Where to look for playlists in Xiaomi: 5 ways to find and configure on TV and Mi Box

You're trying to find saved playlists on your Xiaomi TV or Mi Box, but you can't figure out where they're hiding? This is a problem that many users are familiar with -- the MIUI TV interface isn't always intuitive, especially when it comes to multimedia collections. Depending on the device model and firmware version, the placement of playlists may differ, and sometimes they don't show up at all in the main menu.

In this article, we’ll look at all the possible places where playlists are stored on Xiaomi devices, from standard apps to hidden file manager folders, how to find playlists in Mi Video, Google Play Music, local storage, and even how to recover lost playlists, and we’ll also reveal a few undocumented features that only work on firmware from 2023 to 2026.

1. Standard playlists in the Mi Video app

The most obvious place where users search for playlists is the Mi Video app (or Russian-language firmware video), where the system automatically groups videos by folder and tag, but not everyone knows how to manage these collections.

To open playlists in Mi Video:

• 📺 Launch the Video app from the main screen.
• 📁 In the top menu, select the tab "My files" or "Local" (the name depends on the version of the software).
• 🔍 Scroll down to the Playlists section – here you can see automatically created collections (for example, Recent, Favorites, Films").
• ⚙️ To manually create a playlist, click + Add a playlist (not available on all models).

Note: on Xiaomi TV Stick and some budget models (e.g. Mi TV 4A), the manual playlist creation feature can be disabled.

2. Search for playlists in Google Play Music and YouTube Music

If you're looking for music playlists, they're not stored in standard Xiaomi apps, but in Google Play Music (obsolete) or YouTube Music. On Xiaomi TVs, these apps are pre-installed, but their interface is adapted to the remote control, which causes confusion.

Instructions for YouTube Music:

1. Open the YouTube Music app (a note icon on a red background).
2. Go to the Library section (second tab below).
3. Select Playlists – here you will see both your personal collections and automatic collections (Mix for you, Similar tracks).

💡

If playlists don’t sync, make sure you’re logged in to the same Google account as you did on your smartphone. Xiaomi TVs sometimes reset credentials after an update.

For Google Play Music (if the app is still installed):

• 🎵 Come to My Music" → "Playlists".
• 🔄 If playlists don’t show up, update the app or bring them to YouTube Music via the web version.

3. Local playlists in the file manager

Many users don’t realize that playlists can be stored as separate files with the.m3u or.pls extension right in the TV’s memory, which are created by some players (such as VLC or Kodi) and are not displayed in standard Xiaomi applications.

To find them:

1. Open the File Manager (the application with the folder).
2. Go to the "Local Storage" or "Inner Memory" section.
3. Look for files with extensions: 📄.m3u — standard playlist format for video and music. 📄.pls is an outdated format, but still found. 📄.xspf — XML-playlists (rarely used).

These files are usually in the folders:

• 📂 /storage/emulated/0/Playlists/ — standardization.
• 📂 /Android/data/[name player]/ - if the playlist created a third-party player.

4. Playlists in third-party applications (Kodi, VLC, Plex)

If you use alternative media players, playlists can be stored directly in them.

⚠️ Attention: On Xiaomi TV Some applications (such as Kodi) may not have full access to the file system due to limitations. MIUI TV. In this case, playlists will have to be created manually or transferred through the USB-accumulator.

5. Hidden system playlists (for advanced users)

Xiaomi TV firmware based on Android TV stores some system playlists in secure folders, accessed only through ADB or root rights, and this is where they can be located:

/data/data/com.miui.videoplayer/databases/playlists.db


/storage/emulated/0/Android/data/com.mi.android.globalFileexplorer/playlists/

To view these files:

1. Connect the TV to your PC via ADB (instruction below).
2. Follow the command: adb pull /data/data/com.miui.videoplayer/databases/playlists.db
3. Open the playlists.db file via SQLite Browser, and there will be tables with your collections.

Install Android SDK PC-only|Enable debugging on USB customized TV|Connect TV single-cable|Check the connection with the adb device command-->

⚠️ Note: Changing system files without root rights can cause the Mi Video app to crash.We recommend backing up through the app first ADB Backup:

adb backup -f mi_video_backup.ab com.miui.videoplayer

6.Recovery of lost playlists

If the Suddenly playlists have disappeared after updating or resetting, you can try to restore them.

• 🔄 Update rollback: If playlists are missing after a firmware update, try rolling back to the previous version via Recovery Mode.Instruction: Download the old firmware from the official Xiaomi website.Place the file update.zip root USB-- I'll put the drive on the Menu. + Power on the remote to log in to Recovery. Select "Install update" and specify the file.

Import from backup:

Titanium Backup

Mi Cloud

Mi Video

Google Play Music

Metadata search:

MediaMonkey

MusicBrainz Picard

💡

The most common reason for losing playlists is to reset your TV to factory settings. Always export important collections to a.m3u file and store it on a cloud drive.

7. Alternative ways to manage playlists

If standard methods don’t work, try these workarounds:

• 🌐 Web interface: Some applications (e.g. Plex or Jellyfin) allow you to manage playlists via a browser.
• 📱 Smartphone Control: Install Mi Remote or Google Home on your phone to remotely control playback on your phone. TV.
• 🖥️ DLNA-Server: Configure Serviio or Kodi on PC in server mode – then playlists will be broadcast to the TV over the local network.