T8 - S Update or not?

[JohnS]

I am a patient man and understand that proposed updates have to be fully checked out before release, but can somebody please definitively tell me whether there is an update for the T8-S openelec in the pipeline or not? I bought this model, to replace a previous Droidbox in good faith, on the basis there would be ongoing OTA updates. As things stand I am not a happy customer and will purchase elsewhere this Xmas.

Sent from my T8S using DroidBOX Forums mobile app

 

[Minkbomb]

I think there is absolutly no chance of any update for this model again .... we've been wating for months and months .
At one point they were saying "next week" etc
There has been no word or update for months and that says it all to me .
Im like yourself in that i bought this box because of the promise of regular updates but theres been nothing and once bitten i wont be back.
They wont even fix the location bug thing and have just left us with the spinning circle thing ... or even give us a refresh of newer apps or something but no ... nothing.
You'll notice they keep pumping out updates for the newer models though ... again that says everything to me.
Even my years old M8 box still gets updates from various sources.
You can get boxes now with version 6.0.1 on them now for much less than i paid for this box. I know where I'll be buying next and it wont be here !!

 

[David Savage]

I understand your frustration as I have a few of these to.
All I can say is let's be hopefull on a update coming soon. I'll try and get a definitive answer for you on this and report back.

 

[Minkbomb]

I appreciate the reply but unfortunately I think I've heard this for almost a year. January this year we were told an update was being worked on and they were looking for testers. Getting close to a year later and there's nothing. No update of any kind about how it's coming along or even that it won't be coming at all. I believe upcoming Kodi 17 won't work with 4.4.2 ? Is this correct ?

Sent from my SM-G935F using DroidBOX Forums mobile app

 

[Nigelar]

The absence of an update may suggest an irresolvable incompatibility with the specific chipset used by these boxes, of course (t8s and also the older t8). The fact that other machines have had updates is not relevant if this is the case.
I agree that a definitive statement from Droidbox would be good for older box owners though.
I believe that Kodi 17 will be incompatible with 4.4.2. However, Kodi 16 will still be good for a few years yet, in my opinion.
In the meantime, are there things that you cannot do with your current configuration? Can the community here help?

 

[David Savage]

The rumours are it won't work on Kitkat, but as there still no stable version out it hard to say definitely. Plus droidBOX have there own version called DBMC, so they might customise this so it works.
If I remember there was rumours that wizards wouldn't work on krypton..but now they do. Best thing is to wait for the stable release of kodi 17.1 Krypton and see what's what.

As I have a few of these boxes, they still work great and I've got use to the weather widget spinning in the corner.

Hopefully we might get an answer soon..

 

[Minkbomb]

The absence of an update may suggest an irresolvable incompatibility with the specific chipset used by these boxes, of course (t8s and also the older t8). The fact that other machines have had updates is not relevant if this is the case.
I agree that a definitive statement from Droidbox would be good for older box owners though.
I believe that Kodi 17 will be incompatible with 4.4.2. However, Kodi 16 will still be good for a few years yet, in my opinion.
In the meantime, are there things that you cannot do with your current configuration? Can the community here help?

All they have to do it say its not going to work then dont they ...?? Or why arent they telling us anything at all ??

 

[Minkbomb]

The rumours are it won't work on Kitkat, but as there still no stable version out it hard to say definitely. Plus droidBOX have there own version called DBMC, so they might customise this so it works.
If I remember there was rumours that wizards wouldn't work on krypton..but now they do. Best thing is to wait for the stable release of kodi 17.1 Krypton and see what's what.

As I have a few of these boxes, they still work great and I've got use to the weather widget spinning in the corner.

Hopefully we might get an answer soon..

To be honest the weather widget doesnt bother me either but surely they could do a miniscule update to remove it and put something else in its place ? Give us a few new apps ? Are there any new apps on the newer boxes worth having ?
Its things like that that make me believe they have dumped the box all together .

 

[Nigelar]

I think my sentiments are encapsulated in my words:
"...a definitive statement from Droidbox would be good"

 

[Nigelar]

in my opinion there are few apps on newer builds which I use. Maybe Droidbox share which I use to cast pictures from the phone. Everything else I get from play store or more dubious sources. What would you want to do that would need new apps?
I used a customised launcher on my t8 (now used by my son) using the nova launcher and wallpapers HD, instead of the stock launcher (and the spinning weather thing) as I find it better.

 

[8bitDev]

I think there is absolutly no chance of any update for this model again .... we've been wating for months and months .
At one point they were saying "next week" etc
There has been no word or update for months and that says it all to me .
Im like yourself in that i bought this box because of the promise of regular updates but theres been nothing and once bitten i wont be back.
They wont even fix the location bug thing and have just left us with the spinning circle thing ... or even give us a refresh of newer apps or something but no ... nothing.
You'll notice they keep pumping out updates for the newer models though ... again that says everything to me.
Even my years old M8 box still gets updates from various sources.
You can get boxes now with version 6.0.1 on them now for much less than i paid for this box. I know where I'll be buying next and it wont be here !!

