Xiaomi entered the smart TV market a few years ago. They did it the best way they know how to do it, that is, with entry-level and mid-range products. Consumers gave the go-ahead, and the Chinese brand quickly became one more alternative when buying a new television. Xiaomi, like the rest of the manufacturers, usually hides adjustment panels on their televisions to carry out different maintenance and configuration tasks. If you want to know how to access the hidden panel of your Xiaomi Smart TV , keep reading these lines.
What is a hidden menu? Why do manufacturers include it?
Hidden menus are present on virtually all modern televisions. Mainly, they are used for diagnosis and troubleshooting topics. As you know, all smart devices work exactly like a computer. With such complex systems, it is convenient to carry out an exhaustive control of all the elements that make up the system in order to detect which part is failing in the event that something does not finish working correctly.
On the other hand, the hidden menus are also used to perform firmware update tasks, and even to configure certain options that do not come by default in the TV settings. It all depends on the possibilities of the panel and the options that the manufacturer allows to change.
Obviously, these panels are hidden in the TVs so that no one accidentally touches their settings.
What does Xiaomi’s hidden menu allow you to do?
The panel that is hidden in Xiaomi televisions allows the following functions:
- Factory reset the digital tuner.
- Return to the factory settings of the Smart TV
- Turn system features on and off.
How to activate the hidden panel on Xiaomi Smart TVs
If you want to activate the hidden menu of your Xiaomi TV, follow these steps:
- Tap on the ‘ Settings ‘ button in the main menu of your Xiaomi TV. You will be able to locate it quickly because it is shaped like a gear and it is located in the upper right corner of the screen.
- Now go to the ‘ Device Settings ‘ option at the bottom of the list.
- Go to the ‘ About ‘ option. It is usually in first position.
- Now scroll to the bottom of the list. On the ‘Build Number’ option, tap the middle button on your remote several times. This will activate the Developer Options , exactly the same as on Android phones.
- Now go back to the previous screen. A new option called ‘ Developer Options ‘ will have appeared above the ‘Location’ icon. Go into developer options.
- Tap on the first option in the list, called ‘ Factory Menu ‘.
Once these steps are done, you will be in the service menu of your Xiaomi television. The list has all these configurations :
- Image mode : At this point, you will be able to configure which brightness, contrast, saturation and sharpness settings each of the image modes that come by default on the television have. If you miss a bit of color or sharpness, this is the panel that changes these profiles globally on the TV.
- Run Shell – This is an advanced option to run code from the TV itself. It is an option reserved especially for developers.
- non_linear
- Non-standard options
- SSC setting
- SMALL
- Ursa Info
- Info Panel : Shows information about the TV’s hardware and the firmware version it is running.
- Other options
- Pattern test : allows you to see if the panel is in correct conditions.
- Factory reset : allows you to put the TV with the software that came by default. This setting can be set from various points, as we will see below.
Unlock the hidden Factory Reset menu
Although it can be done from the service menu that we have unlocked in the previous section with the developer mode, knowing this trick can save you if your television is not working correctly and gets stuck before you can reach said panel.
What we will do in this process is access the recovery menu to put the TV in series. So keep in mind that following these steps will erase everything on your TV. When restarting, you will have to configure the equipment as if it were new. Once we have clarified all this, we go with the steps that must be followed:
- Turn off your television. Then unplug the device from the power supply for about 20 seconds .
- Reconnect the TV to the power when that time has passed (we recommend that you use the button on a power strip instead). While turning it on, press and hold the ‘Home’ and ‘Menu’ buttons on the remote.
- The TV will boot into Recovery Mode. A few options will appear on the screen.
- Check the ‘ Wipe all data ‘ option to restore the TV to factory status.
- During this time, you will need to be patient. The TV will delete all content from its memory and return to the default settings.
Once you start the TV again, you will have to set up a Google account again and download the apps you are going to use again. This process is useful in case you have permissions problems, an unstable system or even if you are going to sell or give away your television, as it will completely eliminate your personal data from the equipment.
Should I touch the service menu of my Xiaomi Smart TV?
Unless you are very clear about what you want to modify, you should not access this type of hidden modes of your television . You can go in and have a look, but be careful and don’t touch anything you don’t understand. If you do, you run the risk that your TV will start to work abnormally.
In case something strange happens to you, we recommend that you follow the steps of the factory reset through the remote control.
It’s usually rare that you need access to these panels. However, the information panel can be useful in order to diagnose something strange or even obtain information about the specific model that you have in your hands.
