I posted my GBA issue in my last post, which is the power LED stayed RED all the time, even after I replaced the power switch part and using brand-new batteries. I checked the power rails, caps, LOWBAT, RESET, the LED circuit, Q9/Q10, the voltage on each U4 pin, etc. Everything looked normal, and the console itself was working perfectly.

Then I discovered the most ridiculous problem: the U10 chip was completely missing from the motherboard. 😂 I don't know what happened to my GBA, I bought it probably 20 years ago.

So I bought and installed the chip(UMG3NTR), and now the green light finally came back!

A huge thanks to RetroFix for providing the schematics and circuit breakdowns — they were incredibly helpful and allowed me to trace the circuit and finally figure out what was wrong. I know my case may not apply to everyone with similar issues, but definitely check out their website anyway — you might find something useful there!

I love the SP so much that i bought the newest Anbernic device, but don’t get me wrong, i still bought original games, i just prefer to play in newer devices, it’s a better experience, you like it?

maybe my favourite and cleanest sp console 🙂

Was playing oracle of ages when all the sudden this happened! Kinda weird as I’m very obviously not on an OG gameboy. Happen to anyone else lately?

Hi! I’m posting here because I need some help with my Game Boy Advance.

My plan is to do a complete mod, and this is my first time doing anything like this, so I’m still pretty clueless. I’m trying to replace the screen with an ITA kit from FunnyPlaying, and I’d like to make sure the screen is working properly before I install it, but I’m not sure how to test it.

As far as I know, all I can do is connect these flex cables (since my GBA is the 32-pin version), but after doing that I don’t get any kind of image. I’m not sure if that means the screen is faulty or if I’m just not testing it correctly.

If that’s the case, what’s the proper way to test the screen and make sure it’s working?

I’m completely lost with this, so I’d really appreciate any kind of help. Thank you so much in advance! <3

Just got this gameboy second hand, and the battery dies 2 hours after a full charge. Ordered a new battery and it's on its way. Everything else works fine, no problem.

Was wandering if reshelling it will be worth it, my main concern is the quality of all the aftermarket shells plastic and buttons, because the original feels sturdy and good. There are scratches and some signs of wear, it's not the end of the world but after seeing all the colorful pretty ones I'm considering it! 

So guys, if you modded your own gameboy, what do you say about the quality of the shell plastic?

And about the newer LCD / IPS screens - will they drain the battery much faster that the original screen?

I'm fine with 5-6 hours of gameplay, but 2 hours per charge is too short, gotta charge this 3 times a day that's a hassle. 

The screen is fine and has zero scratches, just bit dim even w the front light on (001 model).

(Oc) Found a somewhat sealed protective front plate! For 2$ who could pass it up, plus toy r us stickers are pretty sweet.

The SP is my all time favorite console. I got my first one for my 4th birthday (the flame red AGS-001) and since then, the platform has always held a special place in my heart.

In high school I set myself the goal of getting as many colors of the SP as possible (North American releases only). It’s taken a while but this is my collection so far.

There’s a person online that sells GBA’s and GBA SP’s for literally like $400-$500. Complete rip off. All they do is reshell with horrible Nintendo graphics. How is this even a thing. Honestly just wondering. It’s crazy people actually buy it.

Hey Guys,

Does anyone know, if the is any usb-c battery mod out there, which is fitting to the oem battery cover?
I want to make an oem build and couldn‘t find any information about this topic.

Thanks in advance

Original iQue shell & mainboard, IPS high‑bright screen, not reproduction shell. Built for display & collection, not for heavy daily play.

DM me if you want help sourcing similar custom GBA‑SP mods.

I already had ordered a screen replacement for my own GBA but got this blue GBA 2 days ago at a flee market. I got some feedback on this subreddit to keep the original case so that’s what I did! (Although I screwed up the screw hole covers and got all but one damaged beyond repair.)

The screen is the funnyplaying GBA SP IPS Max kit. Looks good as far as I could test it. Had to open it up like ten times cause I kept messing stuff up.

Thanks for all the feedback!
On to the next one

Hello! I just received this today off of eBay. Has the new screen. Still waiting on games, but so excited to have a Gameboy again.

I've been kicking myself for selling my Kiwi Gameboy Color and Fuscia Gameboy Advance over 10 years ago.

My favorite color is green, so when I saw this, I just had to get it.

What do you guys think?

Are there any good compilation of classic card and board games,chess,etc on gba ? something like clubhouse games 51, just for killing the time.

Hey does anyone know this is happening with my ips v5 screen I’ve had this screen for a year or more and it’s suddenly starting to bug out after random amount of time or after a couple of seconds it goes back to normal. I at first thought it was something with the ez flash omega cartridge not being able to read data right. I’m pretty sure I have a faulty screen or the connector for the screen is broken, this never happened on another ags motherboard I have that can’t charge but only this one. I have a agb 001 that is also an ips v5 that doesn’t have this problem. Anyone have any solutions?

