Thought I might share my positive Oreo experience

by TheDiamondPicks

Before I begin, I should make it clear that I don't do many of the more 'advanced' features that many on this sub do. I don't watch 4k content, I don't (generally) do 5.1 and I don't do HDR or anything like that. I also flashed the Nougat beta onto my Mi Box as soon as I got it, so my experience is based on that transition

There are a lot of people here and on the Xiaomi forums that have been issues with Oreo, so I thought I might share my experience, now that its been out for a while.

TL;DR Its good, better performance and better interface (IMO).

Firstly, I was skeptical about the Oreo's interface, but I've grown to enjoy it. Luckily the two main apps I use (Plex and Netflix) both have excellent support for channels, meaning the home screen is far more productive than it was when it was just a simple app drawer.

I also noticed a big performance jump, (likely due to the improved processor firmware). Rather than it stuttering constantly when playing through video, it was now much smoother.

About the only 'issue' I have is the 'feature' which means you can't use USB debugging and a ethernet adapter at the same time, which is a pain for what I like to do.

Obviously this will not be representative of all Mi Box owners, but if someone only used HD video then it might be helpful.

chiefVetinari

I will admit I was wrong about Oreo. I thought it looked terrible initially. However after using it on the Shield, I think it's an improvement. Being able to use the app Sideload Launcher is great for creating channels with apps.

The apps grid that comes up when you click apps is quicker to scroll through as well.

flicter22

When it comes to non Pixel/Nexus devices every os update is late and results in tons of temper tantrums on the internet.

Then they finally get the update and the users immediately hate it and then they start having temper tantrums again.

Obviously new bugs come but old ones get fixed. It's software after all. The reality is you are always going to have losers on the web that get off on bitching.

PalebloodSky

Mi Box Oreo runs great for me too, no issues whatsoever. Yea I had to do a "factory reset" after the update but it's fun to do a clean install anyway after a major update.

cpc2

I used to have an issue in Nougat that disconnected the wifi and I had to go to settings and turn it on again, so I'm happy it's fixed because that was the most annoying bug. The rest is pretty similar, I haven't noticed new bugs or a much better performance. I still have a bug that existed in Nougat and persists in Oreo that sometimes causes the mi box not to wake up from sleep, but thanks to someone here now I know it can be solved by pressing the "back" button repeatedly. Not sure why it works but it does!

AnnCoultersAdamsAppl

I feel like the complaints are legit but I've had a mostly positive experience. I'm using the Mi Box to run 720p/1080p/2160p (UHD) content with a 5.,1 sound system and a Bluetooth headset.

I've been lazy with the factory resetting (haven't done it since the update). My personal complaints with the Oreo update are the forced nature of the upgrade itself (wtf?) and the sound will just cut off entirely sometimes and I have to reboot the box.

I've also recently started getting back into Plex and noticed that my "ghetto rig" (an overclocked Raspberry Pi 3 Model B server set up) works pretty well for even streaming 4K h.265 content fairly well as long as there's no transcoding going on. Since the Mi Box handles hardware based decoding of the newer codec, it works as well as Plex does; of which, Plex seems pretty darned buggy at the moment with odd "transcoding errors" being reported lately.

Generalmilk

To me only oreo made mi box usable as I'm using it to view hdr content. Before I don't even want to boot it up and plan to return it to walmart

fede01_8

I don't watch 4k content, I don't (generally) do 5.1 and I don't do HDR or anything like that.

"My phone is great for making calls and sending text messages"

🙄