I ordered this console today. This would be my first retro handheld console, as I never had a gameboy or similar. I'm really excited to get my hands on it! Thank you for this tutorial. I wasn't sure if I can use arkos for other console, they are using same chip but I just wasn't sure.
This was a very helpful guide and it works great with a 1tb sd card for games and a 64gb sd card for arkos. Only grip is Bluetooth not working despite it being on. Scraping and retro achievements are ok also.
It's weird. I'm not a noob as I've been using Rufus to flash SD cards and thumb drives with various OS's for years. My card is formatted with FAT32, I have the correct file and the latest Rufus. I put the completed card in the proper slot with the power off, then power it on. Nothing. My son has an RGB20S and I've flashed SD cards for his with no issues. It doesn't matter how long I leave the device on, it's just a blank screen. It's also fully charged. I'll try a different SD card, but I'm not hopeful it's going to fix whatever the issue is. I hope no one else runs into this problem.
Hi, I just buy one and there is no SD card on it when I turn it on it’s just show me black screen it’s this normal??? and still can I do what you did in the video? please I need help
I have got mine on order. I have ordered some sd cards, currently downloading rom packs, paid for pico8 and might download the set for it also. Donwloaded and extracted arkos and got rufus ready. So I am pretty much set just gonna wait for my device. If I delete any roms it wont fry any playlist files or anything would it?
@@JoeysRetroHandhelds I appreciate your reply, thank you for your helpful video and guide on your website! Now all that is left is the wait for the device to arrive
One problem with this setup guide is it creates a serious issue with shutdown on quite a few systems! Basically once done you can no longer shutdown the system from arkos as it just restarts instead. Would have been nice to have highlighted this issue in your guide or at least updated your notes. Also just a side note but arcade does not work properly with the “tiny” romset you recommended. Some games work but a lot don’t using the auto presets. If you change the emulator to a different one it makes some work but breaks others. Thanks for the video anyhow.
I think you're assuming everyone has that issue, when I don't. One Google: www.reddit.com/r/PowKiddy/comments/1bvptnc/rgb30_rebooting_instead_of_shutting_down www.reddit.com/r/RGB30/comments/1cc7aqj/arkos_wont_shutdown
@@JoeysRetroHandheldsI’m not assuming that at all, just it’s an issue that has affected some people and it would seem from various discussions that it requires a fix that some people may need to do. I have already read your above links, this maybe helpful to others although I’m not sure everyone will want to remove the battery. Worth highlighting nonetheless!
Hey Joey! So I'm running into an issue with the imaging arkos section of your video. I went ahead and bought the recommended SD card you had listed in your description and followed the imaging steps you had shown with the rufus program. Once it was completed, I ejected and stuck the SD into the TF OS side of the rgb20sx and when I try to boot it, the power light flashes on for a couple seconds then turns off and nothing else happens. I double checked that I had the right img file and such and I made sure to not let windows alter the SD card in any way. The device is fully charged too. I would appreciate any tips!
@@JoeysRetroHandhelds It's hard to tell if the device is fully charged since there is no indication light when I plug it in and the battery display has never moved off of 0% (the device seems to have plenty of charge). As far as the reader situation goes, I only have the one. I have another SD card coming today to see if maybe I just got unlucky. EDIT: After some testing, the charge cable I was using just wasn't charging the device well enough apparently. I just re-imaged (for the 100th time lol) ArkOS onto the SD and slotted it and saw that the charge light now activates once I plug in my USB-C to A cable. What sucks is that I don't have a brick that accepts C at the moment so I'll have to rely on my computer to charge the device. Now when attempting to turn the device on with the ArkOS SD card, the power indicator still turns green for a second or two before it disappears and nothing happens. I'll let my device charge for a while and I'll come back if anything does or doesn't change.
hi, was wondering if you could help me with this issue i have? i accidently messed up the configuration on the drastics, and now the controls wont work for any of the nds games!! ive tried everything to fix it, but no luck!! is there anything i can do to get it back to how it was at the start??
I made sure I did all the steps right but RetroArch wont let me select a core and it keep saying "Libretro core. Select this file to have RetroArch load this core." Is there anything I missed?
@@JoeysRetroHandhelds so as it turns out... I apparently only have five systems in the device being "American Laser Games, Wolfenstein, EasyRPG, PICO-8, and Scumm Virtual Machine" I rewatched everything and made sure I did it right so did I miss anything?
@@JoeysRetroHandhelds I see… I’ll redo all the steps carefully this time! Thank you for the help as I would be looking at a blank screen hoping that a game would come out
@@ringodingo7095 I might be misunderstanding your issues, but if you only see the systems you mentioned and none others, it would be because you don't have games in the folders (gba games in gba folder, Gb games in Gb etc). If they're in the folders, they show in the list.
