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Hello, I am a newbie. I want to do Android Development (I have some programming experience in multiple languages). I currently don't have any Android devices. Can I use these cheap Android tablets that I have been seeing (like the Gpad G10, the Moonsa 7002, etc.) for Android Development. It's my understanding that when you plug in an Android device to your PC it 'automagically' will allow you to try your program on it. My AVD seems slow so I want to use and actual device to test on.
Thanks for any info.
Personally I wouldn't use a tablet for a couple reasons
1: a cheap tablet is almost always slower than an emulator
2: I'm sure you can find a used droid or hero or something for around a hundred dollars if you look on ebay long enough (they usually go for 175~ for droid OG)
3: usually cheap android tablets break fast and sometimes aren't compatible with certain apps,.
has anyone flashed new stock based rom by DroidMote Server / Client?
https://plus.google.com/+VideomapIt/posts/WLMsgEqw7dw
digweed4me said:
has anyone flashed new stock based rom by DroidMote Server / Client?
https://plus.google.com/+VideomapIt/posts/WLMsgEqw7dw
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes it is a great rom overall but is not 4k/1080p friendly (as far as video playback is concerned in Youtube and Netflix) and you will lose leanback launcher functionality.
https://plus.google.com/+VideomapIt/posts/QiC1Pksvzaq
https://youtu.be/NMqz8e33oq8
With Android you can do all. With Android TV no. Now and forever because Android TV was invented for TV manufacturers that want a limited OS to better sell their services.
This is what I understand but I hope to be wrong.
zulu99 said:
https://plus.google.com/+VideomapIt/posts/QiC1Pksvzaq
https://youtu.be/NMqz8e33oq8
With Android you can do all. With Android TV no. Now and forever because Android TV was invented for TV manufacturers that want a limited OS to better sell their services.
This is what I understand but I hope to be wrong.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
completly wrong.
Android TV is a full Android plus new TV features (search,recommendations,background playback). It's not limited.
It's just the launcher and the store that 'filter' apps that are not specifically optimized for a TV experience (= with a remote instead of touchscreen).
Savvy people can sideload and use any apps on Android TV.
But the goal of Google and TV manufacturers isn't to provide a system for savvy users, that would be a niche market and not worth their time & money.
They want a system anyone can use, the average user. A simple to use and consistent interface from app to app, while keeping the full power of Android behind the scene. Because nothing is more confusing for the average guy than using a 'made for touchscreen' app on a TV or using apps with different 'UI behavior' , it's the best way for him to throw away the whole thing in the trashcan
TV manufacturers don't sell services anyway, they sell TV...
kgersen said:
completly wrong.
Android TV is a full Android plus new TV features (search,recommendations,background playback). It's not limited.
It's just the launcher and the store that 'filter' apps that are not specifically optimized for a TV experience (= with a remote instead of touchscreen).
Savvy people can sideload and use any apps on Android TV.
But the goal of Google and TV manufacturers isn't to provide a system for savvy users, that would be a niche market and not worth their time & money.
They want a system anyone can use, the average user. A simple to use and consistent interface from app to app, while keeping the full power of Android behind the scene. Because nothing is more confusing for the average guy than using a 'made for touchscreen' app on a TV or using apps with different 'UI behavior' , it's the best way for him to throw away the whole thing in the trashcan
TV manufacturers don't sell services anyway, they sell TV...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is a FACT that with Android we can do all. Also specific things of Android TV. The inverse is not possible. But i'm very sorry of this
But this is not problem, the important fact is that Nvidia Shield Console have very good hardware and finally we can have a good full Android device connected to our TV.
The choice from Android TV and full Android is a reality so advanced users can have the alternative.
If it was not a question of money / forced limitations, should be more simple create a specific Launcher for TV that all can download from Google Play and specific apps more accessible with a dpad also downloadable for all from Google Play.
zulu99 said:
Is a FACT that with Android we can do all. Also specific things of Android TV. The inverse is not possible. But i'm very sorry of this
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no
Android TV is Android + more features..
I don't get what you can do with Android that you can't do with Android TV.
Actually it's the contrary: you can do stuff with Android TV that you can't do with Android, for instance acting as a Chromecast (Google Cast Receiver) or displaying a video in the background of your launcher (home screen) from an app.
kgersen said:
no
Android TV is Android + more features..
I don't get what you can do with Android that you can't do with Android TV.
