MECOOL M8S Pro + TV Box Amlogic S905X Android 7.1 2/16GB Fast Lan, WiFi 802.11b/g/n

[P.X]

The first v0619 OEM FW was standard Android if memory serves so if you just want the nearly latest OEM and not ATV that is the one to try

[rahzel]

The box has a crappy dirt cheap wifi module, so I am not surprised. Another reason is your 2.4GHz wifi bands are congested at your home, so there are lots of interference. One way to test is using your laptop with a LAN port, enable ICS (Internet sharing), and plug a LAN cable to your laptop and the box, and see if the internet stays connected at your box. If so, you will need a wifi bridge.

The location of the box is not far from the router. I don't understand why so many of these boxes have such poor wifi chips. I've tested dozens of boxes and it seems like almost half of them are poor or next to useless. (edit: not the Mecool, just android boxes from GB in general).

I've finally decided to just buy a powerline adapter.

[P.X]

The location of the box is not far from the router. I don't understand why so many of these boxes have such poor wifi chips. I've tested dozens of boxes and it seems like almost half of them are poor or next to useless.

I've finally decided to just buy a powerline adapter.

If you have another power supply with the right little connecter you could try it to see if it helps at all, but not another Mecool with the same number! I find one model number version affects connections badly for me. I've posted a pic of the bad one somewhere ....
Could just be the wi-fi chip though ?

[P.X]

This one - Bad on left.

[Paulo Rossi]

Hi there,

Anyone uses harmony logitech ( model 555 ) to control the Mecool ?!?!? If so, which one did you pick when you programe the remote?

I use the Harmony Hub, and I emulate the Nexus Player remote (which is Bluetooth). It doesn't have a Power button, but it does have Play/Stop.

[Barry Yam]

Hi,
When I click TV center it will install Kodi 17.3. How to change to other app?
How to update Kodi in TV Center?

Thanks.

[ready]

I bought this device in October and have not used it since then. Did something change? Can I watch Netflix in HD (1080p) using stock rom now?

[P.X]

Latest OEM Rom is now an ATV version (non Leanback) so yes. Various wrinkles if you don't wipe data. Have to uninstall/update Playstore to get ATV version and then same with Netflix.

[Paulo Rossi]

Does anyone uses this skin for kodi "Skin MOD - MOD AEON MQ7 KRYPTON" ???
In this skin I don´t find the option to reboot for the native OS of the Mecool ... Does anyone knows if it´s possible and how !?!?!? I really need the double boot because I use some apps in the Andriod Tv of the box ...

[wrxtasy]

I think you are talking about Dual Boot LibreELEC / Android yes ?
If so follow this DIY:

https://forum.libreelec.tv/thread/58...8260#post68260

[polpus]

Gonna write this in case it helps someone in the same situation as me.

I got a box with the faulty eMMC and 20170829 firmware. After trying to update to a newer OEM version, I bricked it. USB burning tool always fails at 98%. I thought at least I would be able to use it for LibreElec off an SD card but the light stayed red+blue and didn't turn on.

After trying a hundred different times and many different things, I was able to get it to a point where it reliably loads LibreElec from an SD card and so far it seems to work perfectly. Here's what I did:

- Took the M8S_PRO+-20170829.121614.V0321.img that Magendanz posted
- Opened it with Amlogic Customization Tool
- Opened C:\Program Files (x86)\Amlogic\CustomizationTool\tmp\level2\system in Windows Explorer and deleted everything in that folder.
- Packed it with Amlogic Customization Tool, resulting in a ~67MB img file
- Flashed that img file with USB Burning Tool. Tried all the different "Erase flash" options. "Erase bootloader" checked.

Sometimes the flashing process crapped out halfway, sometimes it finished successfully. I got many successful flashes but LE still didn't load fully. I'm not sure if I did something different this last time or if it was pure luck, but now it loads LE successfully all the time.

For some reason, LE 8.2-8.2.0.1 doesn't load. It works fine with an older 8.0.2a and with a newer 9.x from http://kodi.adamg.co.uk/libreelec/releases/ (I used 1.0.4.1)

I don't want to try flashing anything again for fear of bricking it again. If you are in the same boat with a bricked M8S Pro+ and want to try loading LE on it, let me know and I'll upload the stripped img file for you to try.

UPDATE: Shortly after posting this, I decided to take the plunge and try flashing the full M8S_PRO+-20170829.121614.V0321.img with USB Burning Tool and lo and behold, it flashed successfully! Everything is back to how it was when I first received it, and so far there haven't been any crashes. So it appears there's hope after all for boxes with bad eMMC, even if they were shipped with 20170829 firmware. As a side note, I did lose Widevine L1, it's now L3.


Cheers!

[ready]

Latest OEM Rom is now an ATV version (non Leanback) so yes. Various wrinkles if you don't wipe data. Have to uninstall/update Playstore to get ATV version and then same with Netflix.

Could you please give me some details how to do this?

[P.X]

Best easiest to just start fresh with the update to latest OEM . Use built in Update app with the update zip file on a USB drive. Tick wipe data option and you get a fresh install of the new version

[Paulo Rossi]

I think you are talking about Dual Boot LibreELEC / Android yes ?
If so follow this DIY:

https://forum.libreelec.tv/thread/58...8260#post68260

That`s exactly what i´m talking about !!!
I´ll give it a look ...
Thanks a lot !!!

[acefr]

The location of the box is not far from the router. I don't understand why so many of these boxes have such poor wifi chips. I've tested dozens of boxes and it seems like almost half of them are poor or next to useless. (edit: not the Mecool, just android boxes from GB in general).

I've finally decided to just buy a powerline adapter.

Well, it all comes down to cost. When they sell a box sold for less than $40, they have to cut corners somewhere. My M8Pro+ can get up to 30Mbps over wifi, whereas my other Android box, Himedia H7 4th Gen, wireless AC can reach 90Mbps. I bought a Totolink AC1200 wireless router to use as a wife bridge, and now my M8Pro+ can get to 90Mbps over LAN, but it also bring the total cost to the same level of my Himedia H7 box. Powerline adapter is only needed when the wireless AC has interference or over multiple walls. My Totolink is less than $30 and I would highly recommend it over powerline adapter that cost much more.