Limbo series 6.x
The latest Limbo series 6.x features a major internal redesign which takes care of long due bugs. In this series there is also a special release with an older version of QEMU 2.9.1 which has better overall performance as well as compatibility with old operating systems. There is also the normal version of QEMU which you can always download with QEMU version 5.1.0 which is more suitable for modern operating systems. Limbo Emulator has been tested mostly on ARM devices but should also be able to run under computers that run Android-x86 project as well as laptops and notebooks with Chrome OS, Samsung phones in Samsung DeX mode, and phones and tablets like ASUS Zenfone with x86 CPU (KVM for x86 is also supported for nearly native speeds with Limbo).
Donations
Limbo is free to download though we would like to draw your attention to donate to non profit organizations. Feel free to browse https://www.charitywatch.org to help you find top rated categories from human relief, to cancer research, even animal and climate change, and many other top rated charitable organizations. Even though we are not affiliated with Charity Watch we feel it's one of the best places to start making a difference.
⚕️ This month's charity
Help Evgenii and Eseniya and give them a chance for life. Visit Kener Or for Child charity to get more information about their health condition and their immediate needs.
⚕️ New: Help the children
Help Tim protect OUR children. Visit OUR Rescue and offer your donation.
What's new
The 6.x series includes some major additions and enhancements including an alternative audio interface with AAudio which removes much of the audio latency that previous versions had and provide smoother audio and better performance. The AAudio interface is only available for Android 26 versions and up.
Other notable changes include major fixes for the mouse emulation that provide a better user experience as well as a new Key Mapper function that allows you to map keys and mouse buttons on a grid layout. The Key Mapper can be used with games for which you can map keys emulating a virtual keypad.
Other notable changes include major fixes for the mouse emulation that provide a better user experience as well as a new Key Mapper function that allows you to map keys and mouse buttons on a grid layout. The Key Mapper can be used with games for which you can map keys emulating a virtual keypad.
What's changed
Finally there are some features that have become obsolete. For example the internal VNC client is now removed since it is not currently maintained and frankly right now there are better solutions for VNC viewers which you can find in the market. You can read our Android Tools section for VNC viewer alternatives. The other obsolete feature is the shared folder (virtual fat hard drive) which is not maintained by the QEMU team and seems to be buggy in read/write mode that might result in corrupt files and unfortunate crashes on Limbo. Luckily there are other ways for you to share files with your virtual machine, to learn more about the alternatives visit the Android Tools section.
Limbo Emulator v6.0.1 - Release Notes
- Added qemu disk cache option
- Added qemu hdd interfaces (tap on the disk icon)
- Added ignore breakpoint tb invalidation option
- Apply acceleration option after extra params
- Added option for importing custom BIOS
- Fixed update checker dialog box
- Fixed crash when no machine is loaded
- Fixed problem not saving edit text when machine starts
- Fixed legacy file manager Fixed old ndk/gcc support
Download Limbo Emulator
Limbo Emulator v6.0.0 - Release Notes
- Built both variants for QEMU 5.1.0 for stability and 2.9.1 for better performance. WARNING: QEMU 2.9.1 version is much faster than 5.1.0 but very old and behind many security patches! Install only virtual images and software you trust!
- Fixed SDL resizing after rotating and resuming application.
- SDL user interface can now disconnect and resume.
- Added support for changing idle refresh rate for SDL.
- Created KeyMapper for mapping keys and mouse buttons for gaming, see Wiki for info.
- Removed internal VNC client you should check the Wiki for alternative VNC clients.
- VNC Password and Allow External VNC clients are now under settings.
- New Pause button for pausing when started VNC user interface.
- Mouse enhancements for Touchscreen and External Mouse.
- Absolute mouse devices support only guests that have usb-tablet drivers installed.
- Added new out of bounds prevention option for mouse.
- Added new Key and Mouse delay options.
- Global screen options are now moved to Menu Settings.
- Machine architecture was not needed so it is now removed.
- Removed Shared Folder because it is buggy.
- Added Android Aaudio native audio interface for lower latency (Oreo and above only).
- Using 22050 sample rate instead of 44199 for better audio with lesser clicking.
- Fixed crashing when resuming due to audio buffer writing.
- Internal redesign of the Android user interface.
- Better build environment for development.
- Building with ndk r23 clang by default, r14b gcc is also supported.
