Official NEO U9-H: 008FW

[notrui]

I feel the after sales support and frequency of updates has been particularity poor with the U9-H I don't think I will be purchasing another minix product in the future. No working netflix app & Nougat has been in beta for ages, with no way for mac owners to install the betas, also there's been no stable OTA updates in a very long time.

Pick up your game MINIX

Gmail app was in beta for many years and now is a stable app.
I dont use netflix but i think netflix works but not in 4k , 1080p only i think.
Usb burning tool is for windows only , maybe you can try install windows in your MAC and try (i know that is possible to install Windows in a MAC device).
Latest beta ROM for u9h is stable, for me it works very well.

 

[ArcticWolf]

I feel the after sales support and frequency of updates has been particularity poor with the U9-H I don't think I will be purchasing another minix product in the future. No working netflix app & Nougat has been in beta for ages, with no way for mac owners to install the betas, also there's been no stable OTA updates in a very long time.

Pick up your game MINIX

In what way is your U9-H unstable?

 

[gregford1981]

In what way is your U9-H unstable?

It freezes every so often and I need to unplug it and hold the on button at the same time else I get a blank screen. app's crash intermittantly, no abc iview, no netflix, kodi is mostly stable. fake wifi plays up occasionally. no 4K youtube. and it is running an old version of android.

i guess it's kinda like running windows xp, sure it's mostly stable but old and outdated.

 

[midnight]

no netflix,

Not true! I have Netflix working perfectly fine on 2 U9's

Both units a very stable, I've not needed to unplug/reboot either one in months

In saying that, everything from time to time gets locked up and needs a hard reboot on occasion... even Mac

 

[CybeRider]

It freezes every so often and I need to unplug it and hold the on button at the same time else I get a blank screen. app's crash intermittantly, no abc iview, no netflix, kodi is mostly stable. fake wifi plays up occasionally. no 4K youtube. and it is running an old version of android.

i guess it's kinda like running windows xp, sure it's mostly stable but old and outdated.

I watch 4k YouTube everyday in my U9-H on Wi-fi. And so your experience with these can't be failling for not getting OS upgrades. Are you using the right methods to achieve what you need?... I couldn't find any message from you in search of any help on this regard in the forum.

But of course if the media suppliers decide that pure Android machines are not certified to run their content (which are made to be exclusively accepted by Android TV OS machines, far more limited than the U9-H for other tasks!), then there will be no upgrade to resolve that matter ever.

Two of the several computers I use are actually desktop models doing very well on XP and one of them dual boots with 98, and it still does great in 98 for Battlefield 1942. I have said frequently that I still do more with my old computers than most people with their gold plated last models. These pure Android boxes are on the way to replace all my old and not so old PC soon (should I quit Battlefield 1942, together with several other close to 30 years old guilty pleasures...).

 

[gregford1981]

See this is exactly the problem, the average user should not have to ask on a forum how to watch youtube in 4K, or have to download an older version of netflix because the outdated version they used to use no longer works. It should just work, straight from the app store, and need minimal / no configuration, without needing to troll through a bunch of convoluted posts on a forum or the need to download apk's from unknown sites and tweak the system to get things working, the end user should not need to do tricky work arounds and tweaks. it's not the user's fault that minix have not jumped through the hoops set by netflix et al to get their deveices certified or whatever they need to do.

Mashmallow was released in 2015 and is no longer supported, 5 versions of android have been released since.

 

[gregford1981]

Not true! I have Netflix working perfectly fine on 2 U9's

Your definition of fine and my definition of fine might be very different.
Can you tell me how? Can you post a screenshot? I would love to have the same kind of netflix experience on my U9-h as I do on my ps4 or samsung smart tv. I find the kodi netflix addon to be rather ordinary, it works but the user experience is lacking.

I watch 4k YouTube everyday in my U9-H on Wi-fi.

Can you tell me how do I do it?? I have 2 youtube apps + the kodi youtube add on which did you use?

 

[ArcticWolf]

It freezes every so often and I need to unplug it and hold the on button at the same time else I get a blank screen. app's crash intermittantly, no abc iview, no netflix, kodi is mostly stable. fake wifi plays up occasionally. no 4K youtube. and it is running an old version of android.

i guess it's kinda like running windows xp, sure it's mostly stable but old and outdated.

