TUTORIAL: EmuELEC turns your

Android TV-Box into a retro console

Today we present our EmuELEC Installation Guide where we show you how to install it
quickly and easily. EmuELEC is a compilation package of emulators with which we can
play with countless consoles and retro recreational machines. We can use it as a KODI addon
or as a stand-alone system from an SD or USB drive in our TV-Box, even the cheapest ones
with 1GB of RAM. In this article we will see how to execute and configure it in a simple
way.

WHAT IS EMUELEC?
The EmuELEC software is a group of emulators that allows us to load roms, covers and
other extras to play dozens of different systems in an orderly manner. To play them you need
the ROMS or ISO of the games and some of these systems also require the BIOS images of
the machine to emulate.

 Popular emulators: AMIGA, MSX, NES, SNES, GBA, MG, DREAMCAST, NDS,
PS1, CPS1 / 2/3 …
 Not supported: PS2, PS3, GAMECUBE, 3DS, WII, XBOX
 Full list of emulated systems
ANDROID TV-BOX MODELS COMPATIBLE WITH
EMUELEC
This is one of the points where we can have doubts when testing the system, but as we have
seen we do not run any risk because we can test it without risking the installed Android
system. Some TV-Boxes such as the Beelink have official support from this community and
other Boxes can be compatible with the generic EmuELEC images, we will have to try it
for ourselves. Normally we can emulate up to PS1 with powerful processors like the new
S905X3 and S922X.

 List of the Best Android TV-Box models

 Amlogic S905Y2/X2/X3/X4/S922x/A311D: Beelink Gt-King / X96 Max+,
Hardkernel Odroid N2, Khadas VIM3.
 Amlogic S905/S905X/W/H/S912: Supported in v3.9, not compatible with v4.
 Rockchip: Not supported in stand-alone version using KODI Add-on.
 Allwinner: Not supported in stand-alone version using KODI Add-on.
EMUELEC INSTALLATION ON ANDROID TV-BOX
We have two ways to use EmuELEC, under KODI or through a USB memory or SD card
that runs with a minimum Linux system to run and has many advantages over using KODI on
Android even also some inconvenience associated with this system.

 Advantages EmuELEC independent OS :

– The system only consumes 100 Mb of RAM
– EmuELEC fits perfectly to the hardware of our device
– We have automatic soda change to avoid the Judder effect
 Disadvantages EmuELEC independent OS:
– We cannot run Android apps
 Disadvantages EmuELEC as KODI add-on:
– The system consumes more resources by keeping Android running in addition to
KODI + EmuELEC

EmuELEC independent in SD or USB

With this system EmuELEC brings out all the performance of our hardware. Each SoC
family has a specific project branch where we can obtain the necessary files to operate
EmuELEC or EmuELEC in our TV-Box.

IMG – system image

 Download RUFUS to create the USB memory or EmuELEC SD card from PC

 Download the independent EmuELEC system file with extension * .img.gz
EmuELEC-Amlogic-ng.x.x.x-generic.img.gz (NG version) for
S905Y2/X2/X3/X4/S922x/A311D
EmuELEC-Amlogic.x.x.x-generic.img.gz for S905/S905X/W/H/S912
How to create the boot unit for EmuELEC

Once we have the installation program, the EmuELEC system file and the device tree of our
device we can already create the SD memory or USB drive to boot this system, we run the
installation program. If it does not work by USB drive it is recommended to use an SD card,
in any case you have to have the fastest possible drive if we are going to use it with this
method.

1. We need a microSD Card as fast as possible, at least 16GB and a PC card reader.
2. Start RUFUS, select the USB drive or microSD card in the Device section.
3. Click on Select and load the EmuELEC *.img.gz system file that we have
downloaded.
4. Clicking on Start and wait for the process to finish.

5. At the end if you can ask us to format the card, we ignore it by pressing Cancel, if we
do not have to repeat the process.

DTB – device tree

Once we have created the SD or USB drive we need the device tree of our specific TV-Box
model or the one that is closest to the configuration of our device. It is a simple process if we
follow the following steps.

1. Within the unit that we have created we go to the “device_trees” folder

2. Inside we need a compatible device tree compatible with our system, we observe:
– for EmuELEC v4 SoC name: S905X2/X3/S922X/A311D
– For EmuELEC v3 SoC name:
S905X = gxl_p212
S905W = gxl_p281
S912 = gxm_q200 / gxm_q201 (test)
S905D = gxl_p230
S905/H = gxbb_p200
– Concrete model or generic model.
– RAM: 2GB, 4GB …
– Network: 10/100 MB or 1 Gigabit
3. Copy the file xxx.img more similar to our hardware to the root directory of the
EMUELEC SD card drive.
4. Rename it as “dtb.img” we overwrite if necessary.

EmuELEC as KODI add-on

This is the easiest way to use EmuELEC although it does not take full advantage of the
hardware performance of our TV-Box.

 Install KODI in our Android TV-Box

 Download the EmuELEC Add-on file for KODI with extension * .zip
script.emuelec.Amlogic-ng.launcher-3.2-Amlogic-ng.zip for
S905Y2/X2/X3/X4/S922x/A311D (NG version)
script.emuelec.Amlogic.launcher-3.2-Amlogic.zip for S905/S905X/W/H/S912
 Follow the guide of How to install an Add-on manually
EMUELEC BASIC CONFIGURATION
First boot

Before turning on the TV-Box, we must insert the prepared SD card and connect a
compatible USB gamepad.

1. With the TV-Box turned off introduce the microSD card or USB drive prepared
with EmuELEC.
2. Connect a compatible USB or BT Gamepad, the X360 and PS3 USB controls are
the most compatible.

