Flashing custom firmware to an R36S means writing an image to a microSD card from a computer, and most people discover halfway through the guide that they have no way to plug the card in. This is that missing part.

Why USB 3.0 matters here

A firmware image runs to several gigabytes. Over USB 2.0 that write takes twenty minutes and gives interruptions twenty minutes to happen; over USB 3.0 it is a few. The reader is also the part that most often causes a failed write more often than the card itself.

What you are getting

• Full-size USB-A plug. Plugs straight into a desktop or any laptop with a rectangular USB port, with no adapter or dock in the chain.
• Two slots. microSD for the console, full-size SD for a camera or anything else you already own.
• No drivers. Windows, macOS and Linux all mount it on their own, so Balena Etcher and Win32 Disk Imager see the card immediately.

Check your laptop first

This is a USB-A reader. If your laptop only has the small oval USB-C ports recent MacBooks and many thin Windows laptops you will need a USB-C adapter or hub to use it. We would rather say that here than have you find out when the parcel arrives.

Works with

Any microSD card up to 512GB, including the cards we sell, and the whole R36 family. See our firmware guide for the flashing steps.

Ships free worldwide, alone or in the same parcel as a console or card, and carries the same 30-day money-back guarantee as everything else we sell.