The 8227L_Demo Android Headunit…

We hear a lot of questions from people that come to us with their 8227L_Demo android headunit, usually because it doesn’t do what it should…

This is a selection of the comments that are either 8227L ALPS or turn out to be 8227L ALPS demo-based Android Headunits.

• 8227L ALPS has no sound controls.
• There is no fader, no volume – I can’t adjust the volume
• It’s running Android 4.4.4 KitKat; how to upgrade?
• It was sold as Android 10, but CPU-Z/AIDA64 says it is 8.1Go
• Currently Android 6; how do I upgrade 8227L to Android 9?
• I bought it used and want to flash the 8227L to Android 10
• 8227L DEMO has only 1 GB RAM when the seller said it has 2 GB. Does it matter?
• Why is it Android 6 when it should be Android 8.1Go?
• Can I update the firmware on the 8227L
• android headunit is slow, 8227L_Demo is showing.
• android headunit won’t load the play store (settings show 8227L demo)
• Some apps won’t install on my Android 8.1go 8227L_Demo
• How do I root my 8227L_Demo?
• 8227L_demo only 4 cores (Quad-core); how to get more?
• Error message ‘Debug the lamp lights‘ appears for RGB

Some background of the 8227L_Demo

The 8227L_Demo was based on an MTK8227 chip from Mediatek back in 2013. This platform became very popular because, in its day, it had a game-changing specification. It could run Android 6 well (when Android 6 Marshmallow was a new thing).

Having 1 GB or even a groundbreaking 2 GB of RAM was impressive. The quad-core processor by Mediatek beat the previous generation of processors easily. Manufacturers could customize the 8227L_Demo platform to display on different-sized screens, integrate easily with different MCUs, and mass-produce to reduce costs. An ideal situation to use it, and still in use to this day.

The problems

8227L_Demo runs a quad-core processor and up to 2 GB of RAM. This is not enough RAM or enough cores for modern expectations of an Android system.

It is like picking up a phone from the year 2014 and expecting it to behave like the phone in your pocket, and it doesn’t and (more on that later) never will behave like a modern Android headunit.

Deep within the listing

A quick giveaway in the advertising or sales pitch for any Android headunit based on 8227L_demo, even if the model number is hidden away, is ‘Android 6’. It sticks out like a sore thumb. Customers can see an Android 9 headunit next to an Android 6 headunit and know that Android 9 is better, or at least newer.

Sneaky

How do you make the 8227L ALPS compare better against more modern hardware? The sneaky way to pass off the 8227L as a higher Android version is to use Android 8.1go patched or Android 6 patched to make it look like a different version of Android. Only the package’s name is changed, maybe some new graphic files, but the actual Android code is the same old version.

Android 6 Marshmallow

The 8227L_ALPS and 8227L_DEMO units could be running Android 6, masquerading as Android 8.1go
With all the fakery and misleading advertising. The basic version of Android running on your new 8227L_Demo, despite the seller saying otherwise, is quite possibly based on Android 6 Marshmallow. 

8.1go is not 8.1

Android 8.1go is a cut-down, limited version of Android 8.1. It is aimed at devices with weak processors and limited (less than 2Gb) RAM. Google cut out some basic features to make 8.1go work on this budget equipment. Therefore any Android headunit with 8.1go won’t give you the whole Android experience because some is already missing. 8227L Demo is the same old, slow processor, just doing less work. Not really the solution, just a temporary fix to shift the leftover stock stacked in the warehouse.

8.1go passed off as Android 9

Android 8.1go became synonymous with slow processors and minimal RAM. This discouraged people from buying an Android headunit with 8.1go when models were available with Android 9.

Android 10 8227L_Demo

Due to the flexibility of the Android operating system and the ability to customize the OS, someone in the chain of sales modified the code inside some of the Android headunits running 8227L to report itself as ‘Android 10’. This gives an advantage in the advertising, comparison charts, and sales pitches which drives more sales. But it is still the 2015 quad-core processor and 1 GB or 2 GB of RAM inside, performing poorly and nowhere near modern standards for an Android headunit.

Ongoing

The fakery is ongoing. You can find the 8227L listed as having Android 12 as the operating system, but this could be a sneaky sales attempt at deception. Android 12 sells headunits, even if it’s not running Android 12.

More RAM

Why pay for more RAM and increase the manufacturing cost and, ultimately, the retail cost when you can change the settings to report 2 GB RAM when there is only 1 GB fitted? It seems like a simple solution to sell more of the old technology. The problem is that although 1 GB of RAM will work poorly, most people may not even realize they have been duped until it is too late. Maybe they paid more for a fake 8227L demo product or chose the fake over the genuine and now are suffering from using the slow and obsolete hardware.

More problems with 8227L

The 8227L_Demo-based systems are still being made and still being sold. The problem is the consumer buying obsolete equipment. If people didn’t buy them, they wouldn’t make any more!

“You wouldn’t accept a 2015 mobile phone for your next upgrade!”

People are always looking for a bargain, and the manufacturers know this. Comes the 8227L_ALPS_DEMO with its glossy pictures and powerful pitch, and the sale is made. That is when the customer’s problems start. After a degree of disappointment or frustration, the grey matter gets tested, and people suddenly remember that computer problems can be fixed with an update!

There must be a solution!

8227L needs a firmware update!

Unfortunately, the problem with 8227L is not down to firmware; it runs Android 6 or 8.1go because that is all its slow processor can do well. The missing RAM can not be fixed with a firmware update; no software upgrade of the 8227L can install an extra 2 or 3 GB of RAM. If your Android headunit is 8227L_Demo, it is stuck in 2014. No flashing firmware will ever take the hardware from its 2015 quad-core 1 GB or 2 GB RAM roots it was born with.

Pointless exercise

Don’t go searching for a firmware fix for 8227L. The problems and time wasting you will face are due to the vast number of variations and configurations of the 8227L platform is pointless. While an army of fans source, modify and produce firmware for the 8227L, firmware working for one 8227L can ‘brick’ the other. The 8227L-based models can look identical on the outside, but subtle differences inside, like Bluetooth board or wifi chip, can vary and cause irreversible damage if the wrong firmware is flashed. Flashing won’t give you the headunit you thought you were getting, we told you were getting, or even the one you paid for. You have been duped.

The fix is just a thought.

If there were a quick fix, firmware flash, OS upgrade, or tweak that would make the 8227L_demo better, would the manufacturers, distributors, or sellers have already done this?

The solution to 8227L problems

The solution to the obsolete 8227L and its problems is to replace it. All of it, not just a part inside the Android headunit, the whole thing. Modern hardware costs have dropped significantly, making the 8-core and 6-core, super quick processors with their 4 GB to 6 GB RAM very affordable in an Android headunit. A Hexa-Core 4 GB RAM Android headunit will blow any 8227L out of the water and give a much longer life before an upgrade is required. There is no need to buy any MTK 8227L-based hardware in these modern times, but if you do, expect it to perform like a phone from 2015 or slower.

Find the 8227L on eBay