RG351

RG351V Custom Firmware Guide (351ELEC, ArkOS, TheRA)

by Russ

If you’re looking to improve the user experience for the Anbernic RG351V, custom firmware is the way to go. Let’s look at the three new options available to you, how to install them, and figure out which one is best for you.

Buy an RG351V here!

Links mentioned in the video:

351ELEC:
Wiki page
Releases page

ArkOS:
Download link (scroll to bottom of page)
FAQ for RG351V

The Retro Arena:
Handheld corner

JELOS (not featured in the video but a new and excellent firmware):
Wiki page
Releases page

Software used in the video:
SD Card Formatter
Rufus
Balena Etcher (Mac friendly)
Win32 Disk Imager

And here is the RG351V starter guide if you want more info on how to set up your device (adding games, bios, scraping media, etc.).

19 thoughts on “RG351V Custom Firmware Guide (351ELEC, ArkOS, TheRA)”

    1. Yeah, I have a 400gb microsd card installed and it works fine. It is a little slower to boot up but UI and games experience no slowdown or anything.

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  5. Hi Russ,
    thanks for the guide, really appreciated.

    I just flashed my RG351V SD1 card with 351ELEC. Everything works great, except the “ports” section not showing up.
    Also, on SD2 there is a “EDUKE” folder (for Duke Nukem 3D, I suppose). I put the game files in there but it also does not show up anywhere.

    Any idea? Thanks!

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    1. Never mind, found the solution on the Wiki:
      “ScummVM, Ports, and MS-DOS are hidden by default in the collections menu. To enable press Start at the main menu screen. Scroll to Game Collection Settings, and press A. Select Systems Displayed, and press A. Scroll to the system you wish to enable and press A. Press B repeatedly to back out to the main menu and EmulationStation will restart automatically.”

      The “Ports” section does show up now. However, none of the ports is working, although I have correct game files for a few of them (doom, duke3d, quake…). Hmm…

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  7. Did y’all notice the 351ELEC reborn update? It seems that there is a new team dedicated to updating it now.

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  8. When can we see a 351ELEC update to make Nintendo 64 work as well as ArkOS? and when we will have the most optimized emulator (retrorun) for V??

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  10. I don’t know how to resize the screen with PPSSPP from TheRA. It’s just a little vertical. When I watch the video, it has a normal PSP screen size. How are you doing please tell me.

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  12. incredible resource! thanks so much for all the work and detail on this!

    cannot get 351Elec working properly on RG351v
    Have NES, SNES, GB, GBC, GBA, N64 with full rom sets and nearly every single game errors out with:

    ” software failure. Check Log Files for more information.
    Guru Meditation: #68b329da9893e3409 ”
    OR
    nothing at all.

    16GB TF1 (system)
    256GB TF2 (games)

    Followed everything in the guide thrice over. What am I doing wrong?

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    1. I think this is operator error

      I went ahead and started loading some games 1-by-1 and verifying their install on my card. I only tried a handful just now but so far, all success!

      I think that error “software failure” is an issue with improperly installed rom files.
      Always double check and confirm they are actually ON the SD card being used.

      I’ll send a follow up later when I can test more games

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  13. Hi, I am trying both the V and the MP, and I saw differences on the screen are pretty huge 🙂

    While the MP (stock) is more refined and gives better “depth of field”, the V (stock) seems to get brighter screen but more “washed” colors.

    Questions:
    1) I guess HW on screen is different then
    2) would the firmware update i.e. 351ELEC on the V would allow to somewhat improve the rendering and get close to the MP results? I see MP has “finer grain” too, but I guess the V with some saturation and contrast tweaking might get closer.

    I ask this since I am in love with the MP screen, but I prefer the V layout/ergonomics! 😀

    Cheers,
    Mat

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  14. Hi I have a problem with my RG351V – It comes up with a ‘gamepad not detected’ on ArcOS and when swapping to Elec it worked for a while but now when it starts, the buttons dont do anything.

    I’ve seen some stuff linked to a faulty USB chip? but I’m not sure if there is any way for me to fix this? I’ve already tried the other fixes like making sure its 100% charged or avoiding sleep mode. Anyone Else experienced this?

    No one seems to have a solution yet and if anyone could point me in the right direction I would appreciate it!

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  15. Hi Retro Coprs

    I didnt get a game sd card and in my games files theres no stock bios only 2 folders called bezels and gba could you help me out

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