Ownership of a Xiaomi smartphone is often overshadowed by intrusive advertising that appears in the most unexpected places of the interface. Users are faced with banners in standard applications, notifications about “useful” services and even full-screen advertising when unlocking the screen. This is not a system bug, but a feature of the MIUI shell, which monetizes the affordable cost of devices.
Fortunately, modern firmware versions allow you to flexibly customize the system, minimizing visual noise. You don't need superuser rights or complex ADB manipulations for basic cleaning. You just need to go through key settings consistently to get your smartphone back tidy and speed up.
In this article, we’ll look at all the known ways to remove ad apps on Xiaomi and disable system recommendations.We’ll look at both standard tools and advanced techniques for power users who want to gain full control of their device.
Disabling the MSA system service
The main source of intrusive advertising in the shell of MIUI is the system application MSA (MIUI System Ads), which is responsible for loading and displaying ad units in standard utilities, disabling MSA is the first and most important step in the fight for a clean interface.
To deactivate the service, go to the Settings menu and find the Passwords and Security section. In the list of special features or authorization, find msa. Here you will need to switch the slider to an inactive state. The system will try to dissuade you by offering to wait 10 seconds before trying to turn off again.
Once successfully disabled, Msa will stop collecting your preferences and downloading ad modules, but it is worth remembering that in some regions or older versions of Android, a full shutdown may not be available temporarily.
⚠️ Note: After disabling Msa, banner ads may disappear within 24 hours, rather than instantly.
Set up standard Xiaomi applications
Even after the main service is disabled, individual company applications such as Explorer, Music or Themes may have their own built-in recommendation settings, which are often hidden in the depths of the menu and require manual deactivation for each application separately.
Consider the most popular noise sources. In the Security app, go to the settings (cog icon) and find "Receive recommendations." In Explorer, a similar option is in the About menu or through the three-dot menu button. In the Themes store, you need to go to profile and turn off "Show ads."
Remember that system updates may return some default settings, and checking these points periodically will help keep the interface clean.
☑️ Verification of standard applications
Pay special attention to the Downloads app. This is where you often get notifications about hot news or partner promotions. Turn off the "Show recommendations" option in the app's settings to stop getting spam in the notification curtain.
Removing and Hiding System Applications
Many pre-installed apps (bloatware) not only take up space, but are also a channel for advertising, some of which can be removed by standard means, others will require more radical measures.
To remove unnecessary software, go to Settings → Apps → All apps. Select an unnecessary program (such as Mi Video*, Mi Music or third-party games) and click Remove. If the delete button is inactive, the application is system-based and uninstallable.
You can use a computer and Android Debug Bridge (ADB) to remove root-free system applications, a secure method that allows you to freeze or delete a packet for the current user.
adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 name.packetUsing ADB requires you to enable USB debugging mode in the Developer Menu. Be very careful: removing critical system packages (e.g., com.miui.securitycenter) can result in a cyclical reboot of the device.
List of safe packet removal
Blocking Advertising through DNS and Hosts
One of the most effective methods that works at the network level is to use a private DNS with ad filtering, which does not require third-party applications to be installed and works globally for all programs in the system.
Modern versions of Android (starting with 9.0) have a built-in Private DNS feature. Go to Settings → Connection and Sharing (or Other Settings) → Private DNS. Select Host Name DNS Provider Mode and enter the address:
dns.adguard.comOnce you save the settings, the phone will start filtering traffic by cutting off requests to known ad servers, which also speeds up the loading of pages in the browser, as it blocks the loading of heavy ad scripts.
| Method | Efficiency | Difficulty | Impact on the battery |
|---|---|---|---|
| MSA shutdown | High (systemic advertising) | Low. | Positive. |
| Set-up of applications | Medium (internal advertising) | Medium | Neutral. |
| Private DNS | High (advertising in browsers and games) | Low. | Neutral. |
| Removal via ADB | Maximum (full cleaning) | Tall. | Positive. |
⚠️ Attention: Use of third-party DNS-servers may cause some local services to fail or slow down the connection if the server is far from your location.
Use of third-party blockers
If system methods are not enough, specialized blocking applications come to the rescue. DNS, They can filter traffic within apps using local applications. VPN-tunnel.
One of the most popular solutions is AdGuard. The app creates a local solution. VPN-A profile that passes all traffic through the device, and it allows you to cut ads even in applications where you have a DNS-filtration.
Another powerful tool is Blokada, an open-source project that also works through a local VPN, with the advantage of flexible filtering lists and the ability to fine-tune rules for each application separately.
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Installing a blocker like AdGuard can slightly increase battery consumption due to the constant processing of network traffic.
It is worth noting that when using such applications, the VPN icon will always hang in the notification curtain, which is the normal behavior of the system, indicating the operation of the traffic filter.
Resetting the advertising identifier
Advertising networks use a unique identifier of your device to personalize their ads, and resetting that identifier periodically helps confuse targeting algorithms and reduce the frequency of relevant but intrusive ads.
You can find this setting by using the Settings → Passwords & Security → Privacy → Advertising Services. There are two important options available here: Reset Advertising ID and Turn off Ad Personalization.
Resetting the ID once every few months is recommended, and this won’t remove the ads completely, but will make them less aggressive and more random, which is often perceived by Xiaomi users as less annoying.
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A comprehensive approach combining MSA disabling, DNS setup and ID reset gives the best result in the fight for a clean interface.