MECOOL KM9 Android TV Voice Remote Amlogic S905X2 A8.1 4/32 Dual Wifi Fast lan BT4.1

[clarkss12]

Not sure it will matter, since there will NEVER be an update for this device........ What we have is what we will get.

Guest , ummmm as I recall I have never gotten an OTA update on any of my Mecool boxes. They have never had an update (as I recall) for my KM8 or KM9. The updates for my other Mecool boxes did not really ** fix ** things. YOUR mods was what made those other Mecool boxes usable. Right now, my KM9 sits unused. My KM8 and one of my M8S Pro boxes is dedicated to CoreELEC.

Well, it's true that we mainly get updates from the online retailers (e.g. http://blog.geekbuying.com), not over the air. With the Amlogic SDK 9.0 now just coming out of beta, I'm hopeful that any box based on the Amlogic u211 reference board will have a promising future...and the KM9 is still the only one with Widevine L1.

[clarkss12]

Guest, I hope you are correct about they will push Android PIE to some of these boxes. Right now, for my purposes, the KM9 is useless...... It will play almost all the video Codecs available today including the HEVC 4k videos with high bitrate (but not with the 100 Ethernet connection) with the 5Ghz WiFi band. However, as with most of these boxes, it will NOT play any HD audio, but will play Dolby Digital and DTS. I am not sure if it will play videos encoded with VC1, since most of these boxes wont play it without tons of dropped frames. So, for my system, with a mid range Yamaha AVR, I like to hear the HD audio. Also, none of these boxes support automatic framerate, switching, even using Kodi.

The biggest issue for me, is that this KM9 will NOT play Plex OR Emby, which is a non-starter for me. Also, there is no LibreELEC or CoreELEC for it. I can't remember if it has a locked bootloader.

[Guest]

Funny, I haven't had any video codecs that have been a problem yet, but I primarily play x264 with stereo AAC. I've also been running exclusively on Ethernet without issues. My multi-channel audio I tend to just pass through to my AV receiver. You have to change the defaults for that in Kodi, but so far it's been working fine.

I've only seen one of these off-brand boxes (the Zidoo X7) that had a locked bootloader. This one is not factory rooted, but the bootloader is unlocked and they're using the Amlogic test keys. That's allowed me to create a signed TWRP OTA update. From there we can do practically anything (as long as it doesn't involve keys in secure storage).

The KM9 hardware is pretty ideal, and it's even got a reset button. I really just wish that Xiaomi would update the Mi Box to use this latest Amlogic reference board.

[clarkss12]

Funny, I haven't had any video codecs that have been a problem yet, but I primarily play x264 with stereo AAC. I've also been running exclusively on Ethernet without issues. My multi-channel audio I tend to just pass through to my AV receiver. You have to change the defaults for that in Kodi, but so far it's been working fine.

I've only seen one of these off-brand boxes (the Zidoo X7) that had a locked bootloader. This one is not factory rooted, but the bootloader is unlocked and they're using the Amlogic test keys. That's allowed me to create a signed TWRP OTA update. From there we can do practically anything (as long as it doesn't involve keys in secure storage).

The KM9 hardware is pretty ideal, and it's even got a reset button. I really just wish that Xiaomi would update the Mi Box to use this latest Amlogic reference board.

Just cranked up my KM9 and played my BlueRay rip of the Dirty Dozen that is encoded with the VC1 codec. Audio is Dolby Digital, which it is the default codec. The video however is very jerky, not pleasurable to watch.

This is using version OPM1.171019.11 V0828.20181122. I keep swapping firmwares, so not sure this is your modded version.

[SJMoore]

The MAC and serial number are written to secure key storage at the factory, so they should survive flash of an OTA update or AML burn package. Is there a chance you selected something other than the defaults in USB Burning Tool? If you choose the option to "overwrite key" that might have caused you to lose the factory settings.

Out of frustration I may have checked 'Erase All'.

We really need a tutorial on USB Burning Tool with strong warnings about some of these options. Once you wipe the keys from secure storage, there's really no getting them back.

[SJMoore]

Hey, no worries! I'm just glad I was able to get it back up and running again, and with a preferred firmware, for a couple of days it was a paperweight!

[kolinsb]

Hi guys. Is someone have problem with USB 2.0 port? I have KM9 and T95Q and on both of them USB 2.0 port is not working. USB 3.0 port working correctly. Both devices have originaly firmware.

Sent from my POCOPHONE F1 using Tapatalk

[C-Leung]

In my humble opinion, the Mecool KM8 is a better buy for around $56 USD. Everything seems to work, except Netflix in HD (which you said you don't need), and no Amazon Prime video (so I heard).
My video on this device >> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LygWfEJZ7N0&t=1233s

The Mecool KM9, for me is a backward step from the KM8, and that is probably because of the newer SOC. It is OK for basic usage, but won't play some of my major apps like Plex or Emby. The Bluetooth voice remote, keeps loosing the connection, so I have to continually pair it.