I just wanna know if the device working or no there is no SD card on it when I turn it on I can see green light in the tub. The home button but the screen doesn’t turn on.
Can you actually show hooking up a Bluetooth controller to this? I just got 2 new 8bitddiddo controllers and I’m updated on arkos and Bluetooth is up.?
Thanks for the guide. I do have one noob question. When I'm done with the installation of Arkos and if I already have roms sd card formatted to fat32 with properly named folders filled with games, what happens when I click switch to sd2 for roms? Is Arkos going to get game lists or is the card going to be formatted?
hello do you know a good recommendation for 2nd sd ? all of my sd cards are not being recognized in the second slot. I’ve converted using rufus to fat32 still nothing.
I've used many and all work, including the ones in the description. Are you formatting to Fat32 and then changing the setting in the OS? Folders will not appear until you do the setting change.
@@JoeysRetroHandhelds yes sir, i’ve used 3 different cards now. A 64gb sandisk extreme, A 256gb sandisk ultra and a 128gb amazon sd card. I use rufus and Tried formatting to exfat,ntfs, and fat32 and still none work and that is after i go into settings >> advanced >> switch to sd2. it just keeps saying Exfat, fat32 , ntfs not found. I really don’t understand why :(. My Slot1 works perfectly, just want to add more by using slot 2
@@nassbeajj1094 I am at a bit of a loss, can you try a different SD card reader? And I would also try win32diskimager instead of Rufus just incase? It must be either the reader or the imaging software for some reason.
@@JoeysRetroHandhelds i only have the 1 card reader sadly, i’ll try with the other software you suggested but rufus was successfully able to flash retroarch on my other for slot 1. I also forgot to mention i have the previous version (rgb20s not the x) with updated firmware (2024) so maybe it could just be my device is a little faulty but it’s weird because the original games sd card that came with the device still gets read. So im just overall confused.
@@ExPxM I might not be understanding what you mean by escape, to exit a game its start and select and in menus, it's just B to back out. There is no escape like a Windows PC.
@@JoeysRetroHandhelds In the ARKOS menu for instance when you want to configure input, it says "1 gamepad detected. Hold a button on your device to confi... Press ESC to cancel"
Does anyone have a link to an online hosted zip file that has the files all downloaded and set up already so that I can extract them and copy and paste to a microSD. I'm asking because my mum is trying to do this from the other side of the world and her tech knowledge is limited to copy and paste.
Thanks for the vid, do we need a video for some hardware modding also as the dpad and back buttons are not great?😅 I want this screen size on my hand held but touch screen and with an option for android would be nice.
I bought everything in your description already though, and I think people were saying I could use the Mac disc writern MS Dos(I think it's called) instead of Rufus
Great guide thx! I e pretty much got everything ready and understand how to put the bios for most systems and Roms in folders. I pretty much understand everything at the moment except mame.I used to play mame on the computer and remember it’s a little tedious. I understand there are samples for some name games and the bios of course. My question is Joey how do you set up the arcade mame on this device. I have the latest arkos installed and like I said I’m good on the other systems at moment. I used to play mame on the computer but haven’t in awhile. A refreshing vid on this would be great!
Note: This guide is not meant for the Powkiddy RGB20S. This guide is for the Powkiddy RGB20SX.
Hey dude do you mind helping me download pico 8 on rgb20s? Its not showing on my home menu even when I try putting it on my other sd card
Note can you show a video hooking up 8bitdiddo controllers to this particular product.?
I got my RGB20SX followed all steps man this was super helpfull! Great job
I ordered this console today. This would be my first retro handheld console, as I never had a gameboy or similar. I'm really excited to get my hands on it!
Thank you for this tutorial. I wasn't sure if I can use arkos for other console, they are using same chip but I just wasn't sure.
You picked a great starting point! Jump into my Discord if you get stuck at all with ArkOS :)
thanks keep up the good work joey
This was a great help!
This was a very helpful guide and it works great with a 1tb sd card for games and a 64gb sd card for arkos. Only grip is Bluetooth not working despite it being on. Scraping and retro achievements are ok also.
Doing Gods work ❤
mine just came! setting up now
Thanks Joey
I got this coming in the mail. I’ll go buy some sd cards and reader. I may ask a question later.
Great stuff
do you know how to turn off the LED in standby mode? it just stays on ...
It's weird. I'm not a noob as I've been using Rufus to flash SD cards and thumb drives with various OS's for years. My card is formatted with FAT32, I have the correct file and the latest Rufus. I put the completed card in the proper slot with the power off, then power it on. Nothing. My son has an RGB20S and I've flashed SD cards for his with no issues. It doesn't matter how long I leave the device on, it's just a blank screen. It's also fully charged. I'll try a different SD card, but I'm not hopeful it's going to fix whatever the issue is. I hope no one else runs into this problem.
Hm, what happens if you push the reset button?
