Anbernic RG35XX custom firmware — how to install ArkOS, GarlicOS, or MinUI

install-minui-on-rg35xx (sortOrder=1, isMostHelpful)

MinUI is the easiest CFW to install and the safest first choice: it installs on a single SD card, has no scraper to configure, and works out of the box for most systems.

1. Download the latest MinUI release from the official GitHub repository: github.com/shauninman/MinUI. Look for the release tagged for RG35XX or GKD Pixel (H700 chip) — the RG35XX uses the Allwinner H700 chip.
2. Insert a microSD card (16 GB minimum, FAT32 or exFAT formatted — exFAT recommended for cards above 32 GB) into your PC.
3. Extract the MinUI zip to the root of the SD card. You should see folders named MinUI, Roms, and Bios at the root.
4. Copy your ROM files into the correct subfolder under Roms/:

• Roms/Game Boy (GB)/
• Roms/Game Boy Advance (GBA)/
• Roms/Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES)/
• Roms/PlayStation (PS)/
• Roms/Nintendo 64 (N64)/
• Roms/Sega Genesis (MD)/

5. Eject the SD card, insert it into the RG35XX, and power on. MinUI boots in under 10 seconds and scans ROMs automatically from the correct folders.

BIOS for PS1: place scph1001.bin (the 1001 BIOS is the most compatible across PS1 cores) into Bios/PlayStation (PS)/. MinUI will auto-detect it at launch.

Reverting to stock: re-flash the original Anbernic SD card image (available from Anbernic's official website or the community wiki) to a new card.

install-garlicosr-on-rg35xx (sortOrder=2, isMostHelpful=false)

GarlicOS offers an EmulationStation-style interface with game art scraping and theme support — a middle ground between MinUI's simplicity and ArkOS's complexity.

1. Download the latest GarlicOS release from the community wiki or GitHub (search "GarlicOS RG35XX"). GarlicOS supports the RG35XX original, H, and Plus — confirm your model before downloading.
2. Flash the garlic.img file to a microSD card using Balena Etcher. This creates two partitions automatically (GARLIC and ROMS).
3. After flashing, the ROMS partition will appear on your PC as a separate drive. Copy ROMs into the system-named subfolders:

• ROMS/GBA/ — .gba files
• ROMS/SNES/ — .sfc .smc
• ROMS/PS/ — .chd .bin+.cue (CHD format strongly recommended for PS1 — smaller and faster to load)
• ROMS/N64/ — .z64 .n64
• ROMS/MD/ — Genesis/Mega Drive ROMs

4. Place BIOS files in ROMS/BIOS/. PS1 needs scph1001.bin; Sega CD needs bios_CD_U.bin / bios_CD_E.bin / bios_CD_J.bin.
5. Eject and insert into the RG35XX. GarlicOS boots into EmulationStation. Systems with ROMs appear on the system carousel.

Scraping game art: GarlicOS includes a built-in scraper (press Menu → Scraper in EmulationStation). It uses ScreenScraper — create a free account at screenscraper.fr for faster scraping. Art is downloaded over Wi-Fi (on RG35XX Plus/H which have Wi-Fi; original RG35XX has no Wi-Fi).

install-arkos-for-maximum-system-support (sortOrder=3, isMostHelpful=false)

ArkOS supports the widest range of systems and gives access to RetroArch's full core library — the best choice for PS1, Sega Saturn, ports (DOOM, Quake), and advanced users.

1. Download ArkOS for the RG35XX from the ArkOS GitHub releases page (github.com/christianhaitian/arkos). Choose the correct image for your model.
2. Flash the ArkOS image to a microSD card using Balena Etcher (creates a GAMES partition automatically).
3. After flashing, open the GAMES partition on your PC and place ROMs in system subfolders matching ArkOS's naming convention (documented in the ArkOS wiki — folder names differ slightly from GarlicOS).
4. BIOS files go in GAMES/bios/. ArkOS uses the RetroArch BIOS path conventions: filenames must match exactly (case-sensitive on Linux).
5. Insert the card, power on. ArkOS boots into its EmulationStation-based interface.

Dual-SD setup (RG35XX H and Plus): ArkOS supports keeping the OS on the smaller internal card (or SD1) and your full ROM library on a second, larger SD card (SD2). Format SD2 as exFAT and place ROMs there. ArkOS detects it automatically.

RetroArch hotkeys in ArkOS: Select + L1 opens the RetroArch menu inside a game for save states, shaders, and core options.

fix-roms-not-showing-or-games-not-loading-on-cfws (sortOrder=4, isMostHelpful=false)

If ROMs are placed correctly but still do not appear in the game list, or if games launch then immediately exit, these are the most common causes.

• Wrong subfolder name: each CFW has its own exact folder naming convention. A SNES ROM in a folder called SuperNintendo will not be scanned on GarlicOS (which expects SNES). Check the CFW's official wiki for the exact folder-name list.
• Unsupported file format: some cores on the RG35XX do not support all formats. PS1 games load fastest as .chd (compressed). Multi-bin PS1 games need a .cue sheet paired with the .bin files — loose .bin files without a cue will not launch.
• Missing BIOS (PS1, Sega CD, Neo Geo): these systems require firmware even in CFW environments. A game that launches then immediately exits is usually a BIOS error. Confirm the BIOS filename is exactly right (case-sensitive).
• N64 performance: the RG35XX H700 chip runs N64 at playable speed for most 2D-heavy titles. 3D-intensive games (Mario 64 runs well; Ocarina of Time runs with frame drops on some scenes). Expect ~80–90% speed rather than locked 60fps.
• Card corruption: cheap or counterfeit microSD cards are the #1 source of random launch failures on the RG35XX. If games worked then stopped, re-flash the CFW to a new branded card (SanDisk or Samsung).

Still stuck? The Retro Handhelds Discord (discord.gg/retrohandhelds) has dedicated channels for each Anbernic model with pinned setup guides and community help.