AMIKO The Amiko A3 Acting Crazy Any Ideas Why?

[Christopher Cromwell]

No, this European Update ROM will not give you the NA ROM. You are receiving European Update notices as your A3 is running European ROM.

Once you have updated to the European ROM, there is no automatic return to the NA ROM. The only way to return to the NA ROM is to restore your A3 to the NA ROM back-up that was installed and shipped with the STB.

Ok, gotcha! That would make sense then, I'm with you so far. I was told to make a backup when I got the A3, which I didn't, but I can't go back in time and redo that now. So if the NA ROM backup was installed and shipped with the A3, do I do a Wipe & Reset from the Recovery to get back to that point? Where in the files would I find this backup at? Otherwise I could still leave well enough alone, I haven't had a chance to do anything yet actually; other than to make a new backup of what I have now.

 

[primestar31]

Ok, gotcha! That would make sense then, I'm with you so far. I was told to make a backup when I got the A3, which I didn't, but I can't go back in time and redo that now. So if the NA ROM backup was installed and shipped with the A3, do I do a Wipe & Reset from the Recovery to get back to that point? Where in the files would I find this backup at? Otherwise I could still leave well enough alone, I haven't had a chance to do anything yet actually; other than to make a new backup of what I have now.

There is no backup unless YOU made one manually yourself.

Since you say you did NOT, you must send the receiver in for repair to reload an NA image. There's nothing else to do, but you just don't seem to be getting it. You can't fix it without that personal backup, send it back to your seller.

 

[Christopher Cromwell]

There is no backup unless YOU made one manually yourself.

Since you say you did NOT, you must send the receiver in for repair to reload an NA image. There's nothing else to do, but you just don't seem to be getting it. You can't fix it without that personal backup, send it back to your seller.

Ok, I will just leave everything alone then as it is. I'm very sorry I got a little excited and posted anything. I probably need to take a very long break from this negative forum anyway and just keep to myself from now on; no more Satellite Guys for me. Perhaps that will make it a little easier to not get so demoralized down with this hobby. :-/

 

[primestar31]

Ok, I will just leave everything alone then as it is. I'm very sorry I got a little excited and posted anything. I probably need to take a very long break from this negative forum anyway and just keep to myself from now on; no more Satellite Guys for me. Perhaps that will make it a little easier to not get so demoralized down with this hobby. :-/

Sigh, why do so many people take plain talk this way? Are we all so thin-skinned?

That was an attempt by me to do a wake up call, so you'd know that you just simply can't recover this issue yourself, as you just didn't seem to get it after Brian said it several times. It was not a put down, it was not something to get you to stop posting, or to make you mad, etc, it was just so you'd finally understand that fact.

 

[Titanium]

I guess I am oblivious to the obvious and am not getting it... What did we say that was so negative? You asked a question, we answered. Nothing personal, just the facts. No one is attacking you or putting you down.

You seem to want the NA ROM back and there is one way to do it. Have KE4EST restore your NA ROM and everything will be back to the original North American ROM and experience.

 

[catamount]

Ok, I will just leave everything alone then as it is. I'm very sorry I got a little excited and posted anything. I probably need to take a very long break from this negative forum anyway and just keep to myself from now on; no more Satellite Guys for me. Perhaps that will make it a little easier to not get so demoralized down with this hobby. :-/

You've got a lot of help from this forum. I started fta in 2004, and in all this time , I don't believe I ever asked for help. My thinking has always been, if I have a problem, then someone else has also. That is why I don't post alot but read almost every thread.

I always work things out for myself!

You have a very nice receiver. I spent 55 minutes this AM trying to get my AZ Minime to boot!! Send it back and get it fixed up. Deanne had to send hers back the first week, so do not feel bad. We all make some mistakes!

Catamount

 

[jorgek]

Does the A3 have to go back to the vendor? Can the NA ROM not be re-installed at home?

 

[FTA4PA]

Does the A3 have to go back to the vendor? Can the NA ROM not be re-installed at home?

