RPi Easy SD Card Setup - eLinux.org

RPi Easy SD Card Setup 

From eLinux.org 

Contents 

▪ 1 SD Card setup 

▪ 2 Safest/Laziest way 

▪ 3 Easiest way 

▪ 4 Easy way 

▪ 4.1 Copying the image to an SD Card on Windows 

▪ 4.2 Copying the image to an SD Card on Windows if first option isn't 

successful 

▪ 4.3 Copying an image to the SD Card in Mac OS X (mostly graphical 

interface) 

▪ 4.4 Copying an image to the SD Card in Mac OS X (command line) 

▪ 4.5 Copying an image to the SD Card in Linux (command line) 

▪ 4.6 Copying an image to the SD Card in Linux (graphical interface) 

▪ 5 Manually resizing the SD card partitions (Optional) 

▪ 6 Adding a data partition (Optional) 

▪ 7 References 

Back to the Hub. 

Getting Started: 

Buying Guide - for advice on buying the Raspberry Pi. 

Preload your Card - for info on how to make the SD Card used to boot your Pi. 

Basic Setup - for help with buying other hardware and setting it up. 

Advanced Setup - for more extensive information on setting up. 

Beginners Guide - you are up and running, now what can you do?

SD Card setup 

To boot the Raspberry Pi, you need an SD card installed with a bootloader and a suitable 

Operating System. Some Raspberry Pi kits will come with a ready-to-go card, but if you 

didn't receive one you will need to prepare your own: 

Official images are available from http://www.raspberrypi.org/downloads and there is an 

overview of available distributions here. 

Warning! When you write the Raspberry Pi image to your SD card you will lose all data 

that was on the card. 

Safest/Laziest way 

Buy a preloaded card from RS Components, element14 or The Pi Hut's Raspberry Pi 

Store (http://thepihut.com/) 

Easiest way 

▪ Use an installer program. The Fedora ARM Installer (http://zenit.senecac.on.ca/wiki/ 

index.php/ 

Raspberry_Pi_Fedora_Remix_Installation#SD_Card_Installation_Using_the_Installer) 

will download and install Raspberry Pi Fedora Remix images, but it will also install 

other images if they are already downloaded and in uncompressed or .gz format. 

▪ (Mac) The RasPiWrite (https://github.com/exaviorn/RasPiWrite) utility is a python 

script which will walk you through the process of installing to SD card, it works with 

any Raspberry Pi compatible disk image, and can download one of the currently 

available distros if you don't have one. 

▪ If your Pi is connected to the Internet, you can use the BerryBoot installer 

(http://www.berryterminal.com/doku.php/berryboot) to let it download and install the 

operating system. This requires that you first use a normal Windows/Mac/Linux 

computer to download a small .zip file with the Berryboot system files and extract it 

to an empty SD card. Then you put the SD card in your Pi, and follow the on-screen 

prompts to complete the installation. An additional advantage is that Berryboot 

allows you to install more than one operating system on a single SD card. Also, it is 

not necessary to install any additional software on your normal Windows/Mac/Linux 

computer.

Easy way 

To write your SD card you start by downloading the SD image (the data you will write to 

the card). The best way to do this is using BitTorrent (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ 

BitTorrent_(protocol)) . This generally results in a faster download as it is a highly 

distributed system (you will be downloading the data from users who have previously 

downloaded it). 

This guide assumes you have downloaded the Debian "wheezy" image, with name 

2012-10-28-wheezy-raspbian. Obviously, if you are downloading a different or newer 

version, use the name of the version you have downloaded. 

Copying the image to an SD Card on Windows 

1. Download the image from a mirror or torrent. The remainder of this assumes you 

are using the Raspbian “wheezy” download 2012-10-28-wheezy-raspbian.zip 

▪ http://www.raspberrypi.org/downloads 

2. Extract the image file 2012-10-28-wheezy-raspbian.img from the downloaded 

.zip file. 

3. Insert the SD card into your SD card reader and check what drive letter it was 

assigned. You can easily see the drive letter (for example G:) by looking in the 

left column of Windows Explorer. If the card is not new, you should format it; 

otherwise Win32DiskImager may hang. 

4. Download the Win32DiskImager (https://launchpad.net/win32-image-writer) 

utility. The download links are on the right hand side of the page, you want the 

binary zip. 

5. Extract the executable from the zip file and run the Win32DiskImager utility. You 

should run the utility as Administrator! 

6. Select the 2012-10-28-wheezy-raspbian.img image file you extracted earlier 

7. Select the drive letter of the SD card in the device box. Be careful to select the 

correct drive; if you get the wrong one you can destroy your computer's 

hard disk! 

8. Click Write and wait for the write to complete. 

9. Exit the imager and eject the SD card. 

10. Insert the card in the Raspberry Pi, power it on, and it should boot up. There is an 

option in the configure script that comes up to expand the partitions to use all of 

the SD card if you have used one larger than 4 GB 

In Windows the SD card will appear only to have a fairly small size - about 75 Mbytes. 

This is because most of the card has a partition that is formatted for the Linux operating 

system that the RPi uses and is not visible in Windows.

Copying the image to an SD Card on Windows if first 

option isn't successful 

I wasn't able to choose device in Win32DiskImager on my notebook so I found a 

different way to achieve the same thing on windows machine.. 

1. Download the image from a mirror or torrent 


2. Extract the image file 2012-10-28-wheezy-raspbian.img from 

2012-10-28-wheezy-raspbian.zip 

3. Insert the SD card into your SD card reader and check what drive letter it was 

assigned. You can easily see the drive letter (for example H:) by looking in the 

left column of Windows Explorer. 

4. Download flashnul software from http://shounen.ru/soft/flashnul/ here is 

Translated version (http://translate.google.com/ 

translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fshounen.ru%2Fsoft%2Fflashnul%2F&hl=en&ie=UTF8&sl=ru&tl=en) 

▪ Download the latest version at the time of writing it was flashnul-1rc1. 

▪ Download and Extract the application from archive. 

▪ Click Start button > All Programs > Accessories > Command Prompt, right 

click on it and Run as Administrator. 

▪ Run the flashnul with argument: 

C:/flashnul/flashnul.exe -p 

1. ▪ Flashnul will tell you something like: 

Avaible physical drives: 

0 size = 250059350016 (232 Gb) 

1 size = 1990197248 (1898 Mb) 

Avaible logical disks: 

C:\ 

D:\ 

F:\ 

G:\ 

H:\ 

Press ENTER to exit. 

SDCARD number is on left! In my case it is number 1 

1. ▪ Now we will use Load argument: 

C:/flashnul/flashnul.exe 1 -L C:/2012-10-28-wheezy-raspbian.img

where flashnul.exe -L 

1. ▪ Flashnul will give you a device summary and proceed caution, have a quick 

scan through the information to make sure you have selected the correct 

device, then type yes and press enter. 

▪ If you get a access denied error, try re-plugging the SD card. Also make sure 

to close all explorer windows or folders open for the device. 

▪ If you still get a access denied error, try substitute the device number with the 

drive letter followed by a colon. Eg: 

C:/flashnul/flashnul.exe H: -L C:/debian6/debian6-19-04-2012.img 

▪ If the device summary does not match Your card (the size is smaller, e.g. 75MB), but 

you are sure, that the letter is correct - please continue and then try again with the 

device number. 

Copying an image to the SD Card in Mac OS X (mostly 

graphical interface) 



2. Extract the image by double clicking on the download file 

3. Connect the SD Card reader with the SD Card inside; note: must be formatted in 

FAT32! 

4. From the Apple (?) menu, choose About This Mac, then click on More info...; if 

you are using Max OS X 10.8.x Mountain Lion then click on System report. 

5. Click on USB (or Card Reader if using an in-built SD Card reader) then search 

for your SD Card in the upper right section of the window; click it, then search 

for BSD name in the lower right section: must be something like diskn where n is 

a number (e.g.: disk4). Note this number 

6. Unmount the partition so that you will be allowed to overwrite the disk by 

opening Disk Utility and unmounting it (do not eject it, or you have to reconnect 

it) 

7. From the Terminal run: 

▪ sudo dd if=path_of_your_image.img of=/dev/diskn bs=1m 

▪ Remember to replace n with the number that you noted before! 

8. Wait a LONG time! 

9. You're done! Insert it in the raspberry pi, and have fun

Copying an image to the SD Card in Mac OS X 

(command line) 

Note: Some users have reported issues (http://www.raspberrypi.org/phpBB3/ 

search.php?keywords=extra+files&t=8226&sf=msgonly) with using OSX to create SD 

Cards. 

1. These commands and actions need to be performed from an account that has 

administrator privileges. 



