Anbernic RG556, RG Cube & RG406V Starter Setup Guide (Emulators, Roms, Tweaks)

[@JoeysRetroHandhelds]

Note: I've updated the title and thumbnail to include the Anbernic RG Cube, since it's the same processor and exactly the same setup steps and everything. So if you're here after and confused why the video only shows the RG556, I just avoided having to create a whole new video for no reason.

[@Mbuna92]

Is the nethersx2 install the same? I can't seem to find what being shown in this video

[@JoeysRetroHandhelds]

@@Mbuna92 Yep, it is. But here's a dedicated Nether video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jnKTkpdumsSYgtk

[@Mbuna92]

@@JoeysRetroHandhelds thanks i finally got it installed! 👍

[@scottbellamy8043]

My hotkey of L3 never registers and kicks me out of RA. Any ideas?

[@i-k-a-y]

can you show how to get similar screen layouts to the default anbernic for ds and 3ds games (for rg cube)

[@hannahmandrews]

I've been trying to decide whether to get an RG Cube but was pretty intimidated by the set up process. My only other experience with this was GarlicOS on the RG35XX Plus which I managed to do and love that thing, but I'm not confident in my abilities on anything else. BUT after watching this video, you've convinced me that I'll be able to do this. This is a really easy to follow guide and I appreciate you taking the time to go through each step. I've just ordered one (hopefully no light bleed), and I'll be reporting back once I've followed your walkthrough with the actual device. Thanks very much!

[@hannahmandrews]

Update: RG Cube arrived and I did it!! I followed everything you did step by step and it was all exactly the same. I still need to add some games, but got some key ones working. Thank you so much for your help. Time to get back into some classics!

[@Precedex-Files]

Ridiculously helpful video! Got my RG556 without an SD card. Followed this video step by step to set it up from scratch without bloat and things just worked. A few places I hit snags it was invariably because I didn’t pay close enough attention and you had already addressed those potential pitfalls. So far whatever games I’ve thrown at it have run fine. Many many thanks!

[@Ducklordess]

Just ordered my 556 and came across this video. OMG! Thankyou. I feel so much more confident doing this now. My first emulator and was worried I might mess it up.

[@JoeysRetroHandhelds]

Glad I could help!

[@CHICKENmcNUGGIESMydude]

this man has been happy gaming ever since

[@SunspotGallery]

Mine arrives tomorrow; How's yours now, 4 months later?

[@BASSstarlet]

Is it worth to buy the bigger SD card or the 128 is just fine??

[@SunspotGallery]

@@BASSstarlet Buy a card. Just make sure it's a good brand. I got a 512gb one, and it's been perfect. Depends what you want to do, really.

[@r0bertfrank]

thank you for this awesome, encompassing setup tutorial. especially appreciated the simplicity of the 'pull from github' and 'manually patch' process; was an absolute breeze.

[@matteomorselli6877]

Once again i'm speachless!!i bought r36s and got the r556 agter selling it, you walk me trough both set up perfectly, this video was 1 hour and it flew thanks for your effort.

[@bn7451]

Fantastic video, thanks so much. I got the 556 without an sd card and had a million questions. God bless you for this!

[@JoeysRetroHandhelds]

Glad it helped!

[@trentontiggs9324]

I just received my RG cube, and this guide was perfect and easy to follow. Thanks for your time!! You gained another new subscriber.

[@Eil47]

Great tutorial, you are the only one that provide comprehensive details on how to setup this console.

[@JoeysRetroHandhelds]

Glad it helped

[@craigbfd1]

Agreed, I finally got mine after being on the fence and Joey's videos were the deciding factor because he really uncomplicated the setup. It came today and I'll probably start using the included roms until I get my personal sd card ready to go.

[@TDuy-0607]

@@JoeysRetroHandhelds Hey man, I just got this handheld a few days ago and have some questions. I have a Dolphin emulator installed on my PC with modded games and my settings (controls, graphics mods, etc.), How do I import all of them to the device? I think connecting the rg556 to my PC and copying all the files to it would work but I'm not sure.

[@Grecobox]

I wouldn't normally take the time to log on to comment on a video - but this guide was SUPER helpful. Much appreciated!!!

[@JoeysRetroHandhelds]

Glad it helped!

[@paulreynolds814]

I've just received delivery of my RG556, and it didn't take long for me to get pointed to this video. Thank you for making this. I'm going to go through all of the steps here and set it up from scratch - and learn a bunch of things on the way. Liked, subbed, commented!

[@ravelordnitto9624]

This took a lot of the stress out of setting up my RGCube for the first time, cheers dude, excellent guide.

