🏠︎ R36S WikiR36S OverviewR36S ClonesR36S Buying GuideSetup Guides ‐ Installing FirmwareCustom FirmwareHotkeysCompatibility ListsHow to transfer filesThemesBootlogos and Loading ScreensAdvanced Guides ‐ TutorialsHardware ModificationsProblems and Troubleshooting

Backup your stock SD card

BOOT partition of a R36S with the original (V1) screen
BOOT partition of a R36S with the panel 4 (V5) screen
Different BOOT partition of a R36S with the panel 4 (V5) screen

This is the first step you should take before doing anything with your console. Save the contents of the microSD to your computer.

The 📄rk3326-r35s-linux.dtb or 📄rk3326-rg351mp-linux.dtb from the 📁BOOT partition is the most important file. You're probably going to need this to fix the problems that the 5 different screen / display panel versions often create (black screen issue).

My original SD card got corrupted before I could make a backup

R36S-Device Tree Blob - dtb files at GitHub

New dtb files for AmberELEC

Panel 4 (V5) AmberELEC sound + FN button fix

I don't have these files on my SD card

If you have a 📁EELEC partition or your files are 📄rk3326-evb-lp3-v12-linux.dtb or 📄rf3536k3ka.dtb, you got the EmuELEC Clone that is not compatible with standard ArkOS/AmberELEC.

Change the stock SD card

Warning

The stock microSD cards (those that get shipped with the device) cause a lot of problems and can get corrupted/defect any time. They are very cheap quality and unreliable. Change them as soon as possible. Please refer to the SD card section. Remember, SD cards will NOT be compatible with the R36S without an adapter. SD cards are not the same as microSD cards.

Identify your screen version

Knowing which screen type your R36S has is going to be helpful during installing custom firmware. Use the tool at this link:

Which Screen Do I Have?

Firmware Flashing Guide

Custom Firmware

ℹ️

Info

The "flashing" process is the same for all firmwares, but there may be some additional steps to get it working for your specific R36S version.

There are multiple firmware options for the R36S Handheld. Please refer to the R36S Custom Firmware page and choose one.

↪ R36S Custom Firmware

Software needed

Firmware flashing tool like Rufus, Raspberry Pi Imager or Win32 Disk Imager

In this guide the portable version of Rufus has been used.

Step-by-Step Guide

1) Select your new SD card, the firmware image and click on start

2) Click OK to confirm. Make sure you selected the correct drive/SD card.

3) Wait till the flashing process is finished.

4) Close Rufus

5) Remove USB safely

6) First boot up

Insert the SD card into your device and press the power button. Rom folders and other stuff will now be generated. This process usually takes about 5 minutes (wait till the menu is loaded). Now the SD card is ready and you can add your game files and roms.

7) Gaming time

Have fun playing!