Before you pick up the remote
- Any MAG from the 3xx, 4xx or 5xx lines (a MAG 524 or MAG 540, say) or a Formuler Z8, Z10 or Z11, the Z11 Pro Max included
- The MAC address from the sticker underneath (MAG addresses carry the prefix 00:1A:79)
- The SWIVTV portal URL, which reaches your WhatsApp after you send that MAC
- An HDMI cable, a free socket, and a network cable if the router is close
- The TV's own remote, to find the input the box is plugged into
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The install, in one sitting
Pick the box, and the way it signs in, around the person watching
Both boxes suit someone who only wants channel up and down, but they differ. A MAG is built for this job alone, so there are no other apps to wander into, which makes it the calmest choice for a viewer who never wants to see a menu. A Formuler runs Android as well, and inside its MyTVOnline app you choose between the portal and the standard Xtream Codes login. For a home that only wants live TV, take the MAG and the portal. If someone also wants TiViMate or other apps on the same screen, the Formuler covers both.
Send the MAC address before you go
Every MAG and Formuler has a MAC address, a hardware ID you will find on a sticker underneath and again in its settings under About device; every MAG address opens with 00:1A:79. The SWIVTV portal is switched on for that exact address, so the job starts with a WhatsApp message. Take a sharp photo of the sticker and send that. Typed out by hand, one wrong character binds the portal to a box that does not exist. Wait for the reply that confirms activation and gives you the portal URL.
Connect it where it will live
At the TV, plug the box in with HDMI, connect power and, if the router is within reach, a network cable. Wired is the steadier choice, and 4K wants a steady 25 Mbps. Switch the TV on and use its own remote to find the HDMI input the box is on, and write down that input's name. If the TV does not open on that input by itself, the button that gets there goes on the card later.
On a MAG: enter the portal, then restart
With the MAG remote, open Settings, then System settings, Servers and Portals. Give Portal 1 any name (the family name works well) and type the portal URL from the WhatsApp message into its address field, character by character. Save, then restart the box. Nothing loads until that restart, so hold off judging it until the box is back up. After the reboot the box loads the SWIVTV portal, and the channels and the built-in guide follow.
On a Formuler: MyTVOnline and the portal
Start MyTVOnline, version 2 or 3 depending on the box, and pick Add Portal. Enter a name and the portal address from your WhatsApp message, then save. If you would rather use the Xtream Codes login, MyTVOnline accepts that too: the server URL with its port, the username and the password, all from the same message. Either route brings the same channels, and MyTVOnline on its own keeps the box feeling like cable TV.
Let the first load finish, then test the guide
The first start takes longer than every one after it, because channels, categories and program listings are all being fetched. Give it a few minutes. Then open the guide on a channel you know and check the program shown matches what is actually on. If the listings look right, the box is ready for the part that makes it theirs.
Fill favorites with the channels they actually watch
Take the list of channels your mum gave you and add each one to favorites. On both boxes the colored buttons on the remote handle favorites and the guide, so try each one with the channel list open to see which does what. When the list is complete, put the channel they start the evening with first. Reaching eight familiar channels in one press, instead of scrolling past 25,000+, is what makes the box feel like their own TV.
Label the remotes and show the buttons that matter
There are now at least two remotes, the TV's and the box's. Decide with your mum which one lives on the arm of the chair, and put a small sticker on the box remote if they look alike. On the box remote, show channel up and down, the button that brings up the channel list, the one that opens favorites, and back or exit. Leave the rest. Volume and power may still belong to the TV remote, so say out loud which one does what.
A card to stand next to the box
A box needs its own version of the card. Line one: if the screen is black, check the TV is on the right input, and name it. Line two: if the box shows an error or freezes, pull its power plug, wait ten seconds, plug it back in and give it two minutes. Line three: still wrong? Then it is a WhatsApp message, to SWIVTV at +212 663 813 479 or to you. Nothing else goes on it. The portal address and any login stay in your WhatsApp chat.