- Upgraded libraries: ffi 3.3 and pixman 0.40.0
Downloads
Below is a list of download links for Limbo Emulator for different guest architectures. The download links are pointing to our Github repository so they are safe to download. Starting with version 6.0.0 all APKs are multiarchitecture that means that they work on multiple Android devices whether they run ARM 32, ARM 64bit, or x86 CPU. That means you can install the same apk to your Android phone, tablet, Android x86 laptop, or desktop PC, or even notebooks running ChromeOS with x86 or ARM CPU. Make sure you choose the correct emulator for your device and read our very useful Tutorials before you start using Limbo.
Limbo (Legacy) Emulator v6.0.0 (QEMU 2.9.1)
WARNING: This version contains QEMU 2.9.1 which is much faster than 5.1.0 but very old and
behind many security patches! Instead scroll down to download 6.0.0 with QEMU 5.1.0.
Install only virtual images and software you trust!
behind many security patches! Instead scroll down to download 6.0.0 with QEMU 5.1.0.
Install only virtual images and software you trust!
Limbo Emulator for running operating systems for Intel/AMD x86 32/64bit architecture
Limbo Emulator for running operating systems for ARM 32/64bit architecture
Limbo Emulator for running operating systems for PowerPC 32/64bit architecture
Limbo Emulator for running operating systems for SPARC 32bit architecture
Limbo Emulator v6.0.0 (QEMU 5.1.0)
Limbo v6.0.0 with QEMU 5.1.0 is preferred for running most modern operating systems. It features a lot of enhancements on the MTTCG (multithreaded TCG) and provides better stability with most OSes.
Limbo Emulator for running operating systems for Intel/AMD x86 32/64bit architecture
Limbo Emulator for running operating systems for ARM 32bit architecture
Limbo Emulator for running operating systems for PowerPC 32bit architecture
Limbo Emulator for running operating systems for SPARC 32bit architecture
QEMU
At the heart of Limbo exists QEMU. QEMU is a cross platform emulator that can emulate several architectures run different operating system. QEMU is highly recommended for installing your OS on a virtual image prior to transfering the virtual hard drive on to your Android device and run with Limbo emulator. This makes things faster and allow you to customize your android OS.
Note: Even though you can use any version of QEMU to run and install you operating system on a virtual hard drive you should try to match the same version that Limbo is using internally.
Note: Even though you can use any version of QEMU to run and install you operating system on a virtual hard drive you should try to match the same version that Limbo is using internally.
QEMU Downloads
You can download QEMU following these links by choosing the correct version for your Desktop:
QEMU for Windows
QEMU for Linux
QEMU for Mac
QEMU for Windows
QEMU for Linux
QEMU for Mac
QEMU command line interface
Once you download QEMU you can use the command line to create and start a virtual machine.
For example to start an x86 PC emulator with an Athlon CPU with 128 MB of ram memory:
For example to start an x86 PC emulator with an Athlon CPU with 128 MB of ram memory:
qemu-system-x86_64.exe -M pc -cpu athlon -m 128
If you want to boot an iso image named cdrom.iso:
qemu-system-x86_64.exe -cpu athlon -M pc -m 128 -cdrom cdrom.iso
If you want to attach a hard disk you can create the image using the qemu-img utility:
qemu-img create -f qcow harddisk.qcow2
And then attach a hard disk named harddisk.qcow2
qemu-system-x86_64.exe -cpu athlon -M pc -m 128 -cdrom cdrom.iso -hda harddisk.qcow2
If you have hax installed on your Windows Desktop or KVM on your Linux Desktop you can use them to enable virtualizatio which offers faster speeds than the TCG acceleration that comes with QEMU.
For Windows:
qemu-system-x86_64.exe -cpu athlon -M pc -m 128 -cdrom cdrom.iso -hda harddisk.qcow2 -accel hax
For Linux:
qemu-system-x86_64.exe -cpu athlon -M pc -m 128 -cdrom cdrom.iso -hda harddisk.qcow2 -accel kvm
You can also use other options such as compression, encryption, preallocation and create other virtual disk formats like vdi, vmdk, vpc, vhdx if you want to use the disk with other emulators. For more information about qemu-img visit the documentation on the official QEMU Disk Images web page.
For more information on the command line options on how to attach graphics, network, and audio devices you can visit the official QEMU documentation web page.
If you want to proceed with creating your virtual image and install your operating system visit the Tutorials page.
For more information on the command line options on how to attach graphics, network, and audio devices you can visit the official QEMU documentation web page.
If you want to proceed with creating your virtual image and install your operating system visit the Tutorials page.