Miyoo Mini Plus Setup Guide

Recommended Accessories

  • MicroSD Card: You would be fine with 128GB or 256GB, given the platforms on which this runs.
  • MicroSD Card Reader: The UGREEN SD Card Reader
  • Charger: UGREEN 65W Charger (charges via USB-A connector)

Initial Setup Guide

Everything will be time-dated, just like my other setup guides, so feel free to hop around to the locations you require. I recommend starting from the beginning, though, if this is a new device to you since you might miss anything.

As the video's title already tells you, we will use OnionOS as our operating system. If you want to stick with the stock operating system, this instruction is for someone else. Then why OnionOS? It is currently the most feature-rich, best-community-supported, and finest operating system for the Miyoo Mini Plus.

Preparation

Before we begin, you must have a branded SD card and a card reader. The stock SD card and reader that came with it should be thrown away; this also applies to the ROM card. For anyone who has not seen my earlier films, the SD cards and ROMS are unbranded, of poor quality, and prone to failure.

Unlike the Anbernic devices, the Miyoo only has one SD card port. Therefore, I recommend getting a 128GB SD card. You will also need an SD card reader.

Your BIOS library and ROM are the final things you need. The Tiny Best Set is something you can get on Google if you want a large list of games that you can then choose which ones to play. If you would like, read the instructions and download the version corresponding to the size of your SD card and the artwork. Since OnionOS now has built-in scraping, the artwork is optional, but if you have a big library, it saves a tonne of time. When we reach that stage, you can drag, drop, and go because the folders in the zip are already configured to function with OnionOS. Here's a link to the folder names that OnionOS requires.

Your ROMS, BIOS files, SD card, and SD card reader are ready to use. Let's proceed.

Software

The only piece of software we require is Rufus. Download the portable Rufus utility by visiting the Rufus website. To prevent problems, this will assist us in formatting our SD card as FAT32, particularly if it is larger than 32GB.

Firmware

Okay, so this is significant. After turning on your Miyoo, go to settings and verify the firmware version. Before doing anything else, we must update your firmware to version 202303262339 or below (the numbers represent dates). Make sure to include this step. If that firmware is installed, you can proceed to the following phase without risk.

When your device is off, download the firmware zip file from this link (https://www.sugarsync.com/pf/D4978471_09235444_837617). Unzip the file.

Verify that the SD card has the FAT32 format. If not, adhere to the guidelines below. You can skip this if it is.

Firmware Upgrade

Use the SD card reader to connect your SD card to your computer. Please verify that the device indicated in Rufus is the SD card you connected; it should be the same size as the disc. Now select Nonbootable under boot selection. I left mine as the drive size, which is 128GB, but you may change it to anything you choose. Next, verify that the file system is FAT32 or Large FAT32 by looking towards the bottom. Click Start. To get started, click "yes" to all of the cautions that may appear regarding partitions, data, etc.

Your SD card will be formatted as FAT32 and should be speedy.

After we extracted the sugarsync.com zip file, copy and paste the—image file onto the root of your MicroSD card. After turning off the Miyoo Mini Plus, insert the SD card and connect a USB charging cord. Please verify that the USB charging cable is not USB C to USB C and that the maximum voltage of the charger it is connected to is 5V. Please don't disconnect the charging cable; the rocket icon will appear in a few seconds while it upgrades. You can safely remove the charging wire once you see the charging icon.

Formatting your SD card

We will repeat the same procedures.

Use the SD card reader to connect your SD card to the computer. The card should now be formatted as FAT32.

Please verify that the device indicated in Rufus is the SD card you connected; it should be the same size as the disc. Now select Nonbootable under boot selection. After that, you can check near the bottom to ensure the file system is FAT32 and modify the volume label to anything you like. Click Start. To get started, click "yes" to all of the cautions that may appear about partitions, data, etc. Your SD card will be formatted as FAT32 and should be speedy.

One strange thing. Don't worry; it's a false positive. You may see a Windows Defender popup regarding a possible problem with the autorun files. However, we don't require those files, so go to the SD card drive and remove the existing autorun files.

Installing OnionOS

All right, now that the SD card is prepared, let's obtain our operating system files. Visit this Github link to download the most recent version. Onion-vX.X.X.zip should be listed under Assets in the most recent post. Get that.

