Have these to hand
- A MAG 322, 424, 520, 524, 540 or similar, or a Formuler Z8, Z10 or Z11
- The box’s MAC address, from the label underneath or the settings screen
- The portal URL from Euroskara support, sent once your MAC is activated
- An Ethernet cable to the router, ideally
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The walkthrough
On a Formuler, choose portal or app first
A MAG has one route, the portal. A Formuler gives you a choice: the portal inside MyTVOnline, which feels closest to a MAG, or an Xtream login, either in MyTVOnline or in an Android player such as TiViMate installed on the box. If people at home already know TiViMate from another television, using it here too keeps the menus identical in every room. Otherwise, the portal is the simplest path.
Find the MAC address and send it
Turn the box over: the MAC is printed on the label, and on a MAG it begins 00:1A:79. On a Formuler, use the MAC that MyTVOnline displays on its portal screen, which is the one the portal sees. Photograph the label or screen and send the photo to support on WhatsApp instead of typing it out, because one wrong character is the commonest reason a portal refuses to load. Wait for our confirmation before carrying on.
Connect by cable if you possibly can
MAG boxes are built around wired Ethernet, and several models have no built-in Wi-Fi at all. Plug the cable into your broadband hub, whether that is a BT Smart Hub, a FRITZ!Box, a Livebox or anything else, before powering the box on. Where the router is on another floor, a pair of powerline adapters carries the connection through the mains wiring and is often steadier than a Wi-Fi dongle.
MAG: set time zone and video output
Press the settings button or open Settings from the start menu, then System settings. In the time and date options choose your zone, such as Europe/London, Europe/Lisbon or Europe/Berlin, and make sure an NTP server is filled in so the clock stays right. Under Video, choose an output mode ending in -50, such as 1080p-50 or 2160p-50, to match the frame rate that European broadcasters use.
MAG: enter the portal address
Still in System settings, open Servers, then Portals. Give Portal 1 a name, type the portal URL exactly as support sent it, and save. Restart the box, either from the settings menu or at the power switch. The portal only loads after that restart, showing a loading screen for a few seconds before the channel menu appears.
Formuler: add the portal in MyTVOnline
Open MyTVOnline 3, or MyTVOnline 2 on older Z models, and choose to add a portal. Name it, enter the portal URL from support and save. If you chose the Xtream route in step one, pick that option instead and enter the server address, username and password. Channel groups load first, and the programme guide fills in over the next few minutes.
Change soundtracks and subtitles
During playback, open the on-screen playback menu with the Info or Menu key, depending on your remote, and look for the audio and subtitle options. Multilingual channels list every soundtrack they carry, sometimes including an audio description track. What appears is decided by each broadcaster’s feed, so availability varies from one channel to the next.
Set up favourites by country
Portal menus group channels by country and category. Add the channels you actually use to favourites from the channel list’s menu, and if the portal offers it, have it open on favourites at start-up. With all 25,000+ channels behind it, a favourites list of home-nation channels plus the leagues you follow is what makes a dedicated box feel quick in daily use.
When it does not go to plan
The screen reports that the STB is blocked or not supported
The portal does not recognise the MAC, either because activation is still pending or because the MAC was sent with a typo. Send a photo of the label, wait for confirmation, then restart. If you have replaced the box, the new MAC needs its own activation.
Listings sit an hour away from real time
Check the time zone in the MAG system settings, and on the portal’s own settings page where there is one. After the clock changes at the end of March and October a restart refreshes the offset. A box that loses its time server, often after a router swap, also drifts; a public NTP server such as pool.ntp.org sorts it out.
Stutter on football but not on studio programmes
The output is probably set to a 60 Hz mode. Switch the video mode to a -50 option as described in step four. On a Formuler, look for a refresh rate or frame rate option in the Android display settings or MyTVOnline’s playback settings.
The portal takes minutes to load after a power cut
The box started before the router finished booting and gave up waiting. Give the hub a couple of minutes, then restart the box once the internet light is steady. A small UPS that keeps router and box running through short outages avoids the problem altogether.
The portal works on the MAG but errors on the Formuler
MyTVOnline generates its own MAC for portal connections, and it may differ from the one on the Formuler’s label. Send support the MAC shown on MyTVOnline’s portal screen so the right address is activated.
The picture is cropped, stretched or has black borders
Check the aspect ratio in the box’s video settings, then the picture size on the television itself, where a mode such as Just Scan on LG or Screen Fit on Samsung stops the set from zooming or cropping the image.
Players worth installing on this hardware
TiViMate
Set up TiViMate IPTV Player with an Xtream login on Android TV, Google TV or Fire TV and set guide time shift, 50 Hz playback and audio. 25,000+ channels.
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Put Euroskara on your MAG and Formuler box
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Questions about MAG and Formuler box
Is a MAG box better than a streaming stick?
For a main television watched every evening, many people prefer one: a remote with number keys, a box that boots into live TV and a wired connection. A stick runs more apps and suits a bedroom or kitchen. It is a question of habit more than picture quality.
Which MAG model makes sense today?
A current 4K model from the MAG 520 or 540 families gives HEVC decoding and 4K output. Older 3xx boxes still play HD channels well but lack 4K and newer codecs.
Can one MAC be used on two boxes?
No. The MAC identifies a single box. Each additional box needs its own activation, on a plan with enough connections for both to play at once.
Does a Formuler run TiViMate?
Formuler Z boxes run Android, so TiViMate can be installed and used with the Xtream login, as the TiViMate guide explains. For the portal route, MyTVOnline remains the more natural fit.
Will a box bought in another EU country work here?
Yes. MAG and Formuler hardware is the same across Europe. Only the power supply plug may differ, particularly between the UK and the continent, and a correctly rated local supply or a plug adapter solves that.
Is it fine to leave the box on standby overnight?
Standby keeps start-up quick in the evening. Switching off at the wall is fine too; when both come back on together, just give the router a moment to connect before the box looks for the portal.