Z4L/Z4/Rockchip - Firmwares/ROMs/Root/TWRP & Performance Tweaks & Tricks

WARNING: I am not responsible if you use any of the following and for any troubles you may experience with your device.



I recently got a Z4L and wanted to do a few things with it. After many days and nights, I am ready to share. I also wanted to consolidate an area for us to easily get items. I will add things from others if pertinent or greatly desired. Much of this will also apply to the Z4 and to other Rockchip Android TV Boxes (to a lesser extent).

• This first section will entail some information, firmwares, apps, and performance tweaks and tricks.
• The second section will have information on flashing firmware, ROMs, and recoveries.
• The third section will have all the available tools for Rockchip boxes.

Z4 vs. Z4L

The Z4 and Z4L are essentially the same Android TV Box with a few minor differences. The Z4 has dual band WiFi, while the Z4L only supports wireless b/g/n. This is because the Z4 uses an Ampak AP6335 chip, while the Z4L uses a Realtek RTL8723. Does it matter? Yes. I have found that many firmwares and ROMs will work on the Z4L, however, all WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity is lost. And even other Rockchip Android TV Box firmwares sharing the same chip have had problems (e.g. USB ports no longer work, partial loss of remote functionality).

Another difference on the Z4L is OTG capability. While the port works for flashing, it will not work for any external devices when in the Android OS...

A final, possible, difference is that I think the Z4L only comes with 8GB of storage, but I could be wrong.

Firmware

This is the stock firmware for the Z4L. It was quite difficult to find, and was the only one I have come across:

Z4L Stock Firmware

Custom Firmwares

This is the Z4L stock firmware with enhancements. I have made some performance tweaks to help make the Z4L run smoother. Apps have also been added (with the exception of FolderMount), which I will have available in a separate section below.

In the slim version, I have taken out several apps I found unnecessary (e.g. Gmail, Calculator, etc.). Things you would normally leave to a smartphone or PC. While the firmware will be the exact same size as the stock firmware, rest assured it is slightly lighter:

Z4L Slim

In the lug version, I have not taken out any of the preinstalled apps. Instead, I have just added the same ones placed in the slim version. This will be a larger file size due in part to the additional apps, and the extra space I left for possible future modification needs:

Z4L Lug

Apps

Kodi

Kodi 15.2 RC PL

This is the beta that comes with a lot of the Android TV Boxes. It is preloaded with official and non-official add-ons. While it is suggests it is a 15.2 Isengard Release Candidate, the app settings in Android (and at least one Kodi updater app) will state that it is version 15.1.

Kodi 15.2 PL

What I have found on the Z4L is that I cannot update it. The Play Store gives no update option. Update apps for Kodi will attempt to update and fail to install, as will a manual download from the Kodi site. The only way I could update to 16.0 was by uninstalling 15.2 RC and then installing 16.0. I would lose all add-ons, and even a backup from Kodi will disallow restoring unofficial add-ons. Even if manually adding unofficial channels, I had problems getting them to work...

Kodi 16.0 PL

This is the latest (Jarvis) Kodi, and I have gone ahead and preloaded it with all the same add-ons from the 15.2 RC version:

Kodi 16.0 PL

ZDMC 16.0 PL

This is a software built on Jarvis. I have inserted all the preloaded add-ons from the 15.2 RC version in it. I am unsure what the difference is with Kodi. They look virtually the same, except for the logos and branding (since Kodi does not allow others to use their IP).

ZDMC 16.0 PL

Stock Apps

The only other stock app I thought would be of interest is the launcher. I actually prefer it to any of the others available. It may or may not work fully with other Android TV Boxes:

MyLauncher

Apps in Custom Firmwares

These are all the apps that come in the custom firmwares I created:

Added

Other Apps

FolderMount is an app that can help when you have little storage space. The only reason I have it here is because it does not come with any of the custom firmwares and will be needed for one of the performance tweaks and tricks:

FolderMount

Performance Tweaks & Tricks

Some of these tweaks or tricks may be dependent upon root. The Z4L comes prerooted, but others may need to obtain root first.

Speed Up

One of the best fixes I can recommend to help with any sluggish performance is to speed up your CPU cores. Download an app like Kernel Adiutor to give you as much access as possible. If you download something like No-frills CPU Control, you will only have access to the "Little" cores of the RK3368.

1. Open your app of choice and find the area that allows you to set the minimum and maximum states of the CPU.
2. Ensure that the "Big" cores are set to 1.5GHz for the maximum state.
3. Change the minimum state to 1.5GHz.
4. Do the same for the "Little" cores, where the maximum state should be 1.2GHz.
5. You can leave the governor as Interactive or change it to Performance.
6. Leave the I/O scheduler as "cfq" for daily use, use "noop" for benchmarks.

I have not experienced any type of overheating from these settings.

