PETITION AGAINST MECOOL AND VIDEOSTRONG FOR RELEASE THE FIRMWARES TO USERS!

[fosseperme]

I have opened a petition online against Mecool that dont watn release the firmwares for some devices as the KM1 for example. This petition is for all, especially for who have the device in a state of brick and can t restore it because lack of firmware. This is an absurde choice of Mecool, that don t respect consumer rights. Please add a signature to this petition, every signature will be notified by mail to Mecool and Videostrong Company.

http://chng.it/MySryZHJ

[gefattern]

Hi ,

hope it helps , the Chinese Goverment must do something against this ,

for all sold PCBs , no Security updates , no fixes , a shame to them for this

behavior ,

good luck / gefattern

[Guest]

Why petition, contact them directly on their official webpage, or write comments on their new social media pages (FB, twitter, Instagram, YT) !?

[gefattern]

Why petition, contact them directly on their official webpage, or write comments on their new social media pages (FB, twitter, Instagram, YT) !?

Hi ,

do you really think this helps , the Goverment of China must make it better , stop this cheap not supporting

Producers ,

greetings / gefattern

[trebor]

Yes Agree
Individual contact is far more useful and meaningful than a poll/petition I fell.

[mitchell4you]

Hi,
In previous post... the user already contacted the vendor mecool for km1 fw
The responds was : cannot give firmware as it holds Trade secrets

update found post:

https://forum.freaktab.com/forum/tv-player-support/amlogic-based-tv-players/s905x3/806438-the-stupid-reply-of-mecool-about-my-km1-bricked

Probaby related to DRm/google lic

---
I remember making a petition.. for better support.. device tronsmart allwiiner a80
it sadly did nothing

however... you have 1 more vote/signature...hope it helps

[mo123]

The only way to bring about change is to vote with your wallet.
Support manufacturers that care about their buyers, maybe their success will inspire other manufacturers to do the same and improve their ways.

[bluesmanuk]

A petition is not entirely a bad idea in order to get some idea of what kind of user support there might be.

Where there is direct contact, which is only a partial amount of the time, then use it because at least you hive chance for something to happen.

But there is another option and that is to report it directly to the organisation responsible for enforcing the open source rules that many nations across the globe have signed up to and they have muscle, might and plenty of lawyers to take on cases, so that should be something to research. I am pretty sure that they are based in the EU.

But mo123 says it best, if you want change there is not better way that using your purchasing power, however, sadly, after about 6 or 7 years since the first serious real TV box was introduced, we are still in the 'mostly decent hardware (albeit some repetition of common mistakes) but almost always crappy firmware/software.

This is perpetuated by the fact that many people are still buying kit despite this and we also here much of the old 'this is how it is, give it time' reasoning/excuse.

So users and also sites that promote, support and receive funding from vendors and manufacturers have blame, although to be fair, most of it is on the shoulders of users and their purchasing decisions.

However, there is another stark reality that I think has to be accepted and that is that Chine does not play by the rules, even when they sign up for them. Counterfeiting, intellectual property theft etc is common place and both backed and directly supported by the Chinese government, so there are few with enough real power to bring about direct change outside of the customer.

We also have to accept that as consumers who know full well what the Chinese business practices are, pretty much most turn and blind eye because there is a bargain to be had, even to the point where we are aware of child exploitation in the mix.

But still we are generally happy for China to supply anything that is cheap.

So I guess the bottom line is that when you buy into a system that is rather less than legitimate at it's source then you should probably expect for your needs to be ignored too where it suits those who you are happy to hand your money over to.

The old vicious circle syndrome.

[BowerR64]

I want them to add the fan back into their boxes like the M8S Max, that the real "MeCool"

[Jancales]

I purchase different versions of the Mecool M8S boxes directly from Videostrong, for years already, because I like Mecool, as there are custom firmwares available and the quality is good.

But that has changed.

The lot of M8S Max i purchased in December last year had a few bad devices.

The lot of the same model I purchased earlier this year, had a about 25% bad devices, running unstable and running significantly hotter than the previous ones.

Reason is because they have changed to cheap components.

Where in the past they would use Samsung - Foresee or Toshiba, they have now a Biwin eMMC and a Micron or no brand for the RAM.

I will not purchase Mecool again, and I am looking for a decent make of S912 boxes, as I find the S905X3 from whatever make to have still too many issues.

Just my 2 cents

[BowerR64]

I agree that the S905X3 is hit and miss but i think they are cheating with these boxes

I got a X88 pro X3 and its a complete turd. On the bottom of the board there is a sticker that says S905X3 then says RK3318, there was a previous version of the X88 and it actually had a RK3318 chip

I think they have figured out a way to reflash the ID part of the chip some how so that it shows up as a S905X3 but performs like a 3318

I some times wonder if some of the boxes might be fake?

[trebor]

Finally, someone is getting close.
Fake, Clone, copy call it what you like....but me thinks you could be getting close
Speculation only

[Jancales]

I agree that the S905X3 is hit and miss but i think they are cheating with these boxes

I got a X88 pro X3 and its a complete turd. On the bottom of the board there is a sticker that says S905X3 then says RK3318, there was a previous version of the X88 and it actually had a RK3318 chip

I think they have figured out a way to reflash the ID part of the chip some how so that it shows up as a S905X3 but performs like a 3318

I some times wonder if some of the boxes might be fake?

Removing the heat sink would reveal what processor is on the PCB.

Removing heat sink is not difficult, if you heat it up with a hair dryer, then wiggle left right.

To replace, you clean off the silicon paste, and order a tube of new paste from the bay for $1, and apply a very thin layer of it to the processor surface.

You can at the same time order a larger heat sink, so your box will run cooler as well

[BowerR64]

tried to link image posted on Khadas site of the sticker under board cant seem to link just images

[Jancales]

I did remove heatsink and paint came off the cpu like was silkscreen on chip with cheap paint

There is no paint on a CPU, you may confuse it with thermal silicone paste.

Use some plastic scraper to remove it all, and the type will be written on the CPU surface.

The last bits of paste you get off with acetone or nail polish remover


Edit to add : An Amlogic chip is black, while a Rockchip is silver