3. Verify if the the hash key is the same (optional), in the terminal run: 

▪ shasum ~/Downloads/2012-10-28-wheezy-raspbian.zip 

4. Extract the image: 

▪ unzip ~/Downloads/2012-10-28-wheezy-raspbian.zip 

▪ (or: just double click the zip, it will extract automatically) 

5. From the terminal run df -h 

6. Connect the sdcard reader with the sdcard inside 

7. Run df -h again and look for the new device that wasn't listed last time. Record 

the device name of the filesystem's partition, e.g. /dev/disk3s1 

8. Unmount the partition so that you will be allowed to overwrite the disk: 

▪ sudo diskutil unmount /dev/disk3s1 

▪ (or: open Disk Utility and unmount the partition of the sdcard (do not eject it, 

or you have to reconnect it) 

9. Using the device name of the partition work out the raw device name for the 

entire disk, by omitting the final "s1" and replacing "disk" with "rdisk" (this is 

very important: you will lose all data on the hard drive on your computer if you 

get the wrong device name). Make sure the device name is the name of the whole 

SD card as described above, not just a partition of it (for example, rdisk3, not 

rdisk3s1. Similarly you might have another SD drive name/number like rdisk2 or 

rdisk4, etc. -- recheck by using the df -h command both before & after you insert 

your SD card reader into your Mac if you have any doubts!): 

▪ e.g. /dev/disk3s1 => /dev/rdisk3 

10. In the terminal write the image to the card with this command, using the raw disk 

device name from above (read carefully the above step, to be sure you use the 

correct rdisk# here!): 

▪ sudo dd bs=1m if=~/Downloads/2012-10-28-wheezy-raspbian/ 

2012-10-28-wheezy-raspbian.img of=/dev/rdisk3 

▪ if the above command report an error(dd: bs: illegal numeric value), please 

change bs=1M to bs=1m 

▪ (note that dd will not feedback any information until there is an error or it is 

finished, information will show and disk will re-mount when complete.

However if you are curious as to the progresss - ctrl-T (SIGINFO, the status 

argument of your tty) will display some en-route statistics). 

11. After the dd command finishes, eject the card: 

▪ sudo diskutil eject /dev/rdisk3 

▪ (or: open Disk Utility and eject the sdcard) 

12. Insert it in the raspberry pi, and have fun 

Copying an image to the SD Card in Linux (command 

line) 

Please note that the use of the "dd" tool can overwrite any partition of your machine. If 

you specify the wrong device in the instructions below you could delete your primary 

Linux partition. Please be careful. 

1. Download the zip file containing the image from a mirror or torrent 


2. Verify if the the hash key of the zip file is the same as shown on the downloads 

page (optional). Assuming that you put the zip file in your home directory (~/), in 

the terminal run: 

▪ sha1sum ~/2012-10-28-wheezy-raspbian.zip 

▪ This will print out a long hex number which should match the "SHA-1" line 

for the SD image you have downloaded 

3. Extract the image, with 

▪ unzip ~/2012-10-28-wheezy-raspbian.zip 

4. Run df -h to see what devices are currently mounted 

5. If your computer has a slot for SD cards, insert the card. If not, insert the card 

into an SD card reader, then connect the reader to your computer. 

6. Run df -h again. The device that wasn't there last time is your SD card. The left 

column gives the device name of your SD card. It will be listed as something like 

"/dev/mmcblk0p1" or "/dev/sdd1". The last part ("p1" or "1" respectively) is the 

partition number, but you want to write to the whole SD card, not just one 

partition, so you need to remove that part from the name (getting for example 

"/dev/mmcblk0" or "/dev/sdd") as the device for the whole SD card. Note that the 

SD card can show up more than once in the output of df: in fact it will if you have 

previously written a Raspberry Pi image to this SD card, because the RPi SD 

images have more than one partition. 

7. Now that you've noted what the device name is, you need to unmount it so that 

files can't be read or written to the SD card while you are copying over the SD 

image. So run the command below, replacing "/dev/sdd1" with whatever your SD 

card's device name is (including the partition number) 

▪ umount /dev/sdd1

▪ If your SD card shows up more than once in the output of df due to having 

multiple partitions on the SD card, you should unmount all of these 

partitions. 

8. In the terminal write the image to the card with this command, making sure you 

replace the input file if= argument with the path to your .img file, and the "/dev/ 

sdd" in the output file of= argument with the right device name (this is very 

important: you will lose all data on the hard drive on your computer if you get 

the wrong device name). Make sure the device name is the name of the whole SD 

card as described above, not just a partition of it (for example, sdd, not sdds1 or 

sddp1, or mmcblk0 not mmcblk0p1) 

▪ dd bs=4M if=~/2012-10-28-wheezy-raspbian.img of=/dev/sdd 

▪ Please note that block size set to 4M will work most of the time, if not, 

please try 1M, although 1M will take considerably longer. 

▪ Note that if you are not logged in as root you will need to prefix this with 

sudo 

▪ The dd command does not give any information of its progress and so may 

appear to have frozen. It could take more than five minutes to finish writing 

to the card. If your card reader has an LED it may blink during the write 

process. To forcibly stop the copy operation you can run pkill -USR1 -n -x 

dd in another terminal (prefixed with sudo if you are not logged in as root). 

9. Instead of dd you can use dcfldd; it will give a progress report about how much 

has been written. 

10. You can check what's written to the SD card by dd-ing from the card back to your 

harddisk to another image, and then running diff (or md5sum) on those two 

images. There should be no difference. 

11. As root run the command sync or if a normal user run sudo sync (this will ensure 

the write cache is flushed and that it is safe to unmount your SD card) 

12. Remove SD card from card reader, insert it in the Raspberry Pi, and have fun 

Copying an image to the SD Card in Linux (graphical 

interface) 

If you are using Ubuntu and hesitate to use the terminal, you can use the ImageWriter 

tool (nice graphical user interface) to write the .img file to the SD card. 

1. Download the zip file containing the image from a mirror or torrent 


2. Right click the zip file and select "Extract here" 

▪ ATTENTION: As of this writing (15 June 2012), there is a bug in the 

ImageWriter program that causes it to fail if the filename of the image file or 

its path (i.e. all the names of any parent folders that you extract the image file 

into) contain any space characters. Before going any further, ensure that 

neither the file name of the image you're using or the path contain any spaces

(or other odd characters, for that matter). A bug has been opened for this 

issue: https://bugs.launchpad.net/usb-imagewriter/+bug/1013834 Once the 

issue is fixed, edit this page to advise people to use an updated/patched 

version of ImageWriter. 

3. Insert the SD card into your computer or connect the SD card reader with the SD 

card inside 

4. Install the ImageWriter tool from the Ubuntu Software Center 

5. Launch the ImageWriter tool (it needs your administrative password) 

6. Select the image file (example 2012-10-28-wheezy-raspbian.img) to be written to 

the SD card (note: because you started ImageWriter as administrator the starting 

point when selecting the image file is the administrator's home folder so you need 

to change to your own home folder to select the image file) 

7. Select the target device to write the image to (your device will be something like 

"/dev/mmcblk0" or "/dev/sdc") 

8. Click the "Write to device" button 

9. Wait for the process to finish and then insert the SD card in the Raspberry Pi 

Manually resizing the SD card partitions 

(Optional) 

The SD card image is sized for a 2GB card. So, if you are using an SD card with a greater 

capacity, you may find that only 2GB is available. If this is the case, then to gain more 

free space, the partitions must be resized. The Fedora Remix and the BerryBoot will 

automatically resize the partitions on the mounted card during the first boot. The Debian 

and Rasbian images won't, so you'll have to do it manually. The easiest way is to use the 

tool RPi raspi-config selecting menu item EXPAND-ROOTFS - Expand Root Partition to 

Fill SD Card. If you want to resize the SD card whilst the SD card is not mounted in the 

Pi, look here for instructions. 

Adding a data partition (Optional) 

If you would rather not resize the partition on another machine as described above, either 

because you do not have another working Linux machine or you wish to keep your data 

on another partition to your operating system, you can instead create a new data partition 

and have that mount automatically at boot. 

▪ First you need to become root and install parted (I did all of this from the boot 

command prompt, although if you feel safer in a GUI, you can do all of this in a 

terminal window):

sudo su - 

apt-get install parted 

▪ Then you need to run parted on your SD card, mine is /dev/mmcblk0, ymmv: 

parted /dev/mmcblk0 

▪ Once running, set the display units to something usable and then print your partition 

table 

unit chs 

print 

▪ You should see something like this: 

Model: SD SD08G (sd/mmc) 

Disk /dev/mmcblk0: 121279,3,31 

Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B 

BIOS cylinder,head,sector geometry: 121280,4,32. Each cylinder is 65.5kB. 

Partition Table: msdos 

Number Start End Type File system Flags 

1 16,0,0 1215,3,31 primary fat32 lba 

2 1232,0,0 26671,3,31 primary ext4 

3 26688,0,0 29743,3,31 primary linux-swap(v1) 

▪ Now you need to create your data partition - you need to choose one more than the 

end of partition 3 with ,0,0 as your start and use the number from the line that starts 

with Disk as your end: 

mkpart primary 29744,0,0 121279,3,31 

print 

▪ That should show your new partition: 

Number Start End Type File system Flags 

1 16,0,0 1215,3,31 primary fat32 lba 

2 1232,0,0 26671,3,31 primary ext4 

3 26688,0,0 29743,3,31 primary linux-swap(v1) 

4 29744,0,0 121279,3,31 primary 

▪ Now quit and format the partition (again, ymmv with the specific device name, try ls 

/dev for some clues), and then label it: 

quit 

mkfs.ext4 /dev/mmcblk0p4 

e2label /dev/mmcblk0p4 data 

▪ Now we need to make sure that the partition is mounted automatically when the 

system boots (maybe don't use vi if you never have before, try nano):

vi /etc/fstab 

▪ Enter a line exactly like this at the end of the file and save and quit your text editor: 

/dev/mmcblk0p4 /data ext4 defaults 1 2 

▪ Create the mount point: 

mkdir /data 

▪ Now mount the partition: 

mount /data 

cd /data 

ls 

Your new partition has been created! 

