Powering up the K-R42 without pressing the power button

[georget]

I just ordered a K-R42 from GeekShopping and can not wait to play with it. It should be here within a week. I was wondering if it is possible to simply connect the power plug to the K-R42 and have it boot up without the need to press the power on/off button. Is there an option like that in the stock rom? I looked through the features of one of the custom roms but I did not see it mentioned. This is a nice feature if there is a power failure. When power is restored, the device will power up automatically and continue without any user intervention.

[mitchell4you]

nope..
You need to use power button..
But.. you could like me.. buy a UPS (or many in my case)
Then when the power goes.. you can still enjoy tv/lights... while everyone else lives in the dark..or geases to your window

[georget]

nope..
You need to use power button..
But.. you could like me.. buy a UPS (or many in my case)
Then when the power goes.. you can still enjoy tv/lights... while everyone else lives in the dark..or geases to your window

Thanks for the quick reply Mitchell. Using a UPS would be a good idea in some applications. I was going to use the K-R42 in an office where it is going to be playing a slide show of pictures. The TV and K-R42 will be mounted high on the wall. The ideal situation would be for the K-R42 and TV to power up together with the flip of a power strip. At least the K-R42 has a remote so a person does not need to climb up on a chair and reach around the tv to push the on/off button on the K-R42.

Maybe there is a work around in a custom rom?

[no_spam_for_me]

There exists a "dirty way"
My device is connecting via the otg-usb-port at an active (powered) USB-Hub and at the moment the devices get power (I use a "radio power socket") the device starts up...

PS: connecting at the USB-port of my TV it works also...

[walter]

If the power button is always pressed, it will act the way you want.

A quick easy hack - Open the case, take one of the four rubber feet from the bottom, put it on top of the power switch, re-assemble the case with it in place. This change in height forces the power button to always be pressed, and the unit will automatically power on when plugged in.

You can also open it up and solder a wire across the terminals where the power switch connects.

[georget]

You guys are great! That is an interesting discovery that "no_spam_for_me" made. I have a MK808 that uses the OTG-usb-port as the power connection. When you plug it in, the MK808 just powers up. If the K-R42 behaves the same way, then that must mean the OTG-usb-port is bypassing the power switch.

I will go with Walter's suggestion of keeping the button pressed down. This way I can use the power supply that is shipped with the K-R42. I'm really curious to take the unit apart anyway to see what kind of heat sink they are shipping with.

I was a little hesitant about ordering the K-R42 until I found this board. Having a community of experimenters playing with the same piece of hardware makes all the difference in the world.

Thanks again for all of your help.

George

[mitchell4you]

The 'walter' idea... does not work.. on my unit (probably depens on rom used)
It boots.. blue led.. then goes red light.. then it stops (screen is black)

I use 'schudeled reboot' at 4:00 and never powerdown unit (on start-up run xbmc)

Anyway..
Goodluck

[georget]

Thanks mitchell4you. It looks like I will have to experiment a little to see what works with the latest K-R42 shipped from GeekShopping.

Is that 'scheduled reboot' a feature in the stock rom? If you are going to keep the unit playing 24/7, it should help stability to have the unit reboot every day at a certain hour.

[no_spam_for_me]

With the "walter" idea, I think you get another problem too, because what's about the recovery mode by using the bottom? Does it works wile the power bottom is pressed???

The PSU you need too, because the power isn't "bypassed" by the OTG (it only starts up with power via PSU)

'schudeled reboot' => I think mitchell4you managed it by cron...

[walter]

With the "walter" idea, I think you get another problem too, because what's about the recovery mode by using the bottom? Does it works wile the power bottom is pressed???

The PSU you need too, because the power isn't "bypassed" by the OTG (it only starts up with power via PSU)

'schudeled reboot' => I think mitchell4you managed it by cron...

I have not tried recovery mode... I will give it a try later today.

[walter]

The 'walter' idea... does not work.. on my unit (probably depens on rom used)
It boots.. blue led.. then goes red light.. then it stops (screen is black)

I use 'schudeled reboot' at 4:00 and never powerdown unit (on start-up run xbmc)

Anyway..
Goodluck

It may depend on the ROM used, using K-R42 HFW 2.0.4 I don't see this issue. I have several units with the button bypassed this way running for weeks straight.

[georget]

My player did ship from China yesterday so I will be able to contribute a little more to the group soon. I was planing to use the factory rom, but if there were many benefits to flashing a custom rom, I would do it. I can't stop thinking about this player. Hopefully it performs as well as the MK808.

Thanks again for all who have offered suggestions and help.

George

[walter]

I have not tried recovery mode... I will give it a try later today.

With the power button bypassed and no OTG cable or power cable plugged in, press and hold the recovery button while inserting the power jack, release after a few seconds. This puts it in to recovery mode (CWM in my case).

With the power button bypassed, the OTG cable connected to my computer and the power adapter attached, pressing and holding the recovery button for a few seconds puts it in flash mode.

For my use I really don't want the units to ever shut off, so I have soldered across the pads on the board to bypass the power button.

There are some other RK3188 units (Minix maybe? Can't remember) that have an internal jumper to select always on vs power button. If I had a schematic we could probably figure out the proper way to bypass the button.

-w

[no_spam_for_me]

...but if there were many benefits to flashing a custom rom...

YES... real 1080P (not only zoomed)

[georget]

With the power button bypassed and no OTG cable or power cable plugged in, press and hold the recovery button while inserting the power jack, release after a few seconds. This puts it in to recovery mode (CWM in my case).

With the power button bypassed, the OTG cable connected to my computer and the power adapter attached, pressing and holding the recovery button for a few seconds puts it in flash mode.

For my use I really don't want the units to ever shut off, so I have soldered across the pads on the board to bypass the power button.

There are some other RK3188 units (Minix maybe? Can't remember) that have an internal jumper to select always on vs power button. If I had a schematic we could probably figure out the proper way to bypass the button.

-w

Hi Waler. Do you ever have any trouble with over heating when the boxes are running 24/7? Did you have to add holes to the top of the case work or add heat sinks? My box will be running all the time also.