The Mi Box TV of Xiaomi is the Android TV device with the best quality / price on the market. That, together with a price of just 85 euros on Amazon, makes it one of the main options for those who want to increase the capabilities of their TV beyond what the simple Chromecast offer.
Therefore, today we bring a repertoire of 17 tips and tricks for the Xiaomi Mi Box TV for those who want to get the most out of the device. We will explain how to move applications to how to send files to any device, going through other simpler but useful tricks such as taking screenshots or using the mobile as a command.
Move applications on the main screen
Android TV in general, and your Mi Box TV in particular will have you on the main screen the applications that you are applying, but will not pay too much attention to organize them. Therefore, you can always move them within the same row where they are in the main menu, both in the category of apps and games, but not in the recommendations.
To do this, you just have to select the application and keep the middle button of the command pressed. In a couple of seconds the application will begin to stand out from the rest when entering the move mode. Now you can release the button and move the application left and right, and when you put it in the place where you want it to stay inside that row press the action button again.
Uninstall applications in the main menu
With the same method you can also uninstall an application. To do this, you just have to choose it and keep pressing the central button for selecting the command. The difference is in once you enter the way to move, since you must move it down instead of to the left or right. When you do it, it will be placed in a recycling bin, and you will only have to press the action button again to confirm the movement.
Change the recommendations of the applications
The first content section of the home screen of the device is the content recommended by the applications you have installed. YouTube, Spotify, the Play Store itself and other applications with catalogs will leave you here videos, playlists or applications and games that they think may interest you. And if there is an application whose recommendations do not interest you, you can simply deactivate them.
To do this go to the Settings option, and once inside go to the preferences section and click on Start screen. Two options will appear, and among them, click on Recommendations Row. A column will appear with all the applications that are sending recommended content to the home screen. Here you will only be left to click on each of them to activate or deactivate it.
Organize the lists of apps in order of use
Before we have taught you to change the order of your lists of games and applications, but you can also configure your My Box to organize them automatically in order of use. This means that the last ones you used will appear to the left of the whole, and therefore they will be the first to appear in each list. This is especially useful if you almost always use the same apps.
To change this go to the Settings option, and once inside go to the Preferences section and click on Start screen. Here now choose the option Rows of games and applications, and inside click on Sort by latest date and ready, from now on the apps will start to organize according to this new order.
Set which apps to include when searching
There is a way to configure what applications to include with the device’s search function. To do this go to Settings, and in the Preferences section enter Search . Once inside, click on the option Applications in which you can search. You will enter a list of installed apps that you can activate and deactivate to configure the sources of your searches.
When you look for anything in the main menu of the My Box, the search will show you results in all the applications that you have activated in this step. Therefore, feel free to deactivate those whose results do not interest you so much, since you will be able to continue using the app normally and doing internal searches in it when you are executing it.
Block offensive words
If you want to prevent anyone who is using the device from searching for bad words, you can activate specific protection for it. For that, enter Settings, and in the Preferences section go to Voice. Once inside, activate the option Block offensive words and voila, they can no longer be used with voice commands.
Active 4K or HDR resolution
The Mi Box is prepared to support 4K resolutions and adapt to HDR technologies. To change the resolution go to Settings, and in the device section go to the Display option. Now click on Screen Resolution, where you can change the resolution to which the device takes video. Remember that the 4K option will ONLY appear if your TV supports that resolution.
In the same Screen menu, you will also have an HDR section where you can also enable this technology. Remember that for this option to mark notable differences, your TV must be compatible.
Send images and files to any device
One of the most difficult things in this device is to move any type of local file to your computer. The easiest thing is to use a file browser to send these photos and files to a USB, and from there to the computer, but sometimes these applications fail or are not able to copy several files at once, which is what has happened to us with the captures of this article.
The solution is the cloud. If you install the ES File Explorer application, in the column on the left you will have a Cloud section where you can configure your Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive or Dropbox account. Once you have done it, you only have to send the files to the cloud and from there download them to any other device.