I'm following this instructions for my RGB20S and got the same result, black Screen. Should I'll be using other method for the RGB20S?
@@kurcrou Well this guide is for the RGB20SX, not the RGB20S.
Hi, I just buy one and there is no SD card on it when I turn it on it’s just show me black screen it’s this normal???
and still can I do what you did in the video? please I need help
Im having the same issue today, any fix on this?
I have got mine on order. I have ordered some sd cards, currently downloading rom packs, paid for pico8 and might download the set for it also. Donwloaded and extracted arkos and got rufus ready. So I am pretty much set just gonna wait for my device. If I delete any roms it wont fry any playlist files or anything would it?
Nope.
@@JoeysRetroHandhelds I appreciate your reply, thank you for your helpful video and guide on your website! Now all that is left is the wait for the device to arrive
One problem with this setup guide is it creates a serious issue with shutdown on quite a few systems!
Basically once done you can no longer shutdown the system from arkos as it just restarts instead.
Would have been nice to have highlighted this issue in your guide or at least updated your notes.
Also just a side note but arcade does not work properly with the “tiny” romset you recommended.
Some games work but a lot don’t using the auto presets. If you change the emulator to a different one it makes some work but breaks others.
Thanks for the video anyhow.
I think you're assuming everyone has that issue, when I don't.
One Google: www.reddit.com/r/PowKiddy/comments/1bvptnc/rgb30_rebooting_instead_of_shutting_down
www.reddit.com/r/RGB30/comments/1cc7aqj/arkos_wont_shutdown
@@JoeysRetroHandheldsI’m not assuming that at all, just it’s an issue that has affected some people and it would seem from various discussions that it requires a fix that some people may need to do.
I have already read your above links, this maybe helpful to others although I’m not sure everyone will want to remove the battery.
Worth highlighting nonetheless!
Hey Joey! So I'm running into an issue with the imaging arkos section of your video. I went ahead and bought the recommended SD card you had listed in your description and followed the imaging steps you had shown with the rufus program. Once it was completed, I ejected and stuck the SD into the TF OS side of the rgb20sx and when I try to boot it, the power light flashes on for a couple seconds then turns off and nothing else happens. I double checked that I had the right img file and such and I made sure to not let windows alter the SD card in any way. The device is fully charged too. I would appreciate any tips!
Hm, that's weird, is the device fully charged? Do you have another SD card reader you can use to test it isn't the reader?
@@JoeysRetroHandhelds It's hard to tell if the device is fully charged since there is no indication light when I plug it in and the battery display has never moved off of 0% (the device seems to have plenty of charge). As far as the reader situation goes, I only have the one. I have another SD card coming today to see if maybe I just got unlucky.
EDIT: After some testing, the charge cable I was using just wasn't charging the device well enough apparently. I just re-imaged (for the 100th time lol) ArkOS onto the SD and slotted it and saw that the charge light now activates once I plug in my USB-C to A cable. What sucks is that I don't have a brick that accepts C at the moment so I'll have to rely on my computer to charge the device.
Now when attempting to turn the device on with the ArkOS SD card, the power indicator still turns green for a second or two before it disappears and nothing happens. I'll let my device charge for a while and I'll come back if anything does or doesn't change.
It definitely sounds like it's not charged, so maybe leave it overnight charging and come back to it.
@@JoeysRetroHandhelds Yup. That was the issue. I appreciate the help, mate :)
I’m very happy with this product also! Ps1 and N64 are excellent! And DreamCast!
hi, was wondering if you could help me with this issue i have? i accidently messed up the configuration on the drastics, and now the controls wont work for any of the nds games!! ive tried everything to fix it, but no luck!! is there anything i can do to get it back to how it was at the start??
When copying the rom/bios files over, an error occurs and the sd connect disconencts, then reconnects.. do you have any thoughts?
Could be a lot of things, bad SD card or bad SD card reader is my thoughts.
for some reason the shut down system only restarts it
Great guide! What do you think of this device?
I love it!
Awesome! Do you think it's better than the RGB30? If so, why?
Is there anyway at all for this process to work on a Mac?
I made sure I did all the steps right but RetroArch wont let me select a core and it keep saying "Libretro core. Select this file to have RetroArch load this core." Is there anything I missed?
Sorry, what do you mean by select a core? You set the core association in arkos settings (emulator settings when pushing start), not in retroarch.
@@JoeysRetroHandhelds so as it turns out... I apparently only have five systems in the device being "American Laser Games, Wolfenstein, EasyRPG, PICO-8, and Scumm Virtual Machine"
I rewatched everything and made sure I did it right so did I miss anything?
@@ringodingo7095 Yep, your roms aren't in the right folders or they would show up.
