Android TV BOX/TV STICK FAQ
OK, It’s time to built this FAQ Page. We hope you guys can find most of the answers about TV BOX/TV Stick here!
1 What is TV BOX/TV Stick?
Android TV box/TV Sticks, like Google TV, connect your TV to the Internet and let you enjoy free movies, chatting, games, news and other information sites; you will share all this together with friends and family in the living room.and if you are a geek,you also can install ubuntu or linux on the TV Sticks, and make it to be a real mini pc!
2 How to connect tv box /tv stick with my TV and how do i operate the TV BOX/TV Stick?
Ok,first,please understand, all of the tv box/tv sticks has no built in battery, so you can’t just use the HDMI cable to connect with your TV,and turn your tv to smartTV.
What you should do when you first get the tv box/tv sticks is:
check the power adapter on the package, and connect the power adapter with your tv box/tv sticks, if there is power on/off button on your tv box, you also need it turn it on. and make sure there is power light on your tv box/tv sticks.
Second, use the HDMI cable which in the package to connect with your TV.
Third, go to find a usb mouse to operate the tv box/tv sticks.
so next question is which usb mouse is supported. and expect the usb mouse, what else can i use to control tv box/tv sticks?
You will find usb 2.0 port on tv box/tv sticks, some only have one, and some has more, all of the tv sticks support 2.4Ghz wirless, so you can use your wireless mouse and insert the receiver to the usb port, and don’t need to install the drivers, you can control it with your wireless mouse. and wireless keyboard is also suppoted. but for us, we recommend the Air mouse to control, see the following link:
http://www.geekbuying.com/Search/?keyword=air+mouse
they are the best parter for the tv box/tv sticks;
3 What is the best TV BOX/TV stick?
Well, it is hard to recommend the best TV BOX/TV sticks, because different person have different request when they buy a tv box/tv sticks. You should check the functions,read the reviews and pick up the one you really need. Please see this link:
http://www.geekbuying.com/category/HDD-Player-505/
We put the main function you may need, and you can pick up the correct one you need.
We offer full time tech support for all of the tv box/tv sticks we sold.
4 Why the RAM and Storage is not as your advertised?
This is a really questions which we get asked every day. so let us make it clearly.
All of the tv box/tv sticks we are selling is advertised as 1GB RAM and 4GB or 8GB Storage.
but when you recevive it, you will check “setting” and “storage” and find it is not like the advertised,and come to complain with us, however, you did the wrong check!!!
In setting,you can’t check the RAM and ROM. the correct way is downloading some system check app, like Antutu, you can check the system information, and you will find the RAM and Storage information.
Even in Antutu, you still find the RAM is not as 1GB and storage is not the full 4GB or 8GB, It is really normal, because the rest of the memory is used by Android operating system and pre-installed app. Even Samsung or iphone all have this problem. Please understand!
5 Where should i get the latest firmware for my TV BOX/TV Stick?
There are three ways to get:
a Search on Blog.geekbuying.com with the keywords “model firmware”, and we put the hotselling model on the left category of our blog, you can enter to the model you need, and find the firmware there;
b Check the “Firmware Download” zone on the top of our blog. we try to collect all of the tv box/tv sticks firmware there;
c Email to after_arrival@geekbuying.com to get any firmware which you can’t find.
6 What is root, why i should root, after root, what should i do? and how to root my TV BOX/TV STICK?
Because all of the tv box/tv sticks are base in Android OS, so root is the basic things you need to know. So what is root? see what’s wiki said:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Android_rooting
After root,you can install lots of apps which requir root, and you can backup your system, and modify the system.
The root method maybe a little difference in each device, however, please notice, if your tv box/tv sticks use the same chip, like all rockchip rk3066 or rockchip rk3188, you can follow the same root tools, and method.
Some device is also coming with rooted, such as some allwinner device or amlogic device, you can use “root checker‘ app to check if your deviced is rooted.
Now all of the tv box/tv sticks is rootable, so don’t worry about this!
7 Google Play says my device is incompatible with an app, how can I fix this?
We reommend to read the following post:
http://www.howtogeek.com/138500/the-ultimate-guide-to-installing-incompatible-android-apps-from-google-play/
8 There are so many distributions of XBMC, which one should I use?
A: There are three main variants of XBMC, I will run through the following with pro’s and con’s.
Official XBMC.
Pro: Stable, official port.
Con: Will not use the GPU at all, slowest version to use.
XBMC test build with HW.(dated 2/19/13).