[@cho-v4n]

You're the man joey. Your set up guides rock. Im not even really grabbing devices anymore but I still watch 😂

[@joemarais7683]

This and the instructions for remapping the R key was clutch for the RG Cube.

[@Fran-jk1ts]

Many thanks for everything. Spectacular. I'm a newbie, I'm waiting for an rg556 and you've helped me more than anyone. TOP

[@sadsys]

Man you have a quality delivery...unmatched.

[@mattdavis9601]

Great tutorial, as usual. One of the things I like about your Android tutorials is that, even if I don't end up buying an RG556, a lot of this stuff will carry over to the Android devices I do own and enjoy. When you were downloading M64 I noticed that your Odin 2 and one of the Retroids are listed as phones. I'd never thought to notice this before, but Anbernic also seems to be using a phone build of Android instead of a tablet build. Why? It's weird when you think about it. Retro handhelds will spend approximately 98.7% of their useful life in landscape mode. Stock "Tablet Android" has a number of quality of life improvements over "Phone Android" for devices that are primarily used in landscape. Older Android phones could be forced into tablet mode by going into Developer Options and setting the DPI to 600. Granted that was back when tablet mode was more or less a glorified flag to tell apps to give you a few more buttons and tabs. I'm not sure what would happen if you tried that with a newer phone or handheld, now that Google has put actual effort into the tablet experience. If it worked it'd be a nice little upgrade for the RG556, or any Android handheld.

[@max201016]

This is amazing thanks so much for your effort, took up most my afternoon but was well worth it, has completely transformed how much I enjoy my rg556 it's a lovely little device.

[@budverissimo1]

This is going to be my first handheld console since the GBA when i was a kid. Thank you for the great videos. Im excited to get this and follow your guide. Subscribed!

[@LoudMime]

I appreciate how this should have been a quick guide but it was so comprehensive. ❤❤❤ always love your content🎉

[@JoeysRetroHandhelds]

Glad it was helpful!

[@rickfeest4830]

Thanks for this bud, I got my device asbout a week ago and was worried about setting it all up, was easy to follow and really helpful, device runs great!!

[@travelonourmindsin4k]

Aloha Joey - Mahalo for the easy-to-follow guide! Made setting my 556 up a breeze :)

[@Pridetoons]

Want ROMs Google is you're best friend.

[@AshdonWWE]

Vimms lair

[@ilovemybeard3394]

Torrent

[@Exodia_Misogynist]

Nice try fed

[@merrillwinstonph.d.bcba-d9149]

Thanks so much Joey! You did a great job and thanks to you a complicated setup was made MUCH easier!

[@kowboys7]

You have the best and easiest to understand tutorials, thank you so much!

[@JoeRadOfficial]

This guide was excellent. My RgCube is amazing now!!

[@JaviPlayRetro]

Congrats on crossing the 20K milestone 💪 to more success to you. 🍻

[@JoeysRetroHandhelds]

Thank you! You too!

[@tazmo2237]

Can’t thank you enough for this video, absolutely fantastic. Ordered my RG556 as my first android retro handheld and this video will help so much setting it up 👍

[@flairthephenom]

Love my 556, had it for a week and you helped me alot with setting this beast up🔥🔥🔥

[@JoeysRetroHandhelds]

Great to hear!

[@simonagusto5041]

@@JoeysRetroHandheldsyou recommend to buy it with a as card or withow it ???

[@DaringDomino3s]

Wow this video is excellent, can’t wait til my console comes. I feel prepared now

[@jtw1821]

Amazing tutorial. Perfect set up in 1 hour or less.

[@JoeysRetroHandhelds]

Glad it helped!

[@psychomaniak666]

the fiery passion he has against the wii remote reminds me of a lost summer trying to get that shit to work xD. I feel ya..

[@Arturo317]

Thank you so much! You helped me so much with my new RG556 :). Love it!

[@haritsfarabi]

Thanks for the video, I bought this device because of your video ❤

[@j.r1478]

Your guide is amazing, thanks for taking the time, I subscribe your channel for the huge effort to make this, thanks!!!

[@argumert]

Sir, you are a good man!

[@wrestle_fl]

This guide is amazing! Thank you!

[@alternativeopinion]

Thanks so much! Excellent guide!

[@jmbosma8439]

Perfect starter guide! Thanks very much. Great channel btw; you have a subscriber!😊

[@MrSimplicity28]

just ordered one. Already have the rg35xx and kinda wish I would've gotten something bigger to begin with but oh well. Regardless. The main reason I got one is for NS games since my Steam Deck can't seem to run ryujinx properly. Being how much better Yuzu works (having already found the apk for it) I'm hoping this little console will play the games that I'm looking at playing. Also really glad I found this video because the stock front end looks horrendous and Daijisho looks a million times better. Thank You.

