Amiko Alien 2 activation

[pacificrim]

I got my Amiko Alien 2 a couple days ago and other than a plastic burr in the dial of the down button that made it hard to click, activation finished and said it would take up to 48 hours to activate. Now 50+ hours later it still isn't activated. Anyone know how long this usually takes?

 

[turbosat]

Why would a fta box need some kind of activation? I never heard about that before.

 

[pro96]

Sounds like some sort of hacking going on up in here

Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Cham]

I have seen some devices that are called satellite receivers etc but are really media boxes... Maybe this is one of those? According to google search it is a terrestrial receiver/media box so I don't think this one is made for satellite reception. Maybe the activation is a subscription for some particular internet streaming service.

 

[carlospr43]

Great to see what the amiko friends need to say, time to let the x2 rest for a while

 

[mmewrench]

I believe that activation in this case is for the Amiko Americas IPTV.

 

[pro96]

Great to see what the amiko friends need to say, time to let the x2 rest for a while

X2 still king at my palace. No amiko required

Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Titanium]

As I understand, the STB activation request is in a queue until it is reviewed and approved. You might fill out a support ticket on the Amiko website since the 48 hours has passed.

The Amiko SHD8900 is a DVBS2/IPTV hybrid STB. The activation process is to verify that the STB is an authentic Amiko product before the firmware and apps are updated and to secure their IPTV service. Amiko America provided me with a unit to test a few months ago and I must compliment them on providing a well developed and quality STB. The test unit activated within 24 hours.

 

[pacificrim]

I sent an email to Janlan Electronics, the Canadian dealer, but haven't heard back. I also posted to the Fridge, but I think the post is still not showing.

I wonder why authorized dealers can't activate the box before shipping. The terms of service could be clicked when purchasing online. It says that if you attempt to activate it after the first time, the box will be banned. Having said that I saw a post where a guy has had to re-activate it 4 times because his lost authorization. So which is it......?

Also the note attached to the Chinglish manual that warns North Americans not to factory reset it under any circumstances or else it reverts to Euro-mode is a bit daunting. Not that I don't feel warned, but it seems weird. I think a factory reset now and then is generally a healthy thing in a world with partial updates, plugins, apps, and left behinds - but not anymore I guess.

So far it will play the Blue Screen videos that I recorded on my MicroHD, that only show a Blue Screen on the MicroHD. The picture looks good and the blind scan seems good (better so far than the MicroHD), but the USALS motor functions are in single decimal points, whereas the MicroHD is 2 decimal points for better fine tuning, I suppose.

I like playing music and video from my LAN with the Alien 2, but it doesn't seem to recognize DVD folders as anything special. You can play the VOB files, but I don't see a way to play it as an actual DVD, like say XBMC. Maybe there is a way. I have found references to editing the .xml files to do things like add manual PIDS for hidden sat channels, so I'll have to dig in deeper, but at this point I'm just hoping to see what the IPTV offerings are like. I have enough sat boxes, computers, and XBMC xboxes to play with, so I'm not looking for another all immersing project. I was hoping (and still am) that it will add some convergence to my life.

 

[turbosat]

I learned something today , then. I've never seen IPTV, so it's not something I even thought about. Sounds spooky , to have a box you can't reset! "This tape will self-destruct in 10 seconds" lol

 

[mmewrench]

Make a backup copy of your original firmware and you should be safe. I have a nano HD and was given the same warning, but the system will let you backup your firmware as well as channels.

As far as the activation goes, in addition to what Titanium posted, it uses your IP address to Identify your location. That will more or less prevent you from receiving content that you shouldn't have, (verifies that it is an authentic Amiko Americas product). I've heard Jaylan can be a little slow to activate, but I think Joe will be able to help you with that.