Don't believe that's possible. It happened to another member and the only solution is to send it back. Read more here: http://www.satelliteguys.us/xen/posts/3510040/

 

[KE4EST]

Does the A3 have to go back to the vendor? Can the NA ROM not be re-installed at home?

If you make a back-up when you receive the unit, yes. If you don't and mess it up, you will have to send it in to be re-done.

 

[Blindowl1234]

Sounds like I'm glad to still be using my Micro Hd. Some may say it has its issues but sounds like the Amiko has it's too. An operator error that isn't easy to correct I'd be screwed and have to send mine back too probably.

 

[mc6809e]

I have refrained from commenting in this thread up to this point but I think it's about time to say something.

My A3 came with a Quick Start Guide and a sheet that stated "Please visit www.Amiko-A3.us for guides and instructions" as well as the FCC Part 15(b) compliance notice. Knowing I was going to receive the A3 I had already read and downloaded all the guides so I had some idea what should be done. I still went to the indicated web site and selecting "Guides And Instructions" and was greeted with this:

The very first thing I did was insert a microSD card into the A3 and make a full backup of the system and apps to it, just like the instructions say to do. I also made a backup to a USB flash drive just for insurance. As the web site says, the A3 does not operate like any other STB and I wanted to be sure I could start over if I screwed it up during setup.

Everyone makes mistakes (been there, done that) and should learn from them. If a backup of the A3 had been made before any updates were applied the OP could have just restored it and started over when it was discovered that a European ROM had been installed. Since the Americas ROM adds features and functions not in the European ROM, the EU updater won't load an Americas ROM. The EU update replaces the Americas apps with European versions, maybe great for Europe but not so good for FTA here in the Americas.

The A3 is an Android-based computer and not a MicroHD, MiniHD SE, Pansat, S-10, or any of the other "traditional" STB's. It requires different procedures and you have to learn new ways of doing things.

There have been a few bumps in the road but overall I've had less trouble with the A3 than any other receiver I've owned, and NO, I have no connection with any of the Amiko dealers or the distributor except for being a paying customer.

Ernie

 

[KE4EST]

Well put Ernie. Some folks are still not understanding that this box is a computer and not the traditional STB.
Look at it this way guys. Say you decide to take your computer and format the hard drive and/or install a different OS on it.
After you do that say it don't work right or you hate the different OS.
Now in doing all this you did not make a backup of what was on your hard drive before you made the changes. You lost your past OS, your settings, your music, your pictures, etc.
Would you blame the computer or the company that made it, NO, it is your own fault for not making a back-up.
Same thing applies here this STB, IS AN ANDROID COMPUTER.
Once you realize this, you realize that comparing this too older STB's is like comparing apples to oranges.

 

[dougruss]

I have refrained from commenting in this thread up to this point but I think it's about time to say something.

My A3 came with a Quick Start Guide and a sheet that stated "Please visit www.Amiko-A3.us for guides and instructions" as well as the FCC Part 15(b) compliance notice. Knowing I was going to receive the A3 I had already read and downloaded all the guides so I had some idea what should be done. I still went to the indicated web site and selecting "Guides And Instructions" and was greeted with this:
View attachment 103037
The very first thing I did was insert a microSD card into the A3 and make a full backup of the system and apps to it, just like the instructions say to do. I also made a backup to a USB flash drive just for insurance. As the web site says, the A3 does not operate like any other STB and I wanted to be sure I could start over if I screwed it up during setup.

Everyone makes mistakes (been there, done that) and should learn from them. If a backup of the A3 had been made before any updates were applied the OP could have just restored it and started over when it was discovered that a European ROM had been installed. Since the Americas ROM adds features and functions not in the European ROM, the EU updater won't load an Americas ROM. The EU update replaces the Americas apps with European versions, maybe great for Europe but not so good for FTA here in the Americas.

The A3 is an Android-based computer and not a MicroHD, MiniHD SE, Pansat, S-10, or any of the other "traditional" STB's. It requires different procedures and you have to learn new ways of doing things.