Actually it's the contrary: you can do stuff with Android TV that you can't do with Android, for instance acting as a Chromecast (Google Cast Receiver) or displaying a video in the background of your launcher (home screen) from an app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Only one example of others million, install chrome browser and observe how it look bad at 320 dpi. Like the most negative phone of 10 years ago.
Android TV is a stripped down version of Android full of limitations.
Chromecast functionality are possible also on full Android.
Android is Android because you can install and update million of apps directly from Google Play. Android without apps is nothing. This is also the difference with Windows Phone, Ubuntu Phone and many others OS that dream the android apps ecosystem.
The actual number of Android apps in Google Play is a reality because independent developers thought that Android would have been a real open source OS, no longer thinks so after so many closures.
Apart that every single standard app is better and faster than the leanback version. Try Youtube as example to better understand. Life is too short to waste time with the directionals keys. Was already a failure on old Smart TV.
But if in the world there are people that bought an Iphone, This justifies even people who prefer Android TV
My interest is not to be right about this, i'm very happy with full Android. I'm just sharing my experience and i know Android quite well.
The thread of full Android firmware is this:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/android/development/rom-t3138575
I don't understand why for this good hardware, one of the best in the Android world, we can't have a regular forum like all others devices.
Can someone explain ? please. Just for information.
@zulu99 I have a nexus player, I'm currently running CM12.1 but even on stock there was not much I couldn't do.
There is an app to allow easy use of sideloaded apps, a keyboard/trackpad combo let's you navigate without the directional keys on everything but the lean back laucher. Only thing I wasn't able to do is get the VPN working well (had to use separate VPN app, no built in VPN). I'm not saying ATV is better then Normal Android, just that you can do almost anything with a little effort. ATV is Android, same kernel and the core is built on the same code as normal Android.
Android is still very much an open ecosystem. Yes some things are locked away, but nothing as draconian as Apple or Microsoft. Even without root a lot more is possible on a system running Android then any other comparable platform (Android wear vs WatchOS, Android vs iOS, etc). I respect that you are a developer, I just think your 100% wrong in your view on ATV.
I'll be getting the Shield soon as a gaming/streaming TV console for an upcoming multi month work trip.
zulu99 said:
Only one example of others million, install chrome browser and observe how it look bad at 320 dpi. Like the most negative phone of 10 years ago.
Android TV is a stripped down version of Android full of limitations.
Chromecast functionality are possible also on full Android.
Android is Android because you can install and update million of apps directly from Google Play. Android without apps is nothing. This is also the difference with Windows Phone, Ubuntu Phone and many others OS that dream the android apps ecosystem.
The actual number of Android apps in Google Play is a reality because independent developers thought that Android would have been a real open source OS, no longer thinks so after so many closures.
Apart that every single standard app is better and faster than the leanback version. Try Youtube as example to better understand. Life is too short to waste time with the directionals keys. Was already a failure on old Smart TV.
But if in the world there are people that bought an Iphone, This justifies even people who prefer Android TV
My interest is not to be right about this, i'm very happy with full Android. I'm just sharing my experience and i know Android quite well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If Chrome looks bad on TV isn't because of the OS... You "know Android quite well" but you clearly don't know what is an OS and what is an app and where the 'frontier' between the two is.
You're confusing a lot of things and mixing things up.
Plz do show me Chromecasting Netflix for instance on what you call "full Android" (which I just call "Android").
I agree with Zulu. If you want locked down hardware and software, please go buy an Apple TV. And you also probably have no reason to go to XDA developers as this site is all about tweaking. Without root, what tweaking are you doing?
Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk
well said @machx1111
Leave zulu99 to his noble developing work @kgersen Some of us find this sort of stuff really useful.
I get that you don't personally find it useful but your comments seem to be borderline insulting considering the effort zulu99 has gone to. This forum really isn't the place for criticism unless it's constructive.
BenjiHansell said:
well said @machx1111
Leave zulu99 to his noble developing work @kgersen Some of us find this sort of stuff really useful.
I get that you don't personally find it useful but your comments seem to be borderline insulting considering the effort zulu99 has gone to. This forum really isn't the place for criticism unless it's constructive.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
wth are you talking about? did you even read our comments ?
I never said we mustn't root or do alternative ROM or that I want locked-down devices and software.
We're just talking about Android vs Android TV.