[@emmettnorton1109]

really really well done informative video. Subscribed!! Thank you so much :)

[@isaac7030]

awesome man, just bought this device and discover your channel, like and sub for sure! thanks for the work!

[@JoeysRetroHandhelds]

Enjoy!

[@RieklinRideR]

for nethersx2 put auto-mode off and vents on cool, if you put auto-mode on high it will lag (probably throttling), if you put vents on auto they will not cooldown the system and it will lag.

[@Sayishere]

Amazing video thanks so.much

[@thebobman69]

I'm sure this would have took days without this tutorial

[@pixel_army7432]

Great guide, thank you!!

[@JoeysRetroHandhelds]

Glad it was helpful!

[@fierorecensione5828]

Thank you!

[@slenderman7123]

I have a problem with the sd card because I can’t insert it I don’t know why? Please answer me

[@wanwan3288]

Hi Joey Very good detailed guide. Thanks for the efforts. I have one question if you don’t mind. Can I don’t remove the Anbernic’s installed emulators? Will Daijishou detect the original emulators that are installed? I tried and notice GameCube, Wii and PSX games cannot be launched from daijishou.

[@samsungfan1982]

Awesome vid. Keep it up

[@JoeysRetroHandhelds]

Thanks, will do!

[@Miggwilson]

How do I add new systems to the Anbernic front end? Added them to the SD card but no icon appears in the front end leading to the games. I must be missing something.

[@alexythimia23]

I too am having a nightmare with this thing, I’m pretty new to android emulation and bought an rg cube but I can’t find any guides other then people wanting a certain setup. For example how do you install emulators to the internal memory or ROMs to the internal memory?! I have been trying but I cannot seem to do it, I’ve also copied everything onto a bigger sd card as I got one with games on yet the ROMs I added into the games folders don’t even show up when I scan it. I’m on the verge of giving up for now and waiting for more people to release videos that shows things like this. I really don’t want to delete everything like this guy did I just want to add some extra games yet can’t seem to do it for the life of me. What’s weird is the psp ROMs I added show up but the ps2 and 3ds don’t show at all. Gutted

[@Miggwilson]

@@alexythimia23 Alex, I am here to help! After hours and hours and hours of tinkering and with the help of a variety of folks, my RG Cube is running perfectly. It's also my first Android device so I knew it would be work...and it is...but damn if I don't think its my favorite Anbernic device to date. Let's go back to the start....you have all the emulators that came on it installed or did you delete and put newer versions of it on? Are you using Dijisho as the front end? I recommend it highly. I can help get you there but you'll need to buckle up, take a breath, and we'll get it up and running.

[@Fanf378]

Thank you for the tutorial of nethersx!

[@JoeysRetroHandhelds]

My pleasure!

[@tim7392]

In hotkeys, to unbind a mapping , press Y

[@christianmercado5510]

Broooooo I needed this guide, I usually go for Adin Walls guides cause he goes into the weeds. But this guide is AWESOME is very detailed oriented, specially for a newbie like me hahaha Thanks man, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. You f*cking rock 🙌🏽

[@conza1989]

First of all, thank you very much this is a great guide I'll continue to come back to. I think the game I've picked just doesn't want to run smoothly on this thing, Dragon Quest VIII PS2. I've tried Aether and Nethersx2 old and new versions, underclocking ee settings, hardware presentations, etc. I think it's time I investigate the 3DS version (crossed fingers).

[@nickb5091]

Do you have to have a Windows PC or will a Mac work too?

[@varinhassj3]

Un video espectacular

[@burnttaco3]

No games pop up with the SD card that came with

[@onlyjwalker4271]

hey man great video, love the detail! but im still confused on the rom and bios part, got my rg556 yesterday but it doesn't have an sd card... it does have the 128gb internal storage, can i use that instead of the sd card? or will i have to buy one separately?

[@MegothJagome]

I have a question. I would like to emulate PC Engine games which emulator do you recommend? I saw that there are a couple in RetroArch would they be okay to use or is there a better option? Thanks for the detailed tutorial by the way. It is really helpful and well explained!

[@DONTBLINK]

very nice video, just what i needed, thanks so much. Subbed and liked. I ordered a 556 and should come next week. I' new to all of this, but I have just one quick question, how do you get the artwork for the games? Would I need to download special zip files that include the artwork? I have an older anbernic but that one is just as it came, not setupby myself and it only shows text, not as nice with all the artworks. Or are the artworks in the bin? and my old anbernic wasn't just setup correctly?

