Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones often face intrusive ads that appear in the most unexpected places: in system applications, the browser or even on top of the interface of other programs. This is the result of aggressive monetization of the proprietary shell MIUI and HyperOS, which allows the company to sell devices at an affordable price. However, it is not necessary to tolerate constant notifications and banners in the system menus, since most of them can be disabled by regular means.
The process of cleaning the interface from marketing noise requires several steps to be taken in a sequence, since there is no single “Remove all ads” button in the system. Advertising IDs and services are scattered across different sections of settings, including security, bootloader and personal recommendations. In this article, we will analyze each source of irritants and provide a step-by-step algorithm to completely clean your gadget of unwanted content.
Before you start to get into complex manipulations, it is worth understanding that completely removing ads can sometimes affect the operation of some free features of the system, although in 99% of cases the user simply gets a clean interface without losing functionality. System applications will continue to work correctly, but will stop offering you to buy a subscription or install an additional game. Let's start with the main switch, which should be turned off from each owner.
Disabling MSA Service and Advertising Identifiers
At the heart of Xiaomi’s advertising ecosystem is the MSA (MIUI System Ads) service, which is responsible for collecting your preferences and displaying the relevant banners in the system utilities, and to block it, you need to go to the settings and find the password and security section, and you need to go to Access Data and find the msa application in the list.
Once you find the service, you need to switch the slider to "Switch off." The system will warn you that a shutdown may affect some functions, and will suggest waiting 10 seconds before confirming. It is important to be patient: the timer must expire completely, only then the "Switch off" button will be active. If you fail to turn off the first time, repeat the procedure several times - Xiaomi servers sometimes do not accept the request to disconnect from the first attempt.
In parallel with the MSA service, it is recommended to reset the advertising ID. This action breaks the link between your device and the accumulated interest profile that is used by targeted advertising. This option is located along the Settings path → Password and Security → Privacy → Advertising. Here you need to activate the switch “Disable Ad Personalization” and click “Reset Advertising ID”.
⚠️ Note: After disabling the msa service, banner ads may disappear within 24 hours, rather than instantly. If the ads are partially lost, restart the device to apply any changes to the system.
To consolidate the result, you should also disable receiving recommendations from the system itself. In the same password and security menu, find the access to data item and turn off data transfers for Mi Credit, GetApps and Mi Video applications if you do not actively use them, which will prevent background data exchange, which is often used for trigger advertising.
Set up the built-in browser and clear notifications
The built-in Mi Browser is one of the most active sources of pop-ups and news (push notifications). By default, it is set to show news and promotional articles on the homepage. To turn it into a surf-only tool, open the app, click on three dots in the bottom menu and go to Settings. Here, find the Home Page section and select Classic mode or turn off news display entirely.
Next, you need to prevent the browser from sending notifications. In the application settings, find the Notifications option and uncheck the Recommendations, News and Download Notices. This will save you from constantly flashing banners in the notification curtain. It is also useful to clear the browser cache by removing accumulated advertising scripts, through the Privacy menu → Clear data.
If you prefer not to remove the standard browser, but want to use it without advertising, you can use the blocker feature built into the MIUI security settings. However, a more effective solution would be to install a third-party browser, such as DuckDuckGo or Brave, which have built-in protection against trackers, in which case the standard browser can simply be hidden from the desktop or disable its notifications through the Android system settings.
You should also consider permissions for sites. Go to your browser settings, select Site Settings, and make sure that no site is allowed to display pop-ups or send notifications. Often users allow push notifications to sites, mistaking them for robot testing, and then receive spam constantly.
Elimination of advertising in system applications
Advertising integrations are deeply embedded in Xiaomi's standard utilities like Explorer, Music, Themes and Security. Fortunately, each has the option to disable recommendation receipt. Start with the Security app, which scans the phone for viruses and clears the memory. Open it, click on the settings gear in the top right corner and find Receive recommendations.
In the “Mi Themes” app, which installs wallpaper and fonts, the advertisement is in the “Profile” section. Click on the avatar, then click on the three dots on the menu and select “Settings.” You need to turn off the “Show Ads” and “Personal Recommendations” options. A similar procedure is performed in “Conductor”: menu → settings → “About” → turn off “Recommendations”.
The Music app also requires customization. Go to the player settings, find the Advanced Settings section, and turn off Show Ads and Get Recommendations. After that, the interface will be minimalist, and the music will play without interruption to subscription offers.
☑️ Advertising Disconnection Checklist
Remember that some system applications can be updated through the GetApps store, returning advertising modules. It is recommended in the settings of the app store to disable auto-update or prevent it from showing notifications. It is also worth checking the application “Downloads”, where advertising debris often accumulates in the form of downloaded APK-file.
Blocking Advertising in Games and Third Party Applications
Advertising inside games and third-party apps, such as a flashlight or calculator, is often part of the program’s code and is not controlled by settings. MIUI. But there is an effective way to deal with it at the network level, and the idea is to change the way we do it. DNS-The most popular and reliable option is to use the server to filter advertising traffic. DNS from AdGuard.
To set up, go to Settings → Connection and Sharing → Private DNS. In the box that opens, select the option “Host Name of the DNS Provider” (or “Manual”) and enter the address: dns.adguard.com. Once saved, the phone can lose the Internet for a second, and then the connection will recover. This method blocks requests to known ad servers, making banners in games empty or non-loadable.
An alternative is to install specialized blocking apps like Blokada or AdGuard (a version with GitHub, not from the Play Market). VPN-It's a tunnel on the device, and it filters all the traffic that's going through, and it's a more powerful tool that allows you to customize filter lists, but it can slightly increase your battery consumption.
| Locking method | Efficiency | Impact on the battery | Difficulty setting up |
|---|---|---|---|
| MSA shutdown | High (systemic advertising) | No. | Low. |
| Private DNS | Medium (web and games) | Minimum | Low. |
| Annexes (AdGuard) | Maximum | Average. | Medium |
| Root rights + Hosts | Maximum | No. | Tall. |
⚠️ Attention: Use of private DNS It may conflict with corporate Wi-Fi networks or parental controls. If the Internet stops working in the office or school, temporarily return the settings. DNS auto-mode.
It is worth noting that in some free games, developers specifically block the launch when they detect ad blockers, in which case you will have to choose between playing with ads or looking for modified versions of applications, although the latter carries security risks.
Disabling recommendations and news in the interface
In addition to explicit advertising, Xiaomi likes to fill the interface with “recommendations” — widgets with news, videos and tips that appear on the desktop and in the lock menu. To remove the news feed to the left of the desktop (Google Discover or Mi Video), you need to swipe to the right, click on the gear settings and disable the corresponding switches.
The lock screen often displays “Glance Wallpaper” that changes the background and displays promotional articles. To get rid of them, go to Settings → Always On and Lock → Wallpaper Carousel and turn off this feature. Now, when you lock, you will display a static image or a standard watch.
You can also see folders on your desktop that have names like Popular or Recommended, which are not viruses, but a function of the system, and click on that folder, then click on the name at the top of the screen, and uncheck the Recommended Apps box, and the folder will clear the imposed software.