I just don't get why people waste their time porting CM or a 'smartphone/tablet/touch' version of Android to the Shield when it already has a full OS: Android TV and that NVidia already provides all the source and tools to build your own firmware for it: https://developer.nvidia.com/shield-open-source
I think they're just transposing what they had to do on smartphones and tablets because OEMs won't release the sources and tools to build your own firmware, to a new device just because it also run Android... They didn't bother looking up or asking NVidia...
Android TV is Android, if you don't like the 'TV' part just don't use it, go download the source code from NVidia and adapt/change what you don't want or add new features. If you prefer to use an UI made for touch on a TV that's your choice...hell you can even adapt Linux for Tegra for the Shield if you want Ubuntu instead of Android.
I'm all for tinkering and rooting but do it right, even more when the manufacturer can help you do so.
_Dennis_ said:
@zulu99 I have a nexus player, I'm currently running CM12.1 but even on stock there was not much I couldn't do.
There is an app to allow easy use of sideloaded apps, a keyboard/trackpad combo let's you navigate without the directional keys on everything but the lean back laucher. Only thing I wasn't able to do is get the VPN working well (had to use separate VPN app, no built in VPN). I'm not saying ATV is better then Normal Android, just that you can do almost anything with a little effort. ATV is Android, same kernel and the core is built on the same code as normal Android.
Android is still very much an open ecosystem. Yes some things are locked away, but nothing as draconian as Apple or Microsoft. Even without root a lot more is possible on a system running Android then any other comparable platform (Android wear vs WatchOS, Android vs iOS, etc). I respect that you are a developer, I just think your 100% wrong in your view on ATV.
I'll be getting the Shield soon as a gaming/streaming TV console for an upcoming multi month work trip.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Use Lollirock firmware on Nexus Player and no cyanogenmod if you want a regular Android firmware in which you can install all from Google Play.
I respect the classic Cyanogenmod development / firmwares, but on Nexus Player the cyanogenmod firmware is just a strange hybrid. It use many parts of Android TV. Usually Cyanogenmod add things to Android, on the nexus player it remove things from Android
Not really useful. Read posts of users to better understand.
In lollirock firmware thread in the last part there are comparisons made by users.
---------- Post added at 11:42 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:26 AM ----------
kgersen said:
wth are you talking about? did you even read our comments ?
I never said we mustn't root or do alternative ROM or that I want locked-down devices and software.
We're just talking about Android vs Android TV.
I just don't get why people waste their time porting CM or a 'smartphone/tablet/touch' version of Android to the Shield when it already has a full OS: Android TV and that NVidia already provides all the source and tools to build your own firmware for it: https://developer.nvidia.com/shield-open-source
I think they're just transposing what they had to do on smartphones and tablets because OEMs won't release the sources and tools to build your own firmware, to a new device just because it also run Android... They didn't bother looking up or asking NVidia...
Android TV is Android, if you don't like the 'TV' part just don't use it, go download the source code from NVidia and adapt/change what you don't want or add new features. If you prefer to use an UI made for touch on a TV that's your choice...hell you can even adapt Linux for Tegra for the Shield if you want Ubuntu instead of Android.
I'm all for tinkering and rooting but do it right, even more when the manufacturer can help you do so.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
About you, instead of writing things without sense, present to us your work. We will happy to test.
What are you doing for others people ?
If you like Android TV why you write here ?
Please i don't want problems with others users.
I'm already exposing myself too much.
But is necessary to demonstrate that we understand very well when things are necessary and others things are just made to protect economic interests against the fair competitive laws.
Apart all, is not most useful that you can do more things instead of be able to do just what others wants ?
Why we should remain closed in the Android TV that is a "Walled Garden". Because you don't like ?
Two things are always better than one.
p.s.
Netflix work well in full Android firmware, like google movies app and all others DRM players.
Chromecast functionality are working too.
Usually i use Chromecast functionality only if there isn't an app to do it natively inside the box. Is stupid stream with chromecast if you can have it native inside the box. But you can do all with quite all apps. also screen mirroring is possible. tested with my galaxy s6 and nexus7
All others Leanback-Only apps are working well ( 10 / 11 in total )
also xposed framework is beautiful to tweak your firmware.
When i read comments like your i'm very happy, because usually mean that the firmware works very very well
What many people not know is that in Google Plus, Facebook and also in xda forum like in others forum, users can be paid to do good reviews and support some platforms, just to make advertisement. Attention when you read.
