Update [Fri 14th March, 2025, 09:30 GMT]: Following our initial article yesterday, we were linked to a post from Retro Game Corps that states that GoRetroid appears to be ignoring their stated 200-unit return limit for overseas orders, and that they've been offering discounted return shipping or shipping reimbursement.
In addition to this, it appears the company has also announced it is partnering with "one of China's largest AMOLED panel manufacturers" to develop a custom panel tailored to their needs, which should hopefully resolve this issue. Their goal is to incorporate “this new screen into a redesigned version of the mini” with the new revision potentially targeting a launch within the next 12 months. Current Mini owners will be eligible for a discount, in order to try and make thank people for their "tolerance, support, and patience".
Original Article [Thu 13th Mar, 2025 11:00 GMT]: GoRetroid has acknowledged an unfixable issue with its Retroid Pocket Mini handheld.
The issue affects screen-scaling on the device, with the device reportedly not scaling correctly to a full 980p. This is particularly noticeable when using certain CRT and pixel effect shaders and is an issue with the Retroid Pocket Mini hardware that cannot be fixed with a firmware update.
As reported by Retro Handhelds, when GoRetroid first caught wind of these problems, it promised on Discord to look into a solution and assured people it wouldn't leave "anyone out to dry, in the event this cannot be resolved". However, once it became clear that nothing could be done, its customer service was discovered to be denying return requests, with one user sharing an email from the company on Reddit that claimed it may have "overcommitted in our discussions on Discord."
Now the company is backtracking yet again, after experiencing a bunch of feedback from members of its community, posting in a Discord comment that it is offering users a $10 stackable off the Retroid Flip 2 and Retroid Pocket Classic, or a return. This return, however, is limited to just 200 units overseas and requires owners to pay for the shipping costs, with the company stating "This is a large and costly endeavour for our team". To make matters just a tad more controversial too, the return window is only open from March 8th to March 14th.
At this point, it's unclear whether GoRetroid intends to do a hardware revision of the machine or will simply discontinue the device moving forward.
If you're interested in seeing what these issues look like, the YouTuber Retro Game Corps has done a fairly comprehensive video showing which shaders are affected:
[source retrohandhelds.gg]
Comments 11
Wow. What garbage customer service. The best way to make sure you're not inundated with expensive returns is to make sure your product isn't irreparably busted right out of the gate.
Limited to 200 units? I wish I could play the "I'm only going to be responsible for like 5% of the ones I broke, your honor" card.
Ok, I'm not gonna buy anything from them, ever. This kind of mess is the EXACT reason why you don't trust a company anymore.
@lincruste Absolutely. I don't have any Retroid products now, but had been keeping an eye on them and considering a Retroid Pocket. Nothing from them will be on my list any longer; this response shows how they approach customer service and it's awful.
The video does a bit of a deep dive on this issue and there's more nuance here than it seems at face value. The guy in the video even says the issue is so small that he won't return his units. I know not everyone has the time. It appears GoRetroid was either lied to by their screen supplier or there was some miscommunication. I've seen this happen before with Odroid which is another small foreign company. They had a board with an SoC that was supposed to be a certain speed and it wasn't. This was on the chip supplier. It's fair to say Odroid and GoRetroid should have caught the issues respectively but things like that slip through sometimes, especially when there is overt deception, and shows how complicated things can get. While one of the selling points of this unit was a 960p screen and it's a tad shy of it, the units are not broken, and the issue is relatively minor. It's so minor that it's apparently not visible with some shaders compared to others. A limited return program is understandable here since this is not a recall. They should probably do more than this, but I understand their position in trying to limit their remedy to people most affected by this, those who bought specifically for the perfect scale. The video goes into all this quite a bit.
add willie to the list of retroid pocket-curious potential Retroid customers no longer curious. 👎
willie doesn't hold grudges though, so as far as willie is concerned, the ball is in Retroid's court.
willie wants that 6 button pocket.
Good to know, I'll avoid all Retroid products going forward now, which makes it easier to decide what I'm going to actually purchase among the massive glut of devices available.
I'd like to finally see something from Taki Udon's portable MiSTer.
@sdelfin I really don't care whether Retroid or their supplier is accountable for that "non fixable hardware issue", a 7 days, 200 units max. return policy is a bitch move. Playing on electronic devices is a hobby, selling them is not.
Damage is done now lads. You done gone borked it. Not that it matters much but you are off my list. Anyway not like it affects me I still have not got around to converting my series s into a retro gaming machine.
So what DO I get then?
If Retroid is a no go who is?
Feels more like people started finding the chargeback option on their payment method more than actual change-of-heart
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