R36S WiFi vs Non-WiFi: Which Should You Buy in India?

The R36S comes in two versions that look the same: the R36S with WiFi and the standard model without it. In our store the gap is ₹1,100, and orders over the last three months split almost evenly between them, so neither is the "wrong" choice. It comes down to how you will use the console. Here is what the extra money buys, what it does not, and which one fits you.

R36S WiFi vs non-WiFi at a glance

Prices as of November 2026. Compare both: HN-R36S non-WiFi · HN-R36S-WiFi

What stays the same

Both run the same type of chip and ArkOS, and both have the same screen and controls. If you play NES, SNES, Game Boy Advance or arcade games offline, you will not notice a difference between them in day-to-day play.

The game cards are not identical, though. We counted retail units ourselves rather than repeating the "15,000 games" line from the listing. The WiFi unit had 15,058 game files, or 10,068 unique titles. The non-WiFi unit had 20,683 files, or 8,209 unique titles. Both lists are searchable, and card contents can change between batches.

What the extra ₹1,100 buys

Easy updates

This is the benefit people underrate. On the WiFi model you can update from the console. On the non-WiFi model you power down, take out the SD card, put it in a PC and copy files across. If you don't have a card reader, you probably won't bother, and the console stays on the firmware it shipped with.

Online multiplayer

RetroArch NetPlay lets you play against a friend in another city. Both of you need the same game file and emulator core, so it takes a little setup. Our NetPlay guide walks through it.

Add-ons without a PC

WiFi lets you browse PortMaster for native game ports, download box art and themes, and copy files over your network. It also makes advanced tuning easier: our PSP tuning guide is done over SSH on WiFi.

Dual-channel RAM

The WiFi model uses two RAM chips where the base uses one. We have not benchmarked the two side by side, so we won't put a number on it. Any gain should show up on heavier systems like PSP and N64, not on NES or SNES, and it will not make a heavy PSP game run smoothly on its own.

Which R36S should you buy?

If you are still unsure, we would pick WiFi. Updates keep the console useful for longer, and you can't add that later in a clean way. But if you already know you will only play offline, the non-WiFi model is a good buy and there is no need to pay more.

Can you add a WiFi dongle to a non-WiFi R36S?

Sometimes, but we don't recommend planning around an R36S WiFi dongle.

• Compatibility is hit and miss. It only works if your firmware has a driver for that dongle's chipset, and many dongles do nothing at all.
• 5 GHz dongles often fail on these boards, so a newer dongle is not a safer one.
• It ties up a USB port and leaves something sticking out of a pocket handheld.
• It adds battery drain on a console where runtime already matters.
• It won't change the RAM. You still have the single-channel board.

Add the cost of a dongle and an OTG adapter, plus the risk of buying the wrong one, and the ₹1,100 gap looks small. If you already own a non-WiFi R36S and want to try one anyway, go in expecting some trial and error. Our guide to which R36S models have WiFi has more detail.

How to check which version a seller is offering

This matters most on marketplaces, where the same photos and bullet points get copied across both versions.

1. Ask the seller in writing: "Does this exact unit have a built-in WiFi chip?"
2. When it arrives, open Start → System Settings → Network Settings and enable WiFi.
3. Check that it can actually see nearby networks. A menu entry alone proves nothing, because both versions can share the same firmware image.

Not sure where to buy? Read where to buy the R36S in India.

Game counts come from retail units we checked ourselves. Prices were correct when this was last updated, so check the product page before you order.