Troubleshooting & Known Bugs

Troubleshooting methods, FAQs, knowledge, and known bugs.

Hardware Issues

D-Pad

My D-pad rattles in its socket

Your dpad issue may be due to the motherboard screw next to the dpad being slightly too loose. Tighten one quarter turn.

My D-pad is too stiff

Your dpad issue may be due to the motherboard screw next to the dpad being slightly too tight. Loosen one quarter turn.

Thumbsticks

Why does my right thumbstick feel sticky?

If you own a Blue, Pink, or Orange from the beta batch, most likely your right stick is a little close to the shell, the fix is luckily pretty simple: Pop the cap off and add 2 tiny pieces of paper under joystick for smoother movement.

Why does my left thumbstick make a clicking sound?

If you own a beta batch unit, your left stick most likely has a notable clicking sound as you move it around, this fix means rolling up your sleeves, opening the shell, and making a modification.

Battery

Why does my RP2 shut down when the battery still has plenty of power? Why does my RP2 take forever to recharge?

Currently (September 2020), software installed on the RP2 at the factory is working with an incorrect battery capacity value. As a result, the power usage estimation algorithms (and therefore the battery meter) are not working properly. They should be taken as a rough estimate at best. Also, the RP2 is currently set to automatically shut down when remaining power capacity reaches 15%. This is fixed to a lower value (7%) in the new firmware.

Screen

Why does my RP2 have lightbleed?

Some people will notice a little bit of light bleed in the lower left or lower right of their screen. The amount of left side bleed can be influenced by the different RP2 plastic colors.

Lightbleed may also be fixed by pushing down lightly on the screen in all 4 corners, to confirm its seated firmly. To further fix this, open your RP2 and look for the lower left motherboard screw when open from the rear of the unit, this screw is most likely a bit too tight from the factory. Loosening this screw one half turn will relieve pressure and reduce light-bleed issues.

Software Issues

Micro SD Card Errors

Why does my computer tell me that my micro SD card needs to be repaired very time I connect it? Why can't any Android emulators find my games after I switch to RetroidOS and then back?

It seems that due to the way that RetroidOS works on the RP2, you should format your micro SD card as "exFAT" format. The 32GB micro SD card which comes with the RP2 is already formatted this way, but many new micro SD cards come out of the package formatted as "FAT32". Using a FAT32-formatted micro SD card doesn't seem to cause any problems for RetroidOS, but any non-RetroidOS files stored on the same card may become damaged or inaccessible after using RetroidOS. Using a micro SD card formatted as "exFAT" appears to avoid these issues.

Emulation (RetroidOS)

How do I add my own games to RetroidOS?

See the guide here: Adding your own ROMs to RetroidOS. Or a video version from here: https://youtu.be/mKiNBiiaH4g

Emulation (Retroarch)

How do I delete a core from Retroarch?

You can find a guide to deleting a core from Reroarch here. Or a video version from here: https://youtu.be/mKiNBiiaH4g

In the PCSX Rearmed core, controls don't seem to work for some or all games.

Manually install the PCSX ReArmed core from this link by placing it on your device and navigating to it with Load Core > Install or Restore a Core.

My right stick isn't working/acts strangely/is set to -3.

On your RP2, navigate to SDCard > Android > data > com.retroarch > files and open retroarch.cfg. Change the line input_player_1_r_y_plus_axis from -3 to +3.

How do I know which cores need which bios?

In Retroarch, navigate to Options > User Interface > Views and set Show information to on. Now, load the core in question and navigate to the newly added Information > Core Information and look under firmwares. Do note that these BIOS files must be named as indicated here.

How do I pull up the Quick Menu?

Before loading a game, navigate to Options > Input > Hotkey Binds > Menu Toggle Gamepad Combo

How do I remove/edit the FPS Counter?

Before loading a game, navigate to Options > Onscreen Display > Onscreen Notifications > Display Framerate/Frame Count. You can also change the size, location, and color here.

A is cancel and B is confirm in Retroarch's menu. Can I switch that?

Navigate to Options > Input > Menu Controls > Menu Swap OK & Cancel Buttons

I can't find my roms!

Navigate to Options > Directory and change File Browser to your ROMs folder. Now if you use Load Content, it will automatically jump to this location.

Emulation (Stand-alone)

Why doesn't my d-pad work in some emulators?

If you can't map the RP2's d-pad to the controller d-pad in Mupen64Plus FZ, make sure that in the Toolbox app the 'Joystick mode toggle' setting is NOT on 'Retroarch' mode. This should fix that issue. See here for more details: Getting_Started#Joystick_Mode_Toggle. Also, be sure to turn tv mode navigation on in Mupen64Plus FZ under Settings->Input->Accessibility->Menu Navigation Mode->Big Screen Mode.