Emulation of secondary screens on Xiaomi: a complete guide to setting up and applying

What is secondary screen emulation and why Xiaomi users need it

If you've ever wondered how to bring a Xiaomi smartphone image to the big screen without wires or complicated settings, then secondary screen emulation is exactly what you need. This technology allows you to use the phone as a signal source for a second display, whether it's a TV, a monitor or even a projector. But how does this work in practice and what opportunities does it open?

Unlike classic screen duplication (such as through Miracast or Google Cast), secondary screen emulation involves creating a virtual display that can display content independently of the smartphone’s main screen, meaning you can, for example, watch a movie on your TV while checking messages on your phone — without interruptions and without having to switch between windows.

This feature is particularly useful for gamers, streamers or media users, such as you can play a game on your smartphone and play it on the second screen, or you can use your phone as a gamepad and broadcast it to a large monitor, but not all Xiaomi models support this feature out of the box. Let's see which devices are compatible and how to activate emulation.

What Xiaomi devices support secondary screen emulation

While Xiaomi is actively developing multimedia features, secondary screen emulation is not available on all smartphones of the brand, primarily supported on flagship and gaming models, where performance and flexibility in content management are important.

• 📱 Xiaomi Black Shark series – gaming smartphones where secondary screen emulation is used to stream games on PC or TV.

But even if your model isn't on this list, it doesn't mean that the feature is completely unavailable, and in some cases, it can be activated through hidden developer settings or third-party applications, but it's important to consider the limitations of:

⚠️ Note: On devices with MediaTek processors (such as the Redmi Note 11), secondary screen emulation may not work smoothly due to driver limitations. 4PDA or XDA Developers.

To see if your smartphone supports this feature, go to Settings → Connections & Sharing → Wireless Display. If it has a secondary screen or advanced mode option, then emulation is available.

How to turn on secondary screen emulation: step-by-step instructions

If your device supports the feature, you can activate it in several ways, depending on which protocol you want to use: wireless (Miracast, Google Cast) or wired (HDMI via USB-C).

Method 1: Wireless connection (Miracast/Google Cast)

This is the simplest method, but it requires that both the smartphone and the external screen (TV, monitor) support Miracast or Google Cast.

1. Open Settings → Connections and Sharing → Wireless display.
2. Activate the Wireless Display slider (some models may call it "Transmit to TV").
3. In the list of available devices, select your TV or monitor.
4. Confirm the connection on both devices.
5. In the connection menu, select the "Advanced Screen" mode (not duplicate!).

If the "Advanced Screen" option is not available, then your device only supports duplication, in which case, third-party software will be required for full emulation (more on this below).

Method 2: Connecting through a wired HDMI-adapter

For stable operation without delay, it is better to use a wired connection. You will need a USB-C to HDMI adapter (preferably with DisplayPort Alt Mode support).

Buy a USB-C → HDMI adapter (e.g. from Xiaomi or Anker)

Connect the adapter to your smartphone

Connect. HDMI-cable

Enable the "External Display" mode in the phone settings-->

After connecting in the screen settings (Settings → Display → External Monitor), select Extended Desktop Mode. Now you can drag and drop the application windows to the second screen, just like on a PC.

⚠️ Note: Some Xiaomi models (e.g. Redmi Note 12) may turn off the main screen of the phone when wired. To avoid this, activate the "Do not turn off the screen when connected" option in the developer settings. HDMI".

Third-party applications for secondary screen emulation

If the built-in MIUI features don't allow for extended mode, you can use third-party solutions, which are especially useful for devices where secondary screen emulation is locked at the firmware level.

Here's the top.-3 Applications that will help you bypass restrictions:

The most flexible solution is Scrcpy, as it allows not only duplicate screens, but also emulate secondary displays through virtual windows on a PC, for example, you can run a game on your phone, and only display the game window on your PC monitor, hiding system notifications.

To use Scrcpy, you will need:

1. Enable USB debugging in the developer settings.
2. Connect the phone to the PC and confirm trust in the device.
3. Run Scrcpy with the --window-borderless option for full screen mode.

💡

If you have a lag when connecting via Scrcpy, reduce the bitrate by scrcpy command. --bit-rate 2M. This will reduce the quality of the picture, but improve smoothness.

Common Problems and Their Solutions

When setting up secondary screen emulation, users often encounter common errors, and here are the most common ones and ways to fix them:

• 🔄 Screen not detectable - check if Miracast is on on your TV (network or display settings). LG This protocol is off by default.
• 🎮 Image Latency (lag) – when wirelessly connected, use a 5GHz router or switch to a wired connection.
• 🔌 adapter HDMI It doesn't work - make sure the adapter supports DisplayPort Alt Mode. Cheap Chinese adapters are often not compatible with Xiaomi.
• 📵 No sound on the secondary screen – in the Wireless Display settings, select the option “Transmit sound to the secondary screen” TV". If it is not, use external speakers or Bluetooth headphones.

If none of these methods worked, try resetting the network settings on your phone (Settings → System → Reset → Resetting Wi-Fi, mobile network and Bluetooth settings). Sometimes conflicts in network profiles block Miracast from working properly.

Advanced features: game mode and multi-tasking

One of the key benefits of secondary screen emulation is that you can split tasks between displays, for example, you can:

• 🎮 Play on the big screen using your phone as a gamepad (via Bluetooth or USB-OTG).
• 📊 Work with documents on a monitor while checking messages on your phone.
• 🎬 Stream content on Twitch or YouTube by taking the image from the camera to the second screen.

For gamers, the Game Monitor mode available on Black Shark and some Xiaomi flagships is particularly interesting.

• Excrete FPS-counter.
• Set up separate performance profiles for each display.
• Use your phone as a touchpad to control your cursor on a large screen.

To activate the game mode:

1. Connect the second screen (wired or wirelessly).
2. Run a game that supports advanced output (such as Call of Duty Mobile or Genshin Impact).
3. In the notification panel, tap the icon "Game mode" and select "External display".

💡

On the Black Shark 5 Pro, secondary screen emulation works with minimal latency (about 20ms) thanks to Shark Space's built-in chip, making it one of the best smartphones for streaming games.

Safety and Restrictions in the Use of Secondary Screens

Despite the convenience, secondary screen emulation has a number of limitations that are important to keep in mind:

1. Privacy protection: When connected to public displays (such as in cafes or hotels), your screen can be seen by an outsider. Always check what is broadcast and turn off notifications with personal information.
2. DRM restrictions: Services like Netflix or Disney+ can block content from being displayed on an external screen due to copy protection (Widevine L1), in which case the image will be black or low resolution.
3. Battery discharge: Wireless screen broadcasting significantly increases power consumption, and it is recommended to connect the phone to charging or use energy saving mode.

On devices with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor (such as Xiaomi 13 Ultra), when the secondary screen is activated, HDR support on the main display automatically turns off, due to the limitations of Qualcomm drivers.

⚠️ Note: If you use secondary screen emulation to work with banking applications or payment systems, some of them (for example, SberBank Online) may block access, considering the connection as a potential security threat.

FAQ: Frequent questions about secondary screen emulation on Xiaomi