The present study pertains to the bifurcation modes of a MRE film bonded on a non–linear elastic and highly compliant substrate. The motivation derives from the increasing development of the magneto–sensitive elastomers and the magnetically trigered instabilities, possibly applicable in actively controlled haptic systems. The present study introduces a fully featured magneto–mechanical experiment that yields different film surface patterns, being activated by low magnetic fields and proper pre–straining of the bilayer system.