To start EmuELEC independently we have several methods available, basically the two
options are by means of the update button of the TV-Box or from android reaching this mode
by software.

 Mode 1: Start the TV-Box with the update button pressed, in a box or in an audio
jack.

 Mode 2: Use the LibreELEC app for Android that restarts the TV-Box in update mode
 Mode 3: If we are root from a terminal on Android we do “su” and then “reboot
update”
  IF YOU DON’T START: Try another device tree file from the folder we have in the
SD.
 The first boot process is slow and we should not turn off the TV-Box until it restarts.
 The system will always boot into EmuELEC until we remove the SD card.

EmuELEC Gamepad Configuration

As we have mentioned, the compatible USB or BT Gamepad that are easier to connect only
those of the X360 and PS3 type are the most compatible but we have others, even if we are
lucky they can be used by the TV-Box’s Bluetooth adapter.

 Bluetooth gamepads will not work if EmuELEC cannot detect our Wifi / Bluetooth
chip.
 Xbox S / Xbox 360 / Xbox one (via cable) Does not work on BT!
 Steam Controller (Only with the dongle)
 Sony PS4 / PS3 / PS2 (with USB adapter)
 8bitdo SF360 Pro (BT and cable)
 Logitech F310
 Hori Horipad Switch controller
 USB RetroPad Adapter (Used to use original console controls)
 Switch joycons – Not recommended

In the first boot of EmueLEC we will always be asked the key configuration of our
connected Gamepad, we just have to press the correct keys for each function.

 Press B / O to enter the menus and A / X to exit.

 Select: we enter OPTIONS where we adjust the list of games and folders in the
current system.
 Start: we enter the general settings MAIN MENU, we can redefine the controls and
other system settings.
  Tip: to exit the games press Hotkey + Start 2 times.

EmuELEC user environment

In the first boot of EmuELEC we are shown different sections of each installed emulator
where we have the games installed, at the bottom we can see what action keys we have
available.

 IMPORTANT NOTE: EmuELEC must always be turned off from MENU>

QUIT> POWER OFF or the system may be corrupted.
 Tip: At the beginning ONLY Emulators are shown with games installed, if we
don’t have games, emulators are not shown.
TV-Box temperature control in LibreELEC

If we are going to use LibreELEC intensively with powerful games, it is advisable to control
the working temperature, if it reaches very high figures of 80ºC / 176ºF or more, the TV-
Box can be turned off automatically.

 Check our recommended TV BOXES or read our reviews to see the best in that
aspect.
INSTALL GAME ROMS, COVERS AND BIOS FOR
EMUELEC
How to install ROMS on EmuELEC

There are several methods to install games in EmuELEC, in the internal memory of our SD
card or using an external USB drive where we copy the games we want to emulate.

Copy game ROMS to SD Card with EmuELEC v4

Since v4 version we can copy directly the game ROMS to the SD card using a PC.

1. To be able to copy games BEFORE you have to boot EmuELEC one time in the
box to generate the partitions.
2. Only compatible with WINDOWS 10.
3. Connect the EmuELEC SD card in your PC.
4. Open a file explorer and go to the EEROMS drive.
5. Copy inside the system corresponding folder the ROM file of your game (usually in
zip).
6. Put the SD card back into our TV-BOX and when we run EmuELEC we will be able
to play the ROMS.

Copy games ROMS to internal storage via network with EmuELEC v3.9 or higher

For version v3.9 or lower we need to connect via network to access the internal SD card
folders.

1. Connect the TV-Box to our home network, it is recommended by cable although it

can be by Wifi.
 2. In the settings MENU we go to NETWORK SETTINGS and point our IP address,
eg 192.168.0.XX
3. On our PC in the file explorer bar we write the IP in this route: \\192.168.0.XX (with
both against bars)
4. We will be shown the EmuELEC internal folders, we enter the ROMS folder.
5. Within this folder we have the folders corresponding to each system, we have to copy
the roms in this folders.

Copy ROMS to external USB storage

1. We connect to our PC a USB memory formatted in NTFS.

2. Inside the USB memory we create a folder with the name of ROMS.
3. Inside ROMS we create an empty file with the name “emuelecroms“ (without
extension).
4. Within this ROMS folder we must create a folder for each emulator that interests
us, respecting these names.
5. We copy inside the folder with the name of the emulator the roms.
6. We connect the USB to the TV-Box and restart it.

How to install BIOS on EmuELEC

Some systems such as PS1, PCEngine, NeoGeo, Dreamcast, GBA … require the BIOS files
for the emulator to work, can be found on several websites, we cannot provide them.
 1. The process is identical to copying roms that you can see in the previous step.
2. BIOS files must respect these names, rename them accordingly.
3. The bios must be copied into EEROMS drive > BIOS folder either in the EmuELEC
SD or in the external USB drive.
4. We can check if we have the BIOS loaded in MAIN MENU> GAME SETTINGS >
MISSING BIOS.
5. Without the exact BIOS files, the games will not load

How to download game covers on Emmuc

To give a more attractive touch to EmuELEC we can install the covers of the games from the
internet in various formats, the covers are downloaded automatically and also add
information with descriptions.
 1. Connect our TV-Box to the internet.
2. Press START in MENU> SCRAPER.
3. Within ORIGIN OF THE BOX we can change the format between 2D and 3D.
4. Click on GET SCRAPES NOW.
5. We can limit to which emulators we want to download covers.
6. Click on START.
7. The SCRAPING process will begin, we wait for it to end.
8. Once the process is finished it is recommended to restart to see the results.
9. Within each category of games in OPTIONS we have to change the GAME LIST
STYLE> BOXES