RELY ON TESTS MADE ONLY BY YOURSELF
zulu99 said:
Use Lollirock firmware on Nexus Player and no cyanogenmod if you want a regular Android firmware in which you can install all from Google Play.
I respect the classic Cyanogenmod development / firmwares, but on Nexus Player the cyanogenmod firmware is just a strange hybrid. It use many parts of Android TV. Usually Cyanogenmod add things to Android, on the nexus player it remove things from Android
Not really useful. Read posts of users to better understand.
In lollirock firmware thread in the last part there are comparisons made by users.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm enjoying the hybrid model used on CM. I get that its not for everyone, was just using it as an example.
I am able to do almost anything I could do on my phone on the TV. Does it all work perfectly? Of course not. Many apps are designed around a multi touch screen, my TV does not have a touchscreen at all. I just don't understand why you feel Android TV is more locked down then standard android. I was able to use es explorer to side load anything I wanted. Does not mean it worked (some apps are not programmed for directional keys and rely on touch input only, so they needed a mouse. Once I got that set up I can use anything fairly well. I have Amazon prime music working great for example, and I have prime videos loaded (haven't used it yet, netflix and hulu have my attention right now). This is all doable on androidTV, can't do it on my Roku, all I can get for amazon music is the non-prime stuff.
I can only think one think of one thing ATV can't do (native VPN) and one thing stock android can't do (well haven't tried sideloading the app yet) and that's receive a chrome cast stream, or send a chrome cast from one phone to tablet or whatever. Mostly the two versions seem comparable, the differences are in the stock apps (read Launcher and play store).
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk
_Dennis_ said:
I'm enjoying the hybrid model used on CM. I get that its not for everyone, was just using it as an example.
I am able to do almost anything I could do on my phone on the TV. Does it all work perfectly? Of course not. Many apps are designed around a multi touch screen, my TV does not have a touchscreen at all. I just don't understand why you feel Android TV is more locked down then standard android. I was able to use es explorer to side load anything I wanted. Does not mean it worked (some apps are not programmed for directional keys and rely on touch input only, so they needed a mouse. Once I got that set up I can use anything fairly well. I have Amazon prime music working great for example, and I have prime videos loaded (haven't used it yet, netflix and hulu have my attention right now). This is all doable on androidTV, can't do it on my Roku, all I can get for amazon music is the non-prime stuff.
I can only think one think of one thing ATV can't do (native VPN) and one thing stock android can't do (well haven't tried sideloading the app yet) and that's receive a chrome cast stream, or send a chrome cast from one phone to tablet or whatever. Mostly the two versions seem comparable, the differences are in the stock apps (read Launcher and play store).
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With Android we can install all apps simply from Google Play and all works better at 220 / 230 dpi. Touch-only apps are not a problem, with DroidMote i can use very well multi-touch apps and games.
You will search manually for every single apk when an update is available ? Get it from your phone, upload and reinstall. Baaaaaaaa
Good Luck
p.s.
Today i used all the day the Shield Console with full Android firmware and i can say it is Super. I installed and tested all benchmark apps, all others my preferred apps. All work super smooth and i like this hardware. I will never turn back on Android TV
zulu99 said:
With Android we can install all simply from Google Play and all works better at 220 / 230 dpi. Touch-only apps are not a problem, with DroidMote i can use very well multi-touch apps and games.
You will search manually for every single apk when an update is available ? Get it from your phone, upload and reinstall. Baaaaaaaa
Good Luck
p.s.
Today i used all the day the Shield Console with full Android firmware and i can say it is Super. I installed and tested all benchmark apps, all my preffered apps. All work super smoth and i like this hardware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's not an issue inherent to Android TV, that is a function of the play store.
Don't get me wrong I'll probably try your ROM at some point. I make my own opinions, so I'm constantly trying new stuff.
_Dennis_ said:
That's not an issue inherent to Android TV, that is a function of the play store.
Don't get me wrong I'll probably try your ROM at some point. I make my own opinions, so I'm constantly trying new stuff.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No problems. we are here to discuss like good friends. I'm writing from Shield Console in a beautiful Chrome Browser at 220 dpi.
I like to discuss and hear the opinions of others.
I have only one big problem, my bad english. I'm Italian
zulu99 said:
No problems. we are here to discuss like good friends. I'm writing from Shield Console in a beautiful Chrome Browser at 220 dpi.
