MXQ Android Box Issue

hjr

Hi there,

Looking for advice/opinion:

Purchased an MXQ Android tv box in May this year. On Monday of this week I heard a pop sound and the box lost all power.

I contacted the Supplier and was told the following:

"it must have been a power issue with the house too much power has been put through the device."

When I advised that no other unit I own, e.g. TV/Router had the same issue I got this response:

"well the box is on alot less power voltage than a tv and a router so if too much voltage is put through the device it would short circuit and you would hear that pop you heard."

"unfortunatly we cant do much for you as we dont cover voltage issuses."


Just wondering where I stand on this. The unit is only six months old, and is not broken. Nothing on their website, facebook page, etc indicates a potential voltage issue. How could I have prevented this voltage issue!?

They had stopped responding to me, but I feel they have provided me with a faulty product...

Ideas?

L1011

Person replying doesn't know what they're talking about.

That device would have a switched mode power supply - likely external. That is the only thing that might fail in an over-voltage situation. Have you tested that to check it is still providing power?

hjr

I've no way of testing it unfortunately, its an odd power cable, like an old nokia cable...

I think it should be covered personally as a faulty product...

L1011

Do you have or can you borrow a multimeter?

PSUs can be damaged by voltage spikes. Its very hard to prove it wasn't. They should be easily and cheaply replacable

The box itself should not be (as the PSU would take the hit and die before it got near it) and it would strongly indicate a device fault. Many of these sellers are basically kids in bedrooms dropshipping stuff though.

hjr

Ya, I would agree on the sellers. What I notice is that the moulded plug on the power cable now has a rattle in it, which may mean something is wrong in it...

If I got my hands on a power cable it'd point me in the right direction I guess...or a multimeter too..

hjr

Just noticed the power cable has a sticker stating "Switching power Supply"

ssmith6287

did you buy from a reputable dealer with a licence to trade or a facebook shop importing these from china... simple way to know, did they supply with a VAT receipt. if not I don't think you have consumer rights because you bought from a civilian rather then a business.

ted1

ssmith6287 wrote: »

did you buy from a reputable dealer with a licence to trade or a facebook shop importing these from china... simple way to know, did they supply with a VAT receipt. if not I don't think you have consumer rights because you bought from a civilian rather then a business.

Explain this licence to trade that you speak off. Business don't have to register to VAT.

ssmith6287

Would have taught a registration with CRO and pay Vat on sales would be 1 of the basics of a retail business in Ireland... I guess I'm wrong. Best of luck with your android box though

L1011

ssmith6287 wrote: »

Would have taught a registration with CRO and pay Vat on sales would be 1 of the basics of a retail business in Ireland... I guess I'm wrong. Best of luck with your android box though

Sole traders and VAT thresholds. Neither a CRO registration or a VAT registration is a licence, though - while other countries require businesses to be licenced to operate, but Ireland does not.

MOH

ssmith6287 wrote: »

Would have taught a registration with CRO and pay Vat on sales would be 1 of the basics of a retail business in Ireland... I guess I'm wrong. Best of luck with your android box though

No, there's no requirement to register for VAT below a certain threshold.

ssmith6287

No worries ... on that so how do you qualify for consumer rights?

L1011

ssmith6287 wrote: »

No worries ... on that so how do you qualify for consumer rights?

By them trading as a business. Which a sole trader under the vat threshold still can.

ssmith6287

Im genuinely interested to know now, a company on facebook, how do you know they are above board, I'm guessing like the bulk of these boxes esp with the Chinese plug they've been bought through social media

bigpink

Where ya buy it?

rubadub

hjr wrote: »

Ya, I would agree on the sellers. What I notice is that the moulded plug on the power cable now has a rattle in it, which may mean something is wrong in it...

If I got my hands on a power cable it'd point me in the right direction I guess...or a multimeter too..

The rattle could be a broken part alright, could be simply a bit of broken plastic housing. I have repaired some before.

I have used loads of android boxes, many use the same 5V power supply but the adaptor can vary that plugs into the box. I have had people break them as they stuck power supplies for laptops into them giving 19V. Cheaper boxes will not have internal fuses or protection against this and they fry.

So if you do get another power supply make sure the voltage is the same as listed on your current one. Is there anyone you know who could take a look, it is fairly basic stuff. People have given me spare 5V power supplies and I was able to cut off the lead from their broken one and wire it up to the working one, i.e. the adaptors on the end were different. You also have to watch the current rating, most android boxes come with 1000mA or 2000mA 5V supplies, some older 5V supplies you might have could be 500mA so would not be suitable.

hjr

Purchased from mysmartcloudtv. Terrible to deal with, they just ignoring me now.

