Users of Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones often face a situation where the device screen suddenly fills with banner ads or annoying alerts from apps you haven’t even installed.This is not just an annoyance, but also a real threat to data security, as these windows often hide fraudulent schemes. Android device owners need to be clear about the difference between system notifications, browser alerts and advertising debris that enters the screen through vulnerabilities in application permissions.
To make matters worse, the MIUI shell or the new HyperOS has its own recommendation settings that can be activated by default. To effectively clean the desktop and lock screen, you need to take a comprehensive approach by checking security settings, application-specific settings and system services. In this article, we will look at all possible causes of redundant windows and provide a step-by-step algorithm for eliminating them.
Before we take any drastic measures, it is important to identify the source of the problem. Often users confuse regular messenger notifications with advertising pop-ups, which leads to the removal of the desired programs. We will look at the tools built into the system that will help identify malware or improperly configured services that interfere with the comfortable use of the gadget.
Identification of the source of pop-up windows
The first step in combating unwanted notifications is to understand their nature: If a window pops up on the screen with an offer to win an iPhone or a virus warning that blocks all other applications, it is likely that a third-party app with extended access rights is to blame. Android system notifications usually appear at the top of the screen (curtain) and do not block control of the phone, while ad viruses behave aggressively.
To find the culprit, you can use the "Recent Apps" feature. Immediately after the advertisement appears, click the menu button (three bars or swipe up, depending on navigation) and see which application is currently active. Often these can be flashlights, memory cleaners, QR scanners or low-quality games, which request the right to display on top of other windows.
⚠️ Warning: If a pop-up says your phone is infected and offers to download an antivirus, do not follow the links inside this window.
For more accurate diagnosis, use the built-in Task Manager. Go to Settings → Apps → All apps and carefully review the list. Look for programs without a name or with a transparent icon that often masquerade as system processes. Removing such suspicious software is the primary measure of protection.
Disabling Advertising Recommendations in MIUI and HyperOS
Xiaomi is embedding MSA (MIUI System Ads) into its shells, which is responsible for displaying ads in system applications. Although it is difficult to completely remove this component without root rights, it can be disabled by denying access to the network, which will significantly reduce the amount of advertising noise in standard utilities such as Explorer, Music or Themes.
To turn off, go to Settings → Passwords & Security → Access to Personal Data. In the list that opens, find msa and put the switch in an inactive state. The system will warn you that some features may stop working, and prompt you to wait 10 seconds before confirming. This is a necessary step to deactivate the ad module.
☑️ Privacy setting MIUI
Also, check your ad personalization settings. In the same section, "Passwords and Security," look for "Advertising Services" (or "Advertising Service") and turn off personalized recommendations, which will not remove ads completely, but will make them less intrusive and tied to your interests.
| System application | Where to look for advertising settings | What to turn off |
|---|---|---|
| The File Manager (File Manager) | Menu (three stripes) → Settings → About the application | Receive recommendations |
| Security | Settings (cogs) → Get recommendations | Receive recommendations |
| Topics | Profile → Settings → Additional Options | Showing advertising, personal recommendations |
| Downloads. | Three points. → Settings → About the annex | Receive recommendations |
After doing these steps, it is recommended to restart the device so that the changes take effect. In new versions of HyperOS, the paths to settings may differ slightly, but the logic remains the same: look for items related to “recommendations” or “improvement of the user experience.”
Why is the ad coming back?
Blocking notifications from websites in browsers
A common reason for notifications such as “Your phone is slowing down” or “5 viruses found” is not the virus itself, but the permission that the user accidentally gave the site in the browser. By visiting certain resources, you could click “Allow” in response to a request to display notifications, after which the site was authorized to send spam directly to the lock screen.
To remove these notifications in Google Chrome, go to Settings → Privacy & Security → Site Settings → Notifications. Here you will see a list of all sites that are allowed to send notifications. Carefully examine the list and remove any suspicious or unfamiliar domains by clicking on them and selecting “Delete” or “Block”.
The same procedure is done in the standard Mi Browser browser: Open the browser, click on the three dots in the bottom bar, select Settings → Site Notifications. You also need to clear the permission list. This action will instantly stop the flow of advertising spam from web resources.
- 🚫 Google Chrome: Settings → Site settings → Notifications → Remove the excess.
- 🛡️ Mi Browser: Menu → Settings → Site notifications → Clear permits.
- 🌐 Yandex.Browser: Settings → Sites → Notifications → Prohibit all or selectively.
It is important to understand that blocking notifications in the browser does not affect the work of messengers and social networks, this applies only to the websites you visited, and regular cleaning of this list is a good habit for maintaining the cleanliness of the system.
Setup of application notification management
If you’re not worried about ad viruses, but just overactive apps (games, stores, news), Android provides a flexible tool to manage each type of alert separately, allowing the app to send messages about new levels in the game, but to ban ads or news.
Go to Settings → Notifications and Status bar → Notification management. This is a complete list of all installed programs. Choose the desired application, such as AliExpress or Telegram. You will see the Allow Notifications switch. If you turn it off completely, the application will stop bothering you at all.
However, a more subtle setup is available inside the app itself in this menu, and by clicking on the notification category name (e.g., Marketing Emails or Promotions), you can:
- 🔕 Disconnect Sound: Notification will come, but without sound or vibration.
- 📉 No sound and pop-up: Notification will only hit the curtain, without disturbing the screen.
- 🚫 Block: Completely ignore this type of message.
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Use Do Not Disturb mode (moon in notification curtain) if you want to temporarily hide all notifications except calls from selected contacts.
Also worth paying attention to is the "Important" feature for individual applications, if you turn on this mode for messengers, their notifications will come even when the "Do Not Disturb" mode is turned on.
Using antivirus and searching for malware
The MIUI-built Security tool is based on either the Avast or AVL engine and can effectively find known viruses and trojans. If manually removing applications doesn't work, run a deep system check. To do so, open the Security Application → Antivirus → Check.
If the built-in scanner doesn’t find anything, and the ads continue to appear, it makes sense to install a third-party antivirus from a well-known vendor, such as Malwarebytes, Kaspersky or Dr.Web Light. These programs often find adware that masquerades as legitimate processes.
⚠️ Warning: Don't install multiple antiviruses at once. This can cause system conflict and slow down your phone.
If a threat is detected, follow the antivirus instructions. Often you need to uninstall a specific application that you may have forgotten or installed secretly. Once deleted, be sure to restart the phone and check if the problem has gone away.
Resetting and extreme measures
If none of the above methods helped remove notifications from the screen of Xiaomi’s phone, it may have been malware embedded deep into the system or corrupted system files, in which case the most effective, albeit radical, method is a complete factory reset.
Before performing this operation, be sure to back up all important data (photos, contacts, documents) to the Mi Cloud service, Google Drive or your computer.
To reset, go to Settings → About Phone → Settings Reset → Erase all data. The system will request confirmation and input of the unlock password. Once rebooted, the phone will be like new, without ads or viruses, but you will have to reconfigure accounts and install apps.
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Hard Reset is a 100% guarantee of virus removal, but takes time to recover data and configure the device.
After reset, be careful when installing apps. download programs only from the official Google Play store or GetApps. Avoid installing apps. APK-files from unverified sources, as they are the most common cause of infection.