The story of the Retroid Pocket Mini gains a new chapter yet again. The device has been met both with criticism and praise for its screen scaling issues and insanely high resolution, respectively. However, one of the initial promises of the console was that it would see an update allowing for users to install Android 13 on their devices.
When the Retroid Pocket 5 and Mini were announced, they were initially spec’ed to have 6GB of RAM and ship with Android 10. However, after what can only be described as uproarious handheld gamer anguish, the company decided to alter those same specs. The RP5 would get bumped up to 8GB of RAM and ship with Android 13, but the RP Mini would stick with the same specs, but have an optional upgrade to Android 13 at some point in the future.
Well, the future is now.
Table of Contents
Getting Started
Before we start, it’s worth repeating that following this guide as closely as possible is necessary. When it comes to flashing firmware files onto a device, you have to be sure to flash the right files, the right way, to the right handheld etc.
Skipping over portions, or choosing something other than what’s referenced below could result in a bricked console. Since we’re only handling firmware here, it is still salvageable, but the worry, the stress, and the headaches involved in that process are not worth it.
That being said, this guide is considerably easy to follow. The steps are highly detailed, the process is explained thoroughly, and any person aware of how to to plug a device into a computer should be capable of following along.
Trust me, it’s easy.
What You’ll Need
- Windows PC (with a USB port)
- 7-Zip installed on the PC
- Retroid Pocket Mini
- USB-C cable
USB-C Cables
Do note the type of connector that your computer has. Most computers come with a few USB-A ports, but some newer models have decided to switch to USB-C ports altogether for any and every peripheral, like the newer MacBooks. Verify that your USB-C cable can plug into your PC on one end and your Retroid Pocket Mini on the other.
Step 1: Download the Files
Retroid Pocket Mini Android 13 Files
Obviously, the first thing you’ll need is the files needed to upgrade your Mini to Android 13. Retroid has shared them directly through Google Drive, ensuring fast download speeds and if there are no future issues with the files themselves, it should be available here for the foreseeable future.
The files for download were shared today via the Retroid Discord. The download contains four total files, but through Google Drive, I would recommend just downloading the entire listed directory. You can see how it works via the screenshot above.
When you download the directory on Google Drive, you’ll have a zip file titled RPMINI Android 13 Software followed by an assortment of numbers to represent the date and time. For context, mine was titled “RPMINI Android 13 Software-20250121T215605Z-002.zip”
Extract this to a new folder, and inside you should have four total files. There are three that we need to focus on:
- qpst.win.2.7_installer_00495.1.zip
- qualcomm.hsusb_drv_1013_64111.exe
- RPMini_A13_20250121.7z
Step 2: Install the Programs on Your PC
On your PC, double-click to open the qualcomm.hsusb_drv_1013_64111.exe file. It’s an app used to install the necessary drivers needed for your Retroid Pocket Mini to connect to your PC and go through the flashing process without any hiccups. Like everything else in this guide, it too is necessary.
After that, right-click the qpst.win.2.7_installer_00495.1.zip and, if you’ve installed 7-Zip as listed above in the What You’ll Need section, your right-click menu will show 7-Zip, and within that, choose the one that says Extract to “qpst.win.2.7_installer_00495.1\”. This will place the files within the zip file into a separate folder with the same name.
Launch the QPST.2.7.495.1.exe and it will run some quick checks to see if you have the required files installed, if not, it will prompt you to download them like so:
QPST Required Files Check
Hit Install to install the required files and shortly thereafter, the program will launch as expected.
QPST 2.7 InstallShield Wizard
From this point, follow the prompts to install the app. You can leave everything on its default choice, just keep hitting Next until you are given the option to hit Finish.
Step 3: Prepare Android 13 Files
The last of the files we’re looking at from the initial download is the RPMini_A13_20250121.7z. 7z is an archive file type, which is not currently supported by Windows without the installation of some sort of package manager — that’s where 7-Zip comes in yet again.
Right-click the .7z file, and do the same thing you did above for the QPST Installer we just ran. Right click > 7-Zip > Extract to “RPMini_A13_20200121\”.
Retroid Pocket Mini Android 13 Firmware Files
After that finishes, you should have a folder with a bunch of files, it should look like above. Within those files, check that you have the prog_firehose_ddr.elf file. Don’t move it, just make sure you see the file and that it’s amongst the other ones.
Step 4: Prepare for Installation
Now, if you’ve run the QPST Installer in step 2, you should have a new app on your PC called QFIL. In your Windows startup menu, it should be listed as an app inside of a folder entitled QPST.
