How to connect Xiaomi Mi Box S to your phone: all ways to sync

Why to connect Xiaomi Mi Box S to your phone and what it does

The Xiaomi Mi Box S is not just a big-screen video experience, but its integration with a smartphone offers opportunities that many users don't even know about, such as using your phone as a touch-controlled remote control, streaming photos and videos wirelessly, or even playing mobile games on your TV through screening, but most importantly, synchronization makes it easier to set up the console, especially if the original remote is lost or broken.

In this article, we will discuss all the current ways to connect the Mi Box S to Android and iOS phones, including official methods from Xiaomi and workaround solutions. You will learn how to configure a connection via Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth, the Mi Remote application, as well as how to use Google Cast to stream content.

Importantly, if your goal is to simply duplicate your phone's screen on TV, you'd better use Miracast or Google Chromecast, but if you want full sync (file management, set-top box settings), read on.

Method 1: Connect via Mi Remote (official method)

The most reliable way to control the Mi Box S from a smartphone is to use Xiaomi’s Mi Remote app, which works as a virtual remote, but with additional features such as voice search, gestures and access to the console’s system settings.

To connect:

• 📱 Install Mi Remote from Google Play or App Store.
• 🔌 Connect the console and phone to the same Wi-Fi network (this is a must!).
• 🔍 In the app, select Add Device → Xiaomi Mi Box S.
• 🔄 Follow the instructions on the screen: the console must flash a blue LED to confirm the pairing.

If the Mi Box S is not displayed in the list of devices:

⚠️ Warning: Check if Bluetooth remote is enabled in the setup (Settings) → Remote and accessories → Add accessory. Also make sure that the phone is Bluetooth enabled and geodata is allowed (the app uses it to find devices).

Turn on Wi-Fi on your phone and console|Install Mi Remote|Turn on Bluetooth on your phone|Allow geodata for the application|Reset the console if it is not-->

Method 2: Control over Wi-Fi Direct (direct connection)

Wi-Fi Direct lets you connect your phone to the Mi Box S without a router, creating a direct network between devices.This is useful if you don't have access to the Internet or need to transfer files quickly.

Instructions for Android:

1. On the console: Settings → Network and Internet → Wi-Fi Direct → turn on the mode.
2. On your phone: open Settings → Wi-Fi → Wi-Fi Direct (on some models – Connections → Wi-Fi Direct).
3. Select the Mi Box S and confirm the connection.

For iPhones, this method doesn’t work — Apple has limited support for Wi-Fi Direct for third-party devices. Instead, use a local area network (see Method 4).

Advantages of Wi-Fi Direct:

• 🚀 High file transfer speed (up to 300 Mbps).
• 🔒 No router dependency.
• 📁 You can transfer photos, videos and APK-file.

Method 3: Synchronize via Bluetooth (for file management and transfer)

Bluetooth connectivity is suitable for basic console control (like a remote) or transferring small files, speeds are lower than Wi-Fi Direct, but the connection is more stable and uses less battery power on the phone.

How to connect:

1. On Mi Box S: Settings → Remote and Accessories → Add Bluetooth device.
2. On your phone: Turn on Bluetooth and start searching for devices.
3. Select the Mi Box S from the list and confirm pairing (may need to enter) PIN-code, usually 0000 or 1234).

After you connect, you can:

• 🎮 Use your phone as a gamepad (via apps like GameSir).
• 📎 Transfer contacts or small files (up to 10 MB).
• 🔊 Manage music playback from the phone on the console.

⚠️ Note: Some functions (e.g. transmission) APK) Bluetooth may not work due to Android limitations TV. Use Wi-Fi Direct or Google Cast.

Wi-Fi Direct|Bluetooth|Mi Remote|Google Cast|Local area network-->

Method 4: Local Area Network Connection (SMB/FTPS)

If you need to access files on the console (for example, download movies or backups), you can configure shared over the local network. To do this, a file manager with SMB or FTPS support (for example, FX File Explorer or Solid Explorer) must be installed on the Mi Box S.

Step-by-step:

1. Install the FX File Explorer from Google Play.
2. Open the app. → Network → FTP-server → run the server.
3. Remember the address of the species ftp://192.168.x.x:2221 and entry data.
4. On the phone, connect to this address through any FTP-client, ES Conductor).

The alternative is to use SMB (Windows Protocol).

• 📂 On the prefix. FX File Explorer turn on SMB-server.
• 🔗 On the phone enter the address in the conductor smb://192.168.x.x (IP prefix).
• 🔑 Enter the login/password (often by default) guest/empty).

💡

If the console is not visible on the local network, check if the router firewall blocks connections between devices. Try to disable AP Isolation in the router settings.

Method 5: Broadcast the screen via Google Cast (Miracast/Chromecast)

If your goal is to duplicate your phone screen to your TV via the Mi Box S, then the easiest way to use Google Cast is to work on both Android and iOS, but requires both devices to be connected to the same Wi-Fi network.

Instructions for Android:

1. On the console: make sure that Google Cast is enabled (Settings → Display and Sound → Cast).
2. On the phone: open Settings → Connected devices → Broadcast.
3. Select the Mi Box S from the list of available devices.

For the iPhone:

1. Install the Google Home app.
2. Click Screen Translation → Broadcast screen / audio.
3. Select the Mi Box S.

Limitations of the method:

• ⚠️ Image delay (lag) to 1-2 seconds.
• ⚠️ Not all apps support streaming (for example, Netflix may block it).
• ⚠️ On iOS, the sound is not always broadcast.

💡

For a minimum lag, use a 5 GHz Wi-Fi router and 802.11ac standard to reduce latency to 0.5 seconds.

Solving problems: the console does not connect to the phone

If the Xiaomi Mi Box S isn’t visible in the list of devices or the connection is constantly broken, check the following points:

Network problems:

• 🔄 Reboot the router and console.
• 📶 Check that both devices are connected to the same network (not the guest network!).
• 🛡️ Turn it off. VPN On the phone, it can block local connections.

2. Bluetooth/Wi-Fi Direct errors:

• 🔄 Reset the network settings on the console: Settings → System system → Reset → Resetting network settings.
• 📱 On your phone, clear the cache of the Mi Remote or Bluetooth app.
• 🔋 Make sure that the console has enough charge (at a low level, it turns off energy-intensive modules).

Programmatic failures:

• 🔄 Update the firmware of the Mi Box S to the latest version (Settings) → About the prefix → Updating the system).
• 📱 Update the Mi Remote app or reinstall it.
• 🛠️ If nothing helps, reset the console to the factory settings (Settings) → System system → Reset → Total reset).

FAQ: Frequent questions about connecting Xiaomi Mi Box S to your phone