Is Your R36S a Clone? How to Spot a Fake

Why Clone R36S Devices Are a Serious Problem

The R36S has become one of the most popular budget retro handhelds on the market, which has made it a prime target for clone manufacturers. These clones are built to look identical from the outside — same shell, same buttons, same screen size — but the hardware inside is entirely different.

Genuine R36S devices use a Rockchip RK3326 processor and ship with ArkOS, a well-maintained Linux-based firmware with active community support. Clone devices typically use alternative chipsets such as the G80D or K36 boards, and come preloaded with EmuELEC or older, stripped-down firmware variants.

The practical danger is not just that clones are "lesser" devices — it is that attempting to flash standard ArkOS onto a clone will brick the device permanently. The firmware is tied to the specific chipset, and installing the wrong firmware overwrites the bootloader in a way that cannot be recovered without specialized hardware tools.

6 Ways to Tell If Your R36S Is a Clone

No single test is 100% conclusive on its own. Work through as many of these as you can. If multiple tests point to clone, treat it as a clone.

Test 1 — Boot Without an SD Card

This is the fastest single test you can run, requiring no tools or technical knowledge.

How to do it: Power off your device completely. Remove the SD card from the card slot. Power the device back on and observe what happens.

• Genuine R36S: Displays an error message, a black screen, or fails to boot at all. The genuine device has no internal storage and cannot function without the SD card.
• Clone: Boots to a game list, menu, or functional interface even with no SD card inserted. Clone devices often have internal NAND flash storage where the operating system lives independently of the card.

If your device boots and shows content without any SD card present, it is almost certainly a clone. This alone is strong evidence.

Test 2 — Check the Boot Logo and Startup Text

Watch carefully from the moment you power on. What appears on screen in the first 10–15 seconds tells you a great deal about the underlying firmware.

Genuine R36S indicators:

• ArkOS logo or boot text during the loading phase
• EmulationStation loads as the game frontend
• Boot process is clean and relatively fast

Clone indicators:

• A "God of War" or other game-branded splash screen on boot
• EmuELEC text visible during startup
• Android-style boot animation or logo
• Any branding other than ArkOS

Test 3 — Check System RAM in RetroArch

RetroArch includes a system information screen that reports the hardware details the operating system can see. This is a useful diagnostic that does not require opening the device.

How to navigate to this screen:

1. From EmulationStation, navigate to the RetroArch menu (or press a combination your firmware supports to launch it directly)
2. Select "Information" from the main RetroArch menu
3. Select "System Information"
4. Look at the "RAM" line in the reported information

What the values mean:

• Genuine R36S: Reports approximately 497MB of RAM. This reflects the true 512MB physical RAM minus what the system reserves for the GPU and kernel.
• Clone devices: May report a different value — sometimes 512MB flat (indicating different memory allocation), sometimes noticeably less than 497MB, or an unusual figure that does not match genuine RK3326 behaviour.

This test is most useful when combined with other tests, as some clone variants have been updated to spoof expected values.

Test 4 — Count the RAM Chips (Physical Inspection)

The genuine R36S motherboard has two RAM chips soldered to it. Many early clone units — particularly those built on the G80D chipset — were assembled with only one RAM chip.

How to check without disassembly:

• If your device has a transparent case, hold it up to a light and look at the circuit board. You should be able to count the chips on the board.
• If the case is opaque, you may be able to see through the charging port gap by shining a small flashlight into the opening and looking at the board from that angle.
• As a last resort, the device can be opened — it is held together with small Phillips screws.

What to look for: Two small square chips of identical size side by side indicate genuine hardware. A single chip in that position suggests a clone.

Caveat: Newer clone models have started shipping with two RAM chips as manufacturers improve their designs. A single chip is a strong clone indicator, but two chips is no longer a guarantee of authenticity. Use this test alongside others.

Test 5 — Check the DTB/Firmware Files

The SD card contains the operating system files, including device tree binary (DTB) files that describe the hardware to the Linux kernel. These filenames reveal which chipset the firmware was compiled for.

How to check:

1. Power off the device and remove the SD card
2. Insert the SD card into a PC or Mac using a card reader
3. Open the card and look for a folder named "boot" or look for files with a .dtb extension in the root or a system folder
4. Note the filenames of any .dtb files you find

What the filenames mean:

• Genuine ArkOS: DTB files will have names referencing RK3326 with R36S-specific identifiers, consistent with official ArkOS builds.
• Clone indicator: A file named rk3326-evb-lp3-v12-linux.dtb is a well-known clone marker. "EVB" stands for evaluation board — this is a generic reference design file, not a device-specific file. No genuine consumer device ships with this filename.

Test 6 — Wi-Fi Dongle Test (If You Have One)

If you own or can borrow a compatible USB Wi-Fi dongle (the small adapters used with R36S for online features), plug it into the device via the USB OTG port and check whether it is recognised.

Genuine R36S behaviour: ArkOS includes the necessary drivers and Wi-Fi menu integration. A compatible dongle will appear in the Wi-Fi settings menu and allow you to scan for and connect to networks.

Clone behaviour: Clone firmware typically lacks the software hooks for external Wi-Fi hardware. The Wi-Fi menu option may be absent entirely, or the dongle will be inserted with no response — no menu item appears, no network scan is triggered.

This test requires having a dongle available, making it less accessible than the others. However, if you already own one, it provides a clear binary result with no ambiguity.

Common Clone Models to Know

Several distinct clone variants circulate in the market. Knowing which clone you might have helps you find the correct compatible firmware if you decide to keep the device.

What to Do If You Have a Clone

Finding out you have a clone is frustrating, but it is not the end of the story. Clone devices are still functional retro handhelds — the hardware itself works. The key is managing the firmware correctly.

Option 1: Use the pre-installed firmware as-is. If your device came with EmuELEC and it works, there is no immediate reason to change it. EmuELEC supports a wide range of emulators and is actively maintained. Many clone owners use their devices happily for years without ever flashing new firmware.

Option 2: Find the correct clone-specific EmuELEC build for your board. If you want to update the firmware or improve performance, search community forums (Reddit r/SBCGaming, the Retro Game Corps Discord) for your specific board ID. Clone-specific EmuELEC builds exist for many of the common clone variants and are safe to install on the correct hardware.

Option 3: Return the device if purchased recently. If you bought from Amazon or AliExpress and are within the return window, a clone sold as a genuine R36S constitutes a misrepresentation. You are entitled to a refund or replacement. Document the clone evidence (screenshots of boot screen, RAM reading) before initiating the return.

How to Buy a Genuine R36S

If you are buying a new device, a few precautions will significantly reduce the chance of receiving a clone.

Where to buy safely:

• AliExpress verified stores: Look for stores with "PowerKiddy" in the name or stores with large review counts and explicit mentions of ArkOS in customer feedback. The PowerKiddy official store is the safest AliExpress option.
• Amazon fulfilled-by-brand listings: Look for listings where the brand is listed as the seller, not a third-party marketplace seller. Check that the product description explicitly mentions ArkOS.

Red flags to avoid:

• Price below approximately €20 — genuine units cannot be profitably sold at this price
• Marketplace sellers with no reviews or very recent accounts
• Suspiciously fast shipping from warehouses outside China that would not hold genuine stock
• Product listings that do not mention ArkOS at all, or use vague firmware descriptions
• Listings describing "upgraded" specs that differ from documented genuine hardware