References 

Raspberry Pi 

Model Wizard - Buying Guide - SD Card Setup 

Startup - Basic Setup - Advanced Setup - Beginners 

Guide - Troubleshooting 

Hardware - Hardware History - Low-level 

Hardware 

peripherals - Expansion Boards 

Peripherals Screens - Cases - Other Peripherals 

Software - Distributions - Kernel - Performance 

Software 

- Programming - VideoCore APIs 

Tutorials - Guides - Projects - Tasks - 

Projects 

DataSheets - Education - Communities 

Retrieved from "http://elinux.org/ 

index.php?title=RPi_Easy_SD_Card_Setup&oldid=195308" 

Category: RaspberryPi 

▪ This page was last modified on 24 November 2012, at 14:53. 

▪ Content is available under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 

Unported License.

RPi Beginners 




Buying Guide - for advice on 

buying the Raspberry Pi. 

Preload your Card - for info on 

how to make the SD Card used 

to boot your Pi. 

Basic Setup - for help with 

buying other hardware and 

setting it up. 

Advanced Setup - for more 

extensive information on setting 

up. 

Beginners Guide - you are up 

and running, now what can you 

do? 

Contents 

▪ 1 Where to start? 

▪ 2 What is Linux and why not use Windows? 

▪ 3 Basic Debian RPi Setup 

▪ 3.1 Default login and password 

▪ 3.2 Locale settings 

▪ 3.3 Keyboard layout 

▪ 3.4 Timezone 

▪ 3.5 Create a new user with sudo-privileges 

▪ 3.6 Debian Wheezy, using raspi-config 

▪ 4 Intro to the CLI (Command Line Interface) 

▪ 5 Remote Access 

▪ 6 Adding more software to your Raspberry Pi 

▪ 7 Adding USB Storage to Your Raspberry Pi 

▪ 8 Beginner Projects 

▪ 8.1 Backup your SD card 

▪ 8.2 Media Player 

▪ 8.3 Play Games 

▪ 8.4 Introducing Young Children To Computers 

▪ 8.5 Teaching 

▪ 8.6 Learn To Program 

▪ 8.7 Interface With Hardware 

▪ 8.8 Word Processing/Internet Browsing etc 

▪ 8.9 Your Own Pet Project! 

▪ 9 Living Without RPi 

▪ 9.1 Using Linux 

▪ 9.2 Trying Programming 

▪ 9.3 Controlling Hardware 

▪ 10 About This Page - For Contributors 


There is some restructuring going on , we are sorry for the inconvenience.

Where to start? 

Any easy question to ask, but a very difficult one to answer! 

1. If you are looking for any information related to SD Cards and setup look 

here 

2. If you need to get a RPi, the see the Buying Guide. 

3. If you need to know what equipment you will need and how to set it up, see the 

Basic Hardware Setup page. 

4. If you need to install/setup an SD card see the Preload your Card section. 

5. If something is not working, check the Troubleshooting section. 

6. If you need help with Debian, try the Debian Wiki (http://wiki.debian.org/ 

FrontPage) . 

7. If you have imaged a SD with the Debian Wheezy image and started your RPi 

here's some help with what you see first - the raspi-config menu RPi_raspi-config 

8. Help for Noob's with a quizical disposition and Wheezy or Raspbian instalations 

here 

9. If you don't have a composite monitor or HDMI then it may be worth you 

looking at Blind Login Method 

10. Build yourself a Wheezy LAMP webserver. 

11. VNC connection for the monitorily challenged Noob VNC for a wheezy install 

(noobs that are using the Blind Login) 

12. If you've done all that, and you are wondering what next...welcome and read on! 

References needed (idea for new section Living Without RPi, which can guide users or link to info to users wh 

Link to emulation builds or live linux cds setup for beginners (RacyPy2 for example) 

If you don't have a Raspberry Pi yet, you can still try things out, see Windows RPi 

Emulator (http://sourceforge.net/projects/rpiqemuwindows/) for details. 

What is Linux and why not use 

Windows? 

Linux is an operating system just like Windows, however, unlike Windows (which needs 

a set hardware requirement to run i.e. One Size fits or get different hardware), Linux 

comes in many varieties and configurations which means you can usually find a flavour 

(or Distribution) which fits your hardware big or small / fast or slow.

The Raspberry Pi is not suited to running Windows due to its hardware, but there are 

plenty of Linux Distributions which fit nicely. In addition to this, most Distributions of 

Linux are free, however Windows can cost many times the price of the Raspberry Pi 

itself. 

Chances are you already have Linux running in your home without you even knowing it, 

since it is commonly used in modern TVs, Freeview and cable boxes to run things and 

ensure your recording of Inbetweeners or Prison Break gets done! 

For more information about Linux see Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux) 

Also see FAQ And Running XXX on the RPi 

Basic Debian RPi Setup 

When you first turn on your Raspberry Pi with it's fresh Debian image on the SD card, 

you will likely want to tweak the system settings. 

Default login and password 

See the Username:Password column of distributions table to access your Pi. 

Locale settings 

By configuring the locale settings, you can change the language and country settings (e.g. 

to get correct sorting behaviour) for much of the software available for the RPi. The 

default RPi locale is English/Great Britain ("en_GB"). 

You can alter this with 

sudo dpkg-reconfigure locales 

You will get a very long list of possible locales. You can enable/disable a locale by 

pressing the spacebar (not Enter), and scroll through the list using the arrow keys or 

PgUp/PgDn. 

Selecting "All locales" will generate all possible locales, taking a very long time and 

using a great deal of space. Select only those you wish to use. 

It is highly recommended to stick to the UTF-8 locales, and to leave the en_GB.UTF-8 

locale enabled, in addition to any other locales you enable.

If you're unsure of which locale to pick, look up a two-letter language code and a twoletter 

country code on Wikipedia, and see if you can find a matching locale. 

When you're done picking locale(s), press Enter. You will be prompted to select a default 

locale as well. 

Keyboard layout 

If different letters appear on-screen from that which you typed, you need to reconfigure 

you keyboard settings. In Debian, from a command line type: 

sudo dpkg-reconfigure keyboard-configuration 

Follow the prompts. 

Or: From the command line type: 

sudo nano /etc/default/keyboard 

Then find where it says 

XKBLAYOUT="gb" 

and change the gb to the two-letter code for your country. [1] 

(http://www.raspberrypi.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?p=78325#p78325) 

Also, see the Troubleshooting Guide for more information about remapping the 

keyboard. 

You may need to restart for the changes to take effect. 

If you get a very long delay during the keyboard mapping at startup, type the following 

once on the command line after you have logged in: 

sudo setupcon 

If the selected keyboard layout is not applied in the console (that is, when not running 

under X), try: 

sudo apt-get install console-data

Timezone 

Unless you live in Great Britain, you'll have to change the default timezone: 

sudo dpkg-reconfigure tzdata 

Select geographic area - Europe, America or whatever. Etc gives UNIX compatible time 

zones including CUT, GMT, UTC 

Select city 

Follow the prompts to finish the config. The change should be immediate. 

Create a new user with sudo-privileges 

You may want to create a new user account for yourself. 

Type in following command in the terminal to create a new user (for example the user 

john): 

sudo adduser john 

Follow the steps. 

To allow the newly created user to use the "sudo" command, type: 

sudo visudo 

Add following line under the "root ALL=(ALL) ALL" Line: 

john ALL=(ALL) ALL 

Now press CTRL+O, X to save and exit the editor. 

Alternatively instead of adding the user to the sudoers list, you can add your user to the 

sudo group with the following command: 

adduser john sudo

Debian Wheezy, using raspi-config 

Debian Wheezy has a menu that will do some of the above and more. See raspi-config 

Intro to the CLI (Command Line 

Interface) 

You will need to use the Command Line Interface at some point in your management of 

the RPi. The command line interface is a powerful way to interact with the Raspberry Pi 

and is well worth learning some basic commands to get started with. 

For an introductory guide to some basic commands please see: Command Line Interface 

"Must Have" Commands (http://elinux.org/CLI_Spells) . Featured on the Raspberry Pi 

home page (http://www.raspberrypi.org/archives/1414) was also a link to this site for 

"learning the shell" (http://linuxcommand.org/learning_the_shell.php) 

Your SD card may boot into a GUI, if not and you are done with the text interface and 

want to use a graphical one instead, run: 

startx 

Remote Access 

Your default install probably has a ssh (secure shell) "daemon" running. This means that 

you can run everything on your Rpi with only the network attached. Provided you know 

which ip address it has. With appropriate software installed on your Winodws, Mac or 

Linux PC, you can also run a gui remotely. 