[@JoeysRetroHandhelds]

Daijisho scrapes the artwork, so it's all automatic!

[@VVictis]

thanks

[@peterlam1020]

Thank you so much for the video, I got everything running perfect but Daijisho can't toggle with R1 and L1, but that just minor issue, thank you so much again!

[@JoeysRetroHandhelds]

Hi, set the controller toggle to both (swipe down, push and hold on the toggle).

[@antonio_carvalho]

Hey Joey, did you hear that the GammaOS creator released a "fix" for the cardinal snapping on both of these devices? Might be worth of a mini review?

[@JoeysRetroHandhelds]

Yep, shared it on Twitter and in my Cube review. No point installing until the full version of GammaOS is released, then I'll have a video out on it all.

[@ben-tendo]

Xbox mode confusingly needed of course for GC games like Sunshine for analogue trigger use.

[@JoeysRetroHandhelds]

Hm, not my experience. Works just fine using Ns mode. (you can use analog triggers in Ns mode)

[@goyban]

1 hour? my man turning into Ross over time 😅😅😅

[@JoeysRetroHandhelds]

I'm Joey.

[@nakersum]

Great video! very instructive an easy to follow. I just have a question, Everytime I open NetherSX2 on my RG CUBE it loads all the games from the SD Card which actually from the path mapped. How can i avoid that issue? as it seems to happen as well while playing and it has to load another mission or something like that

[@MorbidlyMortuus]

What’s a good charger adapter for the ANBERNIC RG556? I don’t have a pc to charge with it since usb that came with the system box

[@igloo2862]

I didn’t purchase their sd card, I have tons of roms, but I can’t get them to load in their front end

[@prototypejack671]

I wish I didn’t delete RetroArch…Tekken Tag no longer works on the newer version since it doesn’t have “MAME - Current” core

[@ced668]

Great guide ! Thanks. But i have a question : Is it possible to remap the anbernic button ?

[@JoeysRetroHandhelds]

Yep! joeysretrohandhelds.com/guides/anbernic-rg556-setup-guide/#Remap_R_button

[@SF2MJ]

I added arcade roms for fba neo and the rom names are not showing up properly. All I'm seeing is the jumbled actual rom names, not the game name.

[@chrisberglof9500]

If I don’t have a PC…could I do these things with a Mac?

[@rudya.hernandez7238]

Really thanks for this as always Joey. Question: in clearing the device and starting from scratch, following all instructions after, is everything (emulators, daijisho settings, etc.) set on the card itself, and can be transferred (e.g. copied) for a new RG556 device? or does this setup have to be done for every single device because some things are still held on internal storage?

[@JoeysRetroHandhelds]

It'll have to be done on each device, Android doesn't really do well with copying that way.

[@rudya.hernandez7238]

@@JoeysRetroHandhelds thank you sir

[@silverbackhc]

great vid joey - if you had to choose one would you pick the rp4 or this anbernic - can you give a few reasons why - thanks

[@JoeysRetroHandhelds]

I don't like the RP4, so this. I'll share more in my review at some point later this week.

[@silverbackhc]

@@JoeysRetroHandhelds thanks joey - when you do your review can you say why you dislike the rp4 - it seems like everyone is favouring the rp4 - thanks

[@JoeysRetroHandhelds]

No secret, it's not comfortable and not a fan of the control layout or the screen. Pretty simple!

[@lonewolfdaned8834]

Thank you for the guide ! For inserting the sd card, please help ! I had all my roms on a Sandisk 512 microSDXC card, when I put it inside so the logo/text was facing me, I put it until the end, no forcing, but it kept coming out, no clicking sound to stay in place. So I just maintained it by closing the lid. The device then tried to read the card, failed then asked me to format it. It seems I lost all my roms. My question: did I do a mistake while inserting the card ? I believe I followed the instructions. If I made a mistake, how should I insert it ? Thank you.

[@MorbidlyMortuus]

I’m having same problem as you

[@kylou4760]

Im getting an error when installing the patched neathersx2

[@SuperKnuckels]

i cannot update Nethersx2 with the delta patch, it says its not compatible with the patch

[@franklinwebster3745]

I’m having trouble with frame rates constantly dropping in GameCube games. I’ve tried Pokémon Coliseum and fire emblem both hardly get to 16 fps and drop to 12 making everything unplayable

[@kingoogway2042]

can both setups run simultaneously?? also can your setup be rolled back in case I don't like it?

