Xiaomi is simple: the TVs the brand sells in Russia run Android TV, and Mayak installs on them. With DEXP, first find out which system your TV runs: the brand has several, and each has its own path.
In short. On Xiaomi, Mayak installs from Google Play, and if it is not there — from a file at mayak.ws/dl/app. On DEXP it depends on the system: Google Play is there — the same as on Xiaomi; Salute TV — from a file through Sber's account page; Alice — from a file on a USB stick. You sign in on the TV with the code on the screen and confirm it on your phone.
We make Mayak. Our own app is for Android and Android TV: a phone, a Xiaomi or DEXP TV and a box, all on one account. 3 days free after you confirm your email, no card needed. The trial is free and needs no card; without an email it is 1 day.
🍎 On iPhone, Mayak works through the subscription link from your account page. The real Happ (publisher Flyfrog LLC) is not in the Russian App Store — searching that word there brings up look-alike apps from other publishers. INCY (publisher LLC ITDEV) works instead: checked on 22 September 2026.
Xiaomi TVs: Android TV
On 29 September 2026 we opened Xiaomi's Russian site: its TV section lists seven models — Xiaomi TV A2 and Q2. In the specifications of all seven the Operating system line says Android TV, and Xiaomi itself writes that apps for them come from Google Play.
PatchWall, which greets you on a Xiaomi home screen, is not a separate system but Xiaomi's selection of films and shows on top of Android TV. It does not get in Mayak's way.
Does it work for people? Yes: according to our data on account devices as of 29 September 2026, Mayak is installed on Xiaomi TVs with Android 9 to 14 — including models newer than this catalogue — and their connection to our lines was there. It was installed from Google Play. The steps are below.
Not a TV but a Mi Box or a Mi TV Stick? The path is the same, and everything about set-top boxes is in a separate article.
DEXP TVs: first find out the system
DEXP is the brand of the DNS retail chain, and the brand's site leads to the DNS shop. We could not open the DEXP catalogue: the shop did not let our check in. So we do not say how many DEXP models run which system, but the brand certainly has more than one: Sber's official list names DEXP among the brands that have TVs on Salute TV.
How to tell your TV's system. The easiest way is by its app store. The system is also named in the model's specifications in the shop and on the box.
- Google Play is there — the TV runs Android TV or Google TV. Mayak installs from the store, as on Xiaomi: steps below.
- Salute TV, Sber's system. There is no Google Play, but Sber officially allows installing your own APK files: the file is uploaded to Sber's account page at apps.sber.ru and then installed on the TV. Step by step — in the Salute TV and SberBox article.
- Alice and YaOS, Yandex's system (formerly Yandex TV). No Google Play there either; Mayak installs from a file on a USB stick. Step by step — in the Yandex TV article.
- None of these. Then the TV's system is not Android-based, and there is no Mayak app for it. The way out is the same as for Samsung and LG: an Android set-top box, a router or the TV as a screen — explained there.
The words “Smart TV” in a description decide nothing: a smart TV can run any system.
How to install Mayak on Android TV
This is the path for Xiaomi and for a DEXP that has Google Play.
- Create an account on your phone or in your account page. Signing up on a TV is awkward: the “not a robot” check may not open there.
- Find Mayak on the TV. Open Google Play and look for “Mayak — private network”. If you have Google TV and there is no separate store icon, press the Assistant button on the remote or pick Search on the home screen and type “Mayak”; apps are also listed on the Apps tab at the top of the home screen (Google TV help).
- Sign in with the code on the screen. Mayak on the TV shows a QR code and an eight-character code. On the phone: Mayak → Settings → “Sign in a TV” → “Scan QR” → “Confirm sign-in”. No app on the phone? Confirm the code in your account page from any browser, Devices section.
- Connect. Pick a country and press the connect button. The first time, the TV asks for permission — press OK. “Protected” on the screen means you are done.
In detail, with how sign-in by code works and why it is safe — in the TV article. The TV takes a plan slot as one more device; the trial has two slots — a phone and a TV both fit.
If Mayak is not in the store: installing from a file
What the store shows your TV is decided by Google. If Mayak is not there, install it as an APK file from our site:
- open a browser on the TV; if there is none, install any from the store;
- type mayak.ws/dl/app — the Mayak file downloads, about 18 MB;
- open the downloaded file; the TV asks whether apps from this source may be installed — allow it and press Install.
The Google Play and site versions do not install over each other: to switch, remove the first one. The file will not download or install — step by step in a separate article.
A TV is just one more device on the same account. The account is created on your phone or in your account page, and the code from the TV screen is confirmed there too. We ask for no payment details for the trial. A confirmed email opens the access — 3 free days. An email is optional: without one the trial is 1 day.
If the connection drops after the TV is switched off
Switch the TV off — the connection closes; switch it on — it has to be brought up again. To avoid doing that by hand, turn on auto-connect in Mayak: Settings → the Protection section → Auto-connect. Connect by hand once, and after the TV is switched on Mayak brings the last working connection up by itself. We tested this on an Android TV emulator after a normal restart. How the standby mode of Xiaomi and DEXP TVs behaves we did not test: if the TV is on and there is no “Protected”, open Mayak and press the connect button.
What we tested
- Xiaomi's catalogue, 29 September 2026: all seven models on mi.com/ru, the Operating system line of each.
- Sber's list of brands with Salute TV, the same day: DEXP is on it.
- Mayak works for people on Xiaomi: according to our data on account devices as of 29 September 2026, it was installed from Google Play on TVs with Android 9 to 14, and their connection to our lines was there.
- The app on Android TV — on an emulator: install, sign-in with a code from the phone, a connection up to “Protected” and auto-connect after a restart.
What we do not know
- How many DEXP models run which system. We did not open the brand's catalogue, and there are no DEXP TVs in our device data yet. So about DEXP we only say what depends on the system, not on the brand.
- Whether Mayak shows up in the store on your particular model. What to show is decided by Google. Not there — from a file.
- Xiaomi TVs brought from other countries. We looked only at the Russian catalogue. Checking yours is simple: if it has Google Play, Mayak will install; if not, go by the system, as for DEXP.
- The standby mode of specific models. We own no Xiaomi or DEXP TV.
- Video speed on a TV. There were no TVs in our line measurements, so we have no answer about 4K through the tunnel — more.
Short answers
Can I install a VPN on a Xiaomi TV? Yes: every TV in Xiaomi's Russian catalogue runs Android TV, and Mayak installs from Google Play.
How do I install a VPN on a DEXP TV? It depends on its system: Google Play is there — from the store or from a file at mayak.ws/dl/app; Salute TV — from a file through apps.sber.ru; Alice — from a file on a USB stick. How to tell the system.
Do I need to type a password with the remote? No: the TV shows a code, and you confirm it on your phone or in your account page.
Is there a free option? Mayak's trial is free and needs no card; after that it is a plan, and the TV takes a slot on it like a phone.