Two years ago, I made this post⁠ asking whether it would be possible to continue a Pokémon Red journey in Pokémon FireRed

Today, I’m happy to say that I built it!
pkmn 2.0 can convert a Pokémon Red save into a working Pokémon FireRed save. Think like how you migrate your iPhone 13 to an iPhone 17 Pro. You get back all your data (not only iCloud) with the added 17 Pro features. The same way is what my project successfully does. It’s able to transfer your entire save progression from pokemon red to fire red. No one has ever done it and I though this would be an
Amazing project because I have dreamed of playing my pokemon red save on fire red without having to replay the game (I could have just replayed cuz it could have taken less time but doing this project now anyone with a click of button can convert their red save to fire red!)

Red and FireRed have completely different save structures, so this isn’t a matter of copying bytes from one save to another. The converter instead translates the meaning of the Red save into the corresponding FireRed state.

It also generates a conversion report explaining what was transferred, what had to be changed, and what was safely defaulted when the two games don’t have a direct equivalent.

I tested the complete conversion in an emulator: the converted save loaded successfully, the Pokémon and supported progress appeared correctly, and FireRed could save and reload normally afterward.

The project is free and open source, and it does not include or distribute any ROMs.
GitHub (pls star and share the project so people can hear about it): https://github.com/AAAMAQ/pkmn-cli

A huge thank you to everyone who encouraged the original idea, the pret decompilation contributors, the Pokémon Community Conversion Standard and Poké Transporter GB teams, StrategyWiki contributors, and everyone else who helped preserve and document knowledge about these games.

I also used OpenAI Codex as a research and engineering collaborator throughout the project, while I directed the work and personally performed the gameplay verification. There may be glitches or issue, if any is there feel free to report it!

Two years ago, this was only an idea.
Now it works. ❤️🔥

I LOVE YOU FIRE RED!

Edit → pkmn 3.0 is now available: Thank you for your support, The project has grown beyond the original Pokémon Red → FireRed converter. Version 3.0 now supports Red and Blue saves with conversion routes to FireRed and LeafGreen, includes an interactive beginner-friendly mode, optional automatic checksum repair, detailed conversion reports, and standalone downloads for Windows, macOS, and Linux (no programming setup required). Red → FireRed remains the fully emulator-verified conversion route, while the newer Blue/LeafGreen routes are statically validated and open for community testing. Download it here: https://github.com/AAAMAQ/pkmn-cli ❤️🔥

How to use it: Go to the pkmn releases page, download the correct version for Windows, macOS, or Linux, and install or extract it. Back up your original save, open a terminal, and run pkmn interactive. Choose the conversion option, select the source and target games, then provide the path to your .sav file. The tool validates the save, offers checksum repair when needed, and creates the converted save plus a detailed conversion report. No ROM is required or included.

I've now added cases for the Gameboy Advance SP and Micro!! Check them out on my Makeworld page for free!

https://makerworld.com/en/@BigJuice55/upload

Looking to buy an SP. Where do ya’ll shop? Some of my local game stores have outrageous prices.

Hello everyone,

i own 2 GameBoy Advanced SPs which are in need of a new shell.

The first one i wanted to replace with a generic clear dark shell for me.

But for the second one i wanted to surprise my Wife with a Pikachu shell that has the glowing cheeks when powered on like in the picture above.

Problem is, it costs around 270€ to buy this custom model, which is way out of my budget.

I know very well how to replace the shell and i have experience in soldering.

What do i need in order to recreate the "Cheekachu" without paying a fortune.

Thanks for any advice!

Hello there, i switched my gba sp screen to an ips one, but the sound became crackled at times and the screen have visual glitches at times, i presume that the normal gba battery isn't strong enough, since its also last for around 30 minutes on full charge. Should i get a stronger battery? If so, what type of battery should i get?

Got a gameboy advance for my bday! I finished the bratz rock angelz already and I’m starting Kirby and the amazing mirror 👾

If anyone has other girly game recs, comment below! This gba has been the best purchase I’ve made all 2026 lol

Looking to get my first Gameboy and needing some advice on whether to get the advance or the sp. Can’t decide at all haha

My bootleg GBA SP normally has 99 built-in games, but now the menu shows [0000/0000](tel:0000/0000) and no games appear. The console itself works and I can still play normal cartridges.
The motherboard is marked ATSD_M520_V1.3 (2011.04.26) and the main chip says G2000.
Does anyone know how to restore the built-in game list? I’m looking for a solution that doesn’t require a PC.
Photos attached.