v1.4 865 beta 2: Snapdragon 865 handhelds

Second test build for Snapdragon 865 handhelds. Same devices as beta 1:

• Retroid Pocket 5, Retroid Pocket Flip 2, Retroid Pocket Mini and Mini V2
• AYN Thor Lite (both screens)
• MANGMI Air Y Pro and MANGMI Pocket Max
• AYANEO Pocket MICRO 2

This one is based on 1.4, so it has everything from that release too (Decky running natively, the first boot setup, the new Handheld Control and so on).

What's fixed since beta 1

• No sound on the RP5, Flip 2 and the other 865 devices. The audio config had a broken line on every device, and the audio DSP could start before its firmware was there
• The ROCKNIX ABL scripts on the BOOT drive didn't do anything when run from the root script tool in Android settings. They're plain lines now, same as ROCKNIX's own
• RP5 power button does nothing in Game Mode
• AYN Thor Lite: the AYN button opens the bottom screen dashboard again
• MANGMI Air Y Pro: the volume down button next to the screen opens Quick Access
• MANGMI Pocket Max: headphones no longer pop or go quiet when the sound stops for a bit
• Less battery drain while asleep

Known issues

• Installing to internal storage isn't supported on the 865 yet, run it from the microSD card

Download

Download the three .7z parts below and extract the .001 one with 7-Zip or WinRAR, that gives you the .img. SHA256s are in SHA256SUMS.

Installing

1. Flash ROCKNIX ABL for SM8250 if you haven't already. The scripts are in the rocknix_abl folder on the image's BOOT drive: copy the folder to your internal storage, run backup_abl.sh as root first and keep the abl_a.img / abl_b.img it makes, then run flash_abl.sh as root. The steps are also in the ABL guide.
2. Flash the .img to a microSD card (32GB+) with balenaEtcher or Rufus.
3. Restart holding Volume Down, set your device model, set the boot mode to Linux (not UEFI, that gives a black screen) and Start. The RP5 and Flip 2 come with two different screens, if the screen stays black pick the model marked Visionox.

Already on beta 1 with ROCKNIX ABL? Just flash the new image to your card.

First boot takes a couple of minutes.

Not booting or something broken? Make a text file called debug on the SD card's BOOT drive, boot and wait 3 minutes, then send the debug-logs folder on discord.

Supporting the project

v1.4

Important

8 Elite (AYN Odin 3, KONKR Pocket FIT Elite): update to 1.4.1. On 1.4 these had no sound, just a dummy output. 1.4.1 brings it back, go to Settings > System > Check for updates (works from 1.3.x and 1.4). Offline: steamos-arm-sm8750-1.4.1.sau below. Sound over USB-C to a monitor is pulled out for now and will come back once it's done properly.

Tons of fixes and new features.

Install

On 1.3.0 - 1.3.2, go to Settings > System > Check for updates and install it, then restart. No need to reflash.

Offline: download the .sau for your chip below (sm8650 = 8 Gen 3, sm8550 = 8 Gen 2, sm8750 = 8 Elite), put it in Downloads or on a microSD card / USB drive, then Check for updates.

First time installs: download all the .7z parts for your chip, open the .001 one with 7-Zip and flash the .img inside, same as before.

The -full packages are new. From 1.4 on the updater falls back to them by itself when a normal update doesn't fit your system, so you don't need to download them yourself.

Slow GitHub downloads? Everything is also on Gofile: https://gofile.io/d/SdTtNhKg