Prior to your initial remote access it is recommended that you regenerate unique host 

public/private ID keys with the following command 

rm /etc/ssh/ssh_host_* && dpkg-reconfigure openssh-server 

More details about remote access (including remote GUI are at RPi Remote Access

Adding more software to your Raspberry 

Pi 

You will probably want to add software to your Raspberry Pi. Here you can find out how 

to do it. Adding Software (http://elinux.org/Add_software) 

Adding USB Storage to Your Raspberry 

Pi 

Sooner or later, you're going to run out of room on the SD card used to boot up your 

Raspberry Pi. For a tutorial on how to connect USB flash drives and hard drives to your 

Pi to expand storage, see: Adding USB Drives to a Raspberry Pi (http://elinux.org/ 

RPi_Adding_USB_Drives) 

Beginner Projects 

Here are a few things you can try out with your Raspberry Pi, in most cases all you'll 

need is your SD Card loaded with a particular preconfigured OS Distribution. 

It will be worth getting a few spare SD Cards if you think you will switch between setups 

regularly or become familiar with how to back up and restore your card. 

Reference needed - a good guide on how to backup and restore cards or software to do this easily 

Backup your SD card 

For Windows users the 'Raw HDD Copy Tool' from HDD Guru works well to backup and 

restore your SD card between proejcts. This can backup and restore the entire card sector 

by sector to/from an img file, and doesn't care which file system is on the card. 

http://hddguru.com/software/HDD-Raw-Copy-Tool/ 

Linux users can use the dd tool that comes with most versions of Linux (including 

Raspbian) to save the contents of an SD card as an image file. Warning: be sure to use 

this tool carefully as accidentally choosing your hard drive as the output may destroy all 

data on it.

Media Player 

With this configuration you will typically have the Raspberry Pi connected to a TV or 

large monitor and a source of videos/music/photos etc you wish to play (i.e. Internet/ 

hard-drive/local network etc). 

DesignSpark have written an article on this, which is worth a look, DesignSpark - 

Raspberry Pi goes to the movies (http://www.designspark.com/content/raspberry-pi-goesmovies) 

You can download an installer from www.raspbmc.com which will install to your desktop 

(IOS, Windows, Linux) and write the latest install to your SD card. You then boot your Pi 

with the card and go through the config steps. 

There is a breif video basic tutorial here: http://www.instructables.com/id/RaspberryPi- 

Media-center-XMBC/ 

Reference needed - More information is needed on specific configuration choices for 

raspbmc, although raspbmc.com does have a wiki. 

Play Games 

While there are not any commercial games for the Raspberry Pi (yet) there are plenty 

ways to play games on it. 

Many distributions will have games built into them, and some may well support 

emulation of other platforms so you can run those games. 

Also, a lot of Raspberry Pi users will be writing simple games which will be available for 

others to enjoy (and if desired added to or modified). 

Reference needed - game section is empty at the moment! 

See the Games Section for more details 

Introducing Young Children To Computers 

Reference needed - some kid friendly and fun stuff!

Teaching 

There is a huge number of groups, links and resources available within the Education 

section. 

Reference needed - links to the learning pages, education links and school/university groups 

Learn To Program 

There is a huge selection of programming languages which you can use to write 

interesting programs, games, applications and utilities. There are also more great links 

within the Education section. 

There is a huge selection to choose from (not just Python...) which should suit any ability 

and a range of purposes. 

If you are new to programming, there are plenty of tutorials for getting started in the 

Tutorials Section. 

Books about programming can be found in the Books Section. 

In the latest Debian, Python (+Pygame) and MIT Scratch are pre-installed. 

Reference needed - links to the learning pages, recommended books? 

Interface With Hardware 

1. Interfacing with Arduino 

Reference needed - links to basic circuits tutorials and expansion boards 

Word Processing/Internet Browsing etc 

Yes, the Raspberry Pi can do the majority of the dull stuff too which other computers do. 

Debian currently comes with Midori installed for web browsing and word processing 

programs be installed rather easily.

▪ Entering "sudo apt-get install chromium-browser" into a terminal will install 

Chromium which is generally a faster and more featured browser than Midori 

▪ Entering "sudo apt-get install openoffice.org" into a terminal will install 

OpenOffice.org, a free Microsoft Office-like application suite 

▪ Entering "sudo apt-get install abiword-common" into a terminal will install AbiWord, 

a lighter weight but still fully functional word processor 

▪ Entering "sudo apt-get install gnumeric" into a terminal will install Gnumeric, a 

lighter weight but still fully functional spreadsheet 

More information needed 

Your Own Pet Project! 

The sky is the limit really, with some time and effort any number of projects can be 

achieved. 

Even if you don't have the skill to do it yourself, you can join like minded people by 

getting involved with one of the numerous groups in the Community Section, also within 

the Education pages or learn what you need in from the Guides & Tutorials sections. 

Of course, if you do anything interesting then please let us know in the Projects section. 

Living Without RPi 

Even if you do not have any Raspberry Pi hardware there are a number things you can do 

to learn about linux, programming or even controlling hardware. 

Using Linux 

You can install a version of Linux on most computers, and many you will be able to "try 

out" Linux by using a "Live CD" - this will start your computer up running from a CD or 

DVD and run Linux (without installing anything to the computer itself). 

RacyPy - This is a simple LiveCD of Puppy Linux which includes some basic 

programming languages and a light-weight graphical user interface (GUI). 

You can get it from here: 

teampython RacyPy (http://teampython.wordpress.com/2012/03/03/while-you-wait-foryour-raspberry-pi-why-not-use-racypy2/)

Trying Programming 

Many of the programming languages you can use on the Raspberry Pi can be installed on 

a Windows or Mac machine. Just visit the websites of the languages you are interested in 

and see if they have an installer for your operating system. 

Controlling Hardware 

As discussed in the Easy GPIO Hardware & Software tutorials, there are lots of 

alternative hardware you can use to experiment with (some as little as $5). 

About This Page - For Contributors 

The intention of this page is to provide a starting point for beginners and to direct them 

to the kind of information a person would need in order to start doing something useful or 

interesting with a Raspberry Pi. 

It is not intended to contain or replicate much of the information already available on-line 

or elsewhere in the wiki, however please create new wiki pages and link them here if 

there is information beginners will find useful (similarly any section which grows too 

much here, should be separated into new pages as and when needed)! 

At the moment building up ideas of content of typical things beginners will want to know and the kind of thin 

References 

Raspberry Pi 





Hardware 




Software 

- Programming - VideoCore APIs


Projects 


Retrieved from "http://elinux.org/index.php?title=RPi_Beginners&oldid=189392" 




Unported License.

RPi Hardware Basic Setup 




Buying Guide - for advice on 

buying the Raspberry Pi. 

Preload your Card - for info on 

how to make the SD Card used 

to boot your Pi. 

Basic Setup - for help with 

buying other hardware and 

setting it up. 

Advanced Setup - for more 

extensive information on 

setting up. 

Beginners Guide - you are up 

and running, now what can you 

do? 

Contents 

▪ 1 Typical Hardware You Will Need 

▪ 1.1 Prepared Operating System SD Card 

▪ 1.2 Keyboard & Mouse 

▪ 1.3 Display 

▪ 1.4 Power Supply 

▪ 1.5 Cables 

▪ 1.6 Additional Peripherals 

▪ 1.6.1 Internet Connectivity 

▪ 1.6.2 USB-Hub 

▪ 1.6.3 Heatsink 

▪ 1.6.4 Case 

▪ 1.6.5 Real Time Clock 

▪ 1.6.6 SD card reader 

▪ 1.6.7 Expansion & Low Level Peripherals 

▪ 2 Connecting Together 

▪ 3 External Links 


Typical Hardware You Will Need 

While the RPi can be used without any additional hardware (except perhaps a power 

supply of some kind), it won't be much use as a general computer. As with any normal 

PC, it is likely you will need some additional hardware. 

IMPORTANT For USB devices other than a mouse and a simple wired keyboard (for 

USB devices drawing more than 100mA) a powered USB hub is strongly recommended. 

A technical discussion as to why can be found here (http://www.raspberrypi.org/phpBB3/ 

viewtopic.php?f=24&t=5830) . Specifically the RPI's built in USB hub is designed only 

for "Single current unit" USB devices. Note that when using Revision 2 (or later) boards

the problem has been mitigated somewhat with the removal of the USB polyfuses, still 

due to the limited current the PI can provide to USB devices, due to its main polyfuse, its 

still recommended to use a hub for all USB peripherals requiring more than 100mA. 

The following are more or less essential, and are all available from The Pi Hut's 

Raspberry Pi Store (http://thepihut.com/) : 

▪ Raspberry Pi board 

▪ Prepared Operating System SD Card 

▪ USB keyboard 

▪ Display (with HDMI, DVI, Composite or SCART input) 

▪ Power Supply 

▪ Cables 

Highly suggested extras include: 

▪ USB mouse 

▪ Internet connectivity - a USB WiFi adaptor (Model A/B) or a LAN cable (Model B) 

▪ Powered USB Hub 

▪ Case 

▪ Real Time Clock - If you can't count on Network Time 

▪ SD card reader - if you need to prepare your own SD card 

Prepared Operating System SD Card 

As the RPi has no internal storage or built-in operating system it requires an SD-Card that 

is set up to boot the RPi. 

