Install Linux on the T95 Mini

The T95 Mini tv box is notable for being cheap and Armbian compatible. Depending on your needs it might be the perfect mini-server if a Raspberry Pi 4 is too expensive for you.

Armbian Linux installation:

1. Join in a moment of silence to honor balbes150 who makes this all possible :)

2. Download your desired Armbian image (I used Armbian_21.08.0-trunk_Aw-h6-tv_buster_current_5.10.43.img.xz) and load it onto a microSD or SD card using Etcher

3. Eject the SD card and load into T95 Mini device (slot is to right of blue USB 3.0 port on side)

4. Plug an Ethernet cable into the device

5. Insert a dull toothpick into the AV hole to push and hold the embedded reset button

6. With the reset button pressed, use other hand to connect the power supply and wait 3 seconds and then remove the toothpick from the AV hole

7. Wait about 3 minutes and then SSH into the device with username root and password 1234 (you can check your router to look for the new IP device or tools like an IP scanner or nmap).

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If you don't see an SSH login after a couple minutes, unplug and retry the toothpick method again, this time waiting 15 seconds before removing the toothpick. If you don't succeed, try once more simply unplugging and plugging in the device with no toothpick involved. If you still don't see an SSH login after a few tries you'll likely need to reflash the stock firmware:

If you don't have one, buy a USB-to-USB data cable.

Unplug the unit, disconnect the Ethernet cable, and remove the microSD card.

On a Windows machine install the USB Burning Tool and reboot.

Next, download the firmware

Follow this guide to install the firmware.

Repeat steps 4-7 to get an SSH prompt.

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8. After Armbian is configured, run nand-sata-install then choose ext4 to install Armbian to the internal eMMC chip.

alternate menu approach: armbian-config then System > Install > boot from eMMC - system on eMMC > Yes > ext4

9. Once the script indicates the copy is done choose  Power off and then type clear

10. Unplug, remove the SD card, and plug in device. The device should now boot into Armbian directly from the internal eMMC chip.

Success!

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Performance compared to Raspberry Pi 4:

Raspberry Pi 4 Model B (2GB RAM) 32-bit:

• CPU Performance: Duration = 8.80 seconds (lower is faster)
• CPU Temp: Idle = 38'c | Full load = 48'c
• RootFS: Write = 18 MiB/s | Read = 41 MiB/s
• RAM: Write = 339 MiB/s | Read = 606 MiB/s

Raspberry Pi 4 Model B (2GB RAM) 64-bit:

• CPU Performance: Duration = 7.27 seconds (lower is faster)
• CPU Temp: Idle = 45'c | Full load = 52'c
• RootFS: Write = 18 MiB/s | Read = 22 MiB/s
• RAM: Write = 448 MiB/s | Read = 1163 MiB/s

T95 Mini (2GB RAM):

• CPU Performance: Duration = 11.32 seconds (lower is faster)
• CPU Temp: Idle = 48'c | Full load = 76'c
• RootFS: Write = 30 MiB/s | Read = 41 MiB/s
• RAM: Write = 467 MiB/s | Read = 797 MiB/s