Which option are you using for the U9-H's display settings? The auto setting or a manual selection? Try setting the device to the opposite of what it's presently set to & it will hopefully sort that problem out .

Is your U9-H in use with an AVR?

Have you contacted the individual app developers directly for those that you've mentioned? What did they have to say?

I need to restart my main home theater U9-H on average every 5 - 6 weeks, (frequently longer). It's incredibly stable indeed, including Kodi. (A second U9-H used for beta testing etc. isn't quite as stable but obviously not unexpected at all.)

Are you using a build or multiple add-ons with your Kodi as well?

it's not the user's fault that minix have not jumped through the hoops set by netflix et al to get their deveices certified or whatever they need to do.

It's not MINIX's fault either. Netflix are actually the problem there!!! Read here - https://theminixforum.com/index.php?threads/u9-netflix.151/

See this is exactly the problem, the average user should not have to ask on a forum how to watch youtube in 4K, or have to download an older version of netflix because the outdated version they used to use no longer works. It should just work, straight from the app store, and need minimal / no configuration, without needing to troll through a bunch of convoluted posts on a forum or the need to download apk's from unknown sites and tweak the system to get things working, the end user should not need to do tricky work arounds and tweaks. it's not the user's fault that minix have not jumped through the hoops set by netflix et al to get their deveices certified or whatever they need to do.

Mashmallow was released in 2015 and is no longer supported, 5 versions of android have been released since.

When did you purchase your U9-H out of interest ?

 

[midnight]

Your definition of fine and my definition of fine might be very different.

Perhaps!

Can you tell me how?

Very simple, install one of these versions.... before I prove to you that it indeed works, why don't you try one and report back
https://theminixforum.com/index.php...-h-android-version-6-0-1.866/page-2#post-9732

I find the kodi netflix addon to be rather ordinary

I prefer the aboved mentioned versions over the Kodi version TBH.
More info for you!
https://theminixforum.com/index.php...ot-a-netflix-certified-device.1050/#post-9053

 

[midnight]

It's not MINIX's fault either. Netflix are actually the problem there!!! Read here - https://theminixforum.com/index.php?threads/u9-netflix.151/

 

[CybeRider]

For the average user Pizza Hut and McDonalds should do fine. No smelly cheese or spicy food there for sure! Of course you won't have Chambertin or Musigny wine in the glass but CCola will do fine for a meal for sure, and of course no questions to ask to specialists, is that not convenient?

For 4k video playing in the U9-H use latest version of SmartYoutube TV, in definitions choose Quality, Video, and select 4k definition if it is not set by default.

It helps not to have software running in the background.

See this is exactly the problem, the average user should not have to ask on a forum how to watch youtube in 4K

I have to agree with you. The average user reads the instructions book from the vacuum cleaner box. It is the advanced user that has questions to ask or has to find the ways on his own when there are no forums to go for more complex machines. Story of my life...

 

[minix4ever]

Not to add more oil on this fire. I understand the Netflix HD issue. But I agree that our U9 if powerful enough to run more current Android versions and it's a shame we don't have official FWs to do so.

 

[Bask0]

Not to add more oil on this fire. I understand the Netflix HD issue. But I agree that our U9 if powerful enough to run more current Android versions and it's a shame we don't have official FWs to do so.

Yes it is a shame indeed.
I'm still using this 008FW firmware version. Does everything i need and no complains so far.
The U9-H is a really good equipment. On the other hand one of the reasons i bought it 3 years ago was the good support everyone said Minix had.
To think that for only 30€ more i could have a Nvidea Shield. Lauched in 2015 and just received Android 9.
Makes you think!

 

[CybeRider]

Yes it is a shame indeed.
I'm still using this 008FW firmware version. Does everything i need and no complains so far.
The U9-H is a really good equipment. On the other hand one of the reasons i bought it 3 years ago was the good support everyone said Minix had.
To think that for only 30€ more i could have a Nvidea Shield. Lauched in 2015 and just received Android 9.
Makes you think!