There have been a few bumps in the road but overall I've had less trouble with the A3 than any other receiver I've owned, and NO, I have no connection with any of the Amiko dealers or the distributor except for being a paying customer.

Ernie

 

[ancient]

Just out of curiosity, does this receiver ship with any kind of bright red sticker that says something like "STOP!!! Before you power up this unit for the first time, please read the instructions, especially the part about backing up the unit BEFORE accepting any updates!!!" ?

Unfortunately we are a society that powers up stuff first and then reads the manual only if we get into trouble. While I would not buy a receiver such as this in the first place, since I personally find it very much preferable to use a DVB-S2 tuner card on a real computer, if I had purchased a receiver of this type I could easily see myself making the exact same mistake. Updating software is not something that an ordinary person expects will cause a major issue, especially not one that requires returning the device. So in this case, I would suggest that if there is not already a very conspicuous warning, maybe taped over the power switch so you can't turn it on for the first time without noticing, perhaps there should be. The cost of adding a sticker can't be that high, and might save a lot of headaches.

While I don't know the OP personally, I think that perhaps what he was hoping for was that someone could e-mail him a backup of a working NA system that he could use, or provide it to him in some other way, so he could fix the problem without having to go to the trouble and expense of shipping back his receiver. If for some reason backups made on a given receiver are unique and can't be used on any other similar model receiver, then that wouldn't work, but I suspect something like that was what he was hoping for. I'm not saying he was right or wrong, just that's probably why he kept asking - perhaps he wasn't dense, just hoping for a better solution.

And I do realize there are probably plenty of warnings about this on various web pages and maybe in the provided documentation, but those can be easily forgotten in the excitement of setting up a new toy - IF they were ever seen in the first place.

 

[KE4EST]

Just out of curiosity, does this receiver ship with any kind of bright red sticker that says something like "STOP!!! Before you power up this unit for the first time, please read the instructions, especially the part about backing up the unit BEFORE accepting any updates!!!" ?

Yes It Does

since I personally find it very much preferable to use a DVB-S2 tuner card on a real computer

This unit is a real computer. If you take your "real" computer and format the hard drive and install a different OS and then get mad cause you can't upgrade(directly from that other OS) to the newest version of OS X is that Apples fault?

If for some reason backups made on a given receiver are unique and can't be used on any other similar model receiver, then that wouldn't work

BINGO!

And I do realize there are probably plenty of warnings about this on various web pages and maybe in the provided documentation, but those can be easily forgotten in the excitement of setting up a new toy - IF they were ever seen in the first place.

The OP was informed about the need to back-up several times during email before he received the unit.

 

[ancient]

This unit is a real computer. If you take your "real" computer and format the hard drive and install a different OS and then get mad cause you can't upgrade(directly from that other OS) to the newest version of OS X is that Apples fault?

"real" was probably not the best word to use there, but what I meant to imply was a general-purpose computer that could be used for multiple purposes, including as a standard desktop computer. Nowadays receivers are computers too, but they are dedicated to a particular purpose. You couldn't easily use a receiver as a general desktop computer, not that you'd want to. And in most receivers there are no card slots, so you couldn't plug in a DVB-S2 tuner card - again, not that you'd want to, but that's the distinction I was trying to make with my poor choice of words.

The OP was informed about the need to back-up several times during email before he received the unit.

Well, then, in that case it's clearly his own fault. It boggles the mind that anyone could ignore that specific of a warning and then act so clueless. Carry on!

 

[gpflepsen]

The way our society has evolved, warning are published for about every "inconsequential" hazard to account for liability and lowest common denominator consumers. Warnings and other precautions that are serious and offer protection from real danger float among the noise of warnings sent with about any real hazard. People, myself included, become desensitized to these and plunder forward usually without consequence. Can't really blame anyone, though they are accountable.

Is it kinda like how teenagers get pregnant despite the usually profuse warnings of said actions? I suppose there's other motivators there, but I'll stop...