I am pleased with the MMB Magic Box 2025. I first bought a different version of an AI CarPlay/Android box but returned it as I couldn’t set it up. Then I watched a video reviewing the Magic Box and thought I’d give it a try. It was still a steep learning curve so I thought it might help to include here what I’ve learnt. If setting it up to use with your phone as the wifi tether, you have to set it up in this order (according to Gemini AI. It worked for me!) 1. Delete/Forget: Go into your phone’s Bluetooth settings and "Forget" your car's factory Bluetooth connection. Do the same on your car's screen (delete your phone from the car's device list). This prevents "connection hijacking" where the car steals the signal from the box. 2. Plug In: Connect the Magic Box to the data-enabled USB port (usually the USB-A port with the smartphone/data icon). Wait for the Magic Box main interface to fully load on your car screen. 3. Open "BT Phone" on the Box: On the car's screen (within the Magic Box menu), open the BT Phone app. This is the critical step that puts the box in the correct "discovery mode" for mirroring. 4. Pair Phone to Box: On your phone’s Bluetooth settings, look for the Magic Box ID (e.g., MagicBox-XXXX) and select it. • Note: You must accept all prompts on your phone for "Use CarPlay/Android Auto" and "Allow Contacts Sync" for the system to function. 5. Connect Hotspot: Turn on your phone's Personal Hotspot. On the Magic Box screen, go to Settings > Network & Internet > Wi-Fi, find your phone's hotspot name, and enter your password. • Why this is mandatory: While CarPlay uses its own Wi-Fi bridge, the Magic Box "brain" needs this hotspot connection to run its own apps (Netflix, Disney+, YouTube) and to download critical firmware updates. At first I did the Bluetooth connection just looking for the Magicbox (also called the Joeybox) in my phone’s Bluetooth list. But the phone wasn’t automatically linking so I did some more research using Gemini AI and found out BT Phone stands for Bluetooth and doing the connection via that app is key. I then downloaded apps from the GooglePlay store although it comes with a lot of the standard ones pre-installed, like YouTube, Netflix etc. You can also use an app that customises how your dashboard ‘launches’ and looks if you want something in addition to the Magic Box native one. One that I like is really Agama. The blue and pink screen in my attached video shows how I’ve set up my dashboard, but you can customise it however you want. Another handy app is a floating clock so you always have a clock on the screen in the corner if YouTube is playing etc. I like the app called ‘Always Visible Clock’. I also downloaded some wallpapers on to a micro SD card (1920x1080 size) and put the card into the Magic Box and updated the wall paper for the Magic Box screen that way. So if I’ve not got the Agama App layout showing and am using the Magic Box native theme, it’s got a nicer wallpaper than the one that came pre installed. After all this, I was puzzled why it wasn’t connecting automatically whenever I next got in the car. I used Gemini AI again to problem solve and realised that whilst I thought the hotspot was always on, on my iPhone, it’s actually only on when you have the hotspot screen open or toggle it on in the control panel (where you swipe town top right on your iPhone and options appear, though you might have to add the hotspot control). You only need the hotspot to be active when the Magic Box boots up, so now I’ve got into the habit of swiping top right on my iPhone when I get into the car and toggling the hotspot on. Then the Magic Box connects automatically. I was also trying to tell a friend what the Magic Box does and had a conversation with Gemini AI to break it down. Then I got it to put it in a diagram (attached). It’s a pretty neat piece of kit and I’m glad I’ve bought it (esp. as £50 off at the checkout). I hope this long review helps others with the set up process so you can more quickly enjoy using it too! UPDATE - I decided to pay £5 a month for internet by getting a 5GB monthly plan. I just needed to 1) get a SIM (£1 in supermarkets - cards by the checkouts. Lebara, Smarty, 3, etc) 2) Set up the account via the the service providers]’s website 3) Put the SIM into the Magix Box. Now I don’t have to connect my iPhone using the hotspot each time I want to use the MMB Magix Box and I use data via SIM only plan, not my IPhone’s plan etc. But just an added luxury - not needed!
