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November 21, 2024





Install GarlicOS on the Anbernic RG35XX Plus

You can find the Anbernic RG35XX Plus on Amazon here. ( or here )

It’s your best bet for fast free shipping, returns, and the prices are similar to ordering it direct from China.

Now that you’ve ordered the RG35XX Plus, we’ll customize it.

If you prefer video, I made a version of this guide on Youtube:

Part 1: Fresh Install of the Stock Firmware

We’ll first install the Operating System (OS) that comes with the device. Do not skip any steps.

  1. Make sure you have The Unarchiver for Mac installed.

  2. Download and install the Balena Etcher app.

  3. Make sure you have at least 1 SD card.
    I highly recommend that you buy a new SD card instead of using the one that comes with the device. The included SD cards are cheaply made and have been known to fail over time. It’s worth getting a new SD card:

  4. For RG35XX Plus, go to this page. Look for the link under the latest 16GB version. As of this writing the link looks like: https://we.tl/t-POzxoHOvP4 ( still check the page because it might have a newer version! )

    • Unzip the download if need be.
    • Ignore rufus-3.21.exe as this is a Mac.

  5. Right click on RG35XX...something..something.7z and choose Open With > The Unarchiver This will have created a file that ends with .img.

  6. On the Mac, open the app Disk Utility, and format the microSD card with the format set to ExFat. Name the disk whatever you want. I chose RG35XXPlus.

  7. Now launch the Balena Etcher app.

    • Click the button labeled Flash from file.
    • Choose the file that ends with .img from the previous step.
    • Click the button labeled Select target and choose the formatted microSD card.
    • Click the button labeled Flash!
    • Grab a soda, this may take awhile :)

  8. Once the flash is complete, eject the SD card from your Mac and insert the newly formatted card into the RG35XX Plus. Power on the device and it should display installing… and eventually boot into the stock OS.

  9. Enjoy!

Part 2: GarlicOS for Anbernic RG35XX Plus ( optional )

As of this writing, GarlicOS is very much in an Alpha or early software release phase. Install if you would like to see how it works. If not adventurous with your own device, be sure to check out my video instead.

This is how to install GarlicOS on your RG35XX Plus.
Do not skip any steps. This will require 2 microSD cards

  1. On the Mac, open the app Disk Utility, and format a second microSD card with the format set to ExFat. Name the disk whatever you want. I chose TF2.
    • Note: The first stock OS microSD card we made in Part 1 above is still needed and should be in the TF1 slot of your device.
  2. Download the bootloader archive and unzip on your Mac.
  3. Drag the dmenu.bin file and the device-resources folder to the first SD card, the stock OS card, which I named RG35XXPlus.
  4. On the second microSD card, named TF2, from the first step, create a folder named boot on it.
  5. Copy the OS init script into the boot folder we just made. You can right click on this link: GarlicOS and choose “Download linked file as”.
  6. Download armhf-rootfs.7z from this page.
  7. Right click on armhf-rootfs.7z and choose “Open with > The Unarchiver”.
  8. Drag rootfs-1.f2fs to the boot folder. The file should be around 2GB. This is expected.
  9. Eject the TF2 microSD card and insert it into the TF2 slot on your device.
  10. Power on the device and enjoy!
    • As of this writing, I haven’t been able to get a game to start playing with GarlicOS on the RG35XX Plus.

Note: If you’ve enjoyed the previous version of GarlicOS on RG35XX please consider joining Black Seraph’s Patreon. I’m in no way affiliated with them. However, none of this could be possible without their work. As with all modifications to devices, proceed with caution and enjoy it just for the sake of tinkering. Always make sure to back up your stock OS microSD cards.

August 4, 2024 Retro Gaming





Mac User’s Guide to Installing GarlicOS on the Anbernic RG35XX

You can find the Anbernic RG35XX on Amazon here. ( or here )

It’s your best bet for fast free shipping, returns, and the prices are similar to ordering it direct from China.

Now that you’ve ordered the RG35XX, we’ll customize it.

If you prefer video, I made a version of this guide on Youtube:

GarlicOS for Anbernic RG35XX

This is how to install GarlicOS on your RG35XX.
Do not skip any steps.

  1. Make sure you have The Unarchiver for Mac.

  2. Make sure you have 2 SD cards. These work fine.

    • SD Card Slot 1 = for system files
    • SD Card Slot 2 = for ROMs, and other files
    • I would keep SD1 at 32GB or less. SD2 can be larger.

  3. Download these archive files from here:

    • RG35XX-CopyPasteOnTopOfStock.7z.002
    • RG35XX-MicroSDCardImage.7z.002
    • RG35XX-MicroSDCardImage.7z.001
    • RG35XX-CopyPasteOnTopOfStock.7z.001
    • ↑ These are at the bottom of the post.

  4. Download and install the Balena Etcher app.

  5. After having installed The Unarchiver, right click on RG35XX-Garlic-MicroSDCardImage.7z.001 and choose extract.

  6. Insert SD1 card into your computer, and open Balenca Etcher. Choose the image file that was in the archive file from Step 5. Then flash the SD1 card with that image.

    If that works correctly, you should have 2 partitions created and mounted from the SD1 card.

  7. On a Mac, go to Disk Utility and you can rename the partitions to whatever you want. I named the first smaller partition ‘sys’, it is formatted by default as FAT16 - do not change that - and the second one, formatted as FAT32, we will name ‘misc’.

  8. On SD1 sys, you should have the system files. Leave as is for now. On SD1 misc, you can delete the BIOS folder and delete the Roms folder. Leave the CFW folder in place.

  9. Insert the original 64GB MicroSD card that came with the Abernic RG35XX into the SD Card reader on your Mac. Copy the Roms folder and BIOS folder temporarily to your Desktop.

    SD2 card, if 32GB or larger in size, should be formatted as FAT32. Then copy over the BIOS and Roms folder from your Desktop to SD2. This will contain the BIOS folder, Roms folder, and Saves folder ( auto-generated ) as you use the RG35XX.

    BIOS files allow certain emulator cores to function. They are copywrited, and if need be can be found elsewhere online. A list of their names, but not files, and corresponding systems can be found here.

    Add ROMs to the Roms folder. You should create sub-folders for each system name. For what to name them, visit this Emulator page.

  10. Insert SD1 into the first slot on your RG35XX and SD2 into the second slot. Power on the device and enjoy!

Bonus Round

  1. Change the GarlicOS Theme. You can browse them here. I installed the SimpleOK theme. Very minimal. On SD1, back up the files to your computer, and then replace the files from your theme that correspond.

  2. Change the GarlicOS Boot Logo. You can browse them here. Similar to the above step. On SD1, backup the file to your computer, and then replace it with the file from the boot logo that corresponds.

Note: When creating a custom boot logo, it should be to the following specifications:

– .bmp File, 640×480 pixels, RGB, 8bits. Filenamed “boot_image.bmp” gzip compressed and with Filename “boot_logo.bmp.gz”

July 17, 2023 Retro Gaming