Troubleshooting the Citron Emulator: A Complete Guide

If you’ve recently dived into the world of Switch emulation on Android, you’ve likely installed Citron. Rising from the ashes of the “emulator wars” of 2024, Citron has become a go-to for many, but it hasn’t been without its growing pains.

Whether you are dealing with the infinite “Update Available” loop, graphical glitches in Pokemon Legends: Z-A, or just trying to get a steady framerate, this guide covers the most common fixes for the current builds (v0.7 through v0.9).

🛑 First: Are You in the Right Place?

• Citron: This is the Nintendo Switch emulator for Android (and recently PC) that you are likely using.
• Citra: This is the classic Nintendo 3DS emulator. If you actually meant the 3DS emulator, scroll to the bottom of this post for a quick fix guide!

1. Fixing the “Update Available” Loop

One of the most annoying bugs in the recent builds is the pop-up that says a new version is available, even when you are on the latest nightly.

The Fix:

1. Open your File Manager on Android.
2. Navigate to your Citron folder (usually in Android/data/ or your custom install path).
3. Look for a file named TLS or a specific update temp folder.
4. Delete it.
5. Restart Citron. The message should be gone.

2. Graphical Glitches & Flashing Colors

If textures are exploding or the screen is flashing like a disco (common in Pokemon Legends: Z-A and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe), it is usually a driver or settings conflict.

The Fixes:

• Adjust “Extended Dynamic State”:
  • Go to Settings > Graphics > Extensions.
  • Find the slider for Extended Dynamic State.
  • Set it to 0. This is the known fix for the flashing colors in Pokemon titles.
• Clear Shader Cache:
  • Long-press the game icon in your library.
  • Select “Clear Shader Cache”.
  • Note: The game will stutter for the first few minutes while it rebuilds new shaders, but this clears out corrupted visual data.
• Switch Graphics Driver (Turnip):
  • If you are on a device with a Snapdragon processor, ensure you are using the latest Turnip Mesa drivers. The stock system drivers often fail to render Switch games correctly.
  • Go to Settings > GPU Driver Manager and install the latest custom driver (revision 17 or newer recommended for late 2025 builds).

3. Game Crashes on Launch

If you tap a game and the app immediately closes or hangs on a black screen, it is almost always a Key or Firmware issue.

The Checklist:

• Prod.keys & Title.keys: Ensure you have the latest keys (V19.0.0 or higher as of Nov 2025). Old keys cannot decrypt newer games.
• Firmware Mismatch: Your installed firmware must match the keys. You cannot use V18 keys with V19 firmware. Re-dump your firmware from your hackable Switch and reinstall it in Citron settings.
• CPU Accuracy:
  • Go to Settings > CPU.
  • Change Accuracy from “Auto” to “Accurate”. This costs performance but fixes crashes in unstable games.

4. Save File Issues (Mario Kart 8 Deluxe)

A known quirk in Citron (specifically v0.9) is that it refuses to import certain save files for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.

The Workaround:

• Citron currently struggles to recognize imported saves if pasted directly. You may need to start a new game to let Citron create the folder structure, then overwrite the specific gamedata.bin file manually using a file manager, rather than pasting the whole folder.

⚡ Performance Tuning (Low FPS)

Struggling to hit 30FPS? Try these “Safe” optimizations before going for the unstable ones.

1. Resolution Scaling: Drop this to 0.75x or 0.5x. On a phone screen, 0.75x still looks decent but saves massive GPU power.
2. Docked vs. Handheld: Force Handheld Mode in settings. Docked mode forces the emulator to render at 1080p, which is unnecessary for mobile screens and kills battery.
3. Disable “Fastmem”: In some specific non-Snapdragon chips (MediaTek/Exynos), disabling Fastmem can actually improve stability, though it usually lowers raw FPS. Test this as a last resort.

📝 A Note on “Citra” (3DS Emulator)

Did you actually mean the 3DS emulator Citra? If you are trying to play Pokemon X/Y or Ocarina of Time 3D and typed “Citron” by mistake, here is the quick troubleshooting for Citra:

• Lag: Turn OFF V-Sync and set “Hardware Shader” to Enable.
• Audio Crackle: Set Audio Emulation to HLE (Fast). LLE is too heavy for most phones.
• Glitches: Switch the Graphics API from OpenGL to Vulkan (available in the latest Canary builds).