Pro: Uses the GPU to help decode HD content. Works well with plugins.
Con: Will have issues with very high bitrate or resolution. Will force 16:9 for 4:3 in some situations, with a few streaming plugins not allowing you to fast forward/rewind (can be fixed by toggling libstagefright.so in options). Will need to place the advancedsettings.xml file in the xbmc folder after installation.
The advancedsettings.xml is needed for full GPU decoding, you can download it here. Extract the zip to get the .xml file, and place in “/android/data/org.xbmc.xbmc/files/.xbmc/userdata“, you may need to enable hidden files and folders to see this in your file manager app. You must run XBMC once before doing this.
XAF custom XBMC. (use neon versions).
Pro: Will play near all HD content without issues via local, network. Comes with pre-installed plugins.
Con: Breaks plugins for streaming services as it uses a non native player. XBMC remote for android/iphone will not work correctly on this version. SMB not working.
I recommend the test build over the XAF one if you want to use streaming services, any HD content which is jerky in XBMC can be played via local or network with the ehomemedia app, or any other player that supports GPU decoding like MX player.
9 Can I run my device at 1080p?
Well, we always get some compalint about the tv box/tv sticks is not real 1080p, they are upscale from 720p, yes, this is true, the reason for that is 720p is good enough for normal use, for games, and streaming videos, in real 1080p mode, the cpu and gpu will get much more stress, and will creat much more heat, system will become un-steady.
But if you really need 1080p firmware, yes, we can supply,and now we are trying to check with factory,and make sure they can offer two firmware, one is 720p,the other is 1080p.
10 Can I overclock the CPU?
Yes, you can, BUT we don’t recommend, why? because your device will run hotter after you overclock the CPU, so make sure you have cooling to compensate the extra heat. If you want to overclock, root your device, and use SetCPU app which download from google play store.
11 Can i connect Webcam with my TV BOX/TV Stick? if so, which model is suppoted?
Because there are so many webcam models in market, so we can’t promise to test all. but for most rockchip base tv box/tv sticks, they all support webcam which support UVC. so if your webcam support UVC, then you can give it a try, for us, we have a logitech C170, so each time, we will test with it.
12 My TV Stick is stuck on the boot menu, what should i do?
There are mainly two reason which cause this problem:
1 The USB Cable which you use for power the tv box/tv sticks is broken, try to change another cable to check;
2 System Broken, this is the mainly reason for stuck on bootimage. if so, you should find the correct firmware in our blog, and flash the firmware again.
13 Why antutu benchmark is crashed when i test in my TV Stick/ TV BOX?
This is mainly caused by the power adapter. Please notice, all of the tv box need at least 2amp current, so if you don’t use the power adatper which we supply in package, but just power up the tv box/tv sticks with your TV, then it may cause the problem. Try to use the power adapter we supply, the problem will be solved.
14 Can i run Ubuntu/Linux on my TV Stick? If so, how?
Yes,it can run on some device, but not all. As far as i know, now the allwinner base tv box/tv sticks can run ubuntu/linux. and some developer also made rockchip RK3066 tv box/tv sticks such as mk808,imito mx1,ug802 to run ubuntu/linux. and if we can get source code for RK3188 device, i belive developer also can made the Linux running on those quad core tv sticks. So if you want to run Ubuntu/Linux on your TV Sticks, just do some search by youself, you will find useful information.
15 My TV/Monitor don’t have HDMI Port, can i still use your TV Stick/TV BOX?
Yes, if your TV don’t have hdmi port, you can use pick up some tv box/ which has AV port or VGA port, and you also can get some VGA TO HDMI adapter to use it. We have tested the following adapter
it can works great!
16 How to reset my TV BOX/TV STICK?
You can go to setting, choose Backup&reset, and then click “Factory data reset”.
17 Can i control my TV BOX/TV STICK via Smartphone? if so, how can i do?
Yes,You can, but now, it only support Android Smartphone, apple iphone don’t support now. If you want to use your smartphone to control your TV BOX/TV STICKS. there are two ways:
1 You can use the app called” droidmote”, and root your tv box/tv sticks, install the droidmote serve on your tv box/tv sticks, and then install the ‘droidmote client” on your smartphone, put your smartphone and tv box/tv sticks are in same network. and then open droidmote client on your smartphone, open droidmote server on your tv box/tv sticks. enter the serve address on your phone, and then connect.