You see, this is what really puzzles me. No one can tell what is there in the new OS version that improves what the U9-H already does. People even claim it does what they need, and then they also say that for a little more they could have bought a machine that does a lot less.

Well, for a little less you could have bought a mixer that does a wonderful soup. And the U9-H can´t beat that.

 

[Ilseh]

I'm mostly frustrated with the fact that my U9-H has Skype preloaded but it doesn't work. Though it works on the one I bough last year.
I'm further frustrated that my U9-H is supposed to support a Logitech C920 webcam but it doesn't work. Though it works on teh one I bough last year.

And then I'm super frustrated tha there's supposed to be a solution to this but I don't understand all the technical lingo and shortcuts and don't know how to resolve these problems.

 

[notrui]

Yes it is a shame indeed.
I'm still using this 008FW firmware version. Does everything i need and no complains so far.
The U9-H is a really good equipment. On the other hand one of the reasons i bought it 3 years ago was the good support everyone said Minix had.
To think that for only 30€ more i could have a Nvidea Shield. Lauched in 2015 and just received Android 9.
Makes you think!

And makes you think:
-android 9 in shield works well?
In u9h is working very well even with the nougat beta version
-nvidia shield has better support , client support than minix ?
I dont think so, look at this forum and updates.

Try the latest beta version and then you have a newer OS.

 

[CybeRider]

I'm mostly frustrated with the fact that my U9-H has Skype preloaded but it doesn't work. Though it works on the one I bough last year.
I'm further frustrated that my U9-H is supposed to support a Logitech C920 webcam but it doesn't work. Though it works on teh one I bough last year.

And then I'm super frustrated tha there's supposed to be a solution to this but I don't understand all the technical lingo and shortcuts and don't know how to resolve these problems.

I can understand your frustation, however you have no guarantees that an upgrade to the OS would solve any of those matters. I also hope Minix will send a new machine to the market that will be able to deal we the new challenges imposed by some software producers. I am not worried about Skype in particular, IMO it is outdated by far and there are other solutions to do what it does that still work perfectly well with legacy machines. But it is only logical that nothing lasts forever.

An upgrade to the OS is not what we need. A total compatibility with all software is something that never existed and will exist less and less for the future. It is not by chance that some software still works very well in the U1 with Android 5 and that same software doesn't perform so well in the U9-H. As OS evolve you always lose something to gain something, in many situations the need is created after the software, so I hope a new Minix machine will show me what I need for the future, as for now I don't feel I need something more yet.

 

[notrui]

Yes it is a shame indeed.
I'm still using this 008FW firmware version. Does everything i need and no complains so far.
The U9-H is a really good equipment. On the other hand one of the reasons i bought it 3 years ago was the good support everyone said Minix had.
To think that for only 30€ more i could have a Nvidea Shield. Lauched in 2015 and just received Android 9.
Makes you think!

One more thing and is just a opinion.
My cousin have a nvidia shield, second generation (i think), it is fast indeed but it is a device that i will not buy for me, i prefer android OS (pure android) than android TV OS and the all other things i said earlier.
U9-h is a great machine and minix have a excelent support.

 

[Bask0]

@CybeRider; @notrui2

Just saying that for what i paid i expected a longer "lifespan" to this box.
The only way to upgrade the u9 to Android 7 is to connect it to a pc and manually upgrade it. And the firmware is developed by the community not official Minix. So most users are stuck with Android 6. Compare that to a box with Android 9 and continuous ota updates until 2020. Which one do you think is gonna be outdated sooner? Sooner or later the apps we all use will have no more updates to Android older versions.

 

[CybeRider]

@CybeRider; @notrui2

Just saying that for what i paid i expected a longer "lifespan" to this box.
The only way to upgrade the u9 to Android 7 is to connect it to a pc and manually upgrade it. And the firmware is developed by the community not official Minix. So most users are stuck with Android 6. Compare that to a box with Android 9 and continuous ota updates until 2020. Which one do you think is gonna be outdated sooner? Sooner or later the apps we all use will have no more updates to Android later versions.

And which machine did you buy two years ago that is now working flawlessly with OTA updates with Android 9, may I ask?

EDITED: But also you say that you can now buy a new machine with Android 9 and it has updates for 1 year? Did I read that correctly?...