Changelog

• All chips

  • Restart into Android from Handheld Control on every handheld should work
  • The handheld now powers off before the battery runs flat, asleep or awake, instead of draining to 0 and boot looping
  • Deeper sleep with less battery drain, speakers come back properly after waking, power button behavior fix
  • Stick lights turn off as soon as the handheld goes to sleep
  • Hold a volume button to keep changing the volume, instead of pressing one at a time
  • Steam Remote Play no longer shows a green screen
  • Fixes for the GPU freezing after waking from sleep
  • Optional PyroWave Codec Remote Play (thanks @justjoseorg)
  • Frame Gen Classic: lsfg-vk 1.x is there next to 2.0, pick whichever runs better for you
  • Steam's brightness slider no longer gets stuck dimmer than 100 %
  • Steam no longer forces the built-in screen on when a monitor is plugged in
  • Steam's on-screen keyboard in Desktop Mode fits on narrow screens (Pocket DMG etc.)
  • The internal storage installer has an "Install again" button if an install didn't finish, and doesn't ask for a password anymore
  • After installing to internal storage, the old SD card can be used as a game card
  • Fixes for UFS storage chips that didn't like some commands
  • Android apps: installed apps and your Google sign-in survive a restart, apps come to the front in Game Mode again, Play Store fixes, and Android app shortcuts can't take Steam's library down anymore
  • Discover only shows Flatpak apps now (#64)
  • Updates skip leftover cache files so they don't fail (thanks @Chazmus)
  • The ROCKNIX ABL flash scripts fixes

• 8 Gen 3 (KONKR Pocket FIT, AYANEO Pocket S2)

  • Pocket FIT: the GPU's top speed runs at its factory voltage
  • AYANEO Pocket S2: touch lands properly
  • Wake alarms work on both, which the low battery shutdown needs

• 8 Gen 2 (AYN, AYANEO, Retroid)

  • Rumble should work on the AYN Thor, Retroid Pocket 6 and Pocket Nova
  • Retroid Pocket Nova: no white flash when the screen turns on
  • Retroid Pocket 6: screen runs at 60 / 120 Hz
  • AYANEO Pocket DMG / ACE: buttons show the right glyphs, and the DMG's volume wheel works
  • AYANEO Pocket S 2K: touch lands in the right place
  • AYN Thor: every bottom screen theme changes the whole screen, and the Trackpad should move the pointer

• 8 Elite (AYN Odin 3, KONKR Pocket FIT Elite)

  • KONKR Pocket FIT Elite: the hot spot on the screen is fixed
  • KONKR Pocket FIT Elite: speakers are louder (full amp gain), and CPU temperature shows in the performance overlay now
  • 5 GHz Wi-Fi networks show up
  • All 8 cores are used (#63) and Proton games run faster
  • AYN Odin 3: screen runs at 60 / 120 Hz

If something broke for you or a bug is still there, let me know in the Discord or open an issue with your debug logs.

Supporting the project

Can't donate? A star on the repo helps a lot too.

_{Unofficial community port, not affiliated with or endorsed by Valve.}

v1.3.2: Bugfixes

A fix update for every chip: 8 Gen 3 (KONKR Pocket FIT, AYANEO Pocket S2), 8 Gen 2 (AYN Odin 2 / Mini / Portal / Thor, AYANEO Pockets, Retroid Pocket 6 / Nova) and 8 Elite (AYN Odin 3, KONKR Pocket FIT Elite).

Install

On 1.3.0 or 1.3.1 (8 elite), go to Settings > System > Check for updates and install it, then restart. No need to reflash.

Offline: download the .sau for your chip below (sm8650 = 8 Gen 3, sm8550 = 8 Gen 2, sm8750 = 8 Elite), put it in Downloads or on a microSD card / USB drive, then Check for updates.

New installs: download all the .7z parts for your chip, open the .001 one with 7-Zip and flash the .img inside, same as 1.3.0.

Changelog

• All chips

  • Game Mode now hopefully shows on an external screen (USB-C dock / HDMI) when one is plugged in, sound included, instead of a black screen
  • Bluetooth and Display settings are back in Desktop Mode's System Settings
  • The screen in Desktop Mode no longer stays black after sitting idle while the buttons still work
  • The Desktop no longer starts upside down on the AYN Odin 2 Portal and similar screens
  • Performance overlay is readable on big panels
  • Game Mode no longer hangs on a black screen if audio is slow to start
  • The internal storage installer keeps its progress window up until it's done, so it can't be closed halfway
  • The ROCKNIX ABL flash scripts on the BOOT drive work from Android's "run script as root" again (guide)
  • Updates no longer fail with "system differs" (thanks @justjoseorg), and the internal storage installer saves its partition backup properly (thanks @Chazmus)
  • Debug logs now include charger and USB-C state

