Last updated: September 2026
Cemu on Android is real, it runs Breath of the Wild on a handheld, and it is also an early beta of a community fork that the official Cemu project does not endorse. Both of those things are true at once, and most guides skip the second half. This one does not.
Here is where things stand. The Cemu team’s own FAQ says Android is not on their roadmap and that any “Cemu Android” APK on an app store is a scam. Separately, a developer going by SapphireRhodonite has been maintaining an Android port of the open-source Cemu codebase on GitHub, versioned in the 0.5 range. That port is what everyone means by “Cemu Android”. It works, it improves every few weeks, and it needs a flagship chip.
What You Need
| Item | Notes |
|---|---|
| A Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 or newer | 8 Elite for Breath of the Wild and Xenoblade X at full speed. Nothing below 8 Gen 2 is worth the download. |
| Android 11 or newer | Older Android lacks the Vulkan extensions the port uses. |
| 12 GB RAM or more | Wii U games plus shader caches are heavy. 8 GB devices stutter and close. |
| The APK | From the releases page of the SapphireRhodonite Cemu fork. Not an app store. |
| Games in .wua format | Dumped from your own Wii U. Details below. |
| 64 GB or more free | Wii U games run 5 to 25 GB each. |
The AYN Odin 2 and Odin 3, the AYANEO Pocket S and the Retroid Pocket 6 are the handhelds where this is a good experience. On the Retroid Pocket 5’s Dimensity chip it installs and then disappoints, because the port depends on the Adreno Vulkan driver.
Dumping Wii U Games to .wua
The port reads .wua files, which is Cemu’s own compressed, decrypted archive format. It does not want .wud disc images, encrypted .wux, or loadiine folders. That means one step on a PC before anything reaches the handheld.
- Dump the game from your Wii U. Homebrew on the console (the Aroma environment) plus the Dumpling app writes the game, its update and its DLC to an SD card as a folder. This is the legal route and the only one I cover.
- Open Cemu on a PC (the official desktop build, any recent 2.x version) and go to File > Install title for the base game, then again for the update and DLC.
- Title Manager. Open Tools > Title Manager, select the game, right-click, and choose Convert to compressed Wii U archive (.wua). Include the update and DLC when it asks. The output is a single file.
- Copy the
.wuato the handheld. I keep them inEmulation/roms/wiiu/on the SD card.
Because .wua files are already decrypted, the Android port does not need a keys.txt. If a guide tells you to hunt for keys, it is describing the PC version with encrypted dumps.
Installing and First Launch
- Install the APK. Allow installs from GitHub when Android asks.
- Open Cemu. On first launch it asks for a data folder. Go to Settings > General settings > Data storage > Choose custom root and pick a folder on the SD card. Shader caches and saves live here and they grow, so do not leave it on a small internal partition.
- Add your games: Settings > General settings > Add game path, tap the plus, browse to the
.wuafolder, and confirm with Use this folder. - Back on the main screen the games appear as tiles with box art. Tap one to launch.
The first launch of any game compiles shaders as it goes and stutters badly for the first ten minutes. That is normal and it settles. Do not judge performance until the second session.
Controller Setup
Go to Settings > Input settings > Controller 1. Set Emulated controller to Wii U Pro Controller for most games, or Wii U GamePad for games that draw a second screen or need the touchscreen. Then map each button to the handheld’s physical controls.
Two limitations in the current builds. Controller profiles are global, not per game, so switching between Pro Controller and GamePad means remapping. And remapping one button occasionally clears the others, so map everything in one pass and check the whole list before you leave the screen.
To exit a game, use the Android back gesture or button, then choose Exit from the dialog. There is no in-game menu overlay yet.
Graphic Packs
Graphic packs are Cemu’s per-game patches: resolution changes, frame rate unlocks, and fixes for things like Breath of the Wild’s shadow flicker. They are the difference between a game running and a game running well.
Open Settings > Graphic packs and tap the download icon in the top right. It pulls the current community pack set. Then, with a game selected, enable the packs you want. My baseline for a handheld:
| Pack | Setting |
|---|---|
| Resolution | Native (720p). Upscaling costs frames you do not have. |
| FPS++ (Breath of the Wild) | Enable, cap at 30 or 40 |
| Anisotropic filtering | 4x |
| Shadow and reflection fixes | Enable the ones flagged as “recommended” |
Leave the “enhancements” category alone on a handheld. The GPU has no headroom for them.
Settings That Matter
| Setting | Path | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|
| Graphics API | Settings > Graphics | Vulkan. OpenGL is there for debugging only. |
| Async shader compile | Settings > Graphics | On. Trades a moment of missing geometry for no stutter. |
| VSync | Settings > Graphics | On. Screen tearing on a handheld display is ugly. |
| Audio latency | Settings > Audio | Raise it one step if audio crackles. |
| Overlay | Settings > Overlay settings | Enable FPS in a corner while you tune, then turn it off. |
What Runs
I only report what I have seen on an 8 Gen 2 class device.
| Game | Result |
|---|---|
| Breath of the Wild | Playable at 30 fps with FPS++ after the shader cache builds. Dips in Hyrule Castle. |
| Mario Kart 8 | Full speed |
| Super Mario 3D World | Full speed |
| Xenoblade Chronicles X | Playable, 20 to 30 fps, needs the 8 Elite to hold 30 |
| Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze | Full speed |
| Bayonetta 2 | Playable with drops |
| Wind Waker HD | Full speed with occasional shader stutter |
Everything on that list is still sold by Nintendo in some form, mostly as Switch ports. Buy them there if you want them and have no Wii U; this is for people who own the discs.
Common Problems
Games show in the list with no box art and refuse to start. The file is not a .wua, or the update was not included in the archive. Rebuild it on PC with the update installed.
Crash on launch of every game. Not enough RAM, or an 8 Gen 1 or older chip. There is no setting that fixes this.
Black screen, audio playing. Vulkan driver mismatch. Update to the newest release of the port; driver fixes are most of what the changelogs contain.
Massive stutter that never settles. Async shader compile is off, or the data folder is on slow storage. Check both.
Controls stop responding after remapping. The remap-clears-others bug. Reopen Input settings and map the full list again.
Cemu Android vs the Steam Deck
If Wii U is the point, the Steam Deck runs the official Cemu at full speed with graphic packs, per-game controller profiles and a decade of settled compatibility. The Android port is for people who already own a flagship Android handheld and want Wii U on it too. It is good and getting better, and it is still a beta.
FAQ
Is there an official Cemu for Android?
No. The Cemu team has said Android is not on their roadmap. The working build is a community port of the open-source code, maintained on GitHub.
Does Cemu Android need keys.txt?
Not with .wua files, which are already decrypted. Convert your dumps on the PC version first.
Will it run on a Retroid Pocket 5?
It installs. Most 3D games are not playable on the Dimensity 1100 because the port relies on the Adreno driver. Use it for 2D titles only, or skip it.
Where do saves go?
In the data folder you chose at setup, under mlc01/usr/save. Back that folder up before updating the app.
Can I transfer saves from my PC Cemu?
Yes. The mlc01 folder layout is the same. Copy the save folder for the title ID across.
Cemu Android fork on GitHub | Cemu official site | Dumpling (Wii U dumper)
Last verified: September 2026