2 If you don’t want to paid that droidmote app, you can try some free software All Rockchip base device has built in the app called RKremote control, it is the same like droidmote, the server already built in the rockchip base tv box/tv sticks,and you can get the client here:
http://www.mediafire.com/download/9ettekulsbk5g82/RKRemoteV2.0.2.rar (password:geekbuying.com)
still put your smartphone and tv box/tv sticks in same network, it don’t require root access, and open the client in your smartphone,and it will find the serve, and then connect directly.
If you use other cpu chip tv box/tv sticks, you should search on google play store to find simialr apps.
18 My wifi signal is weak, is there any solutions?
We always see some compalint about wifi in diffferent product, such as smartphone, tablet and tv box/tv sticks we are selling.
First we should know, different device use the different wifi chipset, and the wifi range and strength are decided by the wifi chipset. so sometime, you can’t always compare our tv box/tv sticks with your samsung or apple phones.
however, every tv box/tv sticks which list in Geekbuying is tested, we will test the wifi signal, and if some tv sticks/tv box has bad wifi signal, we won’t list them. but after you receive your device, you still think the wifi is not good, what should you do?
First, please update your wirlesee router’s firmware. because there are lots of wireless brand in the world, in our test, we all use tp-link routers to test,if you use some brands, in very little chance, it will cause the wifi problem between your tv box/tv sticks and routers;
Second, Flash some custom roms which we suggest, some custom rom do some tweak and make the wifi signal better;
Third, if you are not sure which one to choose, and want to make sure you get the good wifi signal, then try some tv sticks/tv box which has external wifi antenna, which help the wifi signal a lot.
19 What is firmware? How can i upgrade firmware?
Firmware is just meaning the Android system on your tv sticks, sometimes, if your system become crash always or stuck on the boot image, you all need to re-flash the firmware again to make your tv box/tv sticks live again.
There are two firmware in our site: one is called stock firmware ( or stock firmware),the other is called custom firmware( or custom rom), the stock rom is what the factory released, while the custom rom is making by our own developer or some other non-offical rom developer, and add some cool features.
Now Geekbuying is trying our best to offer the firmwares for every android device we sell, you can find them on our blog. or contact our customer service to get.
20 My TV BOX/TV STICK can’t turn on? what should i do?
We get the same questions sometimes, and we always ask the customers to describe the problem much more clearly;There are different situations for “can’t turn on”
A The TV BOX is running, but there is no tv signal;
Solutions: 1) change to another tv to check if it has signal or not; 2) change another hdmi port or cable to check: 3) If neither of 1,2 solve the problem, then try to flash to Android 4.1 firmware to check.(we also met very little case that report on android 4.2 os, their TV has no signal)
B There is no any power light on TV box/tv sticks;
Solutions: Try to change another usb power adapter and usb cable to check;
C I am stuck on the boot image, only show some penguins;
Solutions, check the answer for Question 13
21 Netflix can’t work in my tv stick?
Well, there is a long stroy about this, at first, Netflix is always working on amlogic, allwinner base tv box/tv sticks. in Android 4.1 and Android 4.2 os, both of them working, however on Rockchip base tv box/tv sticks, the story is on Android 4.1 os it can work, but after update to Android 4.2 it can’t, however, recently in our effort, rockchip release some update to fix this. now rockchip device also can run netflix on android 4.2 os. so if you met the netflix problem, first check your android OS, if you are in android 4.2, then you should tell us, and we will push factory to release the netflix fix and release a new firmware, and if you don’t want to wait, just downgrade to android 4.1 os,and make it work again.
22 The TV Stick can’t read my external hard driver?
If you met this problem, it is not the fault of our tv box/tv sticks, the reason for reading fail is there is no enough power for the external hard drivers, or the USB HUB you are using has problem. Try to give external power to your hard driver, or if you are sure the power is not a problem, then try to use a better quality usb hub.
23 I have connected my TV Stick/ TV BOX with my PC, but my PC can’t find the device?
Please notice, those tv box/tv sticks isn’t like your usb drivers, windows can’t find it if you just simple plug in, the trick is you must press the recovery button on each tv box/tv sticks, and at the same time, connect your tv box/tv sticks with your pc, and you must use the OTG port, not the DC port in your tv box/tv sticks.
24 I can’t login into google play store with my google account, always say” can’t establish connections”,What should i do?
Try to restart your wireless routers, and restart the wifi on your TV BOX/TV STICKS, most of the problem is caused by this.
Here is the FAQ we collect for now, if you have anything want to add, please just leave comment.
Let’s work together to make this bigger!!Thanks for sharing!!!
Geekbuying Team