Alfawise A8 TV BOX Rockchip 3229 Android 8.1 - 2/16GB 2.4G WiFi 100Mbps Support 4K H.265

[trebor]

Main Features
● Android 8.1 OS for fast and stable running
● Rockchip 3229 CPU
● Mali - 400mp GPU
● Built-in WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
● Support 3D movie
● Support the body feeling game, such as playing tennis, paper planes, shooting, etc.
● Local media playback, support HDD, U disk, SD card of 32G

Gearbest

[mo123]

All these Alfawise devices, releasing new boxes with different hardware and new OS's instead of providing the new OS firmware for existing devices with the same RK3229, RK3328 chips, not nice.
I can just imagine all the same bugs again, Supersu can't update or not compatible, Amazon Prime not working, 4K video playback downscaled to 720p.,RKMC black screens, passthrough not working, no navigation bar, no shutdown button no ntfs/exfat support etc.

Looking forward to the rest of the review if made.

Can you test if this app works or just crashes, it does't work on Nougat?

https://github.com/android-hacker/VirtualXposed/releases

Play a couple of Youtube videos with this app then close it, re-open and check if playback is still possible or videos just freeze at 00.00 seconds without playback starting.
It seems to be a problem on Nougat, not sure about Oreo.

https://vanced.azurewebsites.net/APKs?type=NONROOT

[trebor]

I can and will.

Youtube can be a bit flakey, play vid is stops a few seconds in, out in and it's ok
Looks like buffering not being good, CPU cant keep up with the action.

As there is no root on this Unit he APK mentioned may fail I am guessing ?

[kurocygnus]

Does anyone has the ROM for this box? Wanna try it on other RK3229

[gearbest]

Alfawise A8 TV BOX Rockchip 3229 Android 8.1, 2GB RAM + 16GB ROM 2.4G WiFi 100Mbps Support 4K H.265

Alfawise A8 TV BOX
$29.99 Coupon: IT$CNGBA8

Specification

Brand: Alfawise Core: Quad Core CPU: RK3229 GPU: Mali-400 MP Type: TV Box Processor: RK3229

Audio format: AAC,FLAC,MP3,OGG,RM,WMA

Power Supply: Charge Adapter

Power Type: External Power Adapter Mode Power Adapter Output: 5V 2A

Package size (L x W x H): 16.60 x 12.50 x 8.50 cm / 6.54 x 4.92 x 3.35 inches Package weight: 0.3800 kg Product size (L x W x H): 12.00 x 12.00 x 2.50 cm / 4.72 x 4.72 x 0.98 inches Product weight: 0.1866 kg

Package Contents: 1 x TV Box, 1 x Power Charging Adapter, 1 x HDMI Cable, 1 x Infrared Remote Control, 1 x English User Manual

Gearbest

[trebor]

Thanks to Gearbest we get to have to First look at the
Alfawise A8 TV BOX Rockchip 3229 Android 8.1, 2GB RAM + 16GB ROM 2.4G WiFi 100Mbps Support 4K H.265

Main Features
● Android 8.1 OS for fast and stable running
● Rockchip 3229 CPU
● Mali - 400mp GPU
● Built-in WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
● Support 3D movie
● Support the body feeling game, such as playing tennis, paper planes, shooting, etc.
● Local media playback, support HDD, U disk, SD card of 32G

Let's have a look


The Box


Whats in this Box


Ports a plenty but sad no Clock


Rear Ports


Side Ports (full size card ya)



Remove the base, Secret tape ? No secrets around here buddy.



Out With PCB top side view.


Casing & WiFi Antenna


Gets this all back together fire it up and see what it has to offer.

Gearbest

[trebor]

Has been a while since we have done a RK3229 player lets see if things have progressed

Startup ok but a little sluggish.

Not sure if the WiFi or the box is the issue,
lot of time waiting for apps to download and install over WiFi
But we got there eventually.

Switched to Ethernet and things pickup, early days of Oreo I guess

Running Android 8.1 at this stage no root access, no upper and lower Task/Notifications Bars
I think the Upper Notification has more use lower Task can live with out, I feel.

Using the Logetech K400 Enter does not, not configured to do, mouse or Remote to OK etc
A couple of the testing apps ran sideways, guess more suited for phones, again early days or Oreo
but an easy fix in Build prop etc.