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Upload applications from a USB
To install applications from a USB, first go to the Settings menu, and in the Personal section enter the Security and restrictions option. Once here, click on the Unknown sources option and choose the Yes answer to activate them. Now you can install apps from different sites to the internal app store.
To do this, look for the APK you want and insert it into a USB, connect it to the device and use a file browser like ES File Explorer to navigate the unit and run the APK file with the app you want to install. Keep in mind that if it is not an application adapted to Android TV it is very possible that it does not work correctly.
Use your mobile as a remote control
If you are one of those who never knows where the remote control has left off, there is an application that allows you to turn your smartphone into a controller for any Android TV device. The application is called Android TV Remote Control, and the only thing you will need is to have both devices connected to the same WiFi.
When you run the application, after asking for some permissions you will go to a screen where you will see the name of your Mi Box and any other compatible Android TV device that is within reach of the mobile. After clicking on the name of the device, the app will ask you to enter a code that will appear on the TV screen where you have the Mi Box connected. Enter it and that’s it, the mobile will be synchronized and now it will show you a remote control interface.
Take a screenshot
Yes, with Android TV you can also take screenshots, and it’s as easy as doing them on your mobile. You only have to press the power button and the volume down button at the same time. You will see a capture capture animation, and it will be saved in the path / sdcard / Pictures / Screenshots /.
Expand the internal storage space
If the 8 GB of storage offered by the Mi Box TV falls short, Android TV offers you the possibility of expanding it by connecting a USB and configuring it as internal storage. To do this, connect a USB to the corresponding port, enter the Settings menu and click on the Storage and restoration option.
Here click on the USB drive, and in its configuration click on Format as device storage or Format as device storage. The USB will be formatted, and from that moment you can use it as a second hard drive for your device. Here you have a more detailed explanation if you need it.
How to move games to a USB
If you have a USB connected to the My Box you can also move the game there, whether you have it configured or internal storage or not. To do this, in the application menu press on the game, so that you will see a menu with your data and options such as opening it. Here, click on the Storage used option.
When you do it, you will see in which storage unit you have the game installed, which will usually be internal storage. If you have a connected USB it will also appear, so to move the game you will only have to press on USB Drive to start the process of moving the files. Yes, look at the available storage, because if it is greater than that, a message will appear telling you that there is no place for the game.
Close applications to the force
If there is an application that is giving you problems, Android TV allows you to close them by force without having to wait for it to finish loading to do so. To do this, go to Settings, and once inside, in the Device section, go to Applications. Now, in the Installed Applications category, click on the app that is malfunctioning.
When you click here on an application, it will not open directly, but will first show you a menu with options. In it, click on Force stop to force it to stop. You will also have an Uninstall applications option to delete it directly from the device if the problem persists.
Use it as a Chromecast
Another feature that makes the price of the Mi Box really worth it is that you can also use it as Chromecast to send your content from another device. From a computer you can do it with the Chrome function, while many Android applications are also compatible with the “send to Chromecast” function. And if you are an iOS user, applications like AllCast will allow you to do it too.
Connect a remote or keyboard via Bluetooth
With the controls or keyboards with cable it is worth to connect them to the device and start using them, but with Bluetooth you have to do a configuration process. To do this, go to Settings and go down to the Remote Control and accessories section. Here click on the Add accessory option to add any compatible Android accessory via Bluetooth.
The message Finding accessories will now appear on the screen. While this message appears put the peripheral in synchronization mode, which is different in each one and you will have to look at it in its instructions. Then the peripheral will appear on the screen, and you just have to click on it and wait a few seconds until it is synchronized. If you are asked to insert a pin in the process, it will appear in the instructions.
How to restore factory data
And finally, the Xiaomi Mi Box will also allow you to reset the device to leave it as if you just bought it. For that, enter Settings, and in the device section go to Storage and restoration. Once here, click on the option Factory data reset and you can proceed to delete all applications and changes you have made.