Some helpful tips!
#1
After disliking how Android appeared on the Rock64, I decided I'd had enough and began searching for a new launcher. I wasn't too surprised when I fired up Google Play and saw that basically no launchers are supported. So I started searching out specific launchers (ADW Launcher, Nova Launcher, etc...) and I was able to find a few launchers that actually work! GO Launcher EX works amazingly well and is highly customizable. I won't go into an advertisement for the software, just letting you know that it is a fast way to change the look of Android. One feature I will tout is the ability to force screen orientation in landscape, so you shouldn't be turning your head 90 degrees to navigate anymore hopefully.

Play store link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/detai...erex&hl=en

An alternative that I found works just as well but doesn't have as many options: https://play.google.com/store/apps/detai...cher&hl=en

Next, if your like me... You don't use the on-screen keyboard because you have a USB mouse/keyboard hooked up. I found it to be annoyingly large and it also required that I push the "search" button on the on-screen keyboard and not just pushing "enter" on the keyboard. I searched around and found that others have had the same problem. And came up with a solution! Null Input Method is an IME that basically is not a keyboard. It just hides the on-screen keyboard and re-enables "enter" on a USB keyboard.

Play store link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/detai...free&hl=en

Some of you may not be aware that Android actually does have provisions built-in for a wired keyboard. Unfortunately, documentation for this is very hard to find. Here are the key bindings I've found to be working. I'm also looking into a way to remap these so we can use more comfortable keyboard combinations. Sadly, the "Home", "Num Lock", etc... buttons do not work on any keyboard I've tried, so just pushing "Home" to go home doesn't work.


Home: Alt+Escape
Back: Escape/Right-Click
Menu: Control+Escape
Reboot (NO WARNING!) Control+Alt+Delete
Caps Lock: Shift, Shift (Twice in quick succession!)
App Switcher: Alt+Tab


When I find a free way to remap these buttons, I will let you all know. Likewise, I'll let you know if more shortcuts are found. Fee free to add to the list!

Edit: Aptoide has a pretty good app for downloading apps you cannot get from the Play Store. For example, I really wanted virtual soft keys (back, home, menu) but I was having a hard time finding any compatible ones in the Play Store. Aptoide let me download the one I wanted and installed it. Which brings me to my next point...

Virtual Soft Keys (no root) works pretty fine for getting navigation keys on screen. Follow the directions, it works great. Added benefit is that it let's you hide the keys when you won't need them (RetroArch, Kodi, etc...) by swiping them down, and then reenable them by swiping up from the bottom. 

Now, I've had several apps tell me I'm rooted. Am I? Because no root manager seems to work at all.
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#2
the thing with android root is that historically apps have checked for necessary file [su] in specific locations to determine if your device is rooted and if the specific file is not there then your device is not rooted as far as that app is concerned. so then came systemless root and many apps would report no root because the file[s] were not there. so, there are still many apps out there that do report no root when in fact there is. this is not to say that is your problem, just an interesting aside. but, it turns out that there are many ways to achieve root so you would need to check with developer to learn why your system is rooted
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#3
Thumbs Up 
Thanks, dude dudemo. I was okay with Android TV's launcher but, for some reason, this ayufan fellow doesn't have his images rooted, so I'm downloading the normal one from Pine64. Will check the first launcher you mentioned and that keyboard stuff.

Any other tips you could share?
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#4
You can find a lot of keyboard shortcuts listed here:

http://paperlined.org/apps/android/hardw...board.html

About root, there are plenty of ways to hide the fact that you have your system rooted, SuperSu for example, will ask for permission when an app tries to access su, and you can block that. You can also just... rename it.
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#5
(02-23-2018, 02:59 PM)krystian Wrote: You can find a lot of keyboard shortcuts listed here:

http://paperlined.org/apps/android/hardw...board.html

About root, there are plenty of ways to hide the fact that you have your system rooted, SuperSu for example, will ask for permission when an app tries to access su, and you can block that. You can also just... rename it.

May check that out soon. I'm trying to see if I can run Android through a hard drive first. And nah, I meant that I want root access but ayufan's images aren't rooted.
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#6
Sorry to bump an old thread, but I feel it's worth it.

Having been less than happy with my Rock64, I had basically ditched the device into my closet and let it sit there for a long time unused. I ended up purchasing a HP "netbook" to use for my needs instead. Well, it a few days ago. I hadn't really been looking at the forums so I wasn't sure what was available on the Rock anymore. I did some research and saw that not much had changed and that Android is still the most stable OS for the device. But I only wanted to use it for Kodi so I could use it with my HDHomerun Prime.

So I downloaded several builds of Libreelec and flashed them to my eMMC. None of them performed well and several didn't work at all. Here's what I ended up doing instead:

-Downloaded the latest version of Android 7.1.2
-Flashed it with Etcher
-Booted
-Linked my Android account
-Installed Aptoide because the Play Store is useless
-Installed ADW Launcher One
-Installed Null Input Driver
-Installed Kodi from the Play Store
-Installed Launch on Boot with Aptoide
-Set LoB to launch Kodi on Boot
-Installed my HDHRP add-on
-Rebooted

Android booted to Kodi. Fantastic! I now have a stable setup for Kodi and my HDHRP. Finally. Been using it for a few days and performance is on par with the little laptop I was using. Neither will do 1080p, but that's alright for my viewing needs.