L1011

Is it the €50 box you have?

If they're ignoring you you could take a small claims - however, it wouldn't be worth the time and effort in that case, let alone the cost.

Get someone with a multimeter to check the PSU and look at buying a replacement if its faulty - this should be a fiver or so.

hjr

L1011 wrote: »

Is it the €50 box you have?

If they're ignoring you you could take a small claims - however, it wouldn't be worth the time and effort in that case, let alone the cost.

Get someone with a multimeter to check the PSU and look at buying a replacement if its faulty - this should be a fiver or so.

Ya, its the €50 I have. I was already thinking about the small claims court route, but agree with you in terms of time and costs.

ScouseMouse

These android boxes are everywhere and anybody can buy some and start selling them. You do have rights, but in this particular case, I would just move on. You will spend time, and effort for little - if any reward

rubadub

Just remembered a mate of mine got one in one of these shady looking electronics shops, the type that unlock phones and do repairs etc.

He went in with the box and they tested the PSU, confirmed it was broken and tested the android box with a new PSU. Got it for a fiver. This also meant if the box was broken too he was not wasting money on a working PSU which was going to be useless.

You can see adaptor type ones in powercity,
http://www.powercity.ie/index.php?par=30-05-A1506B&action=moreinfo

http://www.powercity.ie/index.php?par=30-05-A1504B&action=moreinfo

note the first is only 300mA so is very likely not powerful enough. Second is 1500mA and is possibly suitable. It is not clear as they do not state how much power can be output at 5V

My android box has a 2000mA supply, but the box itself does not need that. It means there is enough power if I was to plug in an external USB drive into the android box.

hjr

rubadub wrote: »

Just remembered a mate of mine got one in one of these shady looking electronics shops, the type that unlock phones and do repairs etc.

He went in with the box and they tested the PSU, confirmed it was broken and tested the android box with a new PSU. Got it for a fiver. This also meant if the box was broken too he was not wasting money on a working PSU which was going to be useless.

You can see adaptor type ones in powercity,
http://www.powercity.ie/index.php?par=30-05-A1506B&action=moreinfo

http://www.powercity.ie/index.php?par=30-05-A1504B&action=moreinfo

note the first is only 300mA so is very likely not powerful enough. Second is 1500mA and is possibly suitable. It is not clear as they do not state how much power can be output at 5V

My android box has a 2000mA supply, but the box itself does not need that. It means there is enough power if I was to plug in an external USB drive into the android box.

Hi Rubadub, thanks for taking the time to post such a detailed response to my query. I think I'll see can I test my box with a psu from someone to see whats gone.

I agree with scousemouse too, its hardly worth chasing for €50 but its just so annoying that someone can just blatantly ignore consumer rights!

MOH

hjr wrote: »

Hi Rubadub, thanks for taking the time to post such a detailed response to my query. I think I'll see can I test my box with a psu from someone to see whats gone.

I agree with scousemouse too, its hardly worth chasing for €50 but its just so annoying that someone can just blatantly ignore consumer rights!

If you're going the small claims court I'm fairly sure you'll need a business name and address. None of which I can find on their website (assuming it's the first result in google, that doesn't provide an address and just says "online only").

But fairly sure not having that is contrary to distance selling regulations. The whole site looks fairly dodgy. You could possibly make the case that since that information is required for a distance contract, and wasn't provided, there was no contract. And do a chargeback.
But you're probably too late for that, and the card company mightn't accept that since you used the item for 6 months.

You could try asking them could you send it back to them anyway for them to have a look at, and when you get a return address use that for the SCC application.

Or given their refusal to provide any physical business details, and the lack of any related business name in the CRO, and the fact they only deal in cash, there's a fair chance they're not registered for tax. So you could fire their details on to Revenue if you felt like it.

[edit] Sorry, just went through the order process out of curiosity. There's no T+Cs as part of the process, and the only payment method is cash on delivery?! Dodgy as hell.

There is a physical address though, at the bottom of the "about us" page that blends in with the description of the last item there.

ScouseMouse

This is probably a small operator working from his spare bedroom. The site offers English or Polish language.

If its a Polish fella bringing these in from home, working to earn a few quid, he will only deal with cash and won't have a business address or name. Someone mentioned VAT and taxman. They will not be interested in this, yer man may not even be in Roi.

I really do think you should just move on.