I like to discuss and hear the opinions of others.
I have only one big problem, my bad english. I'm Italian
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its OK, I'm pretty good at understanding, my wife is Filipino and I lived in Japan for 3 years.
I may attempt to mess with some settings (I noticed a TV setting in build.prop) to see if I can get full play store use without changing much, mainly so anyone can use what ROM they want while getting access to both stores I see that as the best of both worlds.
_Dennis_ said:
I may attempt to mess with some settings (I noticed a TV setting in build.prop) to see if I can get full play store use without changing much, mainly so anyone can use what ROM they want while getting access to both stores I see that as the best of both worlds.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a minix neo x8h+ and this box is "seen" by the play store as a leanback compatible box, but it also has access to all the android apps... so this may be a build.prop worth looking at?
I am getting an Nvidia console in a couple of weeks and would love to use leanback BUT not with the added hassle of installing and running non leanback apps.
tx Mark.
Do you have an older Android device? If yes, do you still use it in any way? ?, Share your story here.
Android OS is dynamic (I'd say unstable ?). The device you are buying today might become older enough in a couple of months in terms of the Android version. However if you're lucky to have a truly rich and supporting community, your device will be alive for an eternity.
In the revolution of Android ecosystem, you would possibly like to upgrade your device after major Android updates. Or you have to be satisfied and hanker after the newer Android features otherwise.
Now it's time to share mine ?. I got a local, cheap Jellybean device, when I was introduced to Android in early 2014. Now I have still that Android 4.2 device which I love more than the prettier material design or even the notification dots and others.
I have been using that device for my development purpose for a long time alongside my primary device. As I used it in my first step to Android root, mods, hacking and the system insight. I still remember the day I got this device into bootloop for the first time ?. Those days have passed away.
Now I am learning and developing Android apps. Since my laptop is even smaller than its small configuration (? You can call me a poor guy), it is quite impossible to test and debug apps on Android emulator while running Android studio in parallel with 4GB of RAM and i5. So, I started using my old friend as a helping hand in development. I keep it connected via USB while developing my apps, run and test them with it which frees nearly 700MB of RAM on my tiny machine and boost the build time also. For other Android versions, I have to do them on emulator separately ?.
What you're thinking of me I don't care ?. The phone is much more to me. Feel free to share yours...
What is your phone name and model?
Have you installed a custom rom on it yet?
What are your apps which you have developed?
Hello everybody,
I'm looking for some suggestions on hardware for a little project of mine.
I recently got my hands on a few Dynalink TV Boxes after discovering the great support of LineageOS on them here in the forum. Sadly, after some testing with the hardware I got, they seem to be off the market - out of stock everywhere since new year...
So, I'm looking for an alternative. Preferably in the same price range (30-40 bucks) and form factor and able to be flashed with Lineage or another clean ROM.
FireTV Stick Lite seemed promising, same price and decent performance out of the box. Sadly Amazon locked those very hard lately so there is currently no use for them.
I got a "Q96 Stick" of AliExpress but that thing is shady, lacks of performance and there seems to be no custom roms available soon.
So is there anything you could suggest?
Small, price around 30-40, Custom Rom available (Android 10+) or has clean stock OS, no need to be Android TV. No need for Netflix and other DRM stuff.
The project is a small digital signage, I just need to figure the hardware since the Dynalink boxes seems decommissioned.
PS: Idk if I got the right section of the forum, please be gentle.
Well I can't recommend one in that price range BUT be very careful, there's a huge thread on here about cheap android boxes that have built-in bot nets so be wary. They might even live in the system after flashing idk just be careful getting cheap android boxes
spart0n said:
be very careful, there's a huge thread on here about cheap android boxes that have built-in bot nets so be wary
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea I've heard that and that's why I'm very suspicious about this q96 Stick, stock OS is rooted, adb is active and don't ask for permission on new connections, it lies about it's specs and so on, so there is definitely something baked in deep.
On the Dynalink Box I don't sense a thread and idk I such would survive the flashing?
FireTV would be the best option, but not with the lockdown...
R1N4x said:
I'm looking for some suggestions on hardware for a little project of mine.
Dynalink TV Boxes after discovering the great support of LineageOS on them here in the forum.
The project is a small digital signage, I just need to figure the hardware since the Dynalink boxes seems decommissioned.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The tv box devices for which there are lineage builds are listed in the lineage thread. Most of those devices are dated, eol, or discontinued.