▪ Have a look at RPi Easy SD Card Setup to create your own preloaded SD Card. 

▪ If you want an extensive technical explanation, look here : Create your own 

preloaded card using any RPi VerifiedPeripherals#SD_cards card you have and this 

HowTo . 

▪ Preloaded SD cards will be available from the RPi Shop 

(http://www.raspberrypi.com) , The Pi Hut's Raspberry Pi Store 

(http://thepihut.com/) or eBay (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/330743733755) . 

▪ For configuration of boot options and extensive graphic modes, look at the 

Configuration page. 

NOTE: An RPi SD card can only be used to boot an RPi. A normal PC will refuse to boot 

from an RPi SD card. 

This guide will assume you have a preloaded SD card. 

To check your SD card is compatible with Linux, see RPi VerifiedPeripherals#SD_cards.

Keyboard & Mouse 

Most standard USB keyboards and mice will work with the RPi. Wireless keyboard/mice 

should also function, and only require a single USB port for an RF dongle. In order to use 

a Bluetooth keyboard or mouse you would need to use a Bluetooth dongle, which again 

uses a single port. 

Remember that the Model A has a single USB port and the Model B only has two 

(typically a keyboard and mouse will use a USB port each) - see USB Hub below. 

To check your mouse and keyboard are compatible with Linux, see RPi Verified 

Peripherals. 

Display 

There are two main connection options for the RPi display, HDMI (high definition) and 

Composite (low definition). 

▪ HD TVs and most LCD Monitors can be connected using a full-size 'male' HDMI 

cable, and with an inexpensive adaptor if DVI is used. HDMI versions 1.3 and 1.4 are 

supported, and a version 1.4 cable is recommended. The RPi outputs audio and video 

via HMDI, but does not support HDMI input. 

▪ Most older TVs can be connected using Composite (a yellow-to-yellow cable). PAL 

and NTSC TVs are supported. Note that the RCA output is composite video, not RF, 

so it cannot be connected directly to the antenna input of a TV, you need to connected 

it the the yellow video input connector, or to the SCART input using a RCA to 

SCART plug, (adapter). 

When using composite video, audio is available from a 3.5mm (1/8 inch) socket, and can 

be sent to your TV, or to an amplifier. To send audio to your TV, you will need a cable 

which adapts from 3.5mm to double (red and white) RCA connectors. These red and 

white can go into the red and white RCA plug inputs of a TV, or a stereo set, or to the 

above mentioned RCA to SCART plug. Another option for audio (when not using 

HDMI) is to connect the 3.5mm jackplug to an amplified speakerset. Do not connect the 

3.5 mm jack directly to a headset, as the 3.5 mm audio output isn't suitable to drive 

headsets, only amplifier inputs. Attaching a low impedance load, (such as a headset) to 

the stereo audio output may lead to distorted sound. 

Note: There is no VGA output available, so older VGA monitors will require an 

expensive adaptor. 

Using an HDMI to DVI-D (digital) adaptor plus a DVI to VGA adaptor will not work. 

HDMI does not supply the DVI-A (analogue) needed to convert to VGA - converting an 

HDMI or DVI-D source to VGA (or component) needs an active converter. (It can work

out cheaper to buy a new monitor.) The lack of VGA has been acknowledged as a priority 

issue. In a Q/A with Slashdot (http://interviews.slashdot.org/story/11/09/14/1554243/ 

Eben-Upton-Answers-Your-Questions) Eben said that they plan to look into providing 

some form of add-on. 

For detailed information see Rpi Screens. 

Power Supply 

The unit uses a Micro USB connection to power itself (only the power pins are connected 

- so it will not transfer data over this connection). A standard modern phone charger with 

a micro-USB connector will do, but needs to produce at least 700mA at 5 volts. Check 

your power supply's ratings carefully, and beware cheap knock-offs! 

(http://www.raspberrypi.org/forum/general-discussion/power-supply-warning) . Suitable 

mains adaptors will be available from the RPi Shop (http://www.raspberrypi.com) as well 

as The Pi Hut's Raspberry Pi Store (http://thepihut.com/collections/power-supplies) or 

eBay (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/330757401271) and are recommended if you are unsure 

what to use. 

You can use a range of other power sources (assuming they are able to provide enough 

current ~700mA): 

▪ Computer USB Port or powered USB hub (will depend on power output) 

▪ Special wall warts with USB ports 

▪ Mobile Phone Backup Battery (will depend on power output) (in theory - needs 

confirmation) 

▪ Modern TV with built-in USB (for example, it has been shown to work with the Sony 

KDL-40HX723 and KDL-55NX813) 

▪ Internet Routers with USB Ports (the BT Home Hub 3 seems to run the Pi nicely) 

To use the above, you'll need a USB A 'male' to USB micro 'male' cable - these are often 

shipped as data cables with mobile phones. 

For detailed information about power requirements see RPi Hardware - Power. 

Cables 

You will probably need a number of cables in order to connect your RPi up. 

1. Micro-B USB Power Cable (see above) picture (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ 

File:MicroB_USB_Plug.jpg) . This has to be a high quality one. Tested cables 

available at The Pi Hut's Raspberry Pi Store (http://thepihut.com/collections/ 

cables)

2. HDMI-A picture (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:HDMI.jpg) or Composite 

cable picture (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Composite-video-cable.jpg) , plus 

DVI adaptor picture (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ 

File:Adapter_dvi_hdmi_S7302224_wp.jpg) or SCART adaptor picture 

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Multiconnector-scart-chti.jpg) if required, to 

connect your RPi to the Display/Monitor/TV of your choice. Tested cables 

available at The Pi Hut's Raspberry Pi Store (http://thepihut.com/collections/ 

cables) 

3. Audio cable picture (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Audio-TRS-Mini- 

Plug.jpg) , this is not needed if you use a HDMI TV/monitor. 

4. Ethernet/LAN Cable (see below) picture (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ 

File:Ethernet_RJ45_connector_p1160054.jpg) . 

The price you pay for an HDMI cable can very wildly and under most circumstances a 

low-cost cable from a reputable online or local supplier will be absolutely fine, but the 

definition of what constitutes 'low cost' can vary wildly - for example, in the UK, a 1m 

cable can be purchased for anything between £1 and £24.99. If, however, you want to 

drive a display some distance from the RPi (say greater than the ubiquitous 1.8m/6ft), or 

you are using a video switch to share a display between several devices, then higher 

quality cables might be wise - for example, a pair of 1m HDMI cables purchased in a UK 

'pound shop' worked fine when directly connected between the RPi and a display, but 

would not give a stable picture when used via an HDMI switch. Replacing the £1 1m 

cable with a 1.5m cable bought online for £1.30 fixed the problem. For more insight: 

Why you don't need to spend more than £2 on an HDMI cable 

(http://www.techradar.com/news/video/why-you-dont-need-to-spend-more-than-2-on-anhdmi-cable-1071343) 

Additional Peripherals 

You may decide you want to use various other devices with your RPi, such as Flash 

Drives/Portable Hard Drives, Speakers etc. 

For detailed information see RPi Verified Peripherals. 

Internet Connectivity 

This may be an Ethernet/LAN cable (standard RJ45 connector) or a USB WiFi adaptor. 

The RPi ethernet port is auto-sensing which means that it may be connected to a router or 

directly to another computer (without the need for a crossover cable [1] ). 

Support for USB WiFi adaptors will vary - see RPi Verified Peripherals.

Note: If a Netgear router has a blank in the fourth box of the subnet mask, raspbian will 

interpret that as a 255, not as a '0' like Ubuntu will do. This will give you a subnet mask 

of 255.255.255.255 and a useless network connection. Changing the router's setting to 

put a '0' in the last field and reinitializing the network will fix this. 

USB-Hub 

In order to connect additional devices to the RPi, you may want to obtain a USB Hub, 

which will allow multiple devices to be used. 

It is nearly a requirement that a powered hub is used - this will provide any additional 

power to the devices without affecting the RPi itself. The USB ports are fused at about 

140ma each without an additional external power source. This not enough to power a 

hard drive, and you may even have trouble powering wireless adapters and other 

peripherals. There is enough current out there, however, for mice and most keyboards. 

(see RPi Hardware - Power section). 

USB version 2.0 is recommended. USB version 1.1 is fine for keyboards and mice, but 

may not be fast enough for other accessories. 

Heatsink 

Not a vital accessory for your RPi, but will help to reduce the CPU's temperature whilst 

under load. Available from Etsy (http://www.etsy.com/shop/nhslzt) The Pi Hut's 

Raspberry Pi Store (http://thepihut.com/collections/heatsinks) or eBay 

(http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/330758220781) 

Case 

Since the RPi is supplied without a case, it will be important to ensure that you do not use 

it in places where it will come into contact with conductive metal or liquids, unless 

suitably protected. Some form of case should be considered, and there is a Rpi case 

thread (http://www.raspberrypi.org/forum/general-discussion/cases-for-the-raspberry-pi) 

on the forum. Cases are also available from The Pi Hut's Raspberry Pi Store 

(http://thepihut.com/collections/cases) 

For detailed information see Rpi Cases. 

