Owning a Xiaomi or Redmi smartphone often involves pleasant emotions from high performance and affordable prices, but there is one caveat that can spoil the impression: we are talking about intrusive banner ads that can appear in the most unexpected places: It's not a virus or an accidental crash, it's an embedded monetization of the operating system. MIUI (or a new HyperOS, aimed at reducing the final cost of the device.
Fortunately, aggressive marketing can be completely neutralized manually without having to install third-party antivirus software or flash the device.The process requires care, as the settings are scattered across different menus, and some options are hidden under obscure acronyms. In this guide, we will discuss all the known methods that will help you clean the interface of unnecessary visual noise.
Before you start setting up, it is important to understand that advertising modules are deeply integrated into the system. Simply removing applications here will not help, since the system services are responsible for displaying banners. Disabling requires a series of actions in different sections of the settings menu. If you miss even one step, the ads can come back after a while or manifest in another application.
What is MSA and why does it show ads?
The main source of annoyance is a system application called MIUI System Ads, often abbreviated as MSA. It is this process that collects data about your preferences and generates personalized offers that you see on the lock screen or in folders. Disabling this component is the first and most important step to a clean interface.
The thing about the MSA deactivation process is that the system may not allow the service to be disabled the first time, it's a security mechanism that forces the user to confirm the action again. If you see an error message or a countdown timer, just wait 10 seconds and try to press the shutdown button again. Usually, on the second or third attempt, the restriction is removed.
Technical details of the MSA
To do this, you'll need access to a list of installed applications, search for MSA or miui.system.ads and go to its properties, and you don't just have to stop the process, you have to turn it off, and then the ad integrations in the standard utilities should stop updating.
Disabling Advertising in Standard Applications
Even after the core MSA module is disabled, individual system utilities can continue to show promotional materials. In the Xiaomi ecosystem, each application has its own Get Recommendations switch. You have to go through the main tools you use daily and manually deactivate this feature.
The most important apps to look at are Security, Download, Music and Themes, which are the ones that most often have pop-ups asking you to install games or subscribe, and the algorithm is the same everywhere: go to the settings of a particular application, find the About or Additional section, and check the box from the Receive Recommendations item.
☑️ Verification of system applications
Remember that the interface may vary slightly depending on the version of MIUI. If you don't find the right item in the places described, search the settings of the application itself. Sometimes the option is hidden in the three-dot menu in the upper right corner of the screen.
Setting up DNS to block ad servers
One of the most effective methods that works at the level of the entire Android operating system is to change the operating system. DNS-This way you can block requests to known ad domains before they even upload content to your screen, not only does it remove banners, but it can slightly speed up page loading.
To implement this method, go to Settings → Connection and Sharing → Private DNS. The default value is Auto. You need to select the DNS Host Name mode and enter the address of a dedicated server that filters traffic. One of the most popular and proven solutions is AdGuard DNS.
dns.adguard.comOnce you enter the address, save the settings. The system will check the connection, and if the address is entered correctly, the corresponding notification will appear. Now all requests to the ad networks will be blocked at the network level, this is a universal solution that helps even when the MIUI system settings are updated and return old parameters.
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Use it. DNS-Not only is filtering to remove ads, but it's also protecting against phishing sites, and servers like AdGuard automatically block access to known fraudulent resources.
Limiting personalization and advertising ID
In addition to explicitly displaying banners, Xiaomi actively collects data about your behavior to form an advertising profile. Even if you disabled the visual part, telemetry collection can continue. To maximize the animation of your device, you need to reset the advertising ID and prohibit personalization.
This setting is in the general privacy menu. Go to Settings → Passwords and Security → Privacy → Advertising Services. Here you will see the Ad Personalization switch – you need to turn it off. It is also recommended to click the Reset Ad ID button to reset your accumulated interest data.
| Parameter | Recommended value | Impact on the system |
|---|---|---|
| Personalization of advertising | Off. | Stops collecting preference data |
| Advertising identifier | Dropped. | Resets the user profile for advertisers |
| MIUI's plan to improve | Not to participate | Reduces the volume of telemetry sent |
| Automatic data sending | Off. | Stops background transmission of statistics |
In the same section, you should pay attention to the item “User Experience Improvement Plan” or “Program Improvement”, which involves sending error reports and usage statistics, which indirectly affects advertising algorithms, disabling this feature makes smartphone use more private.
Remove advertising on the lock screen and in the browser
Special attention should be paid to the "Glance" feature, which turns the lock screen into a source of news and advertising images, many users accidentally activate it when you first set up the phone, and to remove beautiful but intrusive images, you need to change the theme of the lock.
Go to Settings → Lock screen (or “Always screen and lock screen on”). Find wallpaper carousel or “Glance” and turn it off. If the switch is active, the system will continue to show content. You can also simply change the lock theme to the standard “Classic” through the Themes app.
⚠️ Warning: After the wallpaper carousels adjustment system is updated, you may reset. Check this section periodically, especially if you notice new images appearing on a locked screen.
As for the built-in Mi Browser, it is one of the most aggressive sources of advertising. If you use it, go to the settings (three bars at the bottom), select Privacy and Security, and enable pop-up blocking. However, the best solution would be to install an alternative browser such as Firefox or Brave, which have built-in trackers.
Additional MIUI privacy settings
There are a few other hidden places where advertising noise sources may be lurking, such as statistics and automatic diagnostic data, which, while they don't directly show banners, they communicate with analytics servers that can trigger advertising triggers.
Take the Settings → About Phone → MIUI (or OS Version) path. Click the system logo several times until it says "Additional Features Enabled." Go back and a new menu will appear there, and you can turn off the usage and diagnostics data, which will make the system a little more "closed."
It’s also worth checking the Explorer app settings, which often hides the “Get recommendations” or “Popular” item in its menu, and disabling these options will clear the file manager’s home page of the news feed and game offers, making it a simple tool for working with files.
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The comprehensive shutdown of all advertising sources takes about 15-20 minutes, but the result is worth it: the interface becomes clean, and the battery is spent more economically due to the lack of background download of advertising content.