How to Connect Your Phone to a Xiaomi TV for Movies: All Ways to Watch 2026

Modern Xiaomi TVs (Mi TV series, Redmi Smart TV, Xiaomi TV A) support many ways to wirelessly and wiredly connect smartphones - from classic HDMI to advanced protocols like Miracast or Google Cast. But how to choose the best method to watch movies without lags, with minimal latency and maximum quality? In this article, we will analyze all the current ways to synchronize your phone with Xiaomi TV, their pros, cons and nuances of setting.

Xiaomi TVs are uniquely featured in its own PatchWall firmware (in global models) or MIUI TV (in Chinese versions), which can affect the availability of features, such as some regional firmware disabling DLNA, others lacking Apple AirPlay support, and we have taken these nuances into account and compiled universal instructions that work on most models released after 2018.

Important: If your Xiaomi TV is released before 2017 (e.g. Mi TV 3 or Mi TV 4A first revisions), some wireless protocols may not be supported due to hardware limitations, in which case we recommend using a wired connection or updating the firmware to the latest version.

HDMI Connection: Maximum Quality Without Latency

The conductive method through HDMI It is the most reliable way to stream content from your phone to your Xiaomi TV, it guarantees minimal latency (critical for games or dynamic movies), supports resolution up to 4K@60Hz But it would require an adapter, because modern smartphones don't have a full-size phone. HDMI-port.

You'll need:

• 🔌 adapter USB-C/HDMI (smartphone USB Type-C) or Micro-USB/HDMI (Note that low-cost adapters often don't support 4K — Choose certified ones (for example, from Baseus or Anker).
• 📺 HDMI-cable (usually included with a TV). 4K I need a cable version. HDMI 2.0 or higher.
• 🔋 Charger (optional): with prolonged viewing, the phone may discharge, so connect it to the network.

Step-by-step:

1. Connect the adapter to the smartphone, and HDMI-cable to adapter and TV (the port is usually signed) HDMI 1/2/3).
2. On the Xiaomi remote, press the button SOURCE (or INPUT) and select the appropriate HDMI-port.
3. The phone may have a request to select the display mode – choose Duplicate screen or Expand screen (the second option is convenient for multitasking).
4. If the image does not appear, check if HDMI-CEC mode is enabled in the settings of the TV (Settings → System → HDMI-CEC).

Version. HDMI-The cable corresponds to the resolution of the TV

Adapter supports output 4K@60Hz (indicated on packaging)

The phone has USB Debugging Mode enabled (for some adapters)

Television and phone connected to the same network (for Bluetooth audio synchronization)-->

Advantages of the method:

• ⚡ Zero Latency – Ideal for Games and Sports.
• 🎬 Support HDR10, Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos (if the TV and adapter support).
• 🔒 Stability: No communication breaks like Wi-Fi.

⚠️ Note: Some Xiaomi smartphones (e.g. Redmi Note 10 Pro or POCO X3) when connected through HDMI You can turn off the phone's internal speaker. To get the sound through the TV, select the sound settings. HDMI output-wise.

2. Wireless broadcast on Miracast (Screen Mirroring)

Miracast is a wireless screen standard built into most Xiaomi TVs (starting with the Mi TV 4) that allows you to duplicate a phone screen without connecting to a single Wi-Fi network, but requires support for the protocol by the smartphone itself. For example, all Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO models based on Android 8.0+ support Miracast.

How to turn Miracast on your Xiaomi TV:

1. Open Settings → Connections → Wireless display (or Screen Mirroring).
2. Activate the option and wait until the TV appears in the list of available devices.
3. On the phone, open Settings → Connections → Screen broadcast (or Wireless Display in global firmware).
4. Select your Xiaomi TV from the list. Confirm the connection on both devices.

The Miracast features:

• 📶 Works without the Internet – devices create direct communication over Wi-Fi Direct.
• 🎮 The delay is ~30-50 MS (acceptable for movies, but not for games).
• 🔋 The battery consumption of the phone is higher than with a wired connection.

💡

If Miracast doesn’t find the TV, try restarting both devices or resetting the network settings on your phone (Settings) → SIM-maps and mobile networks → Resetting Wi-Fi settings).