Real Time Clock 

There are a number of possible solutions for real time clocks, but so far, most are either 

expensive or not particularly friendly.

One promising device is the Cymbet Evaluation board (CBC-EVAL-06) available from 

digikey for approximately $30. Cymbet is in the business of making small batteries and 

this eval board is intended just as a demonstration of their product using COTS parts on a 

small board that plugs directly into the USB. Their product is actually the batter that 

backs up the RTC memory and oscillator when not receiving power from the USB. 

However, this demo board is very well suited to this application. Ideally, a makeroriented 

company will pick up this reference design and start producing boards based on 

it at a lower cost in larger volume. 

To use this board, you will need some software. libmpsse from Google Code 

(http://code.google.com/p/libmpsse/) is a GPL library that can talk to the board in userspace. 

User friendly software is a work in progress visible on GITHub http://github.com/ 

owendelong/Cymbet-RTC 

SD card reader 

If you will not use a preloaded SD card to boot from, you will need an SD card reader to 

prepare an SD card. 

Note that the SD card reader will be connected to a traditional PC, not to the RPi. You 

may use an SD card reader integrated into your PC, or you may use a dedicated USBconnected 

SD card reader. Note that several peripherals may also be used as an SD card 

reader, for example cameras, smartphones, camcorders and GPS units. 

Expansion & Low Level Peripherals 

If you plan on making use of the low level interfaces available on the RPi, then ensure 

you have suitable header pins for the GPIO (and if required JTAG) suitable for your 

needs. 

Also if you have a particular low-level project in mind, then ensure you design in suitable 

protection circuits to keep your RPi safe (details will be made available within the RPi 

Projects, Guides & Tutorials section). 

For detailed information see Rpi Low-level Peripherals.

Connecting Together 

You can use the diagram to connect everything 

together, or use the following instructions: 

1. Plug the preloaded SD Card into the Pi. 

2. Plug the USB keyboard and mouse into the 

Pi, perhaps via a USB Hub. Connect the Hub 

to power, if necessary. 

3. Plug the video cable into the screen (TV) and 

into the Pi. 

4. Plug your extras into the Pi (USB WiFi, 

Ethernet cable, hard drive etc.). This is where 

you may really need a USB Hub. 

5. Ensure that your USB Hub (if any) and 

screen are working. 

6. Plug the power source into the main socket. 

7. With your screen on, plug the other end of 

the power source into the Pi. 

8. The Pi should boot up and display messages 

on the screen. 

A diagram denoting the places of 

the different components on the 

Rpi, made by Paul Beech. Click to 

enlarge. 

It is always recommended to connect the MicroUSB 

Power to the unit last (while most connections can be 

made live, it is best practice to connect items such as displays and other connections with 

the power turned off). 

If you use both a R-PI power supply and a powered hub, its recommended you connect 

them to the same switched power bar, and use the switch on the power bar to switch off 

both the R-PI and hub at the exact same time. 

Also, always shutdown using the software shutdown function, not by pulling the plug. 

When not using a GUI, (with a GUI use the GUI command) you can use the command 

"shutdown -h now", and power off when all the LED's on the board (except the power 

LED) go off. This is especially important the first time you boot, as in the process the R- 

PI modifies the content of the SD-card, without a clean shutdown the contents of the card 

may be damaged. 

The RPi may take a long time to boot when powered-on for the first time, so be patient, 

and cleanly shutdown afterwards, as described above!

External Links 

For a verbose guide aimed at absolute beginners, see Peripherals You'll Need 

(http://h2g2.com/A13413584) and Getting Started (http://h2g2.com/A9143796) in h2g2's 

'Introducing the Raspberry Pi'. 

References 

1. ↑ Wikipedia:Auto-MDIX (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ 

Medium_dependent_interface#Auto-MDIX) 

Raspberry Pi 





Hardware 




Software 



Projects 



index.php?title=RPi_Hardware_Basic_Setup&oldid=178880" 


▪ This page was last modified on 8 October 2012, at 14:50. 


Unported License.

RPi Peripherals 


Setup examples for various peripherals 

Wireless: TP-Link TL-WN722N USB wireless adapter (Debian 6) 

See also: 

http://www.element14.com/community/docs/DOC-44703/l/raspberry-pi-wifi-adaptertesting 

http://omer.me/2012/04/setting-up-wireless-networks-under-debian-on-raspberry-pi/ 

This will serve as a general guide for USB wireless devices but may need modifying for 

your specific one. 

▪ Edit /etc/apt/sources.list to add the non-free archive and backports (eg: sudo vi /etc/ 

apt/sources.list): 

deb http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/ squeeze main non-free 

deb http://security.debian.org/ squeeze/updates main non-free 

deb http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/ squeeze-updates main non-free 

deb http://backports.debian.org/debian-backports squeeze-backports main non-free 

▪ Update the package cache: 

sudo apt-get update 

▪ Download the wifi utils: 

sudo apt-get install wireless-tools usbutils 

▪ Download the required firmware and put it in the correct location - you may not need 

to do this for your adapter or you may need different firmware - see below. 

sudo apt-get install firmware-atheros 

sudo wget http://linuxwireless.org/download/htc_fw/1.3/htc_9271.fw 

sudo cp htc_9271.fw /lib/firmware 

▪ Add adapter definition to network config - eg: sudo vi /etc/network/interfaces - add 

the wlan0 section:

# Used by ifup(8) and ifdown(8). See the interfaces(5) manpage or 

# /usr/share/doc/ifupdown/examples for more information. 

auto lo 

iface lo inet loopback 

iface eth0 inet dhcp 

# The wireless interface 

auto wlan0 

iface wlan0 inet dhcp 

wpa-conf /etc/wpa.conf 

or 

▪ Plug in adapter 

▪ Confirm adapter is present: 

root@raspberrypi:~# sudo iwconfig 

lo no wireless extensions. 

eth0 no wireless extensions. 

wlan0 IEEE 802.11bgn ESSID:off/any 

Mode:Managed Access Point: Not-Associated Tx-Power=20 dBm 

Retry long limit:7 RTS thr:off Fragment thr:off 

Encryption key:off 

Power Management:off 

▪ Scan your network to see what wireless access points can be seen. You may need to 

do this to identify your network's SSID (name), but it also confirms that the wifi 

dongle is doing something. The first command just lists the SSIDs found, the second 

tells you probably more than you ever want to know: 

sudo iwlist wlan0 scan | grep ESSID 

sudo iwlist wlan0 scan 

▪ Create the wpa.conf file - eg: sudo vi /etc/wpa.conf: 

Note: The ssid is case sensitive - if your WLAN's SSID is MYLAN, using "mylan" 

will not work - you won't connect! 

network={ 

ssid="NETWORK-SSID" 

proto=RSN 

key_mgmt=WPA-PSK 

pairwise=CCMP TKIP 

group=CCMP TKIP 

psk="YOUR-WLAN-PASSWORD" 

}

▪ Start the adapter 

sudo ifup wlan0 

▪ Double-check whether you are connected - below the WLAN interface has been 

given an IP address - looks good! 

root@raspberrypi:~# ifconfig 

eth0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr b8:27:eb:76:7e:2e 

inet addr:192.168.202.75 Bcast:192.168.202.255 Mask:255.255.255.0 

UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1488 Metric:1 

RX packets:1060 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0 

TX packets:146 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0 

collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000 

RX bytes:95749 (93.5 KiB) TX bytes:48493 (47.3 KiB) 

lo Link encap:Local Loopback 

inet addr:127.0.0.1 Mask:255.0.0.0 

UP LOOPBACK RUNNING MTU:16436 Metric:1 




RX bytes:560 (560.0 B) TX bytes:560 (560.0 B) 

wlan0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr b0:48:7a:91:5c:f4 

inet addr:192.168.222.161 Bcast:192.168.222.255 Mask:255.255.255.0 

UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1 




RX bytes:2260 (2.2 KiB) TX bytes:1542 (1.5 KiB) 

If you are now connected, well done! If not, check your editing and also have a look at 

the output of dmesg to see if you have any error messages. You can also view the system 

log for messages - for example: sudo cat /var/log/messages | more 

You are connected, you can ping and be pinged, hovewer to add network connectivity 

you may want to specify define default gateway: 

sudo route add default gw 192.168.1.254 wlan0 

Notes 

USB interrupt/dma system debug messages 

Firing up the TP-Link USB WLAN interface generates a lot of debug messages in the 

system log like this: 

DEBUG:handle_hc_chhltd_intr_dma:: XactErr without NYET/NAK/ACK

Things may calm down a bit if the following file is created in /etc/modprobe.d (eg: sudo 

vi /etc/modprobe.d/smscnonturbo.conf) and then the RPi rebooted: 

smscnonturbo.conf: 

options smsc95xx turbo_mode=N 

This fix may slow down wired LAN performance but help with wireless and reduce the 

frequency of the debug messages - YMMV. If you want to undo this fix, just delete the 

file (sudo rm /etc/modprobe.d/smscnonturbo.conf) and reboot. 

