![New R36S Custom Android Firmware [ANDR36IOD]](https://i0.wp.com/retrospecd.gg/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/img_0725.webp?fit=1080%2C1082&ssl=1)
The Game Console R36S has been the Budget King of Handheld Emulation for the better part of 2 years now and it might have just gotten better.
I have spent more time and money modding the R36S than any other handheld I own thanks to viewer requests. On the hardware side it is really easy to work on and it’s cheap enough you don’t have to worry about breaking it.
Purchase R36 (discounts)
Normally available for between $30-$40, it offers the most value at that price point. Aside from the price being good there are about 2 dozen variants we have looked at due to them being released as an Open Source Project.
I’ll put links here for you to checkout the R36S, if you scroll to the bottom of the page on AliExpress you will likely see other variants to pickup as well. I’ll also include exclusive RetroSpecd discount codes for AliExpress incase you decide to pickup an R36 or have shopping to do on AliExpress in general. Choose the code that best discounts your order total at checkout.
Exclusive AliExpress Discount Codes:
$39-5: 【IFPPSSD】
$89-10: 【IFPB95Z】
$149-25: 【IFPJSQE】
$259-45: 【IFP3S8W】
$349-60: 【IFPR80C】
$459-70: 【IFPKUXH】
$599-120: 【IFPTSVM】
Finding Correct Firmware
When it comes to firmware it can be a gamble with the R36 handhelds. The Open Source project referenced to make these handhelds doesn’t specify individual parts that need to be used. This causes issues because some portions of the firmware target specific features offered by hardware.
[Link to ANDR36OID Custom Firmware can be found on the RetroSpecd firmware page by clicking here or A direct link to the ANDR36OID GitHub is also listed below]
For example, there are dozens of handhelds that use 640×480 displays. Because the screens are so popular amongst manufacturers there are around a half dozen different versions used amongst the 3.5” R36 devices. These cross between vertical and horizontal as well.
What makes this difficult is screens are unlabeled and they will often use multiple different variants across an individual assembly run based on the displays purchasing price during that run. This helps drive down the overall cost of the device while making firmware installation difficult.
The display is one of the most important components when writing firmware for a handheld. The entire SOC of the handheld can be drag and dropped from device to device, but if the wrong display is programmed you will never see anything on the screen.
The only fix for this if it doesn’t work once you have the Custom Firmware installed on the R36 is to flash the memory card: download a new version, write it to the SD card and try installing again. You unfortunately will find yourself going through this procedure until you find a version that works.
ANDR36OID
Once you get the firmware working there are a lot of benefits to going with a firmware like ANDR36OID. For starters it is a LineageOS option. Sure your handheld may have come with ArkOS (a different custom Linux firmware that some R36’s are now being shipped with) but that doesn’t offer the benefits you will get by running Android.
This will open up the ability to side-load your existing Android games and applications. Emulation on Android also tends to be more robust. There are a ton of Front End programs you will be able to use for organizing and launching your ROMs directly into whatever apps you want to play them in.
If you get stuck in a game and need a tutorial you will be able to launch YouTube (if you have WiFi running with OTG). You will also be able to use your R36S as a media player. Sure you can run some media on the LinuxOS options but none will be as robust and visually appealing as they will be with ANDR36OID.
Truly there are too many benefits for me to listed them all. There are also some disadvantages and I want to mention a couple important things to keep in mind.
The R36S runs on an RK3326 SOC with only 1GB of RAM. This is not a very powerful combination to be running a memory hog like Android. This is why LineageOS is used which looks and feels like Android but often is used for lower powered devices such as GoogleTV. I would recommend keeping Google services off your R36S if you do the upgrade or the ability to play games may be the least of your worries with how much background memory those services use.
This means you won’t be using Google play. The good news is most of the apps you use are likely available through other Android stores or even better yet on GitHub. You often get newer versions this way as it takes a while to get the PlayStore updated anyways. It does however take some time to find things sometimes.
Should you upgrade?
This isn’t a very black and white decision to make. Like I stated there are a lot of benefits that you will find with ANDR36OID but using this firmware on an R36S could also cause your device to slow down.
If you want to try it out keep the uninstalled on your computer. That way if you find it’s not for you, you will be able to uninstall and try out a customer Linux firmware. There are a few Linux options available.
If you don’t already have an R36S and want to try this project out, the good news is they are very budget friendly. Here are those options I pulled again for you to pick one up if need them:
(AliExpress Discount Codes are listed above)
I’m going to checkout ANDR36OID and see what it’s all about. If I get enough requests or find that it’s needed I’ll make a tutorial for how to setup.
Download ANDR36OID HERE
Is ANDR36OID something that interests you? Are you going to check it out?
Stay turned for updates on this project.
GameOn
CellPhish
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