My review of the Mecool KM9 >> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgneKZ9zBxY&t=300s

The Mecool M8S Pro L with the Bluetooth Voice remote is a very good device also, but does run quite hot.

It really depends on what your external hardware setup is, and what apps you want to use it for. Almost all of these devices will play YouTube in 4k, but most lack in quality audio output. In other words, if you have a nice surround system, and 4k TV, you MAY want to consider the Nvidia Shield. Or dual booting the KM8 with CoreELEC and it plays everything, including ALL of the HD audio codecs.

Running CoreELEC on these inexpensive boxes, you can have Netflix in 720p with DD+.

Thanks for reply!
In this way I can forget KM9 in this moment, unless there is firmware update from either official or 3rd party.
KM8 is in a lower hardware spec, with 2G ram, 16G rom and 2.4G wifi. I am a bit concern whether 2+16 is enough for future use...

[Guest]

In this way I can forget KM9 in this moment, unless there is firmware update from either official or 3rd party.
KM8 is in a lower hardware spec, with 2G ram, 16G rom and 2.4G wifi. I am a bit concern whether 2+16 is enough for future use...

I have both the KM8 and two KM9s...and I definitely prefer the KM9. It's noticeably faster and running a more recent version of the OS (8.1 vs. 8.0). While the S905X2 sounds like it may be interchangeable with the S905X, the X2's 850MHz Mali-G31 MP2 is considerably smoother than the old 750MHz Mali-450 MP3. The KM9 also comes with higher bandwidth DDR4 DRAM...and 100% more of it.

Also, I've been unable to build TWRP for the KM8, so you won't be seeing any custom ROMs for it.

[clarkss12]

I have both the KM8 and two KM9s...and I definitely prefer the KM9. It's noticeably faster and running a more recent version of the OS (8.1 vs. 8.0). While the S905X2 sounds like it may be interchangeable with the S905X, the X2's 850MHz Mali-G31 MP2 is considerably smoother than the old 750MHz Mali-450 MP3. The KM9 also comes with higher bandwidth DDR4 DRAM...and 100% more of it.

Also, I've been unable to build TWRP for the KM8, so you won't be seeing any custom ROMs for it.

Hahaha, guess that depends on what you use the KM9 for. Magendanz, could you install Plex or Emby servers on some of your hardware, and see you can get the Plex or Emby clients running on the KM9? I was a Kodi user for years, but have since transitioned to Emby, and now I can't go back to Kodi for ever day usage.

If you can get the Emby client to work on this device, I will give it a better grade, but as it is, for my usage, it is not usable.....

Unfortunately, you've got to pay for Plex and Emby...and I'm too much of a cheapskate to shell out dough just to test products I don't use. Sorry! ;-)

[clarkss12]

Guest , How do you watch your media on this KM9? Kodi??

Mainly Kodi, YouTube and Live Channels. I would also include YouTube TV, which I'm still subscribed to...but it stopped working a couple of months ago.

[Agronur]

hi guys and girls. can anyone watch netflix on this device?
all atv roms i tried gives error. apps and kodi extension wont work.
i am not asking watching 4k. does apps work or not? if yes how. please help me.

[vitocorl]

I am afraid not. I have asked for help the developer of the Netflix plugin for Kodi and he could not do something. The device fails the provisioning from Netflix and the plugin does not work. The android apps also cannot start in this device, since Netflix blacklisted it sometime ago...

The only thing you can try is downloading the Netflix app for tablets and phones (the one with the red logo) and try to see if it works, of course this app is only mouse controllable.

[offchu]

hi guys and girls. can anyone watch netflix on this device?
all atv roms i tried gives error. apps and kodi extension wont work.
i am not asking watching 4k. does apps work or not? if yes how. please help me.

Yes, I can watch it ( of course not 4K). Can you give more informations about errors with screenshot?

[vprasinos]

Did some tests today myself to confirm what is being said in here about netflix on this box. The truth is that netflix CAN run on this box but at limited resolution.

I downloaded from apkmirror some of the black backrgound-red logo versions which are for tables-phones and they successfully played content. It is not the best experience ever since the black backrgound-red logo apps are designed for touch control and we have a remote control, so a mouse or a air remote is necessary to plug into usb to control the app. Through the latest app I could see the movies and tv shows I played at 720p or some of them at 540p. The strange thing is that I could see "Polar" at 1080p! I don't know the role of the DRM level to the quality of the stream but seems that some movies have different security requirements and can play L1 content with higher resolution and some with lower. Quite strange...
The white background-red letter versions (ATV versions) did not open at all and they produced a -100 error (that they could not find a proper network or something).

All of the above were tried with the stock firmware which I think it is 201809011.

YES netflix can play. Check my post above 3 pages back. But as vitocorl says, only the android app and the phone/tablet version and you need a mouse. I only managed to run the netflix kodi plugin when I was running CoreElec in another box. The android kodi with the netflix plugin is a no go on this machine at least