Your RPG progress should not be trapped on one machine. Because Snes9x keeps every kind of save in plain files in one folder, syncing them between a Windows PC and an Android phone is mostly a matter of copying the right files through a cloud folder you already use. This guide explains which files are worth syncing, which are not, and how to set Snes9x up so the sync mostly happens by itself. It builds on the save states and .srm guide — read that first if .srm and .000 files are new to you — plus the setup hub and download page.
The golden rule: sync the .srm, treat states as local
Everything hinges on one fact from the Snes9x readme’s own compatibility notes: .srm battery-save files are shared with all SNES emulators. A .srm is the game’s own cartridge save data in a standard form, so the same file works in desktop Snes9x, in the Android app covered below, and in other emulators besides — keep the filename matched to the ROM name and the game simply finds its saves. Save states (.000–.099) are the opposite: snapshots of one emulator’s internal state, in a format that has changed across Snes9x’s own history (the current snapshot format dates from 1.52 and is incompatible with 1.51’s), so a state written by one program or version may not load in another. Sync states between two installs of the *same* desktop Snes9x if you like — the files live in the same folder — but build your cross-device habit around the .srm, and make real in-game saves before switching devices. The .rtc clock file, where a game uses one, travels with the .srm the same way.
Where the files live on PC
By default both save systems write to the Saves folder next to snes9x.exe (.\Saves) — battery saves and states alike, as the save states guide details. The location is changeable in Snes9x’s settings, and that setting is the whole trick: point Snes9x’s Saves folder at a directory inside your synced cloud folder, and every .srm update is uploaded when you quit and downloaded before your next session on the other machine. Any mainstream sync service works for this — Google Drive, OneDrive or pCloud are all the same to Snes9x, because it just sees a folder. We make no speed or reliability claims for any of them; pick on your own preferences, and remember a synced folder is a copy mechanism, not a backup — keep an occasional separate copy of the Saves folder too, since a sync faithfully propagates deletions and corrupt files as happily as good ones.
The Android side: Snes9x EX+
Mainline Snes9x has no Android build; the Android app is Snes9x EX+ by Robert Broglia, a separate program covered on our Snes9x for Android page. EX+ uses the same .srm idea — battery saves as standard files the game reads and writes — so the practical workflow is: play on PC, save in-game, let the cloud folder sync, then on the phone make sure the synced .srm sits where EX+ looks for the game’s saves (with the same base filename as the ROM) and start the game — your in-game saves are simply there. Reverse the trip to bring progress home. Save states, per the golden rule, should not be part of the plan: use them freely on whichever device you are holding, but hop devices only at battery-save points. Before a long session on either side, a thirty-second habit saves real grief: confirm the last sync actually completed (the .srm‘s timestamp is the tell) before overwriting anything.
Filenames, and the two mistakes that break sync
The whole system stands on one humble detail: the .srm must carry the same base name as the ROM it belongs to. If the game file is renamed on one device — a “cleaned up” filename, a region tag added, a duplicate’s “(1)” suffix — the emulator on that device looks for a matching save file, does not find the synced one, and quietly starts a fresh .srm beside it. Your progress is not gone; it is in the other file, un-loaded. Keep ROM filenames identical on PC and phone and this entire class of problem disappears. The second mistake is treating sync as instantaneous: edit the save on the phone before the PC’s last upload finished, and the two files race. Save in-game, quit the emulator (the .srm is written on exit, as the hotkeys reference era of habits should remind you to do properly), watch the sync complete, then switch. If you are also setting up the desktop side from scratch, the Windows setup guide covers choosing a writable home for the emulator, which is what makes pointing its Saves folder at a synced directory painless.
A workable routine
- Set the PC’s Saves folder (in Snes9x settings) to a folder inside your sync service
- Play normally; always make an in-game (battery) save before switching devices
- Let the sync finish, then place/confirm the same
.srmbeside the ROM on Android - Use save states for moment-to-moment convenience on one device only
- Keep a periodic manual backup of the whole Saves folder outside the sync
Done well, this makes the PC and phone feel like one console with two screens. The rest of the series — settings, controllers, shaders, netplay — is in the setup hub, and if saves misbehave anywhere in the chain, Snes9x saves not working is the troubleshooting companion.