Modding a Beelink I68 Android set-top box to allow a SATA drive to be attached

Question

I recently purchased a Beelink I68 8 core media box to run Kodi on but couldn't resist the urge to pry it apart and look inside after noticing in the system settings a dead link for SATA setting, it got me thinking there must be some way to add a SATA drive if I could only identify the connector pins on the board. I never expected to see the sata port but knew that there are usually other routes to achieve this result so looked for the pinouts.

Upon opening the unit, I saw there were several holes labelled but with no pins attached, I have pics showing the whole board and close-ups of the empty pin holes. I would be grateful for advice on how I should proceed and any limitations which may make this procedure a fools errand.

Answer 1

I doubt the unit has a SATA interface.

Most devices designed for Android, including STBs of this sort, do not have one. The pins shown in the second image are for GPIO and UART serial connections; these aren't meant for attaching storage media. I don't see a SATA interface anywhere on the board.

The most reliable solution is to get a USB to SATA bridge of some sort (e.g. an external hard drive enclosure) and use it to connect the drive to the box. If you need faster speeds, you can hook up a NAS to the Gigabit Ethernet port, directly or via a switch.