 

[mmewrench]

I learned something today , then. I've never seen IPTV, so it's not something I even thought about. Sounds spooky , to have a box you can't reset! "This tape will self-destruct in 10 seconds" lol

Actually the Azbox is supposed to do IPTV but it didn't catch on over here. There really weren't any servers set up for the states. Some of the guys here used to get some European stuff (and still may).

The issue with doing a factory reset on the Amiko boxes, is that you will lose a unique ID#, similar to the old 4dtv boxes. The difference there is that the 4dtv UID was hardcoded into the chip so a reset would not remove it (a dead battery would though). Thats the way I understood it anyway.

 

[pacificrim]

wow, my IP could change anytime. ADSL DHCP leases are for less than forever, which is how long I expect this box to be activated for. If that's the case the activation setup should include DynDNS provisions.

 

[mmewrench]

One more reason to talk to Joe. He will know how to handle it.

 

[Jim S.]

I like playing music and video from my LAN with the Alien 2, but it doesn't seem to recognize DVD folders as anything special. You can play the VOB files, but I don't see a way to play it as an actual DVD, like say XBMC. Maybe there is a way.

I don't think so. It doesn't even recognize mp3 playlists, as far as I know.

If you want a better media player, you can install Enigma2 on the spare flash memory partition, but to date there is no version of Enigma2 that has blind scan, and cold booting the box all the time to switch OSs gets boring in a hurry.

 

[anik]

It says that if you attempt to activate it after the first time, the box will be banned. Having said that I saw a post where a guy has had to re-activate it 4 times because his lost authorization.

Are you seriously saying that this satellite receiver has to be authorized over the Internet before it can even be used for FTA satellite reception, that you can only do that once or the box will be banned (unless you can get someone to intervene and resolve the issue), and that it somehow links the registration to your IP address (which for most of us can change at any time based on the whims of our ISP)?

Wow. I mean, if I am reading this correctly, that is just ridiculous. I almost considered buying one of these once upon a time (the price and the overall lack of information on it were the only things that stopped me), now I am so glad I didn't. If I'm not interpreting what I have read totally wrong, then I'll have to add this receiver to the list of "things I will never buy."

 

[anik]

X2 still king at my palace. No amiko required

I don't mean to hijack this thread but I do have a quick question. I really have not seen that much on this receiver but I note it has a network jack. What I want to know is, is there any way to copy recordings from the X2 to another computer over the network, so that you can watch what you have recorded on a laptop or other device?

 

[Titanium]

The activation is not necessary for FTA usage.

Amiko apparently had problems with cloned units accessing their network a few years ago. They implemented this verification in 2012 to allow access to their proprietary IPTV service, IP delivered firmware upgrades and apps.

It is a well functioning FTA receiver without the activation, but nice to have the server side firmware, app push and free IPTV service.

Don't recall reading of any legit receiver being banned. I guess it is a warning to keep the button from bring pushed repeatedly?

The X2 IP does not provide access to recordings or machine control. It provides updating and some apps like weather and YouTube.

 

[mmewrench]

Are you seriously saying that this satellite receiver has to be authorized over the Internet before it can even be used for FTA satellite reception, that you can only do that once or the box will be banned (unless you can get someone to intervene and resolve the issue), and that it somehow links the registration to your IP address (which for most of us can change at any time based on the whims of our ISP)?

Wow. I mean, if I am reading this correctly, that is just ridiculous. I almost considered buying one of these once upon a time (the price and the overall lack of information on it were the only things that stopped me), now I am so glad I didn't. If I'm not interpreting what I have read totally wrong, then I'll have to add this receiver to the list of "things I will never buy."

Amiko Americas has spent time and resources developing this receiver for the NA market, don't you think its fair for them to only support their own customers? This is becoming a common practice, given the amount of clones out there.

Their customers are very well supported.

 

[pacificrim]

Supported very well? Still waiting for activation. I'd love to see some of that support. This thing could be awesome, but right now it's just a sat box and I have several. I was thinking about retailing it in our store, but leaning towards no at this point.