Tianle TL869 Android Streaming Media Stick/Mini PC - $19.77 shipped from Amazon

[yurkinator]

http://www.amazon.com/Tianle-TL869-Android-Streaming-Media/dp/B00DILTY0U/

I am new to android sticks and purchased this one from Amazon. Seems like a good deal for what it does. I haven't opened it up yet to check out the mainboard but apparently it is an RK3066 CPU.

Just sharing here to see if anyone has any more information about it or may be interested in purchasing.

[Fedaykinofdune]

Good buy!

I went out on a limb and bought 2 of these, as my son's birthday is coming up and my wife needed something to mess with. I must say, for the price you CANNOT do better. I was actually flying kinda blind, didn't know the hardware specs when I ordered and was surprised to find the dual core A9 and Mali400. I rooted with Rootmaster or something like that.. All chinese, but it did the job. Working on doing a bit of customization and will someday cook up a nice rom for it, but the Jelly bean rom it ships with isn't too bad, though the launcher is pretty ugly. So far it has not failed to work perfectly with every USB device I plugged into it, though I could not get my PC to recognize it (will have to hack around a bit more). Just throw Airdroid on it, along with the Techknow toolkit and turn on wifi ADB and use Uberizer if you need to mess with it. I've searched the web for information on this device, come across a potential ROM to try out, though I'm scared of breaking it, recovery options are limited due to it not having buttons. Also, the thing gets deadly hot, I would seriously suggest getting some of those tiny heatsinks and the thermal paste/glue stuff (some GPU kits come with tons of tiny heatsinks for the VRMs, I used a bunch of those), mine now looks like a miniature spaceship but stays much cooler, I think that'll help it live much longer.

The verdict: If you have any experience at all tweaking/customizing/hacking Android devices, you're gonna love this one. For the price, this would make a good starter device for any enthusiast wanting to get their hands dirty without fear of breaking something expensive. Get em while you can!

[jesjhoward]

Looking for some kind of help in rooting thing. The app you mentioned is kind of tough to use, lol. Any help?

[Fedaykinofdune]

Looking for some kind of help in rooting thing. The app you mentioned is kind of tough to use, lol. Any help?

Download this...

https://www.dropbox.com/s/yr9g6ph8skrl2sp/Root%20Master%201.3.6_Cekas%20FIX.zip?dl=0

Make sure you're connected to the internet, launch the app and select the middle option I believe it is. Then after a few seconds a box comes up, I forget which option to pick, one is cancel though. If it fails, it's likely the internet being a bit flaky (doesn't have the best range), but I can confirm that it does reliably root the devices. Did it to mine a few times (I was tinkering and kept wiping it), and did my son's too. The only thing I'd say to be careful with is the power.. I wouldn't recommend unplugging it in the middle of rooting, unless it hangs for several minutes. Each time it successfully rooted it didn't seem to take more than a couple of minutes, but I did have it just hang once, rebooted after about 10 minutes and it rooted fine the next try.

Also, you'll need to download busybox off the play store and do the smart install, the root app includes SU but no busybox. Not the cleanest solution ever but it works well once it's done! I've installed a VNC server on mine as well as AirDroid, for some reason the included cable will not allow direct PC connection, won't even charge my SGS4.

Oh, and I do highly recommend the mini GPU heatsink mod! Mine stays much cooler, and looks kinda cool too!

[jesjhoward]

Thanks for the reply! I did eventually get the device rooted after I found the proper app. There's another called Rootmaster that is Chinese with a crap ton of options which was just shooting in the dark, lol. What exactly does busybox do? I'm currently using webkey to remote in to it, and send to be working well... I might try the vnc server as well. Again, thanks!

[Fedaykinofdune]

Thanks for the reply! I did eventually get the device rooted after I found the proper app. There's another called Rootmaster that is Chinese with a crap ton of options which was just shooting in the dark, lol. What exactly does busybox do? I'm currently using webkey to remote in to it, and send to be working well... I might try the vnc server as well. Again, thanks!

Glad to help!

The VNC app I'm using is VNC Server Ultimate, which does cost a few bucks but is worth it if you need a well featured VNC server, and does not require root. The link I posted was the same Rootmaster chinese app, works well but could use translation. I think I'm going to try and de-compile it and get it translated. I'm spreading the word on these awesome mini PC's as much as possible, at 15-20 bucks, EVERYONE needs one, no excuse not to! lol

As for busybox, it installs lots of little linux binaries you'd normally find in a full-fledged linux installation, mostly stuff for internal system and file management, but necessary stuff for most any app that requires root to run. You can get it free on the Play store, go into it, and just do the "smart install", no need for guesswork on this device (some chinatabs get it installed to the wrong directory which can cause big problems).

Later on today I'm going to be trying out some PS1 emulation and some other stuff, I'll report back on my success. If you do any streaming or gaming on your device, if you don't do a heatsink mod to it, I'd suggest at least getting a little fan to cool it off, heat is going to be the #1 enemy of these bad boys.

I've owned a few tablets and I have a Galaxy S4 as well, but as far as bang for the buck, I've never seen anything even come remotely close to this thing. Cannot stop singing its praises. Eventually I'm going to cook up a nice ROM for it, try to trim the OS partitions down to make as much room as possible, but so far every USB storage option (FAT formatted) has worked excellently!

[Circuitsoft]

So, I cracked mine open and found a "Recover" pad. Should I short that to ground while applying power? I've attached internals pics for anyone interested.

[Fedaykinofdune]

So, I cracked mine open and found a "Recover" pad. Should I short that to ground while applying power? I've attached internals pics for anyone interested.

Did you try it? I'm actually not sure how that circuit would work. Whether it senses the closed circuit when you ground it or whether it's expecting a voltage input, I don't know. That's gonna bug me til I find out, I'll look around, unless you've gotten it figured out! I wouldn't be surprised if that contact also functions as a hardware key like vol+/- or home, though it's a little frustrating that they couldn't put a protruding button or pinhole there, us hardware hackers appreciate the little things. They make up for the lack of reset button and micro-sd slot with the nice metal casing, looks cool and keeps the board cooler, hopefully this thing will keep ticking.

It is now a dedicated Candy Crush and Youtube machine, the wife loves it.

[adamoz]

I just seen these on Amazon, $20! Im going to get atleast one and try it out.

Does it really get hot enough to need a heatsink? They seem to have ok wifi according to the Amazon reviews

[Maverick01]

Heat Sinks for Tianle TL869...

Could you (or anyone else) provide some info on part numbers and where you acquired the heat sinks from? I'm having a heck of time trying to locate some properly sized heat sinks. And I really like the looks of the ones pictured here. Thanks!

Oh, and I do highly recommend the mini GPU heatsink mod! Mine stays much cooler, and looks kinda cool too!

[NYC10065]

External Drive

Hey guys...

I've successfully rooted my Tianle TL869. Love the device. Works like a charm -- especially for the price.

I'm trying to connect a Western Digital Passport for Mac external hard drive to the device so that I can access my movies on that device but the device doesn't seem to recognize the device. The user manual does say that I should be able to use an external drive with the device to get videos. I've downloaded Paragon as well to try to access the external drive. Any ideas on how I can get this to work?

[buyadegara]

thanks for info