• 8 Gen 3 (KONKR Pocket FIT, AYANEO Pocket S2)

  • AYANEO Pocket S2: the screen fills the whole panel instead of half of it
  • No more random wake-ups while asleep
  • Pocket FIT: sound no longer cuts out when pressing the volume buttons

• 8 Gen 2 (AYN, AYANEO, Retroid)

  • AYANEO Pocket EVO: controls work after waking from sleep, and the side key is the Steam button
  • AYN Thor: Steam's brightness slider changes both screens again, the bottom screen has its Settings tile back and bigger buttons, and the Recent card on the dashboard no longer flickers

• 8 Elite (AYN Odin 3, KONKR Pocket FIT Elite)

  • CPU temperature shows in the performance overlay on the Pocket FIT Elite (it read 0)
  • Includes the 1.3.1 fixes for anyone updating straight from 1.3.0

_{Unofficial community port, not affiliated with or endorsed by Valve.}

v1.3.2 865 beta 1: Snapdragon 865 handhelds

First test build for Snapdragon 865 handhelds! One image for all of these:

• Retroid Pocket 5, Retroid Pocket Flip 2, Retroid Pocket Mini and Mini V2
• AYN Thor Lite (both screens)
• MANGMI Air Y Pro and MANGMI Pocket Max
• AYANEO Pocket MICRO 2

This is based on 1.3.2, so it has everything from that release. I don't own any of these so it hasn't been run on real hardware yet, expect rough edges and please let me know how it goes in your device's thread on discord.

What should work

• Game Mode, Desktop Mode, Steam and Proton games
• Controls, sticks and triggers mapped for Steam on every device above
• Sound on the speakers, headphones and USB-C/HDMI out
• Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
• AYN Thor Lite: bottom screen dashboard, same as the Thor
• Retroid panels with the 60Hz screen are kept at 60Hz
• TDP slider and sleep, same as the other chips

Download

Download the three .7z parts below and extract the .001 one with 7-Zip or WinRAR, that gives you the .img. SHA256s are in SHA256SUMS.

Installing

1. Flash ROCKNIX ABL for SM8250 if you haven't already, the scripts are on the image's BOOT drive and the steps are in the ABL guide. Back up your stock ABL first.
2. Flash the .img to a microSD card (32GB+) with balenaEtcher or Rufus.
3. Put the card in and boot it from the ROCKNIX ABL menu, same as you would ROCKNIX.

First boot takes a couple of minutes.

Not booting or something broken? Make a text file called debug on the SD card's BOOT drive, boot and wait 3 minutes, then send the debug-logs folder on discord.

Supporting the project

Can't donate? A star on the repo helps too.

_{Unofficial community port, not affiliated with or endorsed by Valve.}

v1.3.1: Small fixes

A quick fix update for the 8 Elite (AYN Odin 3, KONKR Pocket FIT Elite).

Note

There's a newer update: v1.3.2 has these fixes and more for every chip (8 Gen 3, 8 Gen 2 and 8 Elite). Install that one instead.

Install

On 1.3.0, go to Settings > System > Check for updates and install it, then restart. No need to reflash.

Offline: download steamos-arm-sm8750-1.3.1.sau below, put it in Downloads or on a microSD card / USB drive, then Check for updates.

New installs: use the images from v1.3.2.

Changelog

• 8 Elite

  • Fixed the fan service crashing on start, which left the fan stuck at one speed and Handheld Control unable to change profiles or fan settings (thanks @Chazmus)
  • Added Lossless Scaling frame generation, the same as on 8 Gen 3 and 8 Gen 2, set up in Quick Access with the lsfg-vk plugin

• 8 Gen 3 and 8 Gen 2 (these came in 1.3.2)

  • Fixed the Desktop starting upside down on the AYN Odin 2 Portal and similar screens
  • Bottom screen on the AYN Thor and AYANEO Pocket DS: a Settings tile is back on the home screen, and the buttons above the dashboard are bigger

_{Unofficial community port, not affiliated with or endorsed by Valve.}

v1.3: Stable on Every Soc, Major Changes

1.3 is out as a stable release for all three socs (8 Elite, 8 Gen 3 and 8 Gen 2), rebased on the latest SteamOS ARM from the Steam Frame. You need to flash it once, after that future updates can be done through the updater. Thanks to everyone who tested the betas and sent logs, photos and fixes, most of what's below started as one of your reports.

