Users of the Mi and Redmi ecosystem often face intrusive marketing, which is built deep into the shell of MIUI and HyperOS. Especially annoying is the appearance of banners and videos when running an embedded video player or while playing local files. This is not a bug, but a feature of the company’s monetization strategy, but the situation can be fixed.
Advertising in the standard Video Player app is caused by default-activated recommendations and analytics services. To enjoy content without interruptions, you need to make a number of adjustments in the system menu. In some cases, standard tools are not enough, and deeper interference with the network protocols of the device is required.
In this article, we will discuss all the current ways to eliminate advertising inserts. We will consider both standard methods of disabling through the settings of the Mi Account account, and advanced techniques using the use of DNS-You'll learn to configure the device so that the built-in player works solely as a video viewing tool, not as an advertising platform.
Disabling personalization and recommendations in the system
The first step to clean up the interface is to disable the MSA (Miui System Ads) service, which is a system process that collects user data and targets advertising content in various applications, including the gallery and video player. Without disabling this module, other settings may not have a full effect.
To start, you need to go to the device settings menu. Find the Password and Security section (or Advanced Settings in older versions of MIUI). You need to find the Personal Data Access item. In the app list that opens, find msa and turn off the access switch. The system will warn you several times about the consequences, insisting on maintaining the service - ignore this and wait for the timer to end.
⚠️ Note: After disabling the msa service, the ad may not disappear immediately.The system caches the advertisements, so it may take 24 to 48 hours of active use of the device to take effect.
Next, disable advertising personalization. Go to Settings → Password and Security → Privacy → Advertising Services. Here you need to activate the switch to Disable Ad Personalization. This action will reset your advertising ID and prevent the system from using your preferences to select banners.
Setup of the built-in video player Mi Video
The Mi Video video player itself has its own settings that users often ignore. Even with system advertising turned off, there may still be active points inside the application that stream content from partners, and it is important to check each section of the settings of the application itself.
Launch the Mi Video app and go to the I tab (or click on the profile icon). In the upper right corner, select Settings. Find the Online Content or Recommendations section. You need to disable all items related to displaying popular videos, news and ads on the app's home screen, which will remove banners from the library interface.
Also worth paying attention to the function Receive notifications in the player settings. Often through push notifications, you get offers to watch new movies or TV shows, which is essentially hidden advertising.
- 📺 Open Mi Video and go to profile.
- ⚙️ Select Settings in the corner of the screen.
- 🚫 Find the Online Services and turn it off.
- 🔕 In the Notifications section, uncheck all ticks.
If you use a player to view online content through built-in directories, you can't completely remove ads without a ViP subscription, because this is the main source of revenue for the service. SD-The above-described settings should completely clean the interface.
☑️ Checking player settings
Using DNS to Block Advertising
The most effective method, which works at the network level, is using Private DNS. This method allows you to block requests to ad servers before they reach your device.
The essence of the method is to redirect DNS-requests to a server that filters traffic and blocks domains known as ad sources. AdGuard services are great for Xiaomi devices DNS or DNS66. This solution will also speed up the loading of pages in the browser and other applications.
To set up, go to Settings → Connection and Sharing → Private DNS (the path may vary slightly depending on the version of MIUI). Select Private DNS Host Name mode and enter the server address. After saving, restart your smartphone.
| DNS Service | Hostname address (Hostname) | Efficiency | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| AdGuard Default | dns.adguard.com | Tall. | Low. |
| AdGuard Family | dns-family.adguard.com | High + 18+ filter | Low. |
| NextDNS | yours-id.nextdns.io | Maximum (configurable) | Medium |
| Control D | p2.freedns.controld.com | Tall. | Low. |
⚠️ Note: When using third-party DNS-In rare cases, some local services or applications linked to specific network paths may not work correctly on servers. If you encounter problems with Internet access, return the setting of Private DNS auto-off.
Alternative video players for Xiaomi
Sometimes fighting with embedded software takes too much time and nerves. The simplest and often most effective solution is installing a third-party video player from Google Play. Modern alternatives offer richer functionality, support for more formats and, most importantly, no built-in advertising in free versions.
One of the market leaders is the VLC for Android player, a completely free, open-source app that plays almost any video format without the need to install additional codecs. The interface is minimal, and banner ads are absent in principle.
Another great option is the MX Player. The basic version is free and contains ads, but it is easy to remove if you use the same DNS method described above in your network settings, or simply install a modified version (although we recommend supporting the original developers).
- 🎬 VLC: The best choice for compatibility with all formats.
- ▶️ MX Player: Excellent hardware decoding and flexible settings.
- 📱 MPV: Minimalism, open source, lack of advertising.
- 🎞️ Nova Video Player: How to build beautiful libraries with posters.
When installing a new player, MIUI may aggressively suggest returning a standard application. When you first start a video file, select a new player and press Always (or Default) to fix the file association, which will save you from constant system questions.
Advanced Methods: ADB and System Change
For power users who are not afraid of the command line, there is a way to remove ad components at the system level using the ADB tool (Android Debug Bridge), which allows you to hide or remove the packets responsible for advertising without obtaining root rights.
To start, activate Developer Mode. Go to Settings → About Phone and quickly click on MIUI build number 7 times. Then in Advanced Settings → For developers, turn on USB Debugging. Connect your phone to your computer and execute a command to delete or freeze the com.miui.misystem or com.android.browser package (if it is used for advertising), but beware: removing system components can lead to unstable work.
adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.miui.msa.global
adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.miui.analyticsThese commands turn off the ad and analytics service for the current user, and the data is not physically deleted, but it stops downloading and executing, and it's a safer method than deleting it completely, because it allows you to reset everything back by factory reset.
⚠️ Attention: Use ADB-commands to remove system packets can cause a loss of warranty or disruption if critical components are removed. Always check the name of the packet before removing it. Do not delete packets that you are not sure of the purpose of 100%.
Comparison of methods and final recommendations
The choice of method depends on your technical training and willingness to compromise%. DNS-Filtering is a great result, but requires trust in the provider. DNS. Installing an alternative player is the easiest and most reliable solution for most users.
If you use your device primarily to watch movies, switching to a VLC or MX Player will solve 99 percent of the problems, and if you’re critically important to the Mi Video interface and its features, you’ll have to combine disabling MSA and setting up Private DNS.
Remember that Xiaomi updates its services regularly, and menu items may change, but the principles of the ad mechanisms remain similar throughout many versions of MIUI and HyperOS.