Installation

 

Check your firmware (especially devices bought in December!)

• WARNING: A new firmware version was found on devices bought in late December (version 20221216**** and 20221224****)
  • Do not install Onion if you have the December 16 version, wait for a fix to be released (more info).
• Important: The April 2022 firmware from Miyoo (version 202204******) is needed for Onion v3.10 and above.
• You can check your current version in Settings › Device Info › Version.
  • Most devices produced after July 2022 will already have the latest firmware.

  Info: The firmware is the backend part of the OS, which lives inside your device. Onion on the other hand is a frontend that will stay fresh on your SD card.

We can't take responsibility if your device is bricked in the process of upgrading the firmware. Take a look at the firmware upgrade guide. If you can't or don't want to update the firmware, there are other alternatives like installing an older version of Onion or MiniUI.

 

Download the installation files

• Download the latest version of Onion from the release page.

 

Installing (on an empty SD card)

Step 1: Preparing the SD card (only necessary for first use)

• Stick to using SD cards from reputable brands (e.g. SanDisk or Samsung).

  The SD card included with your Miyoo Mini is known to be slow, and will likely ruin your experience and/or data.

• Format your SD card as FAT32

  Note: This is not the same format as exFAT. If your SD card is larger than 32 GB, we recommended using a tool like guiformat or rufus.

Step 2: Copy the installation files and boot up your device to begin the installation

• Extract the contents of the Onion-v4.x.x.zip file and copy all folders to the root of your SD card.
• The installation will begin when you insert your SD Card and boot up your Miyoo Mini.
• When the installation is done, press the A button (or wait 10s) and the device will turn off.

Step 3: Copy over your bios and rom files

• Copy your bios files into the \BIOS\ folder (from \RetroArch\.retroarch\system\ on the Miyoo SD Card).
• Copy your roms into their respective folder in \Roms\ (see the Emulators page for more information).
• Do NOT delete the .tmp_update folder, despite its name this must stay on your SD card.
• Insert your SD Card, boot up your Mini and press SELECT from the Games tab in the main menu to refresh roms.
• If you are a macOS user, run Apps > Tweaks > Tools > Remove OSX files, in Onion, to purge ._ index files from your SD Card (and game lists).

 

Upgrading (from stock or Onion)

When upgrading, your save states, in-game saves, roms, bios files, and configs will carry over to the updated system. For some systems, ex. gpSP, save states won't always work after upgrading, please make sure to create in-game saves before upgrading, then you can delete any non-working save states after upgrading.

Step 1: Copy the installation files

• Extract the contents of the Onion-v4.x.x.zip file and copy all folders to the root of your SD card.
  • Click "Yes" when prompted to overwrite (or "Merge" if you're on Mac).

Step 2: Boot up your device to begin the installation

• The installation will begin when you boot up your Miyoo Mini.
• If you've already got Onion installed, you'll get prompted with 3 choices:
  • Update (keep settings): This will update Onion, RetroArch, emulators, and apps.
  • Reinstall (reset settings): Will install everything as above, but will additionally reset all settings.
  • Update OS/RetroArch only: Only update Onion system files and RetroArch.

    Emulators, apps, and configs will stay untouched. This can possibly yield some incompatibilities, depending on which version you're upgrading from.

• Note: If you're upgrading from v3.9 or below, we recommend you choose "Reinstall".
• When the installation is done, press the A button (or wait 10s) and the device will turn off.

Step 3: Check that your files are in the correct folders

• If they're not already in place, place your bios files in the \BIOS\ folder and roms in their respective subfolder inside \Roms\ (see the Emulators page for more information, here you'll find the Rom Folders table).
• Despite its name, the .tmp_update folder must stay on your SD card.
• Insert your SD Card, boot up your Mini and press SELECT from the Games tab in the main menu to refresh roms.
• If you are a macOS user, run Apps > Tweaks > Tools > Remove OSX files, in Onion, to purge ._ index files from your SD Card (and game lists).

 

If you experience any issues during the install, try copying over the installation files again and use another upgrade option (you can skip copying the BIOS, Icons, and Themes folders). If you still have issues after trying the reinstall option, you may have to reformat your SD card (remember to backup the Roms and Saves folders).

 
 
 
 
 
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