Xiaomi’s modern smartphones and Smart TVs are a powerful multimedia tandem that allows you to turn the living room into a real theater. Instead of watching movies on a small smartphone display, users often want to bring the image to the big screen using a wireless connection. This is convenient, safe for the eyes and provides higher sound and picture quality. However, the setup process can seem confusing due to the many data technologies such as Miracast, DLNA and Chromecast.
In this article, we will take a closer look at all the available streaming methods, focusing on the Android ecosystem and the proprietary shells MIUI and HyperOS. You will learn how to set up a connection without using unnecessary wires, which applications are best suited for this task and how to eliminate common errors. A critical condition for all the methods described is to find a smartphone and TV in the same Wi-Fi network (one router subband). If devices are connected to different frequencies (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz) with customer isolation or to a guest network, detection may not work.
We'll look at both the operating system's standard features and third-party solutions, which are often more stable with certain TV models. Understanding how these protocols work will help you avoid image delays and audio desynchronization. Let's start by looking at the technical aspects of wireless media.
Device preparation and network verification
Before you start setting up, make sure both devices are ready to interact.The first step is to check your local network connection. Open the Wi-Fi settings on your Xiaomi smartphone and make sure you're connected to your home network. Then, using the remote control, go to the TV menu and check the connection status in the Settings section. → Network and Internet: Network names must be the same, including possible indexes (e.g,"Home_5G").
Often users face a problem when the phone sees the router, but the TV is connected to the guest network or uses mobile Internet through the built-in network. 4G-In this case, direct connection is not possible, and it is also worth checking whether the router has activated the "Isolation of access points" function" (AP Isolation, which prevents devices on the network from seeing each other, if enabled, must be disabled in router settings via the web interface.
Make sure both devices have the latest software updates installed. Manufacturers regularly release patches that fix data protocol errors. On Android TVs, this can be done via Settings → About TV → System Update. On a smartphone, the path usually looks like Settings → About Phone → MIUI Version. Up-to-date firmware ensures support for the latest codecs and security standards.
⚠️ Note: If your router distributes the network simultaneously at 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz under the same name, try to force both devices to connect to a 5 GHz network to transmit high-resolution video (4K), avoid buffering.
Use of the built-in function "Translation" (Cast)
The easiest and fastest way to display an image is to use an embedded feature of the Android operating system, often called Translation, Wireless Monitor or Cast. In the MIUI shell, this functionality is deeply integrated into the system. To run, swipe from top to bottom to open the control panel, and find the Translation icon. If it is not on the first screen, click on the edit icon (usually in the form of a pencil or tripole) and add the Translation widget or Widget to the Active Monitor.
Once activated, the phone will start searching for available devices on the network. The TV screen may have a connection request that needs to be confirmed by the remote. In some TV models, especially those with Android TV, you need to pre-start the Translation or Chromecast built-in app on the TV itself to become searchable. The process takes 5 to 15 seconds depending on the network response rate.
This method is ideal for displaying presentations, photo galleries or a browser, as it broadcasts the entire screen of the smartphone in real time. However, it should be borne in mind that when you use the phone actively (notifications, calls), the image will be displayed on the TV. For viewing videos from a gallery or YouTube, this method is also suitable, but can consume more battery power than specialized protocols.
☑️ Checklist of successful broadcast
Broadcasting through video services (YouTube, Netflix)
If your goal is to watch videos from online cinemas, using the built-in full-screen Translation feature is not optimal. Apps like YouTube, Netflix, IVi or Okko use DLNA or Google Cast technology, which allows the phone to act as a remote control, and the TV downloads the video stream itself, which significantly reduces the load on the smartphone battery and saves traffic.
To run, open an app like YouTube on your smartphone. In the upper right corner of the video or in the player interface, find the wave rectangle icon (the Chromecast logo). Click on it and select your TV from the list. The video will run directly on the TV, and the phone screen will have controls: pause, rewind, volume. You can turn off the phone screen or start another game at that moment, and playback will not interrupt.
Importantly, to work with this feature, the app on the TV needs to be installed and updated. Most modern Smart TVs already have these services built in. If you use a TV without a Smart TV but with a MI Box or Chromecast attached, the way it works is the same. The picture quality in this mode is often higher, as the TV decodes the stream itself using its more powerful processor.
💡
When you watch it. 4K-video DLNA/Chromecast Make sure your Wi-Fi network speed is at least 25 Mbps for a stable picture without artifacts.
Setting up Miracast protocol on your TV
Miracast is the standard for wirelessly transferring images and sound between devices. On Xiaomi TVs (Mi TV) and other Android TV brands, this feature can be called variously: "Wireless projection", "Screen Mirroring", "Duplicate screen" or "Miracast". Unlike Chromecast, Miracast creates a direct connection between devices, which provides minimal latency, which is critical for games.
To activate reception on the TV, find the corresponding shortcut in the list of applications. On some models, it is in the Applications folder or in the Login section. After launch, the screen will wait for connection. On a Xiaomi smartphone in the Translation menu, you may need to switch the search mode or select a specific type of device if automatic detection does not work.
It's worth noting that when you use Miracast, your phone and your TV create a direct Wi-Fi Direct connection, which means that even if the router temporarily shuts down, the stream will not be interrupted because the devices communicate directly, but it also means that the phone will not be able to fully use the Internet at the same time via Wi-Fi, although modern chipsets allow you to share data streams.
| Parameter | Miracast (screen translation) | DLNA/Chromecast (Video Translation) |
|---|---|---|
| Type of transmission | Full screen duplication | Transferring a link to content |
| Impact on the battery | High (screen is burning, encoding is underway) | Low (screen can be extinguished) |
| Router dependency | Low (Wi-Fi Direct) | High (requires a shared router) |
| Image quality | Depends on the power of the phone. | Maximum (decodes TV) |
Alternative applications for broadcasting
When standard methods don’t work or require advanced functionality, third-party apps come to the rescue. One of the most popular solutions for the Xiaomi ecosystem is the MI Remote app, which is often pre-installed on the brand’s smartphones, which allows not only to control the TV through an infrared port, but also to stream media over the local network.
Another powerful tool is the Web Video Caster or LocalCast app, which can pull video streams from a browser or local memory and send them to a TV, supporting almost any file formats that a native TV player may not understand, especially for owners of older Smart TV models that do not support modern H.265 codecs or MKV containers.
For users who want to stream low latency games, there are specialized applications that use real-time image compression technology. However, for normal film and photo viewing tasks, Android embedded tools are usually sufficient. Third-party software installation is rarely required and is rather recommendatory in nature to expand compatibility.
⚠️ Note: When installing third-party apps from unknown sources (not from Google Play), carefully check the permissions requested. SMS.
What to do if the list of devices is empty?
Solution: TV can't see the phone
One of the most common problems is when the phone and TV are on the same network but can't see each other, and 90 percent of the time, it's because of the settings of the antivirus firewall on the computer (if it's on the network) or the router's security settings, and see if the ban on client-to-client communication is worth it in the router's wireless network settings.
Another common reason is different subnets: If you have a complex network with multiple routers (like a main router and an additional one in repeater mode), the devices may be physically located in different network segments. IP-The device addresses start the same (for example, 192.168.1.X and 192.168.1.Y). If the addresses differ in the third group of digits, the devices will not be able to connect directly.
It’s also worth checking the date and time on both devices.Synchronizing the time for more than a few minutes can cause security certificate errors when trying to shake hands.Set automatic time synchronization over the network in the date and time settings on your phone and TV.
💡
Rebooting the router and both devices (TV and phone) solves most network visibility problems by clearing the cache DNS refreshingly IP-address.