Firmware requirements 

If no wlanx device is shown, you might need to download firmware for your USB wifi 

device (or track down other compatible drivers if they are available). To confirm this, 

check the dmesg output when you plug in your adapter - typing dmesg at the command 

prompt may be sufficient - and look for information related to your adapter - the example 

dmesg output below shows what is seen in the event of the TP-Link firmware not being 

present - notice that the name of the required firmware file is given (htc_9271.fw), the 

driver name (ath9k_htc) and an error -22 message: 

usb 1-1.2.4.2: ath9k_htc: Firmware - htc_9271.fw not found 

ath9k_htc: probe of 1-1.2.4.2:1.0 failed with error -22 

usbcore: registered new interface driver ath9k_htc 

Armed with this information, try a web search for 'debian 6' and the name of the driver or 

driver file and/or head over to http://linuxwireless.org. Also check the links at the top of 

this page. 

Power requirements 

If you experience erratic network, keyboard, mouse or Raspberry Pi operation when 

using a USB wifi dongle, check that whatever is powering your RPi and/or USB hub can 

deliver sufficient current for everything that's connected together. The first setup tried 

with the TP-Link adapter had it, a keyboard, mouse and the RPi all connected to a Trust 

7-port powered USB hub with a 5V 2A power supply, but in this configuration the mouse 

stopped working. In this case, the fix was to power the RPi from a separate 5V 1A phone 

power adapter. 

wpasupplicant deamon failed to start 

a) If you get this error when you attempt to

sudo ifup wlan0 

Then there may be a syntax error in your 

/etc/wpa.conf 

For example, ensure that your SSID and Password have double quotes round them, and 

that the curly brackets are closed. 

b) Another possible solution could be changing: 

iface wlan0 inet dhcp 

to 

iface wlan0 inet manual 

in /etc/network/interfaces. Then sudo ifup wlan0 then sudo ifdown wlan0 then changing 

manual to dhcp. Works me, as described http://unix.stackexchange.com/a/7717. 

Retrieved from "http://elinux.org/index.php?title=RPi_Peripherals&oldid=168254" 


▪ This page was last modified on 9 September 2012, at 21:59. 


Unported License.

RPi Screens 



Hardware & Peripherals: 

Hardware and Hardware History. 

Low-level Peripherals and Expansion 

Boards. 

Screens, Cases and Other Peripherals. 

Supported Standards 

Contents 

The following display outputs are supported on the board: 

▪ 1 Supported Standards 

▪ 2 HDMI 

▪ 2.1 Motorola Atrix Lapdock 

▪ 3 DVI 

▪ 4 Composite video 

▪ 5 RGB analog/VGA 

▪ 6 RGB digital 

▪ 7 Interfacing to non-monitor LCD panels 

▪ 7.1 DSI port 

▪ 7.2 Character cell LCD modules 


▪ Composite video (NTSC and PAL) via an RCA plug (the yellow socket on your TV) 

or SCART socket. 

▪ HDMI 1.3a standard output. 

▪ Display Serial Interface (DSI) - via unpopulated 15-way flat flex connector. 

These interfaces allow the use of a broad range of displays, including: 

▪ Televisions (HDMI or composite). 

▪ Computer monitors (HDMI/DVI-D cable) (VGA monitors would require either a 

composite or HDMI to VGA or component scan converter box). 

▪ DLP/Laser Pico Projectors (HDMI/DVI-D cable). 

▪ RAW LCD panels (DSI + interfacing hardware) 

▪ Composite and HDMI outputs can not be used at the same time (one or the other.)

For more info about DVI, VGA, and SCART screens see The RPi Verified Peripherals 

Page (http://elinux.org/RPi_Verified_Peripherals#Display_adapters) 

HDMI 

You can connect the RasPi HDMI connector directly to an HDMI monitor using a 

standard HDMI cable. 

Motorola Atrix Lapdock 

A number of people have used a Motorola Atrix (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ 

Motorola_Atrix_4G) Lapdock to add a screen and keyboard with trackpad to RasPi, in 

essence building a RasPi-based laptop computer. Lapdock is a very clever idea: you plug 

your Atrix smart phone into Lapdock and it gives you an 11.6" 1366 x 768 HDMI 

monitor with speakers, a keyboard with trackpad, two USB ports, and a large enough 

battery for roughly 5 hours of use. The smart phone acts as a motherboard with "good 

enough" performance. The advantage over a separate laptop or desktop computer is that 

you have one computing device so you don't need to transfer files between your phone 

and your desk/laptop. 

Unfortunately for Motorola, Lapdock was not successful (probably because of its 

US$500 list price) and Motorola discontinued it and sold remaining stock at deep 

discounts, with many units selling for US$50-100. This makes it a very attractive way to 

add a modest size HDMI screen to RasPi, with a keyboard/trackpad and rechargeable 

battery power thrown in for free. 

Lapdock has two connectors that plug into an Atrix phone: a Micro HDMI D plug for 

carrying video and sound, and a Micro USB plug for charging the phone and connecting 

to the Lapdock's internal USB hub, which talks to the Lapdock keyboard, trackpad, and 

two USB ports. With suitable cables and adapters, these two plugs can be connected to 

RasPi's full-size HDMI connector and one of RasPi's full-size USB A ports. 

The RasPi forum has a long thread on Lapdock with many useful suggestions, photos, 

and links: I made a Raspberry PI Laptop (http://www.raspberrypi.org/phpBB3/ 

viewtopic.php?t=6747) . There's also a good 'blog entry at element14 with photos and 

suggestions of where to get cables and adapters: Raspberry Pi Laptop 

(http://www.element14.com/community/groups/raspberry-pi/blog/2012/09/08/raspberrypi-laptop) 

. 

The hardest part about connecting Lapdock is getting the cables and adapters. Most 

HDMI and USB cables are designed to plug into jacks, whereas the Lapdock has plugs so 

the cables/adapters must have Micro HDMI and Micro USB female connections. These 

are unusual cables and adapters, so check the links.

Lapdock uses the HDMI plug to tell if a phone is plugged in by seeing if the HDMI 

DDC/CEC ground pin is pulled low. If it's not, Lapdock is powered off. As soon as you 

plug in a phone or RasPi, all the grounds short together and Lapdock powers itself on. 

However, it only does this if the HDMI cable actually connects the DDC/CEC ground 

line. Many cheap HDMI cables do not include the individual ground lines, and rely on a 

foil shield connected to the outer shells on both ends. Such a cable will not work with an 

unmodified Lapdock. There is a detailed 'blog entry on the subject at element14: 

Raspberry Pi Lapdock HDMI cable work-around (http://www.element14.com/ 

community/groups/raspberry-pi/blog/2012/09/27/raspberry-pi-lapdock-hdmi-cable-workaround) 

. The 'blog describes a side-benefit of this feature: you can add a small power 

switch to Lapdock so you can leave RasPi attached all the time without draining the 

battery. 

The Lapdock Micro USB plug is the upstream port of Lapdock's internal USB hub, and 

connects to one of RasPi's full-size USB ports. Lapdock is not USB compliant since it 

provides upstream power on its Vbus pin. Lapdock uses this to charge the Atrix phone. 

You can use this feature to power RasPi if you have a newer RasPi. The original RasPi 

rev 1 has 140 mA polyfuses F1 and F2 to protect the USB ports, which are too small for 

powering RasPi using upstream power. Newer RasPis replace F1 and F2 with zero Ohm 

jumpers or eliminate them entirely, which allows Lapdock to provide power. If you don't 

mind modifying your original RasPi, you can add shorting jumpers over F1 and F2 or 

replace them with higher-current fuses. 

What gets powered on depends on whether Lapdock is open or closed. If it's open, the 

screen and all Lapdock USB ports are powered. If you close Lapdock, the screen and 

full-size USB ports are powered down, but the Micro USB still provides upstream power. 

This is for charging an Atrix phone. When you open or close Lapdock, the Micro USB 

power switches off for about a second so if your RasPi is connected it will reboot and you 

may have a corrupted file system. There's discussion about this at the RasPi forum link, 

and someone has used a supercapacitor to work around the problem: Raspberry Pi 

lapdock tricks (http://www.element14.com/community/groups/raspberry-pi/blog/2012/09/ 

11/raspberry-pi-lapdock-tricks) . 

DVI 

With an inexpensive passive HDMI to DVI-D cable or converter. 

Composite video 

Composite video (NTSC and PAL) via an RCA plug, directly from the board. You can 

change between PAL and NTSC output by editing config.txt in the boot SD card. 

Uncommenting: sdtv_mode=2 sets output to PAL (see RPi_config.txt).

RGB analog/VGA 

The Broadcom BCM2835 only provides HDMI output and composite output. RGB and 

other signals needed by RGB, S-VIDEO or VGA connectors are however not provided, 

and the R-PI also isn't designed to power an unpowered converter box. 

