AYN Thor Setup Guide: First Boot to Dual Screen DS

The AYN Thor arrives as a blank Android handheld with two screens and no opinion about what you do with them. That is the whole appeal and it is also why the first evening with one is longer than on any other device at this price.

This guide is the order to do it in. Nothing here needs more than a microSD card, a cable and the game backups you already own.

Affiliate disclosure: This page contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. Learn more.

What You Need

• An AYN Thor. This guide assumes the Base, Pro or Max, all of which run a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. If you have the Lite, its Snapdragon 865 changes the advice in the GameCube, Wii and PS2 sections and nothing else.
• A microSD card. 256GB is the sensible floor and 512GB is the comfortable one. Buy a known card from a seller you trust, because a fake card is the single most common cause of a handheld that mysteriously loses saves.
• A USB-C cable and a computer for moving files, or a Wi-Fi transfer app if you would rather not.
• Your own game backups and BIOS files, from hardware and discs you own. We do not cover obtaining them.

Set aside about two hours for everything below. The emulator installs take twenty minutes and the per system settings take the rest.

Step 1: First Boot, and the Five Settings to Change

Run through the normal Android setup first: language, Wi-Fi, skip the Google restore if you have nothing to restore, and let it finish any pending update before you install anything. An update halfway through a setup is how configurations get lost.

Then change these, in Settings, before you do anything else.

1. Screen timeout to 10 minutes. The default will blank the display during a cutscene.
2. Developer options on, by tapping the build number seven times. You need this for the sideload step and for turning off the animation scale, which makes the whole device feel quicker.
3. Set both screens to 60Hz for now. The top panel offers 120Hz and almost nothing you are about to install benefits from it, while everything benefits from the battery you keep.
4. Turn off adaptive brightness. On an AMOLED panel in a dark room it will hunt, which is distracting in a game with dark scenes.
5. Find the Thor Control Center and learn its button combination. It overlays CPU and GPU load, temperature, battery and the fan and performance toggles without leaving a game. You will use it constantly while tuning the demanding systems later.

One AMOLED specific habit while you are here. DS and 3DS games put a static HUD on the bottom screen for hours at a time, and that is exactly the load OLED panels dislike. Dropping the bottom screen's brightness well below the top one costs you nothing in a game whose bottom screen is a map or an inventory, and it is the cheapest insurance available.

Step 2: Decide on a Launcher Before You Install Emulators

This is the decision that shapes everything after it, and it is the one most Thor owners make twice because they did not know it was a decision.

Out of the box the Thor runs AYN's dual screen AOSP launcher. Apps can be assigned to either screen, the home screen can span both panels or work independently per screen, and the most recent app runs on whichever screen you last touched. It is a reasonable Android launcher that understands there are two displays. It is not a game library.

Cocoon is the frontend worth knowing about, and on this device it is close to essential, because it is the only Android frontend built with dual screen handhelds in mind. It turns the Thor into something that boots into your library rather than into an Android home screen. It is free.

The order that works:

1. Install Cocoon, but do not set it as the default launcher yet.
2. Install your emulators and get your files on the card, which is steps 3 and 4 below.
3. Point Cocoon at your folders and let it scan.
4. Only then set it as the default launcher.

Doing it in that order means Cocoon's first scan finds a populated card, which saves a lot of re-scanning. Our Cocoon setup guide has the detail, including the dual screen configuration.

Know how to get out before you go in. The most common Thor support question is how to leave Cocoon once it is the default launcher, because a frontend that owns the home button is a frontend you cannot casually escape. The exit route is documented in the Cocoon guide under its own heading, and it is worth reading that section before you set the default rather than after.

Step 3: Install Emulators, by System

Install only what you will actually play. A device with eleven emulators you have never opened is harder to use than one with five you know.

RetroArch, from the Play Store, covers everything up to and including PS1 and the handhelds. Install it, then install only the cores you need rather than all of them. For NES, SNES, Mega Drive, Game Boy, GBC and GBA this is the whole answer.