Hi

Regarding T8-S model there was a update for DroidBOX Share app but it was not done through OTA,so you can update your app either from DroidBOX market or google play store.
Regarding DroidBOX launcher,if you do not like its capabilities you can always install additional launcher from the google play store,set it as default and run any widget that you like.
Regarding questions about the Kodi, we tend to use stable versions and running Kodi 17 at this development stage is not something recommended for the end users.
Once stable build comes out and we hear official announcement we will know for sure if android v4.4.2 would be supported.
Being released as open/libre software makes us capable to modify the software and because of this capability we have add ons makers making their content to last in older Kodi builds so you can know for sure that even with the older version software deprecation is not something that occurs in this case.
Even if it does we will come up with the solution for our users that they can enjoy their boxes and stream content that they like.

Regards and have a nice day

 

[Nigelar]

Hi @8bitDev .
I think many of us just want to know if there is a plan to update android on older t8 and t8s boxes.
A simple yes or no will do.
If yes, then an estimate of the release date.
If no, then say so.

 

[Nigelar]

And the "official announcement" regarding kodi 17 is that android 5 is a minimum requirement.

See section 2 of the official kodi wiki.

http://kodi.wiki/view/Kodi_v17_(Krypton)_FAQ

 

[David Savage]

I understand your frustration as I have a few of these to.
All I can say is let's be hopefull on a update coming soon. I'll try and get a definitive answer for you on this and report back.

The answer is the T8-S has not been forgotten, and an update is being worked on just there's know ETA on this yet. As for lolipop that's still being looked at for compatibility with this box. But don't think it will be on this upcoming update or any time soon...Lets stay hopefull.

Hope this helps.

 

[Minkbomb]

So in a nutshell were still no further forward .... no ETA for an update of any kind and lollipop is being looked at but not any time soon.
Well that certainly cleared that up lol

Sent from my SM-G935F using DroidBOX Forums mobile app

 

[David Savage]

Just passing on info, and that what I've been told...
Next time I'll....

 

[JohnS]

Given it's a new year and I'm still using a T8-S that I bought less than a year ago, are we any closer to an update? It would be nice to at least have a weather widget that works and please don't tell me I can load another launcher, this one should work as advertised. One of the main reasons I bought Droidbox's was for their much vaunted customer service, which is sadly missing.

Sent from my T8S using DroidBOX Forums mobile app

 

[wmanzione]

Biggest mistake in technology shopping ever done in my life. I did buy an Amazon fire TV some months ago and super delighted with the choice. You can side load anything e also moonlight fur PC remote playing works wonderfully. Strongly advised. Now the T8-S is just taking dust.

 

[Nigelar]

"Biggest mistake in technology shopping ever done in my life"
No.
I have an old (older t8) running android 4.4.2 and it runs all the movies and sports you can throw a hat at.
Which I thought was the point of these devices.
Updates to the core firmware for these machines are in the hands of the processor manufacturers, in this case, Amlogic.
The amount of tailoring Droidbox and all other amlogic chip users can do is limited.
Newer versions of android for the t8s will not be released until they have a) been released by amlogic b) been proven to work on the (in this case) t8s processor. Since testing has not proven a working version, it has not been released.
I have yet to find evidence of a reputable supplier of android boxes running the S802 processors who have successfully ported android 5 onto their boxes. In the meantime testing is going on within the Droidbox user community help to test an updated version of Librelec to replace openelec.
It is a sad fact that technology moves on and we all end up with devices of all sorts whose specifications have been superseded. Does that mean the box is useless and needs to gather dust? Absolutely not.
If you don't want your t8s I will gladly take it off your hands for the price of postage.

 

[wmanzione]

No, it is a mistake and a big one, but couldn't see this before buying. Bought it in October 2015 when it was the best product and the most expensive offered, mostly for the dual boot with openelec, which at the beginning I loved coming from a Raspberry Pi. The first month was lovely. Then issues started to come up, which the team was doing the best effort to help. But still all the workarounds were based on best effort and not on real fixes. The gpu on that box doesn't allow to run Moonlight (remote playing from a PC with the nvidia graphic card) giving 300ms latency as input lag due to processor (I have the whole house cabled) and the workaround is to use remotr, which doesn't give the same user experience of moonlight. Then most of the wizards for kodi required Kodi 16, but can't run that on openelec, and dbmc suffer from hardware limitation when running kodi 16. So bought it in october 15, last update was on april 16, which tells me I bought a box that has been supported for 6 months in the last 15 months. And that was the top of the gamma at the moment of buying.

Costed £99. Bought the Amazon Fire Tv in august 16 for £64 and besides all the charming apps that work on it (including kodi 16), never a crash, full compatibility with gamepads and bluetooth devices and especially even my mother in law is able to manage it with the frustration free remote.

>If you don't want your t8s I will gladly take it off your hands for the price of postage.
You don't get it I think, but I admire your effort to defend this product. Let's be honest, it was worth at best £50 . In my experience, if so much functionalities of a product depends on third parties, then to whom my money are for? It was a mistake. Period.