A couple of options for VGA or component RGB outputs, bridging from either 

HDMI or, (much less obvious) the MIPI DSI interface: 

Note that any conversion hardware that converts HDMI/DVI-D signals to VGA (or DVI- 

A) signals may come with either an external PSU, or expects power can be drawn from 

the HDMI port. In the latter case the device may initially appear to work, but there will 

be a problem, as the HDMI specs only provide in a maximum of 50mA (@ 5 Volt) from 

the HDMI port, but all of these adapters try to draw much more, up-to 500mA, in case of 

the R-PI there is a limit of 200mA that can be drawn safely, as 200mA is the limit for the 

BAT54 diode (D1) on the board. Any HDMI to VGA adapter without external PSU might 

work for a time, but then burn out D1, therefore Do not use HDMI converters powered 

by the HDMI port! The solution is to either only use externally powered converters, or 

to replace D1 with a sturdier version, such as the PMEG2010AET, and to replace the 

power input fuse F3 with a higher rated one, as the current one is only 700mA, and the 

adapter may use 400mA itself. Also notice that the R-PI's power supply also must be able 

to deliver the extra current. 

Firstly, the following *might* work. Beagleboard people have reported various levels of 

success (mainly "issues"): 

http://www.hdfury.com/ 

Something similar: 

http://www.fit-pc.com/web/fit-pc2/accessories/fit-vga/ 

...it may need to be modified as described here: 

http://blog.galemin.com/2011/03/dvi-d-to-vga-converter-for-beagleboard-xm/ 

Alternatively, it may be possible to design an expansion board that plugs into the LCD 

headers on the R.Pi. Here is something similar for Beagleboard: 

http://boardzoo.com/product_info12.php 

Some more converters that should work: 

▪ £22.99 HDMI to VGA + stereo audio converter (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1080P- 

PC-HDMI-to-VGA-3-5mm-Audio-HD-Video-Converter-HDTV-SKY-DVD- 

PS3-Apple-TV-/320929883993)

▪ $24.00 "Video Converter adapter" from china (http://www.ebay.de/itm/New-HDMI- 

Male-to-VGA-RGB-Female-HDMI-to-VGA-Video-Converter-adapter-1080P-for- 

PC-/140625458879?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item20bdee36bf) 

▪ $24.00 ASUS - Video adapter (http://www.google.com/products/ 

catalog?q=hdmi+to+vga+converter&hl=en&show=dd&cid=4579096882877853234&ei=V8cGT5XtHoim 

gbO5YSYAQ&ved=0CCUQ8wIwBDgK#scoring=p) requires additional miniHDMI 

to standard HDMI adapter 

▪ $32.50 HDMI to VGA Video Converter (http://www.dealextreme.com/p/hdmi-tovga-video-converter-71816) 

- Confirmed, works 100% inc HDMI audio. 

▪ $39.99 HDCP HDMI to VGA + SPDIF RGB Component Ypbpr Converter 

(http://www.amazon.com/SPDIF-Component-Ypbpr-Converter-v1-3b/dp/ 

B002SFT3ZI/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top) 

▪ $48.00 HP HDMI to VGA Display Adapter (http://www.google.com/products/ 

catalog?q=HP+HDMI+to+VGA&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en- 

GB:official&client=firefoxa&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=4243749406268537354&sa=X&ei=mH0JT5jWHIuO4gS0h6ndCw 

More HDMI -> VGA converters are listed at the RasPi Verified Peripherals page 

(http://elinux.org/RPi_Verified_Peripherals#HDMI-.3EVGA_converter_boxes) , along 

with some caveats. 

Potential interfacing chips: 

▪ TFP9431 DVI RECEIVER WITH TRIPLE DAC (hard to find, obsolete?) 

(http://www.datasheets.org.uk/dl/Datasheets-36/DSA-705489.pdf) 

The SOC (system on a chip) does not support any kind of analog component video, 

including VGA, since the SOC is designed for mobile phone use where this would not be 

a requirement. Additional components would be needed to generate RGB signals. 

Additional components would push the price beyond the $25 target and therefore won't 

happen. 

RGB digital 

A HDMI/DIV to parallel 3.3v interface PCB, also meant for the Beagleboard: 

http://www.harbaum.org/till/dvi2par/index.shtml 

Potential interfacing chips: 

They emit Hsync, Vsync and RGB w/ about 8 bits each (sometimes, it's called "MIPI 

DPI") 

▪ Toshiba TC358762XBG deserializer bridge chip (http://www.toshibacomponents.com/mobile/data/Toshiba_TC358762.pdf)

▪ Analog Devices HDMI Receivers (http://www.analog.com/en/audiovideo-products/ 

analoghdmidvi-interfaces/products/index.html#HDMI_Receivers) 

▪ Renesas µPD60800 Intelligent Buffer IC (http://www.renesas.com/products/soc/assp/ 

mobile/ibic/pd60800/index.jsp) 

▪ Renesas µPD60801 Intelligent Buffer IC (http://www.renesas.com/products/soc/assp/ 

mobile/ibic/pd60801/index.jsp) 

Interfacing to non-monitor LCD panels 

Embedded systems often have displays that aren't connected like televisions and 

computer monitors. RPI may be able to interface to some of these. 

DSI port 

DSI connector is on board on the RPI. Some graphical LCD/OLED displays might be 

attached to it. 

An additional binary blob might be required for the DSI port (http://www.raspberrypi.org/ 

forum/features-and-requests/s2-and-s5-fit-or-no-fit#p39441) to function correctly (or 

function at all). When or if such a blob will be made available is unknown. 

Nokia N900 has 800x480 DCS LCD (afaik its like DSI, but has build in framebuffer) 

(http://e-ditionsbyfry.com/Olive/ODE/ECN/ 

default.aspx?href=ECN%2F2009%2F08%2F02&pageno=5&entity=Pc00502&view=entity) 

. Replacement screen is about ~$40 (~$50 with 4pin resistive touchscreen). 

Nokia N8 has AMOLED 360x640 pixels DSI LCD. Replacement screen is about ~$35, 

another ~$25 for Multitouch Synaptics T1021A touchscreen (I2C + interrupt IO, no docs/ 

drivers). 

The schematics for apples iPhone 3gs (http://www.mikrocontroller.net/attachment/ 

127135/iPhone_3Gs_schematics.pdf) and 4g (http://jumbofiles.com/57ycs8zez45j/ 

iPhone_4G_schematic.pdf.html) suggest they speak DSI, thus they can probably be 

connected directly. The older iPhones use a "Mobile Pixel Link" connection from 

National Semiconductor. The 3GS panel (480×320) goes as low as US $14.88 

(http://www.aliexpress.com/product-fm/377987722-Replacement-LCD-Glass-Screen- 

Display-for-iPhone-3GS-wholesalers.html) , while the 4G one (960×640, possibly the LG 

LH350WS1-SD01 (http://www.displayalliance.com/research/lh350ws1-sd01.html) , with 

specifications (http://www.panelook.com/modeldetail_parameter.php?id=12086) ) can be 

had for US $17.99 (http://www.aliexpress.com/product-fm/453840894-Replacement- 

LCD-Glass-Screen-Display-for-iPhone-4G-wholesalers.html) or as low as US $14.28 

(http://www.ebay.com/itm/Repair-LCD-Glass-Screen-Display-Iphone-4G-4th-4-GEN- 

/110821471601) . The connectors used might be an issue, but this connector

(http://www.airaccent.com/lcd-screen-fpc-connector-replacement-for-iphone-4gp-39877.html) 

might fit. Additional circuitry might be necessary to provide the display 

with required 1.8V and 5.7V for operation, and an even higher voltage for the backlight. 

Other panels with MIPI DSI: www.panelook.com (http://www.panelook.com/ 

modelsearch.php?pagesize=50&order=panel_id&panel_type=&product_composition=&brand_family=&pan 

The Raspberry Pi provides one clock lane and two data lanes on the S2 connector, as can 

be read from the schematics (http://www.raspberrypi.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/ 

Raspberry-Pi-Schematics-R1.0.pdf) . It is currently unknown whether this is enough to 

drive the iPhone 4G screen, as that screen seems be driven with three data lanes in its 

original application. 

Potential LVDS interfacing chips: 

TC358764/5 Display Bridge (MIPI® DSI to LVDS) (http://www.toshibacomponents.com/mobile/data/Toshiba_TC358764_65XBGA.pdf) 

DVI receiver TFP401A, TFP403, or TFP501 + LVDS transmitter SN75LVDS83B or 

SN65LVDS93A (http://e2e.ti.com/cfs-filesystemfile.ashx/__key/CommunityServer- 

Discussions-Components-Files/130/3252.DVI_3B00_HDMI_2D00_to_2D00_LVDS- 

Bridge-Application-Note.doc) (Mentioned earlier fit-VGA is build around TFP401A, 

probably many more "active" DVI2VGA cables are build the same way) 

I2C/SPI ADC can be used to interface 4 pin resistive Touch Screens, For example 

STMPE812A (http://www.st.com/internet/com/TECHNICAL_RESOURCES/ 

TECHNICAL_LITERATURE/DATASHEET/CD00291197.pdf) . Texas Instruments has 

a