Once you get past the idea of the Rock64 being a standard Android device and use it as an ATV box, things get better. Paired with my USB Rii keyboard and it's actually decent.
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#7
(07-08-2018, 07:30 PM)dudemo Wrote: Sorry to bump an old thread, but I feel it's worth it.

Having been less than happy with my Rock64, I had basically ditched the device into my closet and let it sit there for a long time unused. I ended up purchasing a HP "netbook" to use for my needs instead. Well, it a few days ago. I hadn't really been looking at the forums so I wasn't sure what was available on the Rock anymore. I did some research and saw that not much had changed and that Android is still the most stable OS for the device. But I only wanted to use it for Kodi so I could use it with my HDHomerun Prime.

So I downloaded several builds of Libreelec and flashed them to my eMMC. None of them performed well and several didn't work at all. Here's what I ended up doing instead:

-Downloaded the latest version of Android 7.1.2
-Flashed it with Etcher
-Booted
-Linked my Android account
-Installed Aptoide because the Play Store is useless
-Installed ADW Launcher One
-Installed Null Input Driver
-Installed Kodi from the Play Store
-Installed Launch on Boot with Aptoide
-Set LoB to launch Kodi on Boot
-Installed my HDHRP add-on
-Rebooted

Android booted to Kodi. Fantastic! I now have a stable setup for Kodi and my HDHRP. Finally. Been using it for a few days and performance is on par with the little laptop I was using. Neither will do 1080p, but that's alright for my viewing needs.

Once you get past the idea of the Rock64 being a standard Android device and use it as an ATV box, things get better. Paired with my USB Rii keyboard and it's actually decent.

Yeah, tell me about it. I never really used mine, so I really regret buying it. My Raspberry  Pi 3 is still my Kodi box because it can do other things too that the Rock 64 can't. What do you mean it can't do 1080p, though? It does on mine -- even x265 videos. Also, do you really need to link your Google account if you're going to be using this Aptoide store instead?
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#8
I don't regret buying it, but I do wish that development other than Android was a tad better. As a non-developer though, I can't complain too much. Also, I realize that this device isn't as popular as some other devices. My Raspberry Pi 3 doesn't have the horsepower to use my HDHomerun Prime at all though, so I've just been using it as a dedicated emulation machine.

As for 1080p: I can stream using 1080p when using Kodi and the Netflix addon. But using my HDHRP to stream 1080p live-TV results in a massive amount of buffering or video playback for about 3 seconds followed by freezing. If I log into my HDHRP and drop to 720p I don't have any issues. I haven't looked into it much, but I suspect that the Prime is sending out video in an incompatible format or is sending so much data that the Rock64 can't keep up.

I linked my Google account simply because I wanted to get Kodi from the Play Store and not from Aptoide. Quite frankly, I wouldn't use Aptoide at all if I wasn't forced to. I'd get all of my apps from the Play Store if I didn't get the "not compatible" message. Aptoide is simply a way to get the apps I know work but cannot get on the Play Store.
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#9
(07-10-2018, 02:16 PM)dudemo Wrote: I don't regret buying it, but I do wish that development other than Android was a tad better. As a non-developer though, I can't complain too much. Also, I realize that this device isn't as popular as some other devices. My Raspberry Pi 3 doesn't have the horsepower to use my HDHomerun Prime at all though, so I've just been using it as a dedicated emulation machine.

As for 1080p: I can stream using 1080p when using Kodi and the Netflix addon. But using my HDHRP to stream 1080p live-TV results in a massive amount of buffering or video playback for about 3 seconds followed by freezing. If I log into my HDHRP and drop to 720p I don't have any issues. I haven't looked into it much, but I suspect that the Prime is sending out video in an incompatible format or is sending so much data that the Rock64 can't keep up.

I linked my Google account simply because I wanted to get Kodi from the Play Store and not from Aptoide. Quite frankly, I wouldn't use Aptoide at all if I wasn't forced to. I'd get all of my apps from the Play Store if I didn't get the "not compatible" message. Aptoide is simply a way to get the apps I know work but cannot get on the Play Store.

I hate Android, so yeah, much better Linux support is desperately needed here. Ah, you meant 1080p videos from this HDHomeRun Prime thing. It's most likely a software limitation as the Rock64 can even do 4K, supposedly. All right, cool, so I don't need to link my G account at all. I may try your little guide if I go back to using the R64. Or maybe I should try selling it first, I'm not sure yet.
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#10
It definitely doesn't play well with my HDHomerun Prime in 1080p. (The Prime is a network TV tuner that let's me with 6 tuners allowing me to watch TV on either 6 devices or watch one and record 5. It works fantastically!)

On that note, I've never tried 4K because I don't have a 4K TV. Sad
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