Download

Your device	Image
AYN Odin 3, KONKR Pocket FIT Elite	steamos-arm-port-sm8750-v1.3.0.7z.001 to .003
KONKR Pocket FIT, AYANEO Pocket S2 / S2 Pro	steamos-arm-port-sm8650-v1.3.0.7z.001 to .003
AYN Odin 2 / Mini / Portal / Thor, AYANEO Pocket ACE / DMG / DS / EVO / S 1K / S 2K, Retroid Pocket 6 / Nova	steamos-arm-port-sm8550-v1.3.0.7z.001 to .003

Each image comes in three .7z parts. Download all three for your device and extract the .001 one with 7-Zip or WinRAR to get the .img. Checksums are in SHA256SUMS.

Install

Everyone installs 1.3 fresh, including people on 1.2 or a beta.

1. Flash the .img to a microSD card (32 GB or bigger) with balenaEtcher or Rufus.
2. The image brings ROCKNIX ABL 1.2 for your chip. If you don't have it yet, boot Android, copy the rocknix_abl folder from the card's BOOT drive to internal storage and run flash_abl.sh from your chip's folder with the device's root script tool. It backs up your current ABL first.
3. Turn the device on holding Volume Down, pick your device in Set device model, set boot mode to Linux and hit START.

First boot takes a couple of minutes. The full guide is on the website.

Changelog

• Updates through Steam

  • Settings > System > Check for updates now installs new versions in place, no reflashing
  • Updates are signed and only include what changed. If one fails it rolls back
  • Offline updates work by putting the .sau file in Downloads or on a microSD card / USB drive

• Loadout (beta)

  • New store for emulators, game launchers and apps, picked for your device and the games you have
  • Includes Heroic for ARM64, so Epic, GOG and Amazon games can be installed and played from Game Mode
  • Installed apps show up in your Steam library with artwork
  • Installing takes a lot of disk and CPU, so expect some lag in Game Mode while it runs. Please install apps one at a time for now instead of whole packs, this gets better in a later update

• Sleep and battery

  • Sleep now uses real suspend on every chip
  • Fans, Wi-Fi and stick lights come back properly after waking, and Wi-Fi reconnects in about a second
  • Fans don't spin up on wake or on short load spikes anymore, and follow the whole chip instead of its hottest core
  • Steam's performance profile, TDP, charge limit and bypass charging controls work
  • Steam shows the real charging power and time until full

• Install to internal storage

  • SteamOS can be moved from the microSD card to internal storage with Easy UFS Installer in Desktop Mode, Android keeps working next to it
  • Tested on the 8 Gen 3 and 8 Gen 2 handhelds, still needs testing on the 8 Elite

• Performance and games

  • Fixed Steam's frame limiter, it only lists rates your screen supports and 30/40/60 stay smooth
  • Fixed frame generation, it runs in performance mode now so it actually adds frames
  • Added hardware video decoding for Firefox, Moonlight, Chiaki and other video apps
  • The performance overlay shows real GPU usage, clock and VRAM
  • Per-game fan curves in Handheld Control

• Bottom screen (AYN Thor, AYANEO Pocket DS)

  • New launcher home and dashboard with themes, game art and a play log
  • Trackpad and keyboard with autocorrect for the top screen
  • Lower Deck panel in Quick Access to control the bottom screen

• Devices

  • KONKR Pocket FIT: the KONKR and Performance buttons can be remapped in Handheld Control (next profile, stick lights, fan boost, or a game button you bind in Steam). LC/RC work as back buttons, and sound works over HDMI/DisplayPort (Pocket S2 too)
  • AYN Odin 3: default controller mapping, UI scaling, fan control and power button sleep (thanks @Chazmus), performance overlay works
  • AYN Odin 2: A/B are the right way round again on the new kernel
  • AYANEO Pocket DMG: touchscreen should work now
  • AYANEO Pocket S: volume rocker fixed
  • AYANEO Pockets: show up as one controller instead of two, volume keys work in Game Mode
  • AYN Thor: touches don't get stuck anymore, bottom screen brightness uses the full range
  • Retroid Pocket Nova: no white flash on wake or when switching to Desktop

