What to have ready
- A MAG 3xx, 4xx or 5xx, or a Formuler Z8, Z10 or Z11
- The MAC address printed underneath the box
- The new portal address, sent after you share the MAC
- Your old portal address saved somewhere, in case you want it back
Still on your old provider? Run a 24-hour test line beside it — nothing needs cancelling first — or look at what the plans cost.
The move, one step at a time
Establish which box you have, because they differ
MAG and Formuler get discussed as one category and do not behave alike. A MAG is portal-only: it needs an address bound to its MAC and cannot take an ordinary login, so switching provider means your new one activating your specific box. A Formuler will accept a portal, an Xtream login, or Android players including TiViMate — which means it can hold two providers and a MAG cannot. Reading the wrong half of this page is a common way to lose twenty minutes.
Find and photograph the MAC address
It is on the sticker beneath the unit and under Settings, About device. On a MAG it begins 00:1A:79. Photograph the sticker rather than copying the characters out; one wrong character derails everything and a photograph makes that impossible. Send it on WhatsApp and wait for confirmation before touching the box.
Save the old portal first
Before you overwrite anything on a MAG, write down the portal address your current provider gave you. A MAG holds several portal slots, so in practice you can add ours as Portal 2 and keep the old one as Portal 1 — which is the closest thing to a side-by-side comparison this hardware offers, and well worth doing rather than replacing outright.
MAG: add the new portal in a free slot
Settings, then System settings, then Servers, then Portals. Use Portal 2 rather than overwriting Portal 1. Give it a name you will recognise, paste the address we sent, save, and restart the box. Nothing works before that restart, and a sizeable share of the problems reported to us are this step left half finished.
Formuler: use MyTVOnline, or an Xtream login
Open MyTVOnline 2 or 3, choose Add Portal, and supply a name and the address. Alternatively pick Xtream Codes and sign in conventionally, which is the easier route if you have the credentials. Formuler will also run TiViMate from the Play Store, and that is worth knowing: it turns an awkward switch into the same simple two-playlist comparison as any Android device.
Compare, using the remote properly
After the restart the box pulls the 25,000+ channels with its built-in guide. Switch between portals or playlists during something live and watch which holds. The coloured buttons handle favourites and the EPG, and these remotes are the real reason people buy this hardware, so spend five minutes learning them — it is a markedly better experience than a stick once you have.
Decide, then remove what you are not keeping
Once settled, delete the portal you are not using so the box stops trying to reach a server that may be about to disappear. If you are on a MAG and the previous provider has already gone dark, that dead portal is worth clearing regardless: a box repeatedly timing out against a dead address is slower to boot and confusing to diagnose later.
If something does not behave
The portal shows STB blocked, or a blank screen
Either the MAC has not been activated at our end yet, or a character was wrong when it was sent. Photograph the sticker and send the image rather than retyping; that resolves it within minutes in almost every case. It is not a fault with the box and reinstalling anything will achieve nothing.
The old portal still loads but has no channels
That is the previous provider's line having ended rather than anything to do with the box. It is also the exact symptom people mistake for hardware failure and replace a perfectly good MAG over. Check the subscription status before spending money.
The new portal loads but channels are missing
A portal delivers the categories assigned to your line, so gaps usually mean it is set up for a different package rather than that channels have gone. Send support an example of what is missing and it is generally corrected the same day.
Everything is slow after a firmware update
Infomir and Formuler both push updates that occasionally need a cache clear afterwards. Clear it from system settings and restart. If a box is several years old and struggling with 4K, that is age rather than a fault, and no provider will fix it.
Players worth running on this hardware
TiViMate
Add a new provider as a second TiViMate playlist without disturbing the first, on Android TV, a Firestick or an Android box. What Premium changes. 25,000+
Every walkthrough
The whole list of hardware and players, on one page.
Try it on your MAG and Formuler box without cancelling anything
A test line runs beside whatever you are paying for now, so you can compare the same channels on the same hardware on the same evening. Plans open at $15 a month for the full 25,000+ line-up.
What people ask when moving a MAG and Formuler box
Why does a new provider need my MAC address?
Because a MAG portal binds to the box rather than to a username, which is how the hardware was designed. The practical consequence when switching is that you cannot self-serve: somebody at the new provider has to enable your box. If that feels like a lock, it rather is one, and it is the main argument for Formuler over MAG today.
Can I hold two providers on one box?
On a MAG, yes, using separate portal slots — Portal 1 and Portal 2 — which is the nearest thing to a side-by-side test here. On a Formuler you have more options still, including running TiViMate with two playlists. Either way, do not delete the old one until you have compared them on a live evening.
Is a MAG box still worth having?
On a main television watched daily, the remote and the guide are genuinely better than a stick's and there is nothing to sideload. Against that it costs a hundred and twenty to a hundred and eighty dollars against thirty to fifty, is updated less often, and binds you to whoever will activate your MAC. Formuler is the more flexible purchase today.
Can I move my subscription to a new box later?
Yes. Send the new MAC and the portal moves across, generally within the hour. Do tell us rather than assuming it follows automatically, because it does not — the binding is to the hardware, and a new box is a new binding.
How long do these boxes last?
Several years of daily use is normal and they tend to become obsolete rather than fail. The limit is usually software: an older unit stops receiving updates and eventually struggles with newer codecs. A box bought today should comfortably outlast any subscription you buy alongside it, including this one.
Can I take the box abroad?
Yes. The portal follows the box rather than the address, so it works anywhere with a decent connection. Some channels are geographically restricted at source, which is a broadcaster decision rather than a provider one, and a VPN is the usual answer where it matters to you.