@@JoeysRetroHandhelds I see… I’ll redo all the steps carefully this time! Thank you for the help as I would be looking at a blank screen hoping that a game would come out
@@ringodingo7095 I might be misunderstanding your issues, but if you only see the systems you mentioned and none others, it would be because you don't have games in the folders (gba games in gba folder, Gb games in Gb etc). If they're in the folders, they show in the list.
I just wanna know if the device working or no there is no SD card on it when I turn it on I can see green light in the tub. The home button but the screen doesn’t turn on.
You can follow this guide to setup an SD card.
Can you actually show hooking up a Bluetooth controller to this? I just got 2 new 8bitddiddo controllers and I’m updated on arkos and Bluetooth is up.?
Thanks for the guide. I do have one noob question. When I'm done with the installation of Arkos and if I already have roms sd card formatted to fat32 with properly named folders filled with games, what happens when I click switch to sd2 for roms? Is Arkos going to get game lists or is the card going to be formatted?
It won't format, it'll just start using it.
hello do you know a good recommendation for 2nd sd ? all of my sd cards are not being recognized in the second slot. I’ve converted using rufus to fat32 still nothing.
I've used many and all work, including the ones in the description. Are you formatting to Fat32 and then changing the setting in the OS? Folders will not appear until you do the setting change.
@@JoeysRetroHandhelds yes sir, i’ve used 3 different cards now. A 64gb sandisk extreme, A 256gb sandisk ultra and a 128gb amazon sd card. I use rufus and Tried formatting to exfat,ntfs, and fat32 and still none work and that is after i go into settings >> advanced >> switch to sd2. it just keeps saying Exfat, fat32 , ntfs not found. I really don’t understand why :(. My Slot1 works perfectly, just want to add more by using slot 2
@@JoeysRetroHandhelds thanks for the reply though
@@nassbeajj1094 I am at a bit of a loss, can you try a different SD card reader? And I would also try win32diskimager instead of Rufus just incase? It must be either the reader or the imaging software for some reason.
@@JoeysRetroHandhelds i only have the 1 card reader sadly, i’ll try with the other software you suggested but rufus was successfully able to flash retroarch on my other for slot 1. I also forgot to mention i have the previous version (rgb20s not the x) with updated firmware (2024) so maybe it could just be my device is a little faulty but it’s weird because the original games sd card that came with the device still gets read. So im just overall confused.
Thanks a lot for this comprehensive setup guide. My noob-question: where is the esc key or which button combo acts as it?
github.com/christianhaitian/arkos/wiki/Frequently-Asked-Questions---rgb30#q-what-are-the-global-event-keys-and-emulator-event-keys-in-ArkOS
@@JoeysRetroHandhelds Thanks, very useful,, but no mention of an esc key here
@@ExPxM I might not be understanding what you mean by escape, to exit a game its start and select and in menus, it's just B to back out. There is no escape like a Windows PC.
@@JoeysRetroHandhelds In the ARKOS menu for instance when you want to configure input, it says "1 gamepad detected. Hold a button on your device to confi... Press ESC to cancel"
Could I ask if the power consumption better with ArkOS with this device? Thanks.
Does anyone have a link to an online hosted zip file that has the files all downloaded and set up already so that I can extract them and copy and paste to a microSD. I'm asking because my mum is trying to do this from the other side of the world and her tech knowledge is limited to copy and paste.
can this download android? if not, what is the wifi for
can I do this with a chromebook
Will this also work for the RGB30?
Yep, or I did a guide for that model as well: ua-cam.com/video/CzsOyqgJtcI/v-deo.html
Can I do all this using my Mac?
Will the r43 pro get custom firmware?
Does this setup work for the X55?. They both have the same chipset RK3566. Thanks for the video❤
Unfortunately not, ArkOS is not available for the X55.
@@JoeysRetroHandhelds thanks for checking buddy. I really appreciate it.
Thanks for the vid, do we need a video for some hardware modding also as the dpad and back buttons are not great?😅 I want this screen size on my hand held but touch screen and with an option for android would be nice.
I have no concerns with the back buttons, dpad could use some modding. I'll have to look into it!
got a write failed issue when i use rufus.
Replace your reader.
I'm hoping I can get this all done on a Mac computer 😅
I bought everything in your description already though, and I think people were saying I could use the Mac disc writern MS Dos(I think it's called) instead of Rufus
Can you put the translation in Arabic?
hmm, Rufus -> Fail. Daemon Tool? dunno... fail ...
Great guide thx! I e pretty much got everything ready and understand how to put the bios for most systems and Roms in folders. I pretty much understand everything at the moment except mame.I used to play mame on the computer and remember it’s a little tedious. I understand there are samples for some name games and the bios of course. My question is Joey how do you set up the arcade mame on this device. I have the latest arkos installed and like I said I’m good on the other systems at moment. I used to play mame on the computer but haven’t in awhile. A refreshing vid on this would be great!
I got it all under control now.