• Desktop Mode

  • Scaled for your screen, with a touch keyboard on every chip
  • Steam's right-stick mouse moves the pointer

• System

  • Fixed a startup hang that could leave Game Mode on a black screen
  • microSD cards can be formatted and mounted from Steam, and Steam no longer offers to format the system card
  • Decky plugins keep working after Decky updates itself
  • Debug logs now include GPU hang dumps and clock speeds while playing

• Updated SteamOS ARM (Steam Frame) to 20261002 (0.5.3), the kernel to 7.2.8 on 8 Gen 3 and 8 Gen 2, Mesa to 26.2.3, Gamescope to 3.16.30 and Decky Loader to 3.2.10

Something not working?

Make an empty file called debug on the card's BOOT drive, boot and wait 3 minutes (or play a bit if it's a performance problem), then send me the debug-logs folder on Discord or in a GitHub issue.

Supporting the project

Any amount raised will be used to buy devices to support and boost development, a star helps too!

Have a device you'd like to see supported? Sending one over for long term development is the fastest way to get it there, message me on Discord.

_{Unofficial community port, not affiliated with or endorsed by Valve.}

v1.3 beta 10: new bottom screen, real sleep and a lot of fixes

Beta 10 is the last 8 Gen 2 beta before v1.3 stable, so it's packed. Thanks to everyone who sent logs and photos, almost every fix below came from one of your reports!

What's new

• SD cards run at full speed. The new kernel had them stuck in the slowest mode, which made loading, downloads and the whole system a lot slower than it should be.
• AYANEO Pocket S 2K: black screen fixed, should work as expected.
• Buttons: A/B are right on the Odin 2 Mini and Portal again (beta 9 flipped them), and the AYANEO Pockets should show up as one controller instead of two, so A/B don't swap around anymore.
• Retroid Pocket 6: Volume Up should work again, and the touchscreen should respond at the full 120 Hz instead of around 28 Hz.
• New bottom screen for the AYN Thor and AYANEO Pocket DS: a stats page (frame rate graph, temperatures, clocks, power, battery time left), controls (performance profile, fan, brightness, volume, stick lights on the Thor), and a trackpad and keyboard for the top screen. Apps you open on the bottom screen get their own keyboard. It's also sized properly now and doesn't flicker anymore.
• AYN Thor: Steam's brightness slider should now control both screens, instead of dimming only the bottom one. The bottom screen's brightness can be set on its own from the new Controls page.
• Real sleep (experimental): make an empty file called s2idle on the BOOT drive to use real sleep instead of standby. It should use a lot less battery overnight. If you try it, send me the output of journalctl -b | grep "s2idle report", and delete the file if your device doesn't wake up properly.
• Standby uses less battery: the controller input service now pauses in standby too.
• Games that minimize themselves behind Quick Access (GTA IV and other fullscreen games) come back when you close it, instead of a black screen or a tiny frozen picture.
• Charging: if the charger was plugged in while booting, it could get stuck on slow charging until you replugged it. It now fixes itself a few seconds after boot.
• Wi-Fi reconnects faster after booting or waking up, it was taking 4 to 8 seconds before, should be much faster now.
• Settings stick: anything you turn on in Desktop Mode (like SSH) actually starts after a reboot now.
• Decky: updated to 3.2.10, so plugins that broke on 3.2.9 load again, and Decky waits for the network before starting plugins.
• Games run without the Steam Frame's remaining VR layers (headset-only rendering tweaks that Steam added to every game).
• Smoother 1% lows on the 8 Gen 2, and the fan doesn't spin up to full when you shut down.
• Debug logs now record CPU/GPU speeds while you play, so performance reports are much easier to look into.

Known issues

• Some games might still run slower, make sure to share the debug log which now include the new performance metrics.