DuckStation for PS1, if you want a dedicated emulator rather than the RetroArch core. On an 8 Gen 2 either is perfect.

melonDS for Nintendo DS. This is the one that matters most on a Thor, because melonDS is where the two screen layout options live. Our melonDS setup guide covers the emulator in general and step 5 below covers the Thor specific layout.

Azahar for 3DS, sideloaded rather than from the Play Store. Our Azahar setup guide covers the install and the system files it expects you to supply from your own console.

PPSSPP for PSP, from the Play Store. Nothing to configure beyond the resolution.

Dolphin for GameCube and Wii. The 8 Gen 2 handles both well and the demanding end of the Wii library is where the Thor Control Center earns its keep.

A PS2 emulator. On an 8 Gen 2 most of the library runs at 60fps with upscaling, and late era open world titles need per game tuning rather than a global setting.

Flycast for Dreamcast, through RetroArch or standalone. Full library, full speed, nothing to think about.

What not to bother with on day one: Switch emulation. Some compatibility exists through current Android emulators and it is not what this device is for. The Thor's value is DS and 3DS fidelity plus the sixth generation library, and chasing Switch on it will cost you an evening for a worse result than the hardware deserves.

Step 4: Storage, Folders and BIOS

Put the card in, let Android format it as portable storage rather than adopting it as internal, and build the folder structure before you copy anything. Adopted storage encrypts the card to this specific device, which means a card you cannot read in a computer later.

A structure that every frontend understands:

/Roms
  /nes
  /snes
  /gba
  /nds
  /3ds
  /psx
  /psp
  /gamecube
  /wii
  /ps2
  /dreamcast
/BIOS
/Saves

One folder per system, lowercase, no spaces. Cocoon, Daijisho and ES-DE all scan this layout without being told anything unusual.

BIOS files go in one place. PS1, PS2 and Dreamcast each need their own, dumped from hardware you own, and the single most common cause of "the emulator will not start my game" is a BIOS file in the wrong folder or renamed. Keep them in /BIOS and point each emulator at it rather than scattering copies.

The Thor's internal storage is faster than the card. If you have the 256GB or 1TB model, put the demanding systems on internal storage and the retro systems on the card. GameCube, Wii and PS2 benefit from the faster reads. An SNES ROM does not care.

Step 5: The Screen Layouts That Make DS and 3DS Look Right

This is the section that only applies to this device, and it is the reason you bought it.

The Thor's panels are not whole number multiples of DS or 3DS output, so "fill the screen" will always mean a slightly soft picture. The fix is to pick a whole number scale and accept a border, which on an AMOLED panel is genuinely invisible because the black is actually black.

The arithmetic, using the panel resolutions from our review:

So in melonDS, set the layout to one screen per display, turn integer scaling on, and pick 5x for the top. In Azahar, the same idea: integer scaling on, the top screen on the top panel, the bottom screen on the touch panel.

Two settings people miss:

The bottom screen is a real touchscreen, which means DS games designed around the stylus work as designed. That is the thing no single screen handheld can do, and it needs no configuration beyond putting the DS bottom screen on the bottom panel.

Rotate the hinge, not the layout. For the small number of DS games played book style, turning the device sideways is a better answer than fighting the emulator's rotation options.

Step 6: Windows Games and Winlator

A Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 runs a usable amount of older Windows software through a translation layer, and on the Thor that means Winlator.

What to expect: older and lighter PC games, indie titles and 2D games run well. Anything modern does not, and no amount of configuration changes that. Our Winlator setup guide covers the container setup and the driver choices, which are the two things that decide whether a given game runs at all.

The Thor specific notes are short. Use the top screen only, because a Windows game has no idea the second panel exists. Set the performance mode in the Thor Control Center before launching rather than after. And expect to spend more time per game here than anywhere else in this guide, because that is the nature of the layer rather than a fault in the device.

