One of the benefits of using Android bases handhelds is the large amount of choice available. When it comes to Retro Gaming front-ends, some people prefer Daijisho, some people prefer Emulation Station, some prefer not to use any launcher at all, but almost everyone has an opinion. In my experience, very few people think the Anbernic inbuilt front
I was luckily enough to spend a few days with an RG406V. While the sticks are as much of an improvement as every YouTuber tells up, and while the screen is mightily impressive (outside of OLED, it’s maybe the most impressive screen I’ve seen on a Retro Handheld),
I’m not a fan of the RG launcher. More that than, I resent Anbernic almost feel like they’re forcing gamers into using it by making the R button on the side of the device only launch their built-in frontend, and not any other options.
I started researching whether there were any solutions, and i came across this post on reddit by the user HallStudios about a solution for the RG405V, it seemed something worth investigating, and I found that it will work on the T820 devices like the RG406V too.
How This Customization Works
Anbernic shipped all their T618 and T820 devices pre-rooted, and the only reasons this customisation is possible is due to root access being available. There is no guarantee this will be able to be replicated on other manufacturers’ devices — like those from Retroid, for example.
The customisation consists of 2 parts. The first is to break the link between the R button and the RG Launcher, and the second is to introduce a link between the R Button and the front-end of choice.
What You Will Need
An Anbernic T820 device — I’ll be using an RG406V.
The replacement front-end downloaded and installed; I’ll be using Daijisho but this guide should work with any other options, such as Emulation Station, or even the Reset Collection (which is available for free to RH Patrons subscribing above the basic level).
- The Root Uninstaller app, downloadable from here
- The Button Remapper app, downloadable from the Google Play store for free, from here
A Word of Warning About Root Uninstaller
Root Uninstaller is available from the Malavida website, which is not a website I’ve previously come across, and I couldn’t find the app being hosted by any better known repositories.
Malavida say their aim is to make Android Apps available legally and safely to users, and that they manually verify each app, and use an online service to ensure that none of the hosted apps contain viruses.
However good internet security practice is to use caution when installing apps from unknown sources, and I highly recommend anyone reading this to think about their own appetite for risk before proceeding.
The Malavida website does seem to host a load of adverts and so it’s also worth taking care to ensure that the correct download link is clicked. While the download link is clear on a laptop, navigating the website on a device is not easy. From the initial screen, you need to scroll down to see the Green “Root Uninstaller APK” button, which will lead to a new window with the actual download link on it, in another green button.
Step 1) Free Up the “R” Button
Install Root Uninstaller and Button Remapper
Root Uninstaller should be downloaded, installed and launched from this website using the instruction above. If this is the first installation from unauthorized sources then Android will ask you to approve the installation of unauthorized apps.
Launching Root Uninstaller bring up a notice telling you that the free version of Root Uninstaller will only allow a user to disable / reenable an app 5 times. Luckily that’s more than enough for this customisation, so the screen can be dismissed.
Now the screen will show a list of apps installed on the device. To find RG Launcher, use the search bar at the top. Searching for “rg” should be enough.
Selecting RG Launcher will bring up a menu. On this menu the “disable” option should be selected. We are selecting disable because the remove option doesn’t seem to work – the reason isn’t clear. Ideally, we would want to fully remove RG Launcher. This disable option will ensure the app is disabled at boot up every time the device is switched on. A confirmation message will come up, tap “OK” to confirm.
Step 2) Time to Remap
Button Remapper will need to be downloaded from the Google Play store and launched.
The initial screen will ask for additional functionality required by the app to function. These are accessibility options and a screen will pop up asking you to confirm that you want to grant these to Button Remapper.
A new black screen will open, with a Plus icon in the bottom right, click this Plus button which will open un a mini-menu with 3 options. From there select “short and long press.”
The New Action screen will open, the top option is to select the correct button. Since the R button is not a normal android button, you will need to scroll right to the bottom, and select “other”.
A list of buttons will be shown on screen, ignore this list and just click the R button on the device. It should be recognised as F10.
This should bring you back to the Add Action screen, and on this screen, click where it says “Recent Apps” then click “Other”.
The next screen will ask whether you want open an app or shortcut, select “Open App.” Then, select the launcher you wish you associate with the R button. In this example I’m associating Dajisho.
After this tap OK.
And it’s done, Button Mapper can be closed, and the R Button should now launch a front end like Daijisho.
Device List and Thank You
As part of creating this article I’ve made sure this customisation works on both the RG556 and the RG406V. A big thank you to my fellow RH writer Nick, who will be testing this on the RG Cube and RG406H.
We’ll update the article when we have confirmed they’re working. And a massive thank you to Reddit User James Hall aka hallstudios, for working out a solution for the Anbernic T618 devices which I used to write this post.
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