⚠️ Note: On Xiaomi TVs with firmware MIUI TV (Miracast may not work as well due to regional restrictions.Solution: install PatchWall global firmware through Settings → About the device → System update (required) VPN load).

3. Google Cast (Chromecast embedded): for streaming from YouTube, Netflix, etc.

Xiaomi Android TVs (such as Mi TV Q2 or Xiaomi TV A2) have built-in support for Google Cast, a technology that allows you to stream content from apps (YouTube, Netflix, Kodi) directly to the TV screen without duplicating the entire screen of the phone, which saves battery power and reduces the load on the smartphone processor.

How to use Google Cast:

1. Make sure your phone and TV are connected to the same Wi-Fi network.
2. Open a supported app (like YouTube) and click the Cast icon (usually in the upper right corner).
3. In the list of devices, select your Xiaomi TV (the name will match the model, for example, MiTV-Q2-1234).
4. The content will start playing on TV, and the phone can be used for control (pause, volume).

List of apps that support Google Cast:

• 🎥 YouTube, Netflix, Disney+
• 🎵 Spotify, Google Play Music
• 📱 Google Photos, Chrome (Tabcasting)
• 🎮 Stadia, NVIDIA GeForce NOW (cloud-game)

On Xiaomi TVs based on Android TV 11+ (e.g. Mi TV P1), Google Cast supports broadcasting in 4K resolution with HDR, whereas on older models (Android TV 9), the maximum quality is limited to 1080p.

4. USB Connection: for Local Files

If you need to play movies stored in your phone’s memory but without screen duplication, you can use the same. USB-Xiaomi TVs support modes MTP (for viewing files) and PTP (However, video playback will require the TV to recognize the phone as a storage device.

Instructions:

1. Connect your phone and TV with a USB-Type-C cable (or USB-MicroUSB for older models).
2. On your phone, select File Transfer (or MTP) mode in the connection notification.
3. On the TV, open the Media Player (or File Manager) and select the connected device.
4. Find a folder with movies (usually DCIM, Movies or Download) and start playing.

Limitations of the method:

• 🚫 Not all video formats are supported by Xiaomi's built-in player. MKV or AVI It may be necessary to install a Kodi or VLC via Google Play.
• 🔊 The sound will go through the TV, but the volume control is possible only from the remote control.
• 📱 The phone will charge during connection (if the cable supports data and power transmission).

5.Use of DLNA: for streaming over a local network

DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) is a protocol for sharing media between devices on the same network, and unlike Miracast, it doesn't duplicate a screen, it only broadcasts selected files, and it's convenient for playing movies from a phone without cables, but with some format restrictions.

How to set up DLNA on a Xiaomi TV:

1. Make sure your phone and TV are connected to the same Wi-Fi network.
2. On the TV, open the Media Player → DLNA (or Local Network).
3. Put it on the phone. DLNA-server, such as BubbleUPnP or Plex.
4. In the app, select files to broadcast and specify the Xiaomi TV as the output device.

Pros and cons of DLNA:

• ✅ Low load on the phone (files streamed directly).
• ✅ There is no binding to a specific application (like in Google Cast).
• ❌ The delay can reach 1-2 Seconds (not suitable for games).
• ❌ Not all formats are supported (e.g, FLAC or DTS:X).

💡

DLNA is ideal for playing local movie collections, but requires pre-configuring the server on your phone or PC.

6.Alternative ways: Apple AirPlay and third-party applications

If you have an iPhone and a Xiaomi TV supports AirPlay (e.g. Mi TV Q2 2023), you can stream the screen without additional adapters.

1. Open the Control Point on your iPhone and press Screen Duplication.
2. Choose your Xiaomi TV from the list.
3. Confirm the connection (it may be necessary to enter code from the TV screen).

For Android phones, third-party apps are also available:

• 📱 ApowerMirror – screen duplication with the ability to control with TV.
• 🎮 Steam Link – for streaming games from PC to TV via phone as an intermediary.
• 📺 LocalCast is an alternative to Google Cast for non-standard formats.

⚠️ Note: When using third-party screencast apps (such as ApowerMirror), a watermark or time limit may appear on Xiaomi TVs. To remove it, purchase a premium version or use official protocols (Miracast/Google Cast).

Comparison of all methods of connection

FAQ: Frequent Questions and Problems