How to remove ads on Xiaomi: the complete guide

Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones often encounter intrusive banner ads that appear in the most unexpected places of the system, such as a pop-up when unlocking the screen, recommending apps in the Tools folder, or advertising in the system player. While the company positions this as a way to keep the device price low, for many users, this experience becomes an annoying factor.

Fortunately, MIUI and its successor, HyperOS, allow you to adjust your privacy and content display settings with a lot of flexibility, so you don't have to have super-user rights or reflash your device to get rid of most visual noise, you just have to go through key settings consistently and turn off multiple system services.

In this guide, we’ll break down all the current blocking techniques, from disabling the MSA service to setting up a private DNS. It’s important to understand that removing ads completely can sometimes affect the performance of some built-in features, such as Hot Apps or personalized browser recommendations, but the basic functionality of the phone will remain unchanged.

Disabling the MSA System Service

The centerpiece of the advertising ecosystem in the Chinese manufacturer’s devices is the MSA (MIUI System Ads) service, which is responsible for collecting user habits and displaying targeted banners in the interface, and without disabling the service, any other manipulations may be ineffective.

First, you need to find the service in the application list. Go to Settings, then select the App item and click All Apps. In the list that opens, find the msa line (sometimes called System Advertising Service) and click on it to open the detailed management menu.

⚠️ Attention: When you try to disable a service, the system may display pop-ups several times asking you to leave ads or warn about possible errors.

In the app menu, find the "Receive recommendations" or "Enable ads" switch and put it into an inactive state. The system will require you to wait 10 seconds, then prompt you to confirm the action with the "Disable" button. If you failed to turn off the first time, repeat the procedure 2-3 times - the company's servers sometimes do not accept the request immediately.

In addition to the main service, check your authorization settings. In the same app menu, find MIUI Daemon or miui.daemon, which is the system process responsible for collecting device usage statistics. Disabling access to data at this point will significantly reduce the amount of personalized advertising that appears based on your actions.

Also worth checking out is GetApps (formerly Mi Store), the official app store from Xiaomi, which often sends push notifications with suggestions, go to its settings via the All Apps menu, find the Notifications section, and disable anything related to ads and recommendations.

Set up a private DNS to lock

One of the most effective and cleanest ways to remove ads is to use filtered DNS, which works at the network connection level and blocks requests to known ad servers before they even upload content to your screen, which not only cleans the interface, but also speeds up the loading of pages in the browser.

You don't need third-party apps to implement this method. Just use the built-in Android feature called "Private" DNS» (Private DNS). Go to the Settings path → Connection and sharing → Private DNS. By default, there is a mode "Auto».

Select the option “DNS Host Name” (or “Manual”) and enter the server address that filters traffic in the field that appears. One of the most popular and reliable options is the AdGuard DNS service. Enter the following address in the input field:

dns.adguard.com

Once you enter the address, click Save. If the server connection is successful, a key icon or DNS may appear in the status bar, and all ads in the browser and most applications will stop showing, a technique that also helps hide banners in some system applications that download content from the network.

⚠️ Attention: Use of third-party DNS This may result in the inability to access some local resources or specific services of the operator. If after turning on you lost access to the Internet, return the setting to Auto or Disconnected».

There are alternative addresses for more aggressive filtering, like family.adguard-dns.com, which also blocks adult content, but a standard address is enough to clean up ads, and it's important to note that this method won't remove ads that are sewn directly into the app's code or broadcast from the same domain as useful content.

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Use it. DNS-filtering as the main method of protection, as it does not consume battery power additionally, unlike background ad blockers.

Cleaning up from advertising in standard applications

Even after disabling the MSA and setting up the DNS, some embedded applications can continue to show promotional material, which is because each system module has its own personalization settings. Let's go through the key applications that are most often intrusive.

Start with File Manager, which often shows banners on the start screen. To remove them, open Explorer, click on the menu icon (three bars) and select Settings → About. You need to find and disable the Receive Recommendations or Recommendations switch.

Then we go to the Security app, which is the app that often offers "speed up your phone" or shows game ads when scanning the system. Open the app, click on the gear in the corner. Find the "Get recommendations" section and turn it off. You should also go to the "Clean up" section inside the settings and remove the tick from "Get cleanup recommendations."

The situation is similar in the Music and Mi Video app, and in Music you have to go to the settings, select Advanced Settings, and disable Ads. In the video player, the path may be different: Settings → Player Settings → Online content, where you have to uncheck the news and ads.

The Mi Browser is one of the main sources of advertising noise. Open the browser, go to settings (three dots), select Settings → Privacy and security. Here you need to activate the ad blocker and disable Personal Recommendations. It is also recommended to disable notifications from the browser itself in the Android system settings.

Setting up the lock screen and desktop

Wallpaper Carousel is a feature that replaces a static image on the lock screen with a changeable picture of news and advertising, which many users confuse with ordinary wallpaper, not understanding where the “garbage” on the locked screen comes from.

To return a static image, go to Settings → Lock screen. Find Wallpaper Carousel (or Wallpaper Carousel) and turn it off. Then you can choose a regular static image as the background. If the button doesn't click, maybe the theme you're using is forced to include this feature - try changing the theme to a standard one.

Desktop and application folders can also contain advertising widgets. In the Tools folder, a Popular or Hot apps widget often appears. Click on it and select Delete or Hide. If the widget doesn't go away, pinch it with your finger and drag it to the top of the screen where a basket icon or cross appears.

The launcher also has hidden settings. Click on the empty space on your desktop to call the edit menu, and click on the settings gear. Here, check the Google Discover or Mi Video section — if you don't swipe left to view news, it's best to turn off this feature so you don't accidentally open ad content.

Specificity of work in the shell of HyperOS

With the release of the new HyperOS shell, which is gradually replacing MIUI in the global market, menu structure and item names have changed, anti-advertising principles have remained the same, but the paths to them may differ.

In HyperOS, ad settings are often grouped into a single privacy center. Check Settings → Passwords & Security → Special Features. There may be a Personalized Ads switch that controls how your data is used for targeting across the system.

The new shell also changes the behavior of widgets. If you use Xiaomi's Events or Weather widgets, they can stream news feeds. Click on the widget to open its settings, and turn off the display of news or ad units. Often, it's enough to simply remove the standard widget and install an alternative from Google or a third-party developer.

The key difference between HyperOS and the other is the more aggressive integration of ecosystem services. If you don’t use Xiaomi smart devices (lamps, robot vacuum cleaners), it’s recommended to limit the permissions for the Mi Home app and disable its notifications, as it can also act as a channel for promotional materials.

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In HyperOS, look for ad settings not only in apps, but also in the general Passwords and Security section, where privacy settings are centralized.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)