Kodi Freezing when left idle

bunts · April 4, 2017 at 2:38 PM

I just started using a new Amlogic device X96 with s905x board (2GB/16GB) and running LE 8.0.1b image off a Sandisk microsd card. Everything seems to be working fine and I am pleased with the results. However one thing is bothering me and reading/searching various boards didn't help. The screensaver (dim) is set to trigger after 10 minutes of idle time and once it goes to dim, I am not able to bring back the device to respond and only thing I could do at this point to reboot by unplugging. I am running Kodi with a MySQL database on a server. The device is connected to a Samsung TV via a receiver and CEC is disabled. Audio is pass through HDMI. Network is hardwired. X96 remote allows me to power down the box but takes about 20 seconds to boot up. I prefer to leave it on all the times. Is there something I can look into?

PS: I have another Kodi build on Intel NUC/Win10 and don't see this issue.

**mmpp** · April 4, 2017 at 2:43 PM

I do not see this behaviour with my S905 box. Any navigation key on my remote will end the screensaver. My S905X box is currently not in use, so I cannot test it there.

Try either downgrading to 8.0.1a (it has the old kernel) or upgrading to 8.0.1c (latest version) and check if your problem persists. You can also connect a mouse or keyboard to test if that can wake kodi again.

**Demetris** · April 4, 2017 at 3:12 PM

There are some board files with heat sensor disabled look for them

Sent from the Island of Venus

bunts · April 8, 2017 at 4:32 PM

I have so far tried the following:

1. Upgraded to 8.0.1c firmware without temperature sensor.
2. Disabled the CEC in the HDMI settings which was kind of hard to find. I was thinking it might be causing the unit to go in the suspend status when TV was shutdown.

I still have no luck and the box stops responding completely if left idle and had to be unplugged. There has to be something I could change because this doesn't seem to be a common problem. I am running X96 s905x (2G/16G) box and booting LE from a sandisk card.

**mmpp** · April 8, 2017 at 9:11 PM

I checked with my S905X box and it wakes fine from idle/screensaver.

Some more ideas:

It could be a power issue, so if possible try with another power supply. You could also try starting the box without any usb devices connected, if you did not already try that.
Make doubly sure that you are using the right device tree by downloading gxl_p212_2g.dtb and write it to the sd card as dtb.img
Try the older kernel in 8.0.1a. You can up/downgrade within a major version of Libreelec freely simply but copying the img.gz to the update folder over the network and then restarting the box

bunts · April 12, 2017 at 12:20 AM

Hi mmpp, Thank you for your response. I have followed your suggestions and unfortunaley I am still having no luck.

1. Installed the 8.0.1a build with older kernel and made sure download from the correct device tree (gxl)
2. Completely disabled the CEC settings. I suspect CEC may be playing a role here. Since I am using an AVR, I have set the CEC to IGNORE when TV is off. It should not matter since CEC itself is disabled.

Other thing I noticed is that when I switch source from LE to (say) TV and come back to LE even after an hour, LE responds fine. If I completely shutdown all components (TV, AVR etc) except LE, it quits responding. It seems as soon as LE discovers AVR/TV off, it suspends itself. Is there a way I can verify CEC settings in LE via Putty?

I was planning to buy some more amlogic boxes but this issue dampens my will.

**mmpp** · April 12, 2017 at 12:04 PM

Sorry, the only idea left would be to disable cec in the TV then.

bunts · April 15, 2017 at 11:11 PM

I just wanted to post an update to my issue. I made couple of changes to my box to further experiment with the box becoming unresponsive when left idle. It is not necessarily a kodi/LE issue. I installed the 8.0.1e update with temp sensor disabled. I also found an interesting video where this guy suggested these amlogic boxes have a design flaw. The box I got (X96 s905x) has air vents in the bottom where they do not serve any purpose and recommended to turn the box over which makes total sense. The box has been up for 24 hours now and has not become unresponsive. It is a good sign. See the video for yourself.

Amlogic box overheating

This is the summary of changes:

1. Installed update 8.0.1e
2. Changed to a Static IP
3. Turned the box over - vents facing up.

Keeping finger crossed.