I want to start by saying I love the onn box when it actually works.
It feels snappy and it's only 20$ but the overheating issue is getting on my nerves! I've completely taken it out of its shell in hopes of preventing it but it continues to happen after leaving apps like Hulu! It's so annoying I want to try to add a bigger heatsink or something but I'm just not sure what to exactly do to it.
Are there any other alternatives that can be rooted and still have access to the certifications that the onn box has? Is there any news of an even more beefed up version coming out? I would gladly pay 40$ for something that has a bit more power and better heat management.
Nothing else will be as heavily subsidized as the onn stuff. Maybe you just have a bad one. Have you tried more than one? Underneath the visible metal heat sink and the shielding cover, there is a thermal transfer pad. The pad transfers the heat to the shielding cover, and the heat sink conducts the heat from the shielding cover. Sometimes that thermal transfer pad isn't positioned correctly or otherwise isn't making good contact with the shielding cover.
The askey sti6220d315 (verizon stream tv gen2) has a x4 SoC and a larger heatsink. Verizon had them on sale a couple of weeks ago for $39.95. It is quite a bit more powerful. Often I find them new on ebay for even less, because people get them for free with certain promotions. It is easily rooted. But it has that horrible verizon custom launcher.
The mecool km2 plus (x4 Soc) has a big metal heat sink, but it is $75+ and is exceedingly difficult to root. Skyworth disabled all of the recovery functions on the box which makes rooting impossible for most people.