketing can be minimized or eliminated without super-user rights. In this article, we will explore proven methods to help return a smartphone to a tidy look. You will learn to turn off system services that block the display of advertising content.
First, you have to understand that advertising is part of the manufacturer's ecosystem, but it's not necessary for the gadget to work. Disabling advertising will not violate the warranty and will not lead to data loss. The process takes only a few minutes, but significantly increases the comfort of use.
MSA service shutdown is the main source of banners
The main culprit behind the appearance of ads in the system is the MIUI System Ads service, also known as msa, which collects data about your preferences and broadcasts personalized content to different corners of the interface.
To stop this activity, you need to find the appropriate switch in the authorization menu, but be prepared that the system will prevent this action in every way, suggesting that you wait or cancel the action.
Go to the settings and find the "Password and Security" section, and here you are interested in the "Access to Personal Data" section, and in the list, find the msa service and turn off the switchboard.
⚠️ Warning: After you press the switch, a countdown timer will appear. Do not immediately try to turn off the Internet or close the application, wait for the countdown to end, otherwise the "Disable" button will remain inactive.
If you fail the first time, don't despair. The system may give you an error "failed to obtain status data." In this case, try to repeat the procedure 2-3 times in a row. Usually for 3-4 attempts, permission to disable msa is still granted.
Customization of personalization and recommendations
In addition to msa, personalization mechanisms are responsible for showing suggestions, they analyze your actions and then they form lists of Recommended, and turning them off makes the interface more static, but it makes it impossible for the system to adapt to you.
You need to find the Password and Security section, and then go to the Privacy section, and there's the Advertising Services section, and if you click on it, you'll see the Personalized Advertising switch.
It's also worth looking at the settings of each standard application, for example, in Music or Video, there are often separate items for getting recommendations, and you have to manually turn them off in the settings menu of a particular application.
Importantly, turning off personalization altogether can make some features less convenient, such as smart photo sorting or news selection, which may not work properly without collecting statistics.
What is an advertising ID?
Cleaning Standard Apps from Advertising
Even after the system service is disabled, some apps may still display banners, such as Explorer, Downloads, Music, and Security, each with its own content settings hidden.
In the Security app, go to the settings (cogs) and find the option “Receive recommendations.” Turn it off. Also check the “Clean up” section, where a banner often hangs suggesting that you install additional utilities.
In File Manager, it's the same thing: Open the menu, select settings, and uncheck the "Recommendations" box, which will remove the news feed and the ad blocks from the app's home page.
- 📱 For Downloads: Open the menu, click on settings, and turn off “Show recommended content».
- 🎵 For “Music”: in the settings, find the “Advanced Settings” section and remove the “Show Advertising” switchboard».
- 📂 For “Tems”: Go to profile, then settings and disable “Personal recommendations».
☑️ Checking applications
Removing Advertising in System Folders
Users are particularly annoyed by advertising icons in folders on the desktop. After installing a new application or updating the system, a banner may appear in the Tools folder with a suggestion to download a game or service.
To remove this, open the folder where the ad is located. Click on the folder name (where the name is written, such as "Tools"). The folder editing menu will open.
At the bottom of the screen, a Recommended Switch will appear, put it in an inactive state, and then all the advertising icons will disappear, and the folder will contain only shortcuts of the apps you installed.
This setting applies to each folder individually, and if you have multiple folders on your desktop, you'll have to repeat the procedure for each folder.
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If the Recommended Switch is missing, try updating the Themes or System Components app through the GetApps store, as this item might have been called differently in older versions.
Blocking Advertising via DNS (Private DNS)
The most efficient and versatile way is to use a private DNS. This method blocks requests to ad servers at the network level, without requiring the installation of third-party applications or complex settings within the system.
To do this, go to the connection settings. The path may vary depending on the version of Android and MIUI. Usually these are Settings → Connection and Sharing → Private DNS.
In the menu that opens, select “Put DNS providers” (or “Manual”). In the input box, you must specify the address of the server that blocks ads. AdGuard is a popular and reliable option.
dns.adguard.comOnce you enter the address, save the settings. The system will check the connection. If the address is entered correctly, you will see confirmation. Now all the traffic of the device will pass through the filter that cuts off advertising requests.
| Parameter | Meaning | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Regime. | Manually/Ask | Type of DNS connection |
| Host name | dns.adguard.com | Lock server address |
| Status | Connected. | Performance indicator |
| Impact | Global | Available on all applications |
⚠️ Attention: Use of third-party DNS can cause some applications to fail, which block work through non-standard DNS (For example, banking apps or streaming services, if you have problems, just return the setting to Auto mode».
Disabling Advertising in Mi Browser
Xiaomi’s standard browser also features a built-in recommendation system and news feed, and to turn it into a pure surfing tool, you need to make a series of adjustments inside the app itself.
Open your browser and go to the menu (three bars). Select Settings. Here you are interested in Privacy and Security. Find Ad Blocker and activate it.
Then go back to the main settings menu and find the Home Page section, where you need to turn off the news feed and recommendations, select Empty Page or Classic mode to remove unnecessary widgets.
Also worth checking is the Notifications section, which often asks for permission for push notifications that turn into spam, and then go through the list and turn off suspicious sources.
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A comprehensive approach, including disabling MSA, configuring DNS and cleaning apps, allows you to remove 99% of all advertising in the Xiaomi system.