QFIL App Location
Once you open the QFIL app you should see a screen like the one below:
QFIL App Menu
The first thing we want to do in the app is click the Configuration text in the top navigation menu.
Inside the new window that pops up, change the Device type to ufs.
Choosing ufs in QFIL Configuration
Hit OK to go back to the main QFIL window, and hit Flat Build underneath the Select Build Type header.
Next, hit Browse to the right of the Select Programmer header and find the prog_firehose_ddr.elf file inside of the RPMini_A13 folder from the end of step 3.
Then, we’re going to hit Load XML under Select Flat Build, and this will allow you to select two sets of files. The first set will be a set of rawprogram ones, followed by their XML patches.
If you have been following this guide, all of the files should also be inside of the RPMini_A13 folder and be immediately visible in the file browser. There will be a total of six files:
- rawprogram1
- rawprogram2
- rawprogram3
- rawprogram4
- rawprogram5
- rawprogram_unparse0
And you want to choose all of these, not one at a time, all of them. You can either drag and draw a little box over all of them, or hold the Control key on your keyboard and select them one by one. Just be absolutely positive that they’re all selected before you hit Open in the bottom right.
Needed rawprogram files
Next, you’ll be asked to select the patch files, which also should appear immediately and be a total of six files:
- patch0
- patch1
- patch2
- patch3
- patch4
- patch5
Needed patch XML files
If everything is configured correctly, your screen should look like the one I have below. The only differences may be in your file locations, but the ending, and the filename it’s being fed should be the same.
QFIL Parameters for A13 Installation on RP Mini
To recap, the Programmer Path should end with prog_firehose_ddr.elf, and the Search Path should be set to the folder wherein you have all the RPMini_A13 files. The box beneath it should list all of the rawprogram and patch files.
Step 5: Installing Android 13
Now, we’ll switch over to the Retroid Pocket Mini.
Double-check that you’ve backed up all of your important information and files either to your PC or directly to the SD card inside of your Mini. I opted to completely remove my SD card from the device just to be on the safe side. Once you flash the firmware, everything you’ve downloaded to internal storage will be lost, and you’ll essentially be setting your device up as new.
Power off the RP Mini completely. Once it’s powered off, hold the volume down, volume up, and power button all at the same time for about 5 seconds. The screen will stay black, but for now, that’s a good thing.
Select an Existing Port
Plug your device into your computer, go back into the QFIL app, and at the top, the text that reads as No Port Available should now read Please Select an Existing Port.
You’ll see Select Port… to the right of that text. Click it and choose the option titled Qualcomm HS-USB QDLoader 9008 (COM3): this is your Retroid Pocket Mini.
Qualcomm HS USB QDLoader 9008 selected
Hit OK in this window, and if everything is set correctly, the Download button in the QFIL app should be blue. Everything should look like below, again, with the main exceptions being the file locations leading up to the .elf file and the A13 folder.
QFIL Completely Filled Out
After a few moments, you will start to see the log window progress. Don’t fret if it takes a bit of time to move from one thing to the next, it is moving. The long rectangle in the middle of the app is a progress bar, and it will begin to fill incrementally as the flashing process is going through.
Once that finishes, you should see the message “All Finished Successfully” inside the log box.
QFIL Finished Log
You can now disconnect your Retroid Pocket Mini from the PC, hold the power button to turn it on, and voilà , you’re on Android 13.
Wrap-Up
As discussed briefly in our post for the release of Android 13 on the Retroid Pocket Mini, getting 13 on this device addresses new security patches, fixes, and changes that came between 10 and 13. Even more, Android 10 support is on its last legs as far as officially supported apps go. Some apps on the Play Store will simply not install, others go a step further and won’t install even if you were to get an apk of the app, they’re simply incompatible. But now, with 13 available on the Mini, those problems are fixed.
Beyond that, Android 10 was naturally three whole releases before Android 13, so any security patches, fixes, or optimizations wouldn’t be present on 10. Even if many of them may not necessarily be specifically for the use cases in which people use their Mini, it’s always good to be on the latest firmware your device supports so that it’s running with the various improvements made over the years.
While the screen scaling issue has yet to be fixed, our ears are already to the ground ready to create a guide whenever it should drop. But, if you’ve followed this guide thoroughly, you’re already a step above the rest; you know how to flash a firmware to an Android device. That’s worthy of celebration.
Hopefully, this guide has helped you install Android 13. It may seem hard and scary to flash firmware to your device, but so long as you follow the steps, and understand what you’re doing, and why, you should have zero issues. And if you do, there’s currently a community that can offer solutions over on our Discord. Community solutions to problems are a huge part of how the community sets these handhelds up to last as long as they possibly can.
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