Download

Download the three .7z parts below and extract the .001 one with 7-Zip or WinRAR, that gives you the .img. SHA256s are in SHA256SUMS.

Installing

1. Flash ROCKNIX ABL 1.1.8 or newer for SM8550 to abl_a and abl_b.
2. Flash the .img to a microSD card (32GB+) with balenaEtcher or Rufus.
3. Hold Volume Down while turning it on, pick your device in Set device model, set boot mode to Linux and hit START.

First boot takes a couple of minutes.

Still not booting or something broken? Make a text file called debug on the SD card's BOOT drive, boot and wait 3 minutes (or play a bit if it's a performance problem), then send the debug-logs folder on discord.

Supporting the project

any amount raised will be used to buy devices to support and boost development, a star helps too!

_{Unofficial community port, not affiliated with or endorsed by Valve.}

v1.3 8 Elite beta 2: AYN Odin 3 and KONKR Pocket FIT Elite

Second beta for the Snapdragon 8 Elite: the AYN Odin 3, and now the KONKR Pocket FIT Elite too, both on the same image!

Big thanks to @FearlessSpiff and @Chazmus for the help.

What's new

• Switch to Desktop works, and so does Steam's update check (no more "Update Error").
• Performance overlay is back
• KONKR Pocket FIT Elite: sound (speakers and headphones) and the stick lights should work now, let me know if they do on yours.
• Games that minimize themselves behind Quick Access come back when you close it, instead of a black screen.
• Wi-Fi reconnects faster after booting or waking up.
• Sleep should use less battery and wake up more reliably, with a batch of kernel sleep fixes.
• Settings stick: anything you turn on in Desktop Mode (like SSH) actually starts after a reboot now.
• Decky: updated to 3.2.10, so plugins that broke on 3.2.9 load again.
• Games run without the Steam Frame's VR layers from steam frame (headset-only rendering tweaks Steam added to every game).

Known issues

• The frame limiter may not work.

Download

Download the .7z parts below and extract the .001 one with 7-Zip or WinRAR, that gives you the .img. SHA256s are in SHA256SUMS.

Installing

1. Flash ROCKNIX ABL for SM8750 to abl_a and abl_b. Back up your stock ABL first, the steps for both are in the Odin 3 guide.
2. Flash the .img to a microSD card (32GB+) with balenaEtcher or Rufus.
3. Hold Volume Down while turning it on, set Boot Mode to Linux and hit START.

First boot takes a couple of minutes.

Not booting or something broken? Make a text file called debug on the SD card's BOOT drive, boot and wait 3 minutes, then send the debug-logs folder on discord.

Supporting the project

anything raised will be used to buy devices to support and boost development, a star helps too!

_{Unofficial community port, not affiliated with or endorsed by Valve.}

v1.2.1: Hotfix for v1.2 (games flickering below 1080p)

Installing for the first time? This isn't a new image. Download v1.2 and follow the install steps there, then come back and run the fix below.

This is a quick fix for anyone already running v1.2. No reflash, no reinstall, and your games and saves aren't touched. It takes about a minute. If you're still on v1.1 or older, update to v1.2 first.

What's fixed

Games flickering below 1080p. Lowering a game's resolution made the picture jump between full screen and the top-left corner, nonstop. The game and gamescope were fighting over the window size dozens of times a second. Now gamescope simply scales the game up to fill the screen, like on the Steam Deck, and as a bonus you get a nice FPS boost at lower resolutions. Thanks to everyone who reported it!

How to apply

1. Switch to Desktop Mode and open Konsole.
2. Paste this and press Enter:

   curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/hashtagbasit/SteamOS-ARM-Handhelds/main/hotfixes/v1.2-lowres-flicker.sh | bash
   

3. Type your password when it asks. If you never set one, run passwd first and then paste the command again.
4. Switch back to Game Mode. That's it.

Prefer not to paste commands from the internet? The same script is attached below. Download it, read it (it's short), and run bash v1.2-lowres-flicker.sh. Running it twice does no harm, and it keeps a backup of the original file in case you want to undo it.

v1.3 will have this built in, so you won't need to do anything after that.