Maximum GPU Performance

If you want to get a bit more out of the PowerVR Rogue G6110 GPU, you can downsize your resolution. I use a 1080p TV, so I changed the Android OS resolution to 720p. Download something like NOMone Resolution Changer, or equivalent. A few items will have some larger writing even after the DPI change, but nothing that should deter you from keeping the setting.

1. Open your app of choice.
2. Set the resolution to something like 1280x720.
3. Change the DPI to (or around) 151.
4. Apply.

Some apps will ask if you want to keep the settings, and prompt you if you need another message in case something happens. With NOMone, this does happen. It also gives you the ability to reset to default settings if need be.

With the two above tweaks, I was able to get the multi-thread score to outperform an iPhone 5S in GeekBench. And in GFXBench, I was able to outperform a LG G4.

Internal/External Storage Swap

The greatest drawback of the Z4L is the 8GB of storage space. It can fill up quickly if you want to play games, or have hefty apps. You will need to download SD Fix and FolderMount. I have tried other apps like Links2SD and Int2Ext, but they do not work.

1. Open SD Fix and follow the instructions.
2. Reboot.
3. Open FolderMount.
4. Analyze the apps and see which have Data or OBB files, and are not grayed out.
5. Select them and make a pair.
6. You can select a USB flash drive if you do not want to use a micro SD card, but either way, ensure the source and destination sources are properly chosen.

SD Booster

It is probable that your internal storage and micro SD card are not optimized. Download SD Booster to change this and speed up your I/O abilities. Red means that you are definitely not optimized, yellow means you are operating at substandard levels, green means your are at the perfect level, and purple means you are operating beyond the perfect level.

1. Open SD Booster.
2. Select the internal or external storage.
3. Change the original value to a different one (i.e. 512, 1024, 2048, 8096).
4. Use the green checkbox to confirm the changes.
5. Use the green checkbox on the main window to implement the changes.

The Z4L's internal storage is in the red when first opening this program, so this will help somewhat. You may not get a huge jump in read or write speeds, but every little bit helps.

Developer Options

The Z4L does not have the ability to enable Developer Options natively. The "Build" section is not present. Download and app for Developer Options, I recommend the one from Andev.

1. Open your app of choice.
2. Click whatever button(s) needed to access Developer Options.

The one I have mentioned is part of the custom firmwares I created. The only caveat is that it will require you to sign into your Google account before proceeding.

Xbox 360 Wireless Controller

If you want to use a Xbox 360 wireless controller instead of a wired one or Bluetooth gamepad, you can! You will need a Xbox 360 wireless gaming receiver. Download USB/BT Joystick Center.

1. Open USB/BT Joystick Center.
2. Plug in the wireless receiver.
3. Click the button on the wireless receiver for sync.
4. Click the middle button of your Xbox 360 wireless controller.
5. Click the sync button located on the top of the Xbox 360 wireless controller.
6. Select the option to search for controllers on USB/BT Joystick Center.
7. Once the controller is recognized, immediately begin testing the buttons and whatnot or you may lose connectivity.

This is a bit finnicky, but it does work. The first couple times I could not get the controller to stay synced. Once it did stick, I tried it with Dead Trigger 2 and found that almost everything worked but the D-pad. Of course, I still had to setup the buttons.

Misc. Issues

Apps Not Working

Some apps can be downloaded but will FC when trying to open them. For this, I do recommend downloading the APKs from somewhere reputable and installing them with the file explorer.

Stock File Explorer

The stock file explorer is actually good, but it will not let you go to root ("/"). For this you will require something like ES File Explorer File Manager or Root Explorer. I found that whenever I would go to the Data folder on ES File Explorer File Manager (after selecting show Hidden Files), it would show it as empty. Whereas, Root Explorer would show everything. However, I have not been able to access my USB flash drive through Root Explorer, but can do so with ES File Explorer File Manager.

Stock Media Player

The stock media player plays most everything, and has built-in 3D capabilities. However, when trying to play some x265 files, there were problems. I would recommend installing MX Player to help with H.265 or VP9 codecs.

10-Bit Video Files

8-bit video files for H.265 or VP9 have no problems playing on these boxes. But when trying to play something that is 10-bit, it has nothing but major frame stutter, audio skip or silence. Until these codecs are made to not utilize so much CPU power, I do not think anything other than actual PC's will be able to play them properly.

External Webcam

It may be possible to use an external webcam on these boxes, and some of the files I have looked at suggest this. I do not currently have an external webcam that I can try this out with, but if someone else does, please inform me and I will update the information here.

External 3G/4G

It may also be possible to use an external USB SIM Card Modem to get data to work on these boxes (if ever needed). I do not currently have any such device that I can try this out with, but if someone else does, please inform me and I will update the information here.

Thanks: XDA, Freaktab, 4PDA

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