Xiaomi Mi Android Box

Reddirt · March 8, 2021 at 9:15 PM

I'm building a LE system for my daughter and wonder if anyone has used the Mi Box. The specs and reliability look pretty good. I own a few RPIs but I wanted to keep this build as simple as possible. Using just a remote with no keyboard and maybe a usb stick for offline storage. Seems lots of cheap Android boxes around with some pretty bad reviews overall. The Mi seems to have good reviews or does it?

RS

PANiCnz · March 8, 2021 at 10:26 PM

Pretty sure it has a locked bootloader so it won’t ever boot LE. Furthermore I think from memory it uses an Amlogic SoC so LE support would be patchy at best even if you got past the locked bootloader.

Simple answer is try something else.

**Da Flex** · March 8, 2021 at 11:22 PM Official Post

I've seen a user (I think it was thedogg ), who was able to run LE from USB stick with locked bootloader. Not sure about the box he used.

Reddirt · March 10, 2021 at 9:04 PM

Thanks to both PA and Da Flex for the replies. Still on the fence here and I'm totally spoiled with LE. I tried Kodi on a FireStick and it works but is clunky to me after using LE for so long. I won't bore anyone with the trip through the weeds involved to get a stick working and updating. My Intel x86 system running LE has been three years without a hiccup. Rock solid work of stellar software IMHO.

A small portable system does have appeal though and still looking for right one to test out.

RD

**Da Flex** · March 10, 2021 at 9:15 PM Official Post

I think it's better not to buy a box with a locked bootloader ( PANiCnz is right). Go for another Intel box (Tiger Lake NUC) or an RPi.

Reddirt · March 10, 2021 at 9:34 PM

Thanks for the info.

RD