Your computer on a stick crashes a lot? Your A/C adapter might be the cause
Since we started advocating for the MK802 III on this blog a few months ago, we’ve been receiving tons of great feedback about the device. People use this computer on a stick not only to watch HD movies, but also as an FTP server, as a dedicated game machine, etc…
The MK802 III is really a neat device, but some people are running into issues that can easily become an obsession if they don’t know how to solve them. One of the most frequent issue people are running into with the mk802 III is that the device can randomly crash or reboot when too many external usb devices are plugged to it. Most of the time, the issue is simple, and the solution too.
Basically, the MK802 III doesn’t ship with an A/C adapter, and people have the only option of buying their own. People will claim that anything that provides 5V will be good enough, but be careful! Most of these will provide 1000mA or less, and that might not be enough to power your device, especially if you plan to plug an additional usb hard drive, or even a mouse, to it.
In general we’ve had no problems powering the MK802 III with a 1.2A, 5V adapter, but that’s good enough for the MK802 III + a Logitech K400 keyboard, and that’s it. For people who plan to plug additional usb devices, such as gamepads or a hard drive, we strongly recommend to go up to 2A, with an adapter such as this one.
In 90% of the cases, the issues of random crashes and reboot of the MK802 get solved by simply increasing the power of the A/C adapter. If you are running into random crash or reboots of your “computer on a stick”, and in particular if you have additional usb devices connected to it, buying a more powerful adapter might be the solution. Give it a try and let us know!
You mean 1.2A?
Haha, yes, thanks, fixed the typo!
I can see briefly [<2 seconds] the Rikomagic logo on my tv screen -where the MK802III stick is attached- and then the message "not signal" on the screen. I had used different types of adaptors; all of them 1.0A or less; do you think this specific condition is also caused by low amperage USB adaptors? Also, the blue led light on the mini pc goes off after 2 seconds
I do appreciated your feedback; thank you.
Walter I Hurtado
Yes, do try an external power source with 2A. 1 is clearly not enough.