Ad-blocking for MIUI and other Android Devices

Many of MIUI users have been suffering from issues of "Ads" shown practically everywhere across the phone. Well not only MIUI, but many other phones from other manufacturer too share similar kind off problem. Sometimes such issues also arise due to various apps we install that show plenty of ads. 

These continuous flow of ads not only ruins the end user experience but also ruins the battery life. So regardless of whether your phone has 4000Mah battery or 5000Mah, It doesn’t seem to last the way it should. Now amongst several solutions available out there many of the solutions require rooting of phone which is not a easy task for an average end user. In this post I will share a method which does not require end user to root the device. 

To begin with we need to install an app named "Blockada" (https://blokada.org/). Please make sure you install the app from this website and not from the Google playstore. The version on Google Playstore only allows changing of DNS as ads play important role in Google's Business model. Once downloaded, install the apk onto your phone and launch the app. 

As soon as the app launches you will be greeted with several options like "Ad Blocking", "DNS" and "Blockada Plus". You will also see an icon at bottom which will launch settings for the app. Now lets begin with setting up the ad blocking: 

Step 1. Open 1st option of ad blocking:

Step 2. Open Host List and select the host configuration as shown in the below screenshot.

I have come up with this selection basis of my surfing habits and apps that I have present on my phone that have ads in them. You can choose to ad or remove these host basis of your requirement.

Step 3. Open Adblocking Settings and enable  "[BETA] Advanced adblocking rules"

Step 4. Go to VPN options in the system found in network settings. Make the VPN "always-on". This will help in preventing auto disconnections.

Step 5. Disable "Private DNS" from network settings as well. Incase on some versions of MIUI this setting may not be directly accessible. In that case you can install "Hidden Settings for MIUI" (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ceyhan.sets&hl=en) and access this setting as shown in the screenshot below.

Please note that this is very important. The adblocking may or may not function properly if it is left enabled. You can further ignore this app from battery optimization to make sure that it does not get killed automatically. 

Can't download App's from Google play via 3g network

This is a short post describing a solution for a very common problem on android phones. One of the common problem with android is that, Apps cannot be downloaded over 3G connection. This problem is not only there with the play store, but with other applications dealing with media. The solution for this is very simple!
Go into Settings/...More settings/Mobile networks/Access Point Names. Choose your Access Point name and empty Proxy and Port. And that should fix your problem!

Debugging a website or web application using Chrome and Android device made easy

In this post we will look into simple steps of how to debug your website or you web application on chrome desktop while you are viewing it on chrome on android. Here is what you need:

1. An android device with chrome installed on it.
2. Device drivers for that android device (must have as this will enable USB Debugging)
3. ADB extension (https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/adb/dpngiggdglpdnjdoaefidgiigpemgage)

Here is how you perform debugging:

Step 1. Install ADB extension in your chrome on desktop
Step 2. Install device drivers for your android device
Step 3. Enable USB debugging:

Step 4: Enable USB debugging within chrome for android as shown below:

Step 5. In chrome on desktop click on Start ADB

Step 6: Click on view inspection target to start debugging