How to remove advertisements, irksome app notifications from Xiaomi MIUI 10

Tired of unsolicited notifications and pesky ads on your Xiaomi smartphone? Here is a step-by-step guide on how to remove advertisements and stop notifications from built-in apps in MIUI 10

Chinese technology company Xiaomi makes money from its smartphones in various ways. One of them is monetization of its MIUI 10, the default user interface that comes loaded on most Xiaomi smartphones. The MIUI 10 is a customised skin layered on top of Android operating system. It comes pre-installed with several company apps, including Mi Video, Mi Music and Mi File Manager, and some bloatware that randomly shows irrelevant advertisements and pushes irksome notifications. While the company justifies making money from advertisements and bloatware, its smartphone users and technology enthusiasts have repeatedly criticised these for ruining user experience.

Here is a step-by-step guide on how to remove advertisements and stop notifications from built-in apps in MIUI 10:

How to remove ads from MIUI 10 on Xiaomi smartphones

Step 1: Connect the phone to internet using WiFi or network service

Step 2: Go to the phone’s settings and click on additional settings

Step 3: Search for the Authorization and Revocation option and click on it

Step 4: Look for ‘msa’ service in the Authorization and Revocation option and disable it

Step 5: Once the ‘msa’ service is disabled, go to the phone’s settings => Additional Settings => Privacy => Ad services => Personalised ad recommendations, and disable it.

The steps mentioned above would stop MIUI 10 from showing advertisements. It is important to note that step 4 might have to be repeated for more than once until the ‘msa’ service is fully disabled. 

How to disable push notifications from pre-installed apps and bloatware in MIUI 10

Step 1: Go to the phone’s settings and click on notifications setting. In some phones, the notification setting might have a different name — Notifications and status bar

Step 2: In notifications settings, click on the App notifications option to see a complete list of installed applications with a toggle button in front of them

Step 3: Search for pre-installed apps that keep pushing irksome notifications and click on the toggle button in front of them to disable all notifications from them

The steps shown above will disable all notifications, including spam notifications.

How to remove ads from pre-installed apps in MIUI 10

The MIUI 10 comes pre-installed with several apps, including a few made by the company itself. To remove ads from Mi apps, follow the steps below:

How to remove ads from Mi Browser

Step 1: Go to the phone’s settings

Step 2: Click on system app settings to see a complete list of installed applications

Step 3: Click on browser

Step 4: In browser settings, locate and enter privacy and security option

Step 5: Disable ‘Recommended for you’ option to disable ads in Mi Browser

Like any other browser, the Mi browser also has a provision to set the homepage to show preferred websites on starting up, like Google Search. Change the homepage according with your preference if you do not like the content showed by Xiaomi on the browser start page. To do so, follow the steps until step 3 (mentioned above) and then click on advance to set start page with the URL of choice.

How to remove ads from Mi Music

Step 1: Go to the phone’s settings

Step 2: Click on system app settings to see a complete list of installed applications

Step 3: Click on Music

Step 4: Disable ‘Receive recommendations’ to turn off ads in Mi Music

How to remove ads from Mi Security

Step 1: Go to the phone’s settings

Step 2: Click on system app settings to see a complete list of installed applications

Step 3: Click on Security

Step 4: Disable ‘Receive recommendations’ to turn off ads in Mi Security app

How to remove ads and disable push notifications from Mi Video

Step 1: Go to the Mi Video app

Step 2: Tap on ‘Account’ option visible in the bottom area, right above the capacitive navigation keys

Step 3: Go to settings

Step 4: Disable ‘Online recommendations’ to remove ads.

Step 5: Disable ‘Push notifications’ to stop the Mi Video app from pushing pesky notifications

How to remove ads from Mi File Manager

Step 1: Go to Mi File Manager

Step 2: Click on the hamburger icon (three horizontal lines) visible on top left side of the screen

Step 3: Click on settings

Step 4: Click on about

Step 5: Disable ‘recommendations’ to stop ads from Mi File Manager

Besides ads in Mi File Manager, MIUI 10 shows promoted apps in different home screen app folders. To stop folders from showing promoted apps, go to each folder and click on its name to rename it. At the rename screen, the MIUI 10 shows an option to disable promoted apps. Repeat these steps on each folder. 

How to remove ads from MIUI Cleaner

Step 1: Go to MIUI Cleaner

Step 2: Click on the brush icon visible on the top right side of the screen

Step 3: Click on the gear icon visible on the top right side of the screen to open Cleaner settings

Step 4: Disable ‘receive recommendations’ to stop MIUI Cleaner app from showing ads