Hand back the remote and watch one evening's routine
Switch off the TV and the box, then let the person watching do a normal start: TV on, the right input if needed, favorites, a channel, channel up twice, the guide, and back out. Say nothing unless they are truly stuck. If they reach for the wrong remote, fix that today with a sticker or by putting the other one in a drawer. When the routine runs without a glance at you, the box is theirs.
The snags, and how to clear them
STB blocked on screen, or nothing at all
The portal does not recognize the box yet. Either the activation has not gone through, or one character of the MAC was wrong when it reached SWIVTV. The fix is a photo of the sticker, sent on WhatsApp in place of typed characters; in almost every case that sorts it out within minutes. Nobody can fix this from the TV, so this one is always a message to support.
The box starts but the portal never loads
Usually the box cannot reach the internet, or the portal URL was saved with a slip in it. Restarting the router is safe for anyone to try. If that fails, compare the portal address in the box's settings with your WhatsApp message on a video call or your next visit, correct it, save and restart. If the address is right and the internet works, message support.
A black screen with a No signal message
That message comes from the TV, not the box. Either the box is off, or the TV has moved to a different input, which one stray press of the source button can do. Talk whoever is at the TV through the input button on the remote, using the input name from the card. It is worth ruling out before anything else.
Every channel stutters in the evening
Check the connection first. A box on weak Wi-Fi at the far end of the house may fall short at busy times of what streaming needs, roughly 10 Mbps for HD and a steady 25 for a 4K stream. A router restart is the safe fix to try alone. A network cable into the box is the real fix, and a job for your next visit. If it still stutters on a cable, message support on WhatsApp with the channel and the time it happened.
The box was replaced, and now nothing loads
The portal is bound to one MAC address, so a new or swapped box shows the blocked message until SWIVTV activates the portal for it. Photograph the label on the new box and send it on WhatsApp before setting it up, exactly as the first time, then wait for the confirmation before entering the portal.
Picking a player for the person watching
TiViMate
TiViMate for an Android screen someone else will watch: add the Xtream login, let the guide refresh itself, pin favorites, and decide on Premium later.
Xtream Codes login
The server URL, username and password from your WhatsApp chat: what each Xtream Codes detail means, where to type it, and why the viewer never sees it.
Every other guide
Each TV, stick, box and player app we cover, listed on one page.
Have the login in your WhatsApp first
It arrives under 15 minutes after you pay, so the whole install fits in one sitting. A month costs $15 and a full year $69, with all 25,000+ channels either way.
MAG and Formuler box: quick answers
MAG box or Firestick for someone who just wants TV?
On the main TV that is used every evening, usually the MAG box. The remote suits channel surfing, the guide opens faster, and nothing ever has to be sideloaded. The box costs more: roughly $120 to $180, while a stick costs $30 to $50. For a bedroom TV that is only switched on now and then, a stick is the sensible spend.
Can I set the box up at my place and take it to my parent?
Yes. The portal is tied to the box's MAC address, not to a house or a network, so you can activate it, enter the portal, build the favorites and test it on your own TV. At your parent's home you only connect HDMI, power and the network, then check it loads. Their home still needs its own plan, since one account covers one household.
What is a MAC address, and is it safe to send?
It is a fixed hardware ID for the box's network connection, printed on the sticker and shown in its settings; MAG boxes share the prefix 00:1A:79. It is not a password, so sending it to support on WhatsApp is fine. SWIVTV uses it to switch the portal on for that one box, which is why the box never asks anyone for a username.
Does a Formuler have to use the portal?
No. MyTVOnline on a Formuler takes either the portal address or the Xtream Codes login, meaning the same server URL with port, username and password used in any app. A Formuler also runs Android apps, so TiViMate is possible as well. For someone who only wants TV, the portal in MyTVOnline keeps things closest to a traditional set-top box.
Which MAG and Formuler models work with SWIVTV?
MAG boxes from the 3xx, 4xx and 5xx series, including the MAG 524 and MAG 540, and the Formuler Z8, Z10 and Z11, including the Z11 Pro Max. Unsure about a box you already own? Send its model and MAC address on WhatsApp and support will say whether it suits before you buy anything else.