RetroCompass
RetroCompass

RG ARC-S — Reset

Quick answer

Button combo

re-image TF1 / hold POWER ~10s(force off)

Steps

  1. 1For a frozen device, hold POWER about 10 seconds to force it off, then power on again.
  2. 2To factory-reset the system, re-flash the official RK3566 .img to the TF1 (OS) card with balenaEtcher (back up first).
  3. 3To reset your games card, reformat the TF2 card to FAT32 (exFAT for cards over 32GB) on a computer.
  4. 4Recreate the ROM folders, copy your files back, and reinsert both cards.
  5. 5Press POWER; the first boot after re-imaging is slow while storage expands.
Last verified: 2026-06-20Source: anbernic.com

Stock Anbernic OS on the RG ARC-S has no in-menu factory reset, so the real reset is re-imaging the TF1 (OS) card with the official RK3566 .img, which restores the system to defaults; your separate TF2 ROM card is untouched. To clear games and saves, reformat TF2 to FAT32 (or exFAT for large cards) on a computer and copy your files back. A frozen unit is recovered by holding POWER for about 10 seconds. There is no documented hardware reset pinhole and no user bootloader or recovery menu on this model. This is a DRAFT for human review.

FAQ

Will resetting delete my ROMs?
Re-imaging TF1 only rewrites the OS card. Your ROMs and saves on TF2 stay unless you reformat TF2 yourself.
Is there a reset button?
No reset pinhole is documented on the RG ARC-S. To force a frozen unit off, hold POWER about 10 seconds.

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