R36S Custom Firmware

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ℹ️
Info
Refer to the Guides section or the provided links below for help with installing / flashing these firmwares.
ℹ️
Info
The recommended Firmwares are Community Maintained ArkOS and AmberELEC.

StockOS

StockOS

StockOS Image

Description The R36S is shipped with different versions of ArkOS. Some resellers even have their own boot logo. Not recommended to use.
❌ Cons
  • Outdated
  • Missing features
  • Possible corrupted files because of bad SD card quality

Custom Firmware for the EmuELEC Clone

Custom Firmware for EmuELEC Clone Devices

Custom Firmware for EmuELEC Clone

Description Some R36S clones do not support the standard ArkOS or AmberELEC custom firmware.


For more information and download links, please refer to the R36S Clones section.

↪ Custom Firmware for the EmuELEC Clone

ArkOS Community Maintained Image

ArkOS Community Maintained Image for the R36S

ArkOS R36S Image

Latest version ArkOS-R3XS.png
Download ⬇️ GitHub Releases
Additional steps to get it working Follow the "Panel Picker" steps in the GitHub Releases page. If your R36S has Panel 4 it should work out of the box without additional steps.
Older Versions ⬇️ Old Releases on Mega
Wiki / Documentation / FAQ / How-To ArkOS Wiki


FAQ for RG351MP

Changelogs (includes instructions for added features) R3XS Changelog & Features Update
ArkOS Screenshots / Options / Tools R36S ArkOS Screenshot Gallery
Hotkeys Global & Emulator Event Keys
✅ Pros
  • R36S optimized ArkOS version
  • Very good performance
  • Lots of features
  • Frequent updates
  • Great customization options
  • Fast boot time (~16 seconds)
❌ Cons
  • Overlays need to be manually enabled

MyMinUI

MyMinUI for the R36S

MyMinUI on R36S

Latest version MyMinUI.png
Download / Instructions ⬇️ GitHub Download & Instructions
Description A simple alternative to EmulationStation (used in ArkOS).

It installs on top of ArkOS and can easily be disabled if you prefer to return to EmulationStation. Instructions are included in the download. Works only on ArkOS devices.

✅ Pros
  • Very minimalistic
  • Easy to install on top of ArkOS
  • Easy to switch back to ArkOS
❌ Cons
  • Lots of missing features
  • Different ROM folder path

AmberELEC

AmberELEC

AmberELEC Logo

Latest version AmberELEC-pre-release-badge.png
Download ⬇️ GitHub Pre-release Downloads
Additional steps to get it working Try the different files from here: ⬇️ screen specific dtb files
Documentation / FAQ Getting Started Guide


FAQ Page

Hotkeys Controls & Hotkeys Reference
✅ Pros
  • Very good performance
  • Lots of features
  • Overlays are enabled by default
  • Newer EmulationStation
  • Better theme support
  • Most emulator settings can be changed in EmulationStation
❌ Cons
  • No official support for newer screen panels
  • Slower update cycle
  • FN button not mapped for hotkeys
  • Slower boot time (~25 seconds)
  • No easy way to change boot logo and loading screen

PAN4ELEC

PAN4ELEC (Custom AmberELEC for Panel 4 Devices)

PAN4ELEC Logo

Description Unofficial AmberELEC build by KEgg for the most recent Panel 4 (V5) devices.

Includes additional features and general usability improvements.

Latest version P4ELEC.png
Download ⬇️ GitHub Releases
Documentation / FAQ Reddit Announcement & Guide
✅ Pros
  • R36S optimized AmberELEC version
  • Very good performance
  • Lots of features
  • Overlays are enabled by default
  • Newer EmulationStation version
  • Great standard theme with lots of options
  • Better theme support
  • Most emulator settings can be changed in EmulationStation
❌ Cons
  • Only Screen Panel 4 is supported officially
  • Slower boot time (~25 seconds)
  • No easy way to change boot logo and loading screen

Additional info

ssh login = root

ssh password = pan4elec

syncthing login = root

syncthing password = amberelec

ArkOS

ArkOS for the R36S
ArkOS Logo
Latest version arkos.png
Download ⬇️ Official GitHub Download Page

⬇️ Reddit Announcement & Download Info

Additional steps to get it working Try the different files from here: ⬇️ screen specific dtb files
Documentation / FAQ ArkOS Wiki & Setup Guide
Hotkeys Global & Emulator Hotkeys

ROCKNIX

ROCKNIX for the R36S
ROCKNIX Logo
Latest version distribution.png
Download ⬇️ GitHub Releases
Additional steps to get it working Follow the instructions on the ROCKNIX website
Documentation / FAQ ROCKNIX Wiki & Setup Guide

UnofficialOS

UnofficialOS for the R36S
UnofficialOS Logo
Latest version UnofficialOS.png
Download ⬇️ GitHub Releases
Additional steps to get it working Follow the instructions on the UnofficialOS Wiki
Documentation / FAQ View the Wiki

R36S Multiboot

R36S Multiboot
Latest version R36S-Multiboot.png
Description AmberELEC, ArkOS, PAN4ELEC, ROCKNIX, UnofficialOS, Andr36oid and Armbian Linux in one image. You can choose the OS versions you want to include in the image.
Download ⬇️ GitHub Releases
Documentation / FAQ GitHub

AndR36oid (LineageOS 18.1)

AndR36oid (LineageOS 18.1)
Latest version releases.png
Description Android on the R36S
Download ⬇️ GitHub Releases
Documentation / FAQ GitHub
dtb files / sound fix BATLEXP G350 Panel 5 sound fix (thanks to S1eepy from discord)

Lakka

Lakka on the R36S
Lakka Logo
Description Outdated / lightweight Linux distribution with the RetroArch interface.

Booting directly into RetroArch is also possible on ArkOS (see FAQ).

Download ⬇️ Download from Lakka.tv
Documentation / FAQ Lakka Docs and FAQ

cHAos multi panel R3xS

cHAos Multi Panel R3xS
cHAos Multi Panel Logo
Description Debug image that supports three different display panels.

It is a fork of AmberELEC.

Download ⬇️ GitHub Releases
Documentation / FAQ AmberELEC Getting Started Guide

JELOS

JELOS (Just Enough Linux OS)
JELOS Logo
Status

The JELOS project has come to an end, however the sources will continue to be made available. Binaries are no longer provided.

Download ROCKNIX is a continuation of JELOS, so use this firmware.
Source Code GitHub Repository

Xorg

Xorg on the R36S
Xorg Logo
Description XFCE, LXDE, and LXQT Desktop Environment for the R36S
Latest version R36S-Xorg.png
Download ⬇️ GitHub Releases
Documentation / FAQ View the Wiki
Video Guide
Load video
YouTube

Gentoo

Gentoo for the R36S
Gentoo Video Thumbnail
How-To Gentoo for R36S Status Update & How-To

muOS

Coming soon. The dev has already posted videos on discord (August 12th, 2025)

Firmware and SD Card Test

A short test that compares the boot time and GBA/SNES performance of various firmwares and SD cards. I am too lazy to copy over the site, so here's a link to the old R36S Wiki on GitHub:

https://github.com/manster-zz/R36S-LINKS/wiki/Firmware-and-SD-Card-Test

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