Support for apps to run on an Mibox international version external storage or thumbdrive will only arrive when Android 7.0 is released

You can, but it's still will take up space in internal space

For those who wonder how different the packaging for the Mi Box with Android TV 6.0 is between the one released in the USA and from China. They both have the same model number mdz-16-ab. Functionality is the same, If the US version gets updated, so does the international version. And no, your regular mi box China interface cannot be converted to run Android TV. The international version also has playstore by default. If unsure, always check if the seller states that it runs ANDROID TV. There's a difference between android TV the operating system and Android box which most lesser known companies are offering.

For the photos below, the orange box is the unit sold in the US while the unit I received from China via AliExpress is in the plain brown box. Cheers


Attached thumbnail(s)

I got mine from Lelong, but this seller at Lazada also sells it at a lower price and no overseas shipping waiting period.
Air Mouse C120

This post has been edited by kucuboy: Jan 16 2017, 07:49 PM

I updated my Mi Box last night. Migrated Kotor to Thumbdrive but it keeps crashing 10-20mins during play. Gave up and redownloaded it. The format and use USB storage as internal storage is still problematic. Best hope is to wait for Android 7.0 update to solve it, hopefully once and for all.

Yep, its definitely good enough for me for the time being. There surely will be a 7.0 update because Xiaomi wont want to burn their reputation in the US. I also follow the Android TV subreddit. Learn quite a lot from there.

Www.aliexpress.com

Yep, read the user reviews and decide which is best

If you managed to find the apk, sure. But it will not show on the main screen. You can easily get around this by installing HAL launcher and be able to access the app from there. OR you can access the settings> Apps > then select it from there.

To improve your overall apps layout do the below step. Dont worry you can always re-enable it if it becomes beneficial in the future.
Settings> Apps> System App> Disable Xiaomi Leanback
Then go to Settings> Home Screen> Hide recommended apps (unselect the ones you dont want to appear when you do a voice search)

The setup for the International Mi Box is a breeze. Just like when you first setup a new android phone. Accroding to a reddit thread, a new update (hopefully Nougat 7.0) is expected after CNY (a source from the Xiaomi Android TV team apparently).

Software is the biggest difference with the Chinese version and the international version. Can almost say night and day difference. If you want the closest android feeling on a Xiaomi device, International version is the way to go.

It may not appear on the front page of Android TV launcher but (because it might not be in the Android TV playstore) but you can install an app called HALauncher and access it from within there.

It will work, if it can work on your android tablet or phone, for sure can work. You might need to either connect a wired/ wireless mouse or an airmouse to use it though.

Good list, I hope you don't mind, I shared it in the Android TV reddit. Credited it to you. Cheers

SPMC is more optimised on android and I'm not mistaken, SPMC alone can use the voice search feature with the new Mi Box (intl version).

Walaowei! Mi Box on steroids. Why does yours get so hot that it needs that sort of extreme cooling method.

nope. check your connections again. Maybe your unit is faulty.

Download an app called apkpure from its website of the same name. Its like a another version of the playstore, only without any sign in request or geographical restriction. i downloaded AOTG from there and if I want to update my app, I also do the same in apkpure.

Maybe need to download the latest version. Astro just released it as Astro Go - https://www.lowyat.net/2017/128334/astro-go-launch/

Its not working for me as well. Either I get "Unfortunately Astro Go has stopped" or an error -1 if trying to play something in the app. No idea how to troubleshoot it. Also using mi box international version.

This post has been edited by kucuboy: Apr 20 2017, 04:07 PM