Quick Start Guide

This guide is written for the RYMCU BigSmart AI assistant. It helps users complete first boot, network setup, voice interaction, SD card resource preparation, music playback, video playback, and USB disk mode.

For complete build, flashing, and hardware details, see the User Manual and Hardware Configuration.

1. Firmware and Flashing

BigSmart ships with the RYMCU official firmware preinstalled and can be used directly after power-on. To upgrade or switch firmware, see the firmware flashing guide.

The firmware images in this repository are merged images. When using a flashing tool, write the image to Flash offset 0x0.

The recommended image is rymcu-V2.3.28-merged.bin; rymcu-V2.3.19-merged.bin remains available as a legacy fallback. The V2.3.28 prebuilt image includes Weather, Calendar, Codex Status, Smart Home MQTT/Endpoint, the NES launcher, and NES dedicated boot mode. It does not include the later NES display, audio, and volume-control changes from the 2026-07-28 commit b1d1c08.

2. Power On and Home Screen

2.1 Power On

1. Hold the power button for about 3 seconds to power on. When powered on, hold it again to power off.
2. If the battery is low, connect the board to a computer or 5V power supply with a USB Type-C data cable.
3. After the screen turns on, the Home screen appears and shows rymcu-bigsmart and the current firmware version.
4. To view logs, connect to the corresponding COM port with a serial terminal.

2.2 Home Screen and Apps

Swipe left or right on the Home screen to switch app pages. Common apps include:

Use the touch screen to open apps, go back, select files, and adjust settings.

3. Wi-Fi Setup

Wi-Fi must be configured before first use. BigSmart supports three provisioning methods: on-screen setup, hotspot web setup, and WeChat mini program BLE setup. Choose any one of them.

Open the Settings app and enter the Wi-Fi settings page.

Note: BigSmart supports 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi only.

3.1 On-screen Wi-Fi Setup

Tap Screen WiFi, enter the Wi-Fi SSID and password, and tap Connect.

3.2 Hotspot Web Setup

Tap Web Setup to open hotspot provisioning. Connect your phone to the hotspot shown on the screen, such as Xiaozhi-11F0. The phone usually opens the setup page automatically; if not, open the browser page shown by the device and enter the Wi-Fi information manually.

3.3 WeChat Mini Program BLE Setup

Tap BLE Setup to open BLE provisioning. Scan the QR code on the device with WeChat, or search for the mini program 艾塔达克. Register or sign in before provisioning if prompted.

Mini program flow:

Open the mini program	Select BLE setup	Complete Wi-Fi setup

4. Service Provider and Device Binding

4.1 Service Provider Settings

Before using the xiaozhi voice assistant, set the server address first. The screen configuration supports three service provider options. Open the Settings app and tap Advanced, as shown below.

Here, atdak is the RYMCU official server, tenclass is the Xiage Xiaozhi AI official server, and custom is a custom server where you can enter your own server address.

The factory default uses the RYMCU official server.

4.2 Device Binding

For first-time use, after entering the Xiaozhi app, the device screen shows an activation code or binding code. Enter that code in the corresponding mini program or web console and confirm the binding.

Choose any one of the following three methods. Make sure it matches the configured service provider. The factory default is the first one.

4.2.1 RYMCU Official Server Verification-Code Binding

Log in to the WeChat mini program "艾塔达克" and bind the device as shown below.

Device list entry	Enter binding information

4.2.2 tenclass Xiaozhi AI Official Server Verification-Code Binding

Log in to the official console at https://xiaozhi.me/console/agents, click "Device Management", then click "Add Device". Enter the 6-digit verification code spoken by the device or shown on the screen in the add-device dialog.

4.2.3 Custom Server Verification-Code Binding

Bind the device according to your custom server.

In addition, the RYMCU official server is open source and can be self-deployed if you have the required technical foundation. Server link: https://github.com/ruanrongman/IntelliConnect

5. AI Assistant Usage

After wifi and server configuration are complete, tap the xiaozhi app on the screen to enter the AI assistant. After initialization finishes and the idle page appears, wake it by saying "Ni hao, Xiaozhi", or press the middle boot button to wake it.

Idle page	Wakeup page

6. Music and Video Playback

Tap the Music app and Video app on the screen to play mp3 music and videos from the SD card.

Music playback	Video playback

Copy mp3 music and video files to the music and videos folders on the SD card in advance. See the next section for the operation method.

7. USB Disk Mode

USB disk mode shares the SD card with a computer as a USB drive. It is useful for quickly copying music, videos, background images, and other resources.

Enter USB disk mode:

Tap the USB Disk app on the screen to enter USB-to-drive mode. Connect the device to a computer with a USB cable, and the computer will show the SD card as a USB drive.

Copy MP3 files to the music folder.

Regular video files need to be converted to a format suitable for playback on the bigsmart AI assistant, then placed in the videos directory. Use the repository Video Converter for conversion.

8. Internet Radio

Tap the Radio app to play internet radio stations.

9. Games

Tap the Games app to play multiple games.

Game list	Maze game

10. Extended Features

BigSmart firmware also registers local features and MCP tools:

11. Troubleshooting

12. Next Reading

• Product Brief
• User Manual
• Hardware Configuration
• Video Converter User Guide