For the wider picture of running PC games on Android hardware, the Steam on Android options page compares the approaches, and ROCKNIX on Android handhelds covers the route that replaces Android entirely.

Known Problems, and What to Do About Them

Cocoon owns the home button and you cannot get out. Covered above. Read the exit section of the Cocoon guide before you set it as default.

A game launches on the wrong screen. The dual screen launcher runs the most recent app on whichever screen you last touched, so touch the panel you want before launching. In Cocoon this is configured rather than guessed.

No grips, and it starts to tell after an hour. This is the Thor's real ergonomic cost and an accessory is the only fix. Our AYN Thor accessories guide covers what actually helps.

Saves vanishing, or a card that stops being recognised. Almost always a counterfeit or failing microSD card rather than the device. Our microSD corruption guide has the diagnosis steps, and the best microSD cards covers buying one that is what it says it is.

The fan is audible under load. It is an active fan on a device with no grips, so your hands are near it. Lowering the performance mode for systems that do not need it is more effective than any software fix, and the Control Center is where you do that.

Azahar and Anbernic. Worth knowing if you read elsewhere that Azahar withdrew support for devices: that applied to a different manufacturer, not to AYN. The Thor is unaffected, and the background is in our write up.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does setting up an AYN Thor take?

About two hours to do it properly: twenty minutes for the Android settings and emulator installs, half an hour for file transfer depending on library size, and the rest on per system settings and the dual screen layouts. You can play something within fifteen minutes if you only install RetroArch first.

Do I need Cocoon on the AYN Thor?

Not strictly, but it is the one frontend built for dual screen handhelds, and without it you are launching games from an Android home screen. Install your emulators and copy your files first, then point Cocoon at them and set it as the default launcher last.

How do I exit Cocoon on the AYN Thor?

Cocoon takes over the home button when it is the default launcher, which is what makes this the most asked Thor question. The exit route is documented in our Cocoon guide under its own heading. Read it before you set Cocoon as the default rather than after.

What microSD card should I use in an AYN Thor?

256GB as a floor, 512GB if your library includes disc based systems. Buy a known card from a seller you trust: fake cards are the leading cause of lost saves on every handheld, not just this one. Format it as portable storage rather than letting Android adopt it as internal, or you will not be able to read it in a computer later.

Does the AYN Thor need integer scaling for DS games?

It helps, and the reason is arithmetic rather than preference. Neither panel is a whole number multiple of DS or 3DS output, so filling the screen means a resampled picture. Setting 5x integer scaling for a DS screen on the top panel gives 1280x960 inside a 1920x1080 display, with a border that is invisible on an AMOLED.

Can the AYN Thor run Windows games?

Older and lighter ones, through Winlator. Indie and 2D titles run well, anything modern does not, and the second screen is not useful for any of it. Expect per game configuration rather than a setting you apply once.

Should I set the Thor to 120Hz?

Not for emulation. Almost nothing you will run benefits from it and everything benefits from the battery you keep at 60Hz. Leave the option for the handful of Android games that use it.

Can the AYN Thor run Switch games?

Some compatibility exists through current Android emulators, and it is not what this device is for. The Thor's case is DS and 3DS done properly plus the sixth generation library. If Switch emulation is your priority, the Thor is the wrong purchase rather than the wrong configuration.

Is the Thor Lite setup any different?

The steps are identical. The Snapdragon 865 in the Lite changes what the results look like: GameCube, Wii and PS2 all become compromised rather than comfortable. Everything up to and including PSP, DS and 3DS is fine.

Related Guides

• AYN Thor review, for whether the device is right for you in the first place
• Cocoon frontend setup and fixes
• melonDS setup guide
• Azahar 3DS setup guide
• Winlator setup guide
• Best AYN Thor accessories
• Best microSD cards for handhelds
• Retroid Pocket 6 vs AYN Thor