Supporting the project

If you're enjoying this and want to help me keep going:

Any funds collected will be used to buy devices of different socs for further development and research. If you can't donate, a star helps too!

_{Unofficial community port, not affiliated with or endorsed by Valve.}

v1.2: Native ARM frame gen + one-tap internal install

Already installed v1.2? Grab the v1.2.1 hotfix. It fixes games flickering when you lower their resolution below 1080p, takes a minute and needs no reflash. New installs: flash the image below first, then apply it.

Frame gen now runs natively on ARM, SteamOS can move to internal storage in a few taps, and from now on updates install over your current system instead of a reflash. Plus fixes for pretty much everything you reported. Grab it, have fun, and let me know what breaks.

What's new

Frame gen, native on ARM

• Lossless Scaling frame gen is on LSFG 2.0 now, with an ARM64 build for ARM64 games next to the plugin's x86 one for games running through FEX.
• The Decky plugin comes preinstalled and its Install button actually works now. You still need to own Lossless Scaling on Steam.
• The ARM64 layer is lsfg-vk 2.0 by PancakeTAS, built from the official source with no code changes and shared under its CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license.

Install to internal storage

• New Easy UFS Installer app in Desktop Mode. Pick how much space Android keeps and it does the rest. Android stays, and you pick which one to boot in the ABL menu.
• It backs up your partition table to the SD card first, so you can always go back.

No more reflashing

• New SteamOS Update app. Future versions install over your current system and keep your games, saves, accounts and Wi-Fi. If an update gets cut off halfway, it rolls back on the next boot.
• v1.1 doesn't have the updater yet, so this is the last reflash.

AYANEO Pocket S2 and S2 Pro

• Initial support is in. Same chip and screen, so both run the same setup (on the Pro, pick AYANEO Pocket S2 as the device model in the ABL). I don't have one, so if you do, please try it and tell me what works.

Controls

• Right stick no longer moves the triggers, and the menu buttons no longer act like a right-click.
• The controller service was quietly using a whole CPU core in the background. Fixed, so a bit more battery and a bit less heat.

Everything else

• Newer gamescope, so the Steam UI runs at 144Hz and touch feels snappier.
• Updated to the newest Steam Frame SteamOS base.
• Play Store sign-in no longer gets blocked.
• Switching to Desktop Mode takes about 3 seconds now, and Wi-Fi stays connected when you come back to Game Mode.
• Fixed fan speed no longer jumps between your setting and 100%.
• Speakers sound cleaner and don't distort at max volume.
• Desktop Mode has the Steam splash again, and Discover installs apps properly.
• Hardware video decoding works.
• SSH is off by default now. To turn it on, set a password with passwd in Konsole, then run sudo systemctl enable --now sshd.

Install

1. Download the steamos-arm-handhelds-v1.2.7z parts into the same folder.
2. Open the .7z.001 one with 7-Zip or WinRAR (Windows) or Keka (Mac) and extract it. You get one .img file.
3. Flash the .img to a microSD card (32GB or bigger) with balenaEtcher.
4. If you've never done this before, flash ROCKNIX ABL 1.1.8 or newer first (once is enough).
5. Put the card in, hold Volume Down while powering on, set device model to KONKR Pocket FIT (or AYANEO Pocket S2), boot mode Linux, then START.

First boot takes a couple of minutes, then sign in to Steam and you're good to go.

Internal storage: once it's running from the SD card, open Easy UFS Installer in Desktop Mode. When it's done, set Boot source to Internal in the ABL menu. If you installed v1.1 to internal before, run UNINSTALL CFW in the ABL menu first.

Updating later: the SteamOS Update app is already on v1.2. When the next version comes out, its release will have an update package you can install straight from there, no reflash needed.

Known issues

• Games flicker below 1080p (picture jumps between full screen and the top-left corner). Fixed by the v1.2.1 hotfix.

Found something else? Tell me and I'll keep this list updated.

Supporting the project

If you're enjoying this and want to help me keep going:

Any funds collected will be used to buy devices of different socs for further development and research. If you can't donate, a star helps too!