Why is lineage support important for your digital signage project? There are other similar S905Y2 and S905Y4 certified tv box devices that can be bootloader unlocked and rooted, but there are not lineage builds for these devices. Is root not enough? Your digital signage project also requires lineage?
Functioner said:
Why is lineage support important for your digital signage project? There are other similar S905Y2 and S905Y4 certified tv box devices that can be bootloader unlocked and rooted, but there are not lineage builds for these devices. Is root not enough? Your digital signage project also requires lineage?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, Lineage is not required, a clean OS is. It has not to be Lineage. It would be a "nice to have".
If the stock one is clean or can be cleaned I'll be happy.
Clean is maybe the wrong term, more like trustable and somewhat up to date.
Root is also not required but would be nice.
What boxes are you talking about?
R1N4x said:
It has not to be Lineage. It would be a "nice to have".
If the stock one is clean or can be cleaned I'll be happy.
Clean is maybe the wrong term, more like trustable and somewhat up to date.
Root is also not required but would be nice.
What boxes are you talking about?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The way to get a clean build is to stay away from the generic boxes that have hobbled together mobile builds, and instead choose a certified device. In the tv box world, this means a device for which the ultimate oem is one of a few chinese manufacturers; sei, askey, or sdmc.
The nebula 4k streaming dongle (amazon B098BFDB41) has the same specs as the dynalink, but it is 49.99 US. It also uses the s905y2, which is on its way out. The nebula device runs android 10 and is made by sdmc.
The homatics lite 4k (amazon B0BNL1YS7V) has a s905y4 and 16gb storage, but it is 59.99 US. This device runs android 11 and is made by sei. In some ways the s905y4 is not quite as powerful as the s905y2 that it replaces, but the y4 does support av1.
The hako mini (amazon B0BFW3MMKJ) is the sdmc version of the homatics device. It is also 59.99 US.
The above devices often go on sale on amazon.
Okay that's a guideline.
If the SoC are on their way out that could mean there might be a successor for it and therefore for the Dynalink box (wich is made by Askey)
So I'll be patient and look at upcoming devices and also wait for an update on the locked FireTVs.
I still wonder, and don't meant to be rude or offensive, the marked is flooded with those cheap Allwinner based boxes and sticks but there is rarely an interest in this community on them? Why is that? Sure they're probably spiced with malware and what not but the hardware is cheap and available.
I don't know. I think the allwinner 616 is a junky cpu. Some of the others might be better. They aren't all that cheap.
Someone got most of the malware out of the 616 based t95. https://github.com/DesktopECHO/T95-H616-Malware
Functioner said:
Someone got most of the malware out of the 616 based t95. https://github.com/DesktopECHO/T95-H616-Malware
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea I looked into that and was already monitoring the stick I got - nothing weird so far, at least on the network.
But still weird behavior with ADB and the fact it came rooted. Also spoofed specs like ram and storage.
Found this apparently interesting TV box more or less recently. It's sold at a very attractive price, and can be bought in configurations with up to 8 GiB of RAM and 128 GB of storage, so I guess that it must come with a 64-bit operating system or firmware. And well, according to “REVIEW: X88 PRO 20 a low-cost Android TV-Box with SoC Rockchip RK3566 @ AndroidpcTV”, the TV box's firmware supports the arm64_v8a ABI, so 64-bit yes.
About this box I only found the thread “X88 pro 20 RK3566” opened close to a year ago, but it contains just a confusing question and no further information.
So, may some of you provide feedback about this TV box? It looks appealing, but of course I need to be able to root it; this is the single most important factor. Once rooted, any limitations in the stock ROM can be fixed and it also is fully customizable; just hope it is stable, of course.
Can someone provide information on rooting this box? Custom firmwares?
Thank you.
Barkuti said:
Found this apparently interesting TV box more or less recently. It's sold at a very attractive price, and can be bought in configurations with up to 8 GiB of RAM and 128 GB of storage, so I guess that it must come with a 64-bit operating system or firmware. And well, according to “REVIEW: X88 PRO 20 a low-cost Android TV-Box with SoC Rockchip RK3566 @ AndroidpcTV”, the TV box's firmware supports the arm64_v8a ABI, so 64-bit yes.
About this box I only found the thread “X88 pro 20 RK3566” opened close to a year ago, but it contains just a confusing question and no further information.
