FAQ

Nothing on the eMMC is written except U-Boot's environment: one variable, bootcmd. The kernel, the tvOS system volume and /private/var are all on the stick.

Pull the stick out. Without it the box starts Android as before.

The Xiaomi Mi Box S 3rd gen (Amlogic S905X5M, board s7d_twilight), with an unlocked bootloader.

8 GB or more. The box has one USB port; a hub is fine. Everything on the stick is erased when it is written.

In the U-Boot console, set bootcmd back: setenv bootcmd 'run storeboot'; saveenv. Leaving it is harmless: without a stick the extra step finds nothing and Android starts.

Write a new twl.img to partition 1. Building the whole stick again also works, but that erases /private/var: settings, apps and their data.

The TV's remote works over HDMI-CEC from the start. A Bluetooth remote can be paired in Settings.

Video playing under an overlay may be laggy, as with Apple's Aerial screensaver. A playing video may glitch during its resize animation.

FairPlay and FairPlay Streaming, Apple sign-in, AirPlay, Dolby Vision and AV1. Apple sign-in requires a key from the SEP of a real Apple device, which cannot be extracted. The Status page has the details.

Kodi, YouTube and Minecraft: Apple TV Edition.