Android TV Boxes Are LYING To You - And Here's The Proof!

Added: 2026-05-05

[00:00:00]What’s happening I hope you having a great  day, and welcome back to the channel.

[00:00:06]In the early days of Android boxes  people used to ask questions such as: Is it truly DDR3 or DDR4 RAM, and whether  you’re actually getting the right size of RAM? Is its CPU and GPU truly as advertised? What  is its true Bluetooth version, and whether its Android version is truly what they say it is? Well today’s video is somewhat controversial, and some manufacturers and sellers may not like  this topic. But if you use Android boxes for as long as I have, you know there is always  a gray area when it comes to verifying a box’s true hardware specs. This topic is going  an eye-opener, but I believe it’s necessary to improve the quality of models being handed  out to consumers and to fact check countless models being featured on various websites,  social media, and video sharing platforms.

[00:00:59]So today’s video is going to be a giveaway of a  special app I built tailored for Android boxes to provide in-depth and sometimes hidden  details about your box’s true system and hardware information, and if you are getting  exactly what you are paying for. This is my first release, and there are going to  be updates as new hardware releases.

[00:01:20]I built this app with the help  of AI tools, and what it found, changes how we look at our box’s  hardware specs going forward.

[00:01:27]So don’t go anywhere because  you don’t want to miss this.

[00:01:45]And welcome back. So I would like to introduce  my custom made system and hardware information app called TV Box specs. It’s targeted at  Android boxes but you can literally use it any Android device whether mobile,  tablet, or Android desktop computer.

[00:02:03]So let me explain why we need this app and  what’s at the core of the whole problem.

[00:02:09]When you install AIDA64, or CPU-Z, or  any hardware info app, those apps can only read what the operating system tells it. It can't look inside the chipset directly, and what device preferences or the app is  reading is a text file. Literally a plain text file on the firmware called build.prop. This file has entries like ro.board.platform, ro.product.model, ro.chipname. And here's the  thing, the manufacturer writes every single one of these values. There is no verification. There  is no checks. They can write anything they want.

[00:02:51]A box with a two-year-old Amlogic S905X2 chip can  declare itself an S905X4. AIDA64 will read it, display it, and you will believe it. Unfortunately if you try to access this build.prop file using any file Explorer or  root Explorer you cannot view it. The file opens but you cannot view it. Not even on rooted  boxes, mobile phones, or development boards.

[00:03:19]But I want to be fair. Not every manufacturer  does this. Some of them are indeed honest, and some have to be in order to  get their Google certification.

[00:03:29]But not all of them are, that’s why I had to  build something that could tell or indicate that something is not right or adding up. So its core design principle is, If it cannot read it from the hardware source,  it does not display a value, status mode, model, version, or support. It tells you what it  cannot access or what is being blocked.

[00:03:52]Show the app on screen. Navigate to System tab. Here's what I mean. Instead of trusting the build.prop text file for the SoC name,  the app reads the kernel's own hardware line from /proc/cpuinfo that is  set when the kernel is compiled, not in a text file that a marketing team can edit. Show CPU tab — point to live core frequencies.

[00:04:10]For example these CPU frequencies, are  reading directly from the hardware registers at /sys/devices/system/cpu and it’s live,  every second. You can watch the clock change in real time as the CPU steps up and steps down. Show Thermal tab — point to temperature sensors.

[00:04:29]So currently I have the app running on  an Android development board created by Khadas called the Khadas Edge2. If you look here, these temperature readings are real sensor readings,  because you cannot fake a thermal sensor. If this box is running hot,  you are going to see it right here.

[00:04:47]So if the app cannot get a reading then  that’s a red flag that the manufacturer maybe hiding something and most likely the box  overheats. The app also gives you temperature threshold levels if you don’t understand  how to interpret the temperature levels.

[00:05:04]I now have it connected to a Google certified model that some people claim to  be the best model in the world, and as you can see they have blocked access  to their temperature sensor and I wonder why.

[00:05:20]Here’s another Android box from  Ugoos this is their latest AM9 model, and here it shows its temperature sensor readings Show Display tab — point to GPU model. The app provides advance GPU detection instead of trusting a system property the  manufacturer sets. The app reads the GPU's own hardware ID from the Mali kernel driver,  and if the manufacturer provides enough access, it would give you even down to its GPU  speed in megahertz. If the app cannot detect any GPU information, then  there is some cause for concern.

[00:05:59]So as much as the app can detect and  reveal a lot of additional information, there are things this app, or any  app still cannot fully verify.

[00:06:08]For example, the box’s RAM. The total RAM  figure comes from the kernel. And on some boxes, the kernel is configured to report a higher number  than the RAM chips that are physically soldered on the board. I have seen 2GB boxes report 4GB,  and the only way to truly verify its RAM, is to open the box and read the chip markings  which can void your warranty which is no surprise.

[00:06:33]The model name and manufacturer name still comes  from the build.prop file. The app still shows them, but you should always cross-reference  with what the board actually exposes.

[00:06:43]The point is knowing what can be faked, is  just as important as knowing what cannot.

[00:06:49]Let me tell you why I care  about this situation so much.

[00:06:53]In the good old days Android boxes use to perform  better, last longer, and we used to see real improvements when new hardware was released. Nowadays we are seeing models being released claiming to have new hardware but  performing worse than previous models.

[00:07:10]The market is declining because of some of  these bad players, who are only interested in making quick sales with cheap inferior  hardware under the disguise new hardware.

[00:07:21]And for the manufacturers who are doing the  right thing? The ones who are shipping what they claim and providing high quality products,  they are the ones being undercut by competitors who lie. That is not fair to them either. This is not about sales, it’s is not about views, this is about the fact that when you buy a  box, you deserve to get what you paid for.

[00:07:43]So I’m not going to go through  every single feature of the app because you will literally see it  featured in every one of my videos going forward so we have plenty of  time to explore all of its features.

[00:07:55]Also I am giving away this for free so  you will have enough time to explore all of its features for yourself, there are no  configurations and is pretty straightforward.

[00:08:06]Message To Manufacturers — 8:30 So If you are a manufacturer watching this video, and I know some of you do,  I want to speak to you constructively.

[00:08:14]Please know that I am not your enemy. I have  reviewed literally hundreds of your boxes. I have even recommended many of your products  to my audience. I want to keep doing that.

[00:08:26]But I will not be a tool for misleading the people who trust this channel. If your box ships  what it claims, this app will confirm it, and that is a good thing for you. Use it because  it will also be posted on my TV box ranking chart.

[00:08:40]If your box does not ship what it claims, that is  going to become visible. Not through my opinion, but through hardware registers and driver  nodes that do not consult with your marketing department. So take note of that. ________________________________________ So as mentioned my TVBox Specs app is free.  I built it for this channel and for this community. The link is in the description. If you get a new box, run it. Compare what the manufacturer claims, with what the hardware  actually reports, and share it in the comments.

[00:09:13]I am building this into my review process  going forward. Every box that comes through this channel gets put through TVBox  Specs before I form any opinion about it.

[00:09:23]Because at the end of the day we all  want to see new and better performing Android boxes being released, so let’s help the  community, and look forward to those updates.

[00:09:32]So thanks for taking the time to  watch this video, don’t forget to like and subscribe to the channel, stay  connected and see you in the next one.