So, may some of you provide feedback about this TV box? It looks appealing, but of course I need to be able to root it; this is the single most important factor. Once rooted, any limitations in the stock ROM can be fixed and it also is fully customizable; just hope it is stable, of course.
Can someone provide information on rooting this box? Custom firmwares?
Thank you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have one, and the only method for rooting is installing another rom, I think the rom with root is the "hk1-rbox-r2-RK3566_DC_R2_HK5235F_11_20210705.1409", but the T95 Plus and H96 Max rom also works (but it doesn't have root), other thing you can do is flash a linux debian using the tutorial described in the forum t95plus.com, but sadly my x88 pro 20 is defective, every app I open (while using android) crashes after some time, and while in linux firefox keeps crashing, I don't know what's the issue, and since so few people have this box I can't find anyone else having this problem
Thanks for contributing, GamingSoldier. My interest in this box sort of vanished, mainly because I was just finding a good TV box solution to pair with an old good TV which I have lying around for someone else, and that someone else decided to buy a new inexpensive set… Of course, suffice to say these people must not be aware of the very limited Android system they are getting, or of how much better it could be.
Anyway, I digged on the subject of rooting without a custom recovery, and found the following very helpful video and article:
Extract Boot.Img Directly From Device Without Downloading Firmware @ DroidWin
This pretty much enables rooting of any device with minimum hassle.
Besides this, I'd love to know if the ROM of this device is stable and works well. I understand you are probably not going to say much in this respect, GamingSoldier; unless you get a new one, that is.
Barkuti said:
Thanks for contributing, GamingSoldier. My interest in this box sort of vanished, mainly because I was just finding a good TV box solution to pair with an old good TV which I have lying around for someone else, and that someone else decided to buy a new inexpensive set… Of course, suffice to say these people must not be aware of the very limited Android system they are getting, or of how much better it could be.
Anyway, I digged on the subject of rooting without a custom recovery, and found the following very helpful video and article:
Extract Boot.Img Directly From Device Without Downloading Firmware @ DroidWin
This pretty much enables rooting of any device with minimum hassle.
Besides this, I'd love to know if the ROM of this device is stable and works well. I understand you are probably not going to say much in this respect, GamingSoldier; unless you get a new one, that is.
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Click to collapse
I don't know if the rom is stable, because my x88 has a hardware issue that keeps making apps crash, and it's not the software because I tested multiple ROMS and all of them cause this issue, about the magisk, I already know the app, but the magisk is unable to patch the rockchip boot.img
Well GamingSoldier, it's clear that you would need to get a new RK3566 X88 Pro 20 for testing its ROM, or at least fix the problem your box has if you are able. Speaking of which, did you open the box to check inside already? Because the problem could be something simple to fix like improper SoC cooling or some electronic component. After all, if the box doesn't works there's nothing to lose in doing so except a little bit of time and effort.
Concerning Magisk not being able to patch the RK3566 boot.img (sure?), I was going to say that you could say something in this respect in the Magisk thread, although I see it was closed long ago. So, the best thing to do is to inquire topjohnwu directly about Magisk's support for Rockchip SoCs, I guess. There's also topjohnwu's GitHub page with further information and etcetera.
And now that we're here I am not going to say that these boxes probably suck in certain ways, although I could. A working hardware matters, and proper working software matters too.
A tad off topic, very recently I've been checking the Orange Pi 5 Plus, for whatever reason. It uses a far more powerful and fully fledged Rockchip RK3588 SoC, and I see it somewhat below $200 (or even a hair below $180!) in 16 GiB of RAM configuration and including USB-C power supply. It clearly is something in another league, and very recently got new Android 12 images for SD card boot and fast 2280 M.2 NVMe storage boot; and it has accessible source code, which is very important developer wise.
It's a lot more money to spend at, but it also is a real Android computer which you can attach to TVs or monitors…
First thing I did after the apps started closing was to open the box and I added a bigger heatsink, I also tried increase the SOC voltage to see if it was a low voltage issue, and if I'm not mistaken I also tested the ram while I was using linux, and still, a paper weight...
After I discovered this issue and was unable to fix it I started to flash any RK3566 or RK3568 rom in to my x88 pro 20, most of them appear the logo screen, but are stuck in that image, I don't know much about these rom's, but might be just one thing or two preventing me from booting into the system