How to install AmberELEC (351ELEC) on Anbernic RG351 (RG351M/P/MP/V)

This is the step-by-step process on how to install AmberELEC on Anbernic RG351 series (RG351P, RG351M, RG351MP and RG351V). AmberELEC (formerly known as 351ELEC) is the best preconfigured custom firmware for the whole Anbernic RG351 family, and for me it’s simply the best custom firmware I would like to use with any RG351 devices.

Please scroll to the part on how to update AmberELEC on Anbernic RG351, in case you’ve already had a specific version of AmberELEC (or 351ELEC) on your RG351 handheld. Don’t know which custom firmware is being used on your RG351 device? Just turn on the handheld and check carefully the booting logo.

Finally, make sure to read my ultimate RG351 custom firmware comparison, in case you want to see how AmberELEC compares to other RG351’s systems like ArkOS, JELOS or others.

What you need

• The latest version of Rufus
• The latest version of 7zip
• The latest version of AmberELEC (choose the correct image for your handheld, in .img.gz format) (version 20230203)
• The latest .tar file for updating AmberELEC (optional, choose the correct image for your handheld)

How to install AmberELEC on Anbernic RG351?

Step 1: Add AmberELEC image on SD card

After downloading the latest version of AmberELEC, which is currently stable at version 20230203 for a long time, you need to extract the compressed file with 7zip. Then you need Rufus to add AmberELEC image into your SD card.

• Open Rufus, select Device to be your SD card. In Boot selection, choose AmberELEC-RG351(P/M/MP/V).aarch64-20230203.img that you previously downloaded
• Click START. Then click OK. The process of writing AmberELEC to your SD card needs 5-10 minutes to be done
• Don’t format any partitions after that

The Anbernic RG351P and RG351M have only one slot for external microSD card, while the RG351MP and RG351V are possible for dual-SD card setup. You can still use the same single-SD card setup for the MP and V models without any problems.

Step 2: Finalize setup

If you want to use only one SD card for everything on your RG351 handheld (in TF1 slot for RG351MP and RG351V), you can select the previous SD card that you flashed image in the previous step:

• Put the SD card into your handheld (TF1 slot for RG351MP and RG351V). Leave TF2 slot (if available) empty
• Turn on your handheld. AmberELEC will auto initialize and create respective game folders inside the SD card
• Wait for the process to finish. The process normally takes a minute or two
• Add games into each respective folder. Make sure to follow my guidelines for ROM folder names

You may want to optimize the TF2 slot of the Anbernic RG351MP or RG351V, mainly for storing your ROMs. Then follow these steps:

• Put the previously flashed SD card into the TF1 slot. Leave TF2 slot empty
• Turn on your handheld for the initial boot
• Wait for the process to finish. The process normally takes a minute or two. Then turn off your handheld
• Format the second SD card as exFAT or ext4
• Insert the second SD card into the TF2 slot
• Turn on your handheld. AmberELEC will auto initialize and create respective game folders inside the second SD card
• Add games into each respective folder. Make sure to follow my guidelines for ROM folder names
• (Optional) You can insert the SD card in TF1 slot, and remove unnecessary game folders

How to update AmberELEC on Anbernic RG351?

There is currently no OTA firmware for AmberELEC on any models of the Anbernic RG351 family, so you need to manually update AmberELEC. The process is quite simple to follow:

• You need the .tar file from prerequisites, double check that you get the right update file for your handheld
• Insert the SD card that contains ROMs into a computer. Create a folder named update inside storage/roms directory. If such folder existed, skip this step
• Move .tar file that you previously downloaded into folder update
• Put the SD card back to the right slot of your handheld. Restart the handheld
• AmberELEC will automatically complete the update. Wait for the process to finish

That’s it, if you have any other questions, please find it in my RG351 tutorial.