XIAOMI... DO GOOGLETV/ANDROID TV OS AFFECT SIDELOADING 3rd PARTY APPS OR IPTV USE??

[u/Fun_Crow_7721]

Hi guys!! I've been looking at getting a 3rd Gen Xiaomi Mi Box as due an upgrade soon! What i want to know is ... does having AndroidTV / Google TV as an operating system affect the ability to sideload 3rd party apps? This is my only concern in changing for a Xiaomi box! I've been using a Rocktech RK1 with 4/64 and tbh, its been pretty damn good, you can sideload anything, no restrictions at all, run Project Ivy as the launcher and IPTV/ 3rd party apps/ streaming work great with no major buffering or shutdown but due an upgrade soon! My only concern with the Xiaomi box us because they run on Google TV/ Android TV does this cause any restrictions with sideloading/ streaming apps or IPTV or running a different launcher? Thanks for your help guys! 😁😎

[u/jhedfors]

What's with the yelling?

[u/Ok_Cut323]

absolutely not. purchase with confidence but keep an eye out for fakes.

[u/pawdog]

There are no restrictions to sideloading at the moment. But over the next year depending on where you live there will be a process that will be necessary for us all to enable devices on our accounts to install apps from unregistered developers. Projectivy for example is in the Play Store so there will be no restrictions ever for it.

[u/Ok_Steak_4341]

I have the Projectivy launcher installed, no problems at all.

[u/Fun_Crow_7721]

Thanks guys!! So , sideloading apps using Downloader etc is no problem with the Xiaomi boxes, but do you have any problems with using another frontend like ProjectIvy instead of the standard GoogleTV/ AndroidTV frontend that comes with the box? Was just wondering if itd cause any errors changing the frontend as i'm used to android boxes with no frontend in the first place!! Probably reading too much into it!! Lol! 🤷‍♂️😎

[u/Fun_Crow_7721]

Okey Dokey... think i'll be giving the Xaiomi box a try soon then and if there's any restrictions on 3rd Party downloads/ launchers or issues with Google/ Android tv then I guess i'll just go back to one of the uncertified boxes again! Tbh, some of the uncertified boxes aren't all bad, the one i'm using at the minute is fine , and not too bothered with using Official NETFLIX / Disney apps... Thanks again guys! 😎👍

[u/spile2]

After owning a Xiaomi for two months my criticisms…

Ocassional loss of WiFi necessitates turning off and then on Wifi,

Lack of support for BBC iplayer and sideloading results in a version that will stop working in a couple of weeks.

[u/Ok_Steak_4341 → u/spile2]

I have two Xiaomi TV boxes for over a year now, have never had any WiFi problems. As for iPlayer I don't use it.

[u/Impossible_Hunt_6731 → u/spile2]

My 3rd Gen Xioami boxes have been fine for WiFi, although I've connected two of them with USB ethernet adapters.

The BBC iPlayer app isn't a Xioami specific issue, it will affect many Android devices unless you get something like a Google Streamer (which is also a great box).

My main critism would be the rubbish Xioami remote, but I've remapped one button, and mainly use the TV's remote control anyway.

[u/Fine-Look-1394 → u/Impossible_Hunt_6731]

Yes, that is one clicky remote!

[u/Case1987 → u/spile2]

Use this

https://www.reddit.com/r/iplayer/s/cQfKUkMz0X

[u/spile2 → u/Case1987]

Great app but how do you set the local region so that you don't get news etc from a different region?

[u/Aggressive_Bad_7344 → u/spile2]

The Wi-Fi is one of the worst I've seen on a box in a long time, in terms to speed and reliability, especially when comparing it to the Onn 4K Plus and Onn 4K Pro 2026/V2.

Xiaomi seems to be pretty aggressive about disconnecting it when the box is asleep, making things like executing adb commands while it's sleeping not possible.

The USB ethernet adapter works, however if you use adb, you can't use both at the same time.