*NOTE: This page is in-process of being and is incomplete at the present time. The firmware updates have been changing rapidly lately (a good thing), but making it difficult for me to keep up 🙂
The following steps will guide you through upgrading your RG350 Firmware. Click here to go back to the RG350 tips and tricks.
Table of Contents
Issues Noticed
My last tested build was: RG-350_BASE_v1.5_231019 (11/28/2019).
I had previously tried RG-350_BASE_v1.7_171119 but that image has since been pulled due to issues and the devs have reverted back to v1.5 (at the time of this writing). I’m not so sure moving to v1.5 is a good idea either unless you take care not to overwrite your stock firmware (as described below). Much of the functionality regarding the OTG Keyboard+trackpad usage will no longer work with the latest firmware releases (v1.5 or v1.7). The builds seem to be changing rapidly, v1.7 had some pretty cool features and I’m hopeful it will be re-released soon. *NOTE- I had started creating a video to explain the process, but going to hold off until I find a build that works good for me. I’ll test thoroughly and then I’ll release the video. That said, please don’t overwrite your existing microSD if you attempt a firmware upgrade- use a new one if you want to try the following so you can always go back.
If the following issues are important to you, might want to wait before upgrading the firmware.
- The keyboard and trackpad connected over an OTG cable no longer work with this build.
- The Games tab has no games listed in v1.5 (v1.7 did have Games listed in the games tab). These are the pre-installed games that exist on the stock firmware which are missing (Doom, Quake, etc.) These were available in the 1.7 build, so I would anticipate the next build to have these games pre-installed on the image. *NOTE: Yes, you could bring them back using this or via manual copy, however a bit of setup will be required to get everything working correctly (see the included instructions.txt).
- There have been some reports of PS1 emulation issues on Discord which I can’t confirm at this time.
- Volume control issues.
Prerequisites
Before upgrading the firmware, it is recommend you have the following on-hand :
- Please check the above Issues Noticed heading before proceeding!
- microSD card for the firmware (16GB or higher, example here) – I do not recommend using the existing microSD card for this upgrade process, keep it safe.
- microSD card for your games (Recommend 32GB or higher – here is a good recommendation)
- Download 7-Zip from here – this is a Free zip/unzip tool
- Download balena Etcher from here – we will use this to burn the image to the new microSD card.
- Download DiskGenius from here – will be needed to resize the partition after the image has been written to the microSD. *NOTE – Later versions may not require this tool, build 1.7 had the ability to resize the partition on first-boot. However, this build has been pulled.
Upgrade Procedure
- Visit this website and click on the device you wish to upgrade (i.e. Anbernic RG-350 IPS).
- Once the Firmware has been downloaded, use 7-Zip to extract the contents.
- Insert the new Firmware microSD card into the SD slot on your computer.
- Open balena Etcher or Win32 Disk Imager.
- Select the .img file and ensure you have the correct microSD card selected.
- Once you’ve verified everything is correct, click the Flash button.
- Open DiskGenius (*NOTE: Steps 7-14 may not be necessary in the future. A 1.7 build had the ability to auto-size the microSD but this was pulled. Be sure to check the release notes for the version you downloaded before proceeding with these steps.)
- Select the microSD that you just flashed. My disk shows “Generic-xD/SD/M.S(29GB)”, but yours may show something entirely different depending on the manufacturer, size of the disk, etc.
- On the microSD, select the microSD volume with the EXT4 File System.
- Right-click the volume and select Resize Partition.
- From there, drag the slider at the top from the left to the right. You want to reclaim the unallocated space during this step. You will see the EXT4 partition then shows the full size of the microSD.
- If you’re sure everything is correct, click the Start button.
- When prompted, click Yes.
- Click the Complete button and exit DiskGenius.
- On the RG-350, remove the 4 screws using a small philips head screw driver.
- Gently pry the back off the unit, pay particular care that there the battery is connected to the main board (don’t pull up hard or fast).
- Make a small slit on the sticker holding the microSD card in place.
- Using your finger nail, gently slide the microSD out using the notch on the microSD.
- Replace the microSD with your recently imaged microSD.
- I recommend taping the original microSD card to the inside back cover, so you won’t lose or mis-place it.
- Snap the back cover back on, paying attention to the orientation of the back cover (verbage on the back should be readable right-side up).
- Re-install the 4 small screws.
- That’s it!