Users of Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco smartphones often face intrusive advertising, which appears even in system applications. Particularly annoying are banner ads and videos inside Explorer (Files Apps), as they prevent you from quickly finding the right documents or media files, a problem that is relevant not only for older versions of the MIUI shell, but also for the newest HyperOS.
Advertising integrations are built in by developers to monetize budget devices, but they can be turned off without losing functionality. Explorer advertising is most often broadcast through MSA (MIUI System Ads) and personalized recommendations. In this article, we will explore proven ways to block pop-ups, disable personalization and adjust system settings that will return a clean interface to you.
It is important to understand that the complete removal of system components can lead to unstable operation of the smartphone. ADB-The conductor is a critical component, and you need to be careful about how it works.
Disabling Advertising Personalization in Settings
The first step in combating intrusive content is to disable data collection for personalization, and the system analyzes your actions to show more relevant ads, but this process also activates their frequent occurrence, and to stop data collection, you need to go to the password and security settings section.
Find the Privacy or Special Options section where the personalization switch is hidden, and if you turn it off, you won't remove the ads completely, but you'll make them less targeted and more frequent, and that's a basic measure to follow before you take more radical action.
- 📱 Go to Settings. → Passwords and security.
- 🔒 Select the Privacy section (or Special Features in older versions) MIUI).
- 🚫 Find the item Personalization of advertising and translate the slider to the position “Off».
- ✅ Confirm the action in the pop-up window by selecting “Disable».
Once you have done this, the system will stop using your OAID to select ads, but the Files app itself may still have banners because they are part of the application’s functionality, and additional steps are required to remove them, as described below.
⚠️ Attention: After personalization is disabled, the ad won’t disappear instantly; it takes time (15 minutes to 24 hours) for the system to apply the changes on the servers.
Set up recommendations in the application Files
The most effective way to remove ads in Xiaomi Explorer is to go deep into the app itself. In modern versions of HyperOS and MIUI 14/15, developers have added separate switches to disable recommendations, which are responsible for displaying news feeds, popular videos and banner ads on the app's home page.
Open the Files app and go to the settings menu, which is usually hidden under three dots in the corner or is available via swipe, and you'll find the section that's related to "Recommendations" or "About Us," and that's where the key switches that block the content are hidden.
Note the Receive Recommendations item, which removes the news feed, which often contains inserts, and check for a separate switch for Popular or Advertising, which may be called differently in some regions.
☑️ Checking the conductor settings
If you have left all the switches off, your region may not be set correctly in your smartphone settings. Some countries (such as India or Russia at certain times) have more aggressive advertising policies. Changing the region to Nevada or the United States sometimes helps reduce the number of banners.
MSA (MIUI System Ads)
MSA is the primary source of system advertising in Xiaomi devices, responsible for (push) notifications and pop-ups across a variety of system interfaces, including memory cleanup and, in some cases, conductor, and disabling this service is a critical step.
To access MSA settings, go to Settings → Passwords & Security → Data Access. Find msa in the application list. Disable Wi-Fi and mobile network access. The system will alert you that the application will stop working correctly, which is exactly what we need.
| Parameter | Action. | The result |
|---|---|---|
| Network access | Disable Wi-Fi and Mob data | Advertising stops loading |
| Auto-start | Banned | The service does not start when switched on |
| Notifications | Ban everything | The advertising fluffs are disappearing. |
| Permits | Drop it all. | Complete isolation of the service |
Once you've shut down your network, the system can show a countdown confirmation window several times (usually 10 seconds), and you'll have to turn off the switch every time, and it's a safety mechanism, but it's easy to be patient, and once the timer expires, the service will be blocked.
⚠️ Attention: Do not remove the application MSA fully ADB, If you're not sure what you're doing, simply turning off network access is enough to block ads, and deleting can cause errors in system components like the theme or theme store.
Disabling Mi Video and other sources
Often, ads in folders or when viewing files come not from the conductor itself, but from related services such as Mi Video or Mi Music. These applications can create notifications or pop-ups that the user mistakenly mistake for advertising the conductor.
It is recommended to check the settings of all preinstalled media applications. Go to Settings → Apps → All apps. Find Mi Video, Music and Security. In each of them, repeat the procedure: turn off network access (if possible) and disable notifications.
- 🎬 Mi Video: Frequently shows ads for "popular commercials." Turn off "Online Services" in the app settings».
- 🛡️ Security: The Security app also contains an ad module. Go to its settings and turn off "Receive recommendations».
- 📂 File Manager: Make sure that the settings of the conductor itself are disabled synchronization with cloud services if you do not use them, as there may be promotions there.
If you don't use standard Xiaomi players, you can simply remove them or disable them, free up your system resources and ensure that you're not getting any traffic from them, and use alternatives from Google Play, like VLC or MX Player.
Why does the ad return after the update?
Using DNS to Block Advertising
A more advanced and efficient method that works at the operating system level is the use of a private DNS, which allows you to block ads not only in the Explorer, but also in browsers and other applications without installing third-party software.
You don't need root rights. You just need to write an address. DNS-One of the most reliable and free options is the AdGuard server, which filters out requests for known ad domains.
To set up, go to Settings → Connection and Sharing (or Wi-Fi). Find a Private Item DNS (Private DNS). Select the mode "Host Name provider" DNS» And enter the address:
dns.adguard.comSave the settings. Now all traffic going to the ad servers will be blocked at the network level. Advertising in the Explorer will stop loading because the application will not be able to get data from the ad server. This method also increases the speed of loading pages in the browser.
⚠️ Attention: Use of third-party DNS may cause some local services or applications that rely on specific services to fail DNS-If you notice a problem with Internet access, just return the settings. DNS (c) meaning "Auto" or "Disconnected».
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If some applications have stopped working on DNS, try adding exceptions to the firewall or using an alternative DNS, such as dns.familyshield.opendns.com, although it is focused on content filters.
Advanced lock through ADB (for experienced)
For users who are not afraid of the command line, there is a way to completely deactivate advertising components through ADB (Android Debug Bridge), which allows you to “freeze” or remove the system packages responsible for advertising without obtaining root rights.
You'll need a computer, USB-cable and installed drivers ADB. On your smartphone, you need to activate the developer mode: 7 times click on the build number in the About Phone section. USB on the Developer Menu.
Connect your phone to your PC and execute a command to remove or freeze the com.miui.misys package or com.miui.personalization. However, be careful: removing system components can lead to a cyclic bootloop.
adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.miui.msa.globalThis command will remove the global ad service for the current user. The phone will remain operational, but the ad module will be deactivated. To return everything back, use the cmd package install-existing command com.miui.msa.global.
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Using ADB is the most powerful tool, but it requires technical literacy. For most users, the MSA + Private DNS Disconnection bundle is enough to completely forget about advertising.