Alright, take the zip file we just downloaded and transfer it to the SD card by cutting and pasting it. After extracting it here, make sure that the following seven directories are visible at the root of the SD card: tmp_update, BIOS, Media, miyoo, miyoo354, RetroArch, and Themes. If you can't see all seven, Check your file explorer settings to display hidden files. Remove the zip file. The SD card can now be safely ejected.

After turning off your smartphone, insert the SD card and switch it back on. Give it a few minutes to work, and the screen will appear with a heart and a thank-you message. We reach the main screen after a few iterations of A to Next. If you'd like, take note of the hotkeys, which are the menu button and any other button that can be used to obtain the combination.

First Start-Up

Now that we're on the validated screen let's select the emulators we'll be using so that the program can add them and create the necessary folders for our Roms. Choose what you'll use from the list; don't worry, you may add or remove more later if you'd like.

The apps, which are essentially additional functions and programs to improve your gadget, come next. I selected the clock, although, as I'll demonstrate later, it's unnecessary because the gadget has it built in. Excellent options include File Explorer, FTP Server, GameSwitcher, HTTP files server, Onion OTA update, and Random Game. You may add them later and test them all if you'd like, so feel free to use them.

Pressing the Start button summarizes all the emulators and apps you have selected. If you press Start again, it will install them and reboot.

Adding Roms & BIOS

Now, let's add our bios files and ROMs. After turning off the device, remove the SD card and reconnect it to your computer.

Thus, this is quite simple. All folders in the Tiny Best Set that I previously displayed have the correct names. If you install the appropriate emulator using the package manager, it will appear on the device. Move your Rom folders into the Roms directory by copying and pasting them. Verify that the platform folder contains the files, not additional directories and that the folder name is correct. If I navigate to the GBA folder, I see my games, not other folders.

Copying your BIOS files into the BIOS folder is the same procedure for BIOS. There are no subdirectories. Therefore, you would copy that bin file directly into the BIOS folder for a Playstation 1, which is necessary. That's all.

Refresh Game List

After everything is loaded, safely remove your card and insert it back into the device. Mine recognizes everything immediately, but if you still need to, you may refresh your Roms by pressing pick in the games tab of the main menu.

Artwork

Okay, let's get some thumbnails now. If it weren't for WiFi, I would have to re-teach you how to use the Skraper application. Access any platform; I'll begin with Gameboy. To access Scraper, scroll down and press the Y button. You now have four choices: quit, configure, just this game, or scrape the full Gameboy list. We'll go to configuration now.

If we check the sources, you'll see three possibilities; if we leave them checked, that's fine. Creating a screenscraper.fr account and entering your username and password here is the next step I would recommend, especially if you have a sizable library. To display a keyboard, press the X button. Since this is a patience test, I use the keyboard word sparingly. This stuff would drive even Ghandi insane. Save yourself the agony and don't try to erase the letter if you make a mistake. Instead, press X to close the keyboard and then B to depart, then return and try again until you get it just right. Making this was driving me crazy, and now that I'm seeing it again while editing, I'm suffering from severe PTSD.

Once you have entered your username and password correctly, press A to return to the configuration screen. The ability to allow background scraping is now available. Scraping takes a very long time, and you will want to do other things in the interim. Just be advised that certain games will run more slowly during this time because it does put some strain on the CPU. Return to the main menu, then delete every Gameboy rom.

Thumbnails will then appear on the right side of your list of games. Do this again for every platform you own. 

Themes

You can switch between the themes installed on the device to choose a theme you prefer. This is an excellent method to personalize your gadget further.

Power Button

The operation of the power and menu buttons is the final topic I want to discuss. When you press the power button, the device enters sleep mode, turning off the screen and disabling the buttons. Your battery will deplete in this mode because it does not enter a low-power condition. However, if you hold down the power button, a popup stating that it is preserving your state and shutting down will appear. You can immediately resume playing your game if you press and hold the power button to turn it back on. Thus, turn off everything else and use sleep mode for brief periods.

If you have Gameswitcher loaded, as we previously had, pressing the menu button preserves your current state and launches Gameswitcher, making it simple to switch between games. If you press the pick button, you can see how much time you've spent playing that game at the top of this screen. You can return to the menu by holding the menu button to save the state.

Now, start playing games and enjoy yourself. That's all you need to accomplish for everyday use, which was the guide's primary focus. Once you're up and going, everything is at your discretion.