[TUTORIAL] Retro handhelds (Anbernic, Miyoo, TrimUI): which firmware to install in 2026

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[TUTORIAL] Retro handhelds (Anbernic, Miyoo, TrimUI): which firmware to install in 2026

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Automatically translated from French.

[TUTO] Consoles portables rétro (Anbernic, Miyoo, TrimUI) : quel firmware installer en 2026

Anbernic, Miyoo, TrimUI: these retro handhelds gain a lot from a firmware change. Here is which one to install for your model, and how to do it without breaking anything.


Why replace the stock firmware

The factory system works, but it is often sluggish in use, poorly translated, and rarely updated. Community firmwares bring clearer menus, better battery life, reliable sleep mode, RetroAchievements, and better-tuned emulators. They install on the microSD card: the console itself is not modified, and you just put the original card back to revert.


The table: which firmware for which console
  • Anbernic RG35XX (H, Plus, Pro, SP, 2024), RG40XX (H, V), RG34XX, RG28XX, RG CubeXX → muOS (version 2601.1 “Funky Jacaranda”) or Knulli (version “Scarab”, May 2026). muOS is the lightest and fastest; Knulli, derived from Batocera, is the most complete. spruce supports them too.
  • Miyoo Mini and Mini Plus → Onion, the long-standing reference (stable version 4.3.1-1, with 4.4.0 in beta since January 2026), or spruce, more actively developed.
  • Miyoo A30, Miyoo Flip, Miyoo Mini Flip → spruce (version 4.5.0, from 4 October 2026).
  • TrimUI Brick and Smart Pro → NextUI (6.14.0, July 2026), minimalist and highly polished, or muOS, Knulli and spruce. The brand-new Brick Pro is already supported by spruce.
  • More powerful consoles (Retroid Pocket 5 and 6, AYN Odin, Anbernic RG Vita Pro, RG552…) → ROCKNIX, updated every month (latest version: 1 October 2026), as an alternative to Android.
  • Anbernic RG351, RG353 and R36S clones → dArkOS, the successor to ArkOS by the same author (ArkOS itself has been archived since late 2025).

Firmwares to forget

MinUI has been archived by its author since November 2025 (NextUI took over on TrimUI), CrossMix hasn't changed since December 2024, and Garlic OS is no longer current. They still work, but will no longer receive fixes.


Step 1: a new microSD card

This is the most important advice. The cards shipped with these consoles are often of poor quality and fail without warning, especially when writing a firmware to them. They are also filled with pirated, badly sorted games. Buy a brand-name card (Samsung, SanDisk) of 64 or 128 GB, and put the original card away.


Step 2: install the firmware

Two methods, depending on the project:
  • Writing an image (muOS, Knulli, ROCKNIX, dArkOS): download the image from the official website or GitHub, then write it to the card with Raspberry Pi Imager. muOS explicitly advises against balenaEtcher, because of failed writes. Leave the second SD slot empty for the first boot, which can take 5 to 10 minutes.
  • Copying files (Onion, spruce, NextUI): format the card as FAT32 (NextUI also accepts exFAT, on an MBR partition), then copy the contents of the archive to the root. Onion and spruce even have a small Windows installer that does everything.

Step 3: games and BIOS

Each firmware has its own BIOS folder: BIOS at the root for Onion and spruce, Bios for NextUI, MUOS/bios for muOS, the bios folder on the SHARE partition for Knulli. Games go in the Roms (or roms) folder, one subfolder per console, whose exact name is given in each project's documentation. For the PS1, the BIOS is essential for good compatibility.


The most common errors
  • The console doesn't boot from the new card: image written for another model (check the exact variant: the RG35XX Plus and RG35XX H don't always use the same image), or a failed write. Rewrite it with Raspberry Pi Imager.
  • A system doesn't appear: its games folder is empty or misnamed.
  • PS1 games lag or don't start: missing BIOS, or a game in.bin format without its.cue. Prefer the.chd format, which is more compact.
  • Battery life has dropped: turn off Wi-Fi when you're not using it, and lower the brightness.
To go further with emulator configuration, see our guides Emulation on Android (for Android handhelds) and Emulation on PC.


⚠ Warning: don't throw away the original card until everything works: it sometimes contains model-specific files. And only get firmwares from their official website or GitHub: modified copies are circulating.


Sources and official guides: muOS · Knulli · spruce · Onion · NextUI · ROCKNIX · dArkOS

Tgames provides no games, BIOS or keys: only use backups of your own games and your own console. A question? Reply to this topic.
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