UI Looks Ok, set up of Google went smooth. Updates and installed apps happened eventually
basic remote

Once switched from WiFi to Ethernet the A8 appeared to run a littel more smoother/snappier
Looks like a little (lots) tweaking may be required.

Ok Lets get into the show and tell

UI and Installed apps



System Info Etc








WiFi and Ethernet



DRM L3


Ram and Storage Truth



YouTube


No Updates Yet



Geekbench CPU

http://browser.geekbench.com/v4/cpu/9048902

Geekbench Compute



CPU-Z





Ram Speed Test SLOW


Gearbest

[betotun]

Has been a while since we have done a RK3229 player lets see if things have progressed

Startup ok but a little sluggish.

Not sure if the WiFi or the box is the issue,
lot of time waiting for apps to download and install over WiFi
But we got there eventually.

Switched to Ethernet and things pickup, early days of Oreo I guess

Running Android 8.1 at this stage no root access, no upper and lower Task/Notifications Bars
I think the Upper Notification has more use lower Task can live with out, I feel.

Using the Logetech K400 Enter does not, not configured to do, mouse or Remote to OK etc
A couple of the testing apps ran sideways, guess more suited for phones, again early days or Oreo
but an easy fix in Build prop etc.

UI Looks Ok, set up of Google went smooth. Updates and installed apps happened eventually
basic remote

Once switched from WiFi to Ethernet the A8 appeared to run a littel more smoother/snappier
Looks like a little (lots) tweaking may be required.

Ok Lets get into the show and tell

UI and Installed apps



System Info Etc








WiFi and Ethernet



DRM L3


Ram and Storage Truth



YouTube


No Updates Yet



Geekbench CPU

http://browser.geekbench.com/v4/cpu/9048902

Geekbench Compute



CPU-Z





Ram Speed Test SLOW


Gearbest

extract the firmware with rkdumper and upload

[barleybob]

Is there anyway you can customize the launcher on these boxes i tried installing Nova and it wouldn't even start black screen also had trouble scrolling to
bottom of page on some apps found a workaround by using a lower display resolution and altering zoom edit: should have said scrolling with external mouse

[stronglight]

Im regretting purchasing this too. Very limited functionality with Android 8.1.

Here are my dislikes:
1. no scroll navigation bar
2. need to manually select network everytime you switch it on
3. cant setup profiles at login, i have 3 housemates who wanna use it differently to me. Can't select user profile when load up netflix either.
4. can't input texts in some fields
5. doesn't run at full resolution/hertz on my 65" screen

Can anyone please help me to get this working better (new firmware or downgrade to lower android version)?

[mucro]

Im regretting purchasing this too. Very limited functionality with Android 8.1.

Here are my dislikes:
1. no scroll navigation bar
2. need to manually select network everytime you switch it on
3. cant setup profiles at login, i have 3 housemates who wanna use it differently to me. Can't select user profile when load up netflix either.
4. can't input texts in some fields
5. doesn't run at full resolution/hertz on my 65" screen

Can anyone please help me to get this working better (new firmware or downgrade to lower android version)?

how is wifi performance for far modem

[Ruslan]

Yesterday there was a new firmware update, I tried to update it - the prefix began to be constantly rebooted. How to fix the problem? Pressing the RESET button does not work.
Need an original firmware.

[nsm2285]

Firmware update is failing for me too (snap attached). I had sent an email to [email protected] about this on 14th but I haven't heard from them. I also opened a ticket with Gearbest and they were quick in responding. They said they'll check with their technical team and will revert back on this.

[nsm2285]

So I got a reply from cs@alfawise telling me that they cannot help as they are 'just a consulting platform' (their words) and told me to contact the seller. Gearbest was kind enough to issue refund. I guess the best is to stay away from this brand.

I guess I'll wait for someone to post a full ROM which I can flash which might fix the OEM partition.

[itsjustvenky]

Ruslan Where is the reset button on Alfawise A8 TVBox ? Even I have issue with my tvbox. When I updated firmware via OTA, after restarting, the tvbox is getting restarted every 2 seconds and nothing comes on the tv screen.

[Ruslan]

itsjustvenky The reset button is located behind the AV connector, but various combinations with it have not produced a result. We need to look for the firmware.