[@lukasmiller909]

When I put the as card in and close the lid thingy it just opens and doesn’t close I try and use tape but it doesn’t work

[@Fedz84x]

Default Home App keeps resetting when starting up Daijisho wont stay as the default, any ideas what the issue could be. Also Daijisho doesnt launch games from Citra mmj unless I click on the citra standalone app first then works fine

[@RetroDaddyPH]

You have to set daijisho as the default launcher in the android settings

[@Fedz84x]

@@RetroDaddyPH That is what I did but no matter what it will default back to the original for whatever reasons cant get daijisho to stay as default

[@DR1ZZ759]

Hey man I was fallowing this tutorial and realized i had messed up after deleting the apps and the files as instructed in the video. Where i messed up is i should have deleted them if I had all my emulated game when i purchased the Rg556 that it came with 228G sd card. Now my games do not work and i do not know where to go from here honestly i regret it. How do i magically get these files back on my emulator for them to work.

[@LudovicoDev]

What app do you use for the wallpapers of the console?

[@Paxxxior]

Hey! Is there something you would add to te tutorial after few weeks? Maybe smth you would do diffrent, or additional setup? Would love to hear more tips and tweaks.

[@JoeysRetroHandhelds]

Nope! But check the written guide in the description for some added items.

[@helmi350]

Can i format my old nntendo switch sdcard and put it on the anbernic?

[@emilianomontanari283]

what happens if when it arrives without games I insert the sd card with roms that I use on retroid flip? to create the roms tree does it delete everything ?

[@e2ekielus]

My Wii games show up as the game id instead of names. How do I fix this or what is the correct way to file the roms so that it reads/displays names correctly

[@emilianomontanari283]

se can do that whiteout deinstalling many apps, right? just installing retroarch and the preferred front end …. and we can deinstall single apps in the future if we want and need to

[@nerdyboywallace4652]

What was the core for MAME games???? Or the list

[@nobbynobbs8182]

I just got a RG556 with preinstalled games, but they're all named in Chinese, making browsing and searching for specific games impossible. I guess it's because all the ROM files are named in Chinese and not an easy thing to fix?

[@rattoratto1092]

i have problem in paper mario: the thousand year door. GFX FIFO how to solve this problem ?

[@scottames6905]

I’m having trouble getting ps1, ps2 and GameCube to work. The roms, iso, bio file won’t open. I’ve tried getting them from different sources. I have no problem with n64 and lower . The GameCube games show up on the front end but won’t play. The ps1 and 2 don’t show up on the front end. What am I doing wrong?

[@mitchellreece9820]

Joey, can you help me. I can't get the Gamecube games to load on the stock front end. I got a n64 game to load. I went to the game settings and selected Roms/then gamecube from my sd card as the selected pathway but it wouldn't load..

[@nathanixslade]

I prefer to use Bigbox as interface Have a limit for sd card size?

[@JoeysRetroHandhelds]

Nope.

[@kasutburuk4239]

Why failed to retrieve core list after i .. click core update on .. swan station.. help me

[@craigbfd1]

Hey Joey, thanks for the great guide! As a complete handheld noob, I followed your instructions step by step and got my 556 setup last night and it's running great! Only problem is my Saturn games won't run. Does Beetle Saturn need a bios file or do I just have a bad set of roms?

[@JoeysRetroHandhelds]

Hey, yep it does! mpr-17933.bin is the filename for the one you need for US/EU games.

[@craigbfd1]

@@JoeysRetroHandhelds cool, thanks!

[@DeathCIutch]

Question I just want to use the layout provided. But for some reason some games want to load. For example have game cube animal crossing working but if i load something else through my Sd card zip or unzipped wont read or acknowledge. Same for PSP got a couple titles working but not sure why any idea ? Also tested a game with my pc using emulator and it worked so im confused why when i transfer that rom to Sd over to rg556 it wont play file.

[@guest21984]

Great guide :) Couple questions, is Daijisho recommended over Emulation Station DE? Total Android noob question - at what point do you need to sign into playstore or create a playstore account? (I dont have one, do I need one)

[@JoeysRetroHandhelds]

Just personally preference, I prefer Daijisho. I would create an account and sign in at the beginning.

[@guest21984]

@@JoeysRetroHandhelds Thanks, setup was simple with this great guide. I've bought the YabaSanshiro 2 Pro app for Saturn emulation. Do you know if it should dim the screen of my RG Cube when I press the D-pad? Swiping on the screen to bring up the menu brightens the screen again but then dpad or left stick dims. Daijisho wise, there were no issue linking YabaSanshiro 2 Pro or any other emulator so far :)

[@mattdrifts]

my gamecube roms are all .nkit and i cant add them on dolphin?