If you don’t already know, Xiaomi recently restarted Android 9 Pie beta program for the Mi Box S. After the manufacturer utterly failed to fix bugs and even fail to release a stable Android 9 Pie build for the Mi Box S, Xiaomi decided to give it another try. Initially, the Mi Box S went through 3 beta update followed by a stable Android 9 release; which left some of the devices unusable. Some users also reported bricked devices and Bootloops. However today, Xiaomi released a more stable Android 9 Pie OTA 2 Beta 2 update for the Mi Box S.

According to the changelog, the OTA2 beta 2 for mi Box S comes a new build number R2596. The OTA comes in a full OTA package of 665 MB in size. It features two critical bug fixes. One is stability for the system after it is back from standby mode. The second is support for more WiFi channels. More information in the screenshot below.

According to the changelog or update log screenshot, the new OTA comes with the following bug fixes:

System is not stable after back from standby mode

Support more

The previous OTA2 beta 1 update brought some several critical bug fixes as well, including the following:

Chromecast not working

HULU playback freeze

Special H264 decode error

BT audio is not sync with video

HDMI compatibility

Pop sound when STB in standby mode

Gboard not working when connecting an external Keyboard

Moreover, some Mi Box exclusive features include support for reading and writing over USB, new settings menu user interface (similar to other Pie devices), USB audio, new UI for volume keys, a screenshot shortcut, and more.

Updated April 09, 2020: The OTA download link has been updated below for the Mi Box S OTA2 beta 2.

Here we have listed the latest Android 9 Pie OTA2 Beta 2 update zips for the Xiaomi Mi Box S with build number R2596. It can also be termed as Beta 5. This is the full firmware (or full OTA update). So regardless if your device is on Android 9 Pie beta program or the stable Android 8.1 Oreo channel, you can still manually install the new OTA zip via recovery method listed below.

Download Android 9 Pie:

Mi Box S Android 9 Pie | Direct download OTA2 beta 2 update (updated link for beta 2)

Previous Mi Box S Android 9 Pie | OTA2 beta 1 update (post link)

The OTA update download link will be available soon directly from Android’s repository. This will be the full OTA update zip consisting of stable Android 9 Pie which can easily be sideloaded onto Mi Box S via stock recovery from beta channel or stable channel.

How to update Mi Box S to Android 9 Pie OTA manually?

As the update is official stable version, you will most likely receive the OTA update notification. Simply go to settings > about device > system updates. Alternatively, you can manually update your Mi Box S to Android 9 Pie once the OTA download link is available (above); which won’t be long.

You will need to reboot Mi Box into recovery mode and choose the option to apply updates from storage or SD card. Select the file and install. This is standard update protocol for most of the Android devices.

Thanks to user u/Askmetech for the screenshot.