If you’re using an old CRT TV, you are missing out on some serious entertainment. Undoubtedly, unlike your CRT TV, a smart TV upgrades your entertainment options. You get to enjoy Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hotstar, among other on-demand streaming services, directly on your TV.
But now, it’s possible to enjoy the ambiance that comes with a smart TV even with your old TV thanks to the Xiaomi Mi Box TV.
Xiaomi, a leading global smart TV supplier, hopes to ensure everyone with a non-smart TV, enjoys access to online streaming services with the help of their recently launched Xiaomi Mi Box.
If the Xiaomi Mi Box TV reviews are anything to go by, this device can best be defined as an affordable smart Android set-top box that helps convert your non-smart TV, desktop, or monitor into an online-enabled device that runs on Android. This device can connect to any TV by using HDMI and allow you to enjoy the best TV shows found on online streaming services.
But the best thing is with the Xiaomi Mi Box, you can do more than just transform your simple TV into a smart one. For instance, you can take screenshots using your Mi Box, use your mobile phone to control your Mi Box, or upload apps from your USB Device to your TV.
If you just purchased your Xiaomi Mi Box S and want to unravel some of these hidden features, here are hacks that will help you achieve this.
Contents
1. Use your phone to control your Mi Box S
If you often feel too lazy to reach out for the remote control when you’re enjoying a great movie, you’ll be pleased to know that you can control your Xiaomi Mi Box with your phone.
And you don’t need to have a Xiaomi phone to enjoy this service.
Simply download the Android TV Remote Control app on your Android smartphone or tablet and run it. The app will give you an option to connect to your Mi Box and any other compatible device you might have in your home.
Enter the code that appears on your TV screen as prompted by the app, and in no time, you’ll have your Mi Box synchronized to your mobile. You can now use your phone to control your TV just as you would a remote control.
2. Mirror your phone or laptop to the Mi Box
You can mirror your phone to your Mi Box, provided it’s an Android phone and it’s connected to the same Wi-Fi network as your Box.
Simply go to Settings on your phone and tap on the Wireless display or Cast option. Click on Mi Box under the options and start mirroring your phone screen on your TV.
If you need to cast from your laptop, you need to use Chrome which offers the necessary support for casting.
Here’s how you do it:
- On your PC, open the video you want to cast on Chrome
- Choose the three-dotted icon found at the top-right corner of the screen
- Select cast and add your Mi Box
- Click on start casting to mirror everything you do on your laptop to your TV screen
3. Install apps from a USB
The Mi Box comes with a USB port that allows you to install apps on your TV. You can also use the jack to connect to a USB flash drive with pre-downloaded music, content, or pictures.
To install apps that may not be available on your Android TV with the USB port’s help, go to settings, and click on Security and restrictions. Tap on the Unknown sources and activate this option by clicking on the Yes icon.
You can now use your USB Flash Drive to install new apps from other sites to your TV’s internal app store.
4. Take screenshots
You can take screenshots with your Android TV by pressing the power and volume down buttons simultaneously.
If this option doesn’t work on your Mi Box, you can also download a Button Mapper. Downloading the Mapper app from your Mix Box play store is free.
After the download is complete, assign the screenshot function to any of the buttons on your remote control, and you can now use this button to take screenshots.
5. Uninstall apps or remove them from favorites
You can access all the installed apps on your Mi Box S home screen by pressing the dotted icon on your Mi Box S remote control.
If you want to declutter your home screen by uninstalling some of the apps, long-press the app you want to uninstall on the screen by pressing the remote control’s dotted icon. A menu will appear, and you can click on uninstall.
If you prefer to remove the app from appearing on the home screen rather than uninstalling it, you can click on the remove from favorites on the menu.
6. Force stop apps
Sometimes an app may give you issues, especially when it’s loading. Rather than wait for it to finish loading, you can use the force stop button to close it.
You can do this by:
- Go to settings
- On the device section, click on Application
- Select the malfunctioning app, and in the menu that appears, click on force stop
This will force it to close. You can also uninstall the app if it continues to give you problems.
7. Organize your apps
The apps on your Mi Box S home screen are organized in the order they were added. For instance, the ones that were the first to be added appear at the top of the list.
The good news is that you can reorder your apps such that they appear in your preferred order. One way to do this is to:
- Press the dotted icon on your Mi Box S remote control
- Press and hold the app select button
- Select the move icon from the menu and change the app position using the navigation buttons.
You can also organize your apps by configuring your Mi Box such that it organizes your apps automatically in the order you use them. This option is best if you tend to use the same apps frequently.
To configure your Mi Box such that it organizes your apps for you:
- Go to settings
- Go to preferences and click on the start screen
- Select rows of games and applications
- Click on sort by latest date
Once you’re done, you’ll note that your apps are now organized in the new order you selected.
8. Disable unwanted channels on your home screen
Tech blogger Antoine Bechara says that “If you want to declutter your home screen, you can do so by disabling the channels you don’t watch.” You can do so by clicking on the customize channels icon at the bottom of your home screen. Choose Disable or enable channels and select the channels you need to disable from your home screen.
9. Expand your Mi Box internal storage
The Mi Box S comes with an 8 GB internal storage space. If you need some extra space, you can expand it by connecting a USB drive and configuring it such that it acts as additional internal storage.
- Connect a USB Flash Drive to the port and go to settings
- Select Storage and restoration from the menu
- Select the USB drive and click on Format as device storage
- The drive will be formatted and will act as additional internal storage for your device
10. Add favorite videos to watch later
The Mi Box doesn’t have a watch later list for your favorite videos, but it has the Play Next list, which you can use to add your favorite videos to watch them later.
To add videos to this list:
- Click and hold the select button of your favorite video
- From the menu, choose to Add to play next, and your video will be added to the list
By long-pressing the video’s select button and clicking on remove you can also remove the video from the list once you’re done watching it.
Final thoughts
Don’t you think it’s time you converted your simple TV to a smart one? The Xiaomi Mi Box S is an affordable set box that will easily connect to your TV, converting it into a smart running Android TV.
And now, thanks to our ten Xiaomi Mi Box TV hacks, you can make the best out of your Mi Box.