Pop-up ads on Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Pro: how to remove forever

Why is there an ad on the Redmi Note 8 Pro and can it be removed?

Owners of Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Pro often face the problem of suddenly appearing banners, pop-ups with advertising games, credits or dubious services, and advertising can pop up even on a locked screen, in the settings menu or on top of running applications. 80% of cases are not to blame viruses, but built-in MIUI services and aggressive monetization of the brand shell.

The root of the problem lies in Xiaomi’s policy: since MIUI 11, the company has been actively integrating ad modules into system applications (Security, Cleaner, Themes). Even after resetting to factory settings, advertising returns to its source as software updates. However, the good news is that most advertising channels can be disabled manually without superuser rights (root).

In this article, 7 proven ways to remove ads on the Redmi Note 8 Pro, including hidden MIUI settings, ADB locking and alternative launchers, all methods tested on MIUI 12-14 firmware (Android 9-11).

Method 1: Disabling personalized advertising in MIUI settings

The first step is to deactivate the ad ID that Xiaomi uses for targeted impressions, which removes up to 40% of pop-up banners, but does not affect system notifications from apps.

Instructions:

• 📱 Open the Settings. → Google → Advertising.
• 🔄 Click Reset Advertising Identifier.
• 🚫 Activate the switch to Turn off personalized advertising.
• 🔒 Go back to the basic settings and go to the Apps → Application management → All applications.
• 🔍 Find Msa (or) MIUI System Ads, open it and press Disable it.

⚠️ Attention: After update MIUI Msa settings may reset. Check them every 1-2 months.

Method 2: Clearing the cache and system application data

Xiaomi’s ad modules are often hidden in the cache of Security, Cleaner, and Download Manager applications, and cleaning them removes temporary files with banner ads, but does not block new ones from downloading, and will have to be repeated after each major update.

How to clean:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. In the search box, enter Security (or Security in Russian).
3. Click Warehouse → Clear the cache and Clear the data.
4. Repeat the steps for applications: 🧹 Cleaner (Cleaning up) 📥 Download Manager (Download Manager) 🎨 Themes (Themes)

Critical detail: After cleaning Security, the virus scanning functions are temporarily disabled, and turn them on manually in 5-10 minutes.

Method 3: Blocking Advertising through ADB (without root)

If the system methods do not help, use them. ADB-This method requires a computer, but does not violate the warranty and does not require unlocking the bootloader.

Step-by-step:

1. Download Platform Tools (the official tool from Google).
2. Turn on your phone to debug by USB: Settings → About Phone → MIUI Version (click 7 times) Settings → Additional → For developers → Debugging by USB
3. Connect the Redmi Note 8 Pro to your PC and run the cmd in the folder with the platform-tools.
4. Enter the commands in turn: adb shell pm hide com.miui.analytics adb shell pm hide com.xiaomi.midrop adb shell pm hide com.miui.systemAdSolution

How to determine:

1. Download the launcher from Google Play.
2. Click Home and select the new launcher as the main one.
3. In the launcher settings, disable all options related to "recommendations" or "news".

💡

After installing an alternative launcher, disable the updates for MIUI Launcher in Google Play to avoid automatically returning to the standard interface.

Method 5: Use of ad blockers (Blokada, AdGuard)

Blocker apps intercept ads at the DNS or VPN level, which allows you to remove pop-ups in the browser, games and even system notifications.

⚠️ Attention: Blocking based on VPN (For example, Blokada can interfere with Mi Account and data synchronization. If notifications from Mi Cloud stop coming after installation, add api.account.xiaomi.com to the whitelist.

Method 6: Manual removal of ad APKs (requires unlocking the bootloader)

For advanced users willing to sacrifice the warranty, there is a radical method – removing the system APKs with ads. This requires unlocking the bootloader and superuser rights (root), but guaranteed to remove all ads forever, including hidden banners in the settings.

List of dangerous APKs for Redmi Note 8 Pro:

com.miui.analytics #Collecting statistics


com.xiaomi.midrop # Advertising in Mi Drop




com.miui.systemAdSolution # System Banners




com.miui.hybrid #Hybrid notifications




com.miui.hybrid.accessory # Additional Advertising Modules

How to delete:

1. Unlock the bootloader through the Mi Unlock Tool.
2. Install custom recovery (TWRP).
3. Please use Magisk to obtain root rights.
4. Use Root Explorer or ADB to remove APK from /system/priv-app/.

💡

Removing system APKs can cause some features (such as Mi Drop or theme) to fail. Always back up before making changes!

Method 7: Reset to factory settings (last resort)

If the ad appears after installing questionable apps or updating MIUI, a complete reset will help, which deletes all user data, but returns the phone to a "clean" state without advertising implementations.

How to reset:

1. Back up important data (Settings → About Phone → Backup).
2. Go to Settings → Additional → Recovery and Reset.
3. Select Reset and confirm the action.
4. After the reboot, do not restore data from the backup – it may contain advertising modules.

⚠️ Note: Redmi Note 8 Pro with firmware MIUI 13+ After the discharge is automatically installed MIUI System Ads. Disable it immediately through Settings. → Applications as described in Method 1.

FAQ: Frequent questions about advertising on Xiaomi