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Flash to a microSD card

This guide installs Zaviya on a handheld and runs it from a microSD card. Android stays on the device and starts from the OpenABL menu. The 8 Elite, 8 Gen 3 and 8 Gen 2 handhelds can later install to internal storage.

Handhelds only

OpenABL is for handhelds. Tablets don't use it, see the Lenovo page.

Warning

Flashing the image erases everything on the microSD card. Check that the flashing tool targets the card and no other drive.

Steps

  1. Download the image for the device's chip from Downloads.

  2. Flash it to a 32 GB or larger microSD card (A2 speed is best).

    Note

    Common flashing tools are balenaEtcher and Rufus. Images come in .7z parts: keep them in one folder and extract the .001 part first with 7-Zip, WinRAR, Keka or The Unarchiver.

  3. Flash OpenABL if the device doesn't have it yet, see Flash OpenABL. Devices that already show the OpenABL menu skip this step.

  4. Insert the card, then hold Volume Down while powering on to open the OpenABL menu.

    Note

    The AYANEO Pocket DMG has no Volume Down key, see its page.

  5. Choose Set device model and select the device, set the boot mode to Linux, and choose START.

    Note

    On the AYANEO Pocket S2 Pro, select AYANEO Pocket S2.

  6. Wait for the first boot, which takes a few minutes. Sign in to Steam when prompted.

Setting a password

The steamos user has no password until one is set. Open Konsole in Desktop Mode and run passwd. The password is required for sudo.

Next steps