This Onn TV Stick Review is brought to you by Troy from TROYPOINT. Troy bought this device at a local Walmart. It’s meant to be a fair look at the Onn TV Stick— we’ll cover the good and the bad.
When I learned that the Onn TV Stick was available at Walmart, I didn’t waste any time grabbing one. I really wanted to find out the performance level of a $24.88 Android TV Stick. To put it simply, not that great.
Walmart’s strategy confuses me. They offer an Onn Android TV Box for just $5 more, and it’s a noticeable upgrade with 4K playback. It doesn’t seem logical.
In case you’re curious about the Onn Android TV Box, it’s just a repackaged Dynalink Android TV Box, which I’ve reviewed previously. But for now, let’s focus on the Onn TV Stick and my honest review. I won’t delve into every single detail, as I don’t want to waste your time—or mine, for that matter.
Onn TV Stick Advertised Features
- Max 1080p output
- Easy setup with your Google account
- Plugs into your HDMI port
- Android TV
- Dolby audio
- WIFI: 2.4Ghz/5GHz 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
- Input: AC 100-240V, 50/60Hz
- Output: DC 5V/1A
- What’s in the Box? 1 FHD TV Streaming Stick, 1 remote control (batteries included), 1 HDMI extender, 1 AC adapter, 1 USB to micro-USB cable 4.88ft (1.49 m), and 1 Quick Start Guide
Onn TV Stick Review
The moment I started up the Onn TV Stick, I was greeted by an available update, which was a nice surprise! I was hopeful that this was a sign of good things to come.
I paired the remote with my TV. I was pleased to discover that the remote’s volume and power buttons worked perfectly with my television.
The Android TV home screen was refreshingly clean, meaning it’s easy to personalize. I appreciate this kind of Android TV launcher. It’s a pleasant change from the ad-heavy Google TV interface.
I enabled Developer Options in the settings. I then granted permission to install apps on external storage.
Next, I used the micro-USB port (the same one for the power cord) to connect an OTG Cable. I plugged in a 256GB SanDisk 3.0 USB Drive, and a notification popped up—it recognized my drive!
Expanding internal storage is definitely a possibility with this device. You can run apps directly from the USB drive, which was a pleasant surprise.
I went ahead and installed the TROYPOINT App with Rapid App Installer. I successfully side-loaded all the popular free streaming apps and tools without any issues.
That’s when I started running into problems with the WiFi connection. It kept disconnecting. I tried rebooting both my wireless router and the Onn TV Stick, hoping that would resolve the issue.
Sadly, it didn’t fix the problem. I then switched over to my 2.4GHz wireless band, and it worked without a hitch. It looks like there’s an issue with the wireless chip in this device, or perhaps it needs a software update to address the problem.
Next, I tested download speeds. The results weren’t great. Because I couldn’t maintain a connection on my 5GHz band, I had to resort to testing on the 2.4GHz band.
Without IPVanish VPN, the download speed was 125 Mbps. With the VPN activated, it dropped to 20 Mbps. We usually see significantly better speeds with Fire TV Sticks and other Android TV streaming devices.
I then started streaming movies and TV shows from different apps. I tried YouTube, Netflix, and others.Cinema HD, Kodi, and other similar apps were tested. I experienced buffering issues with most of them, which was frustrating. It’s possible that I received a faulty device, but I doubt it. The price is attractive, however, I recommend choosing a Fire TV Stick Lite if your budget is around $25. Alternatively, for a few extra dollars, you can upgrade to a MECOOL KM2 or a Fire TV Stick 4K. You can get a 10% discount on the MECOOL by using the coupon code TROYPOINT during checkout.
Some people mentioned buying this device solely for its remote, which they intend to use with other streaming devices. That might be its only redeeming quality.
The Good
- Android TV 9
- Nice remote
- Update available at startup
- Can expand internal storage via OTG cable
- Price
The Bad
- Poor WiFi
- Max resolution of 1080p
- Buffering problems in most apps
- Device feels extremely cheap
Onn TV Stick Specs
- CPU: Amlogic S805Y Quad Cord A55 @ 1.5GHz
- GPU: Maili 450
- RAM: 1 GB
- Storage: 5GB
- AC WiFi 2.4GHz & 5GHz
- Bluetooth 4.2
- Android TV 9
You can find more information about the Onn TV Stick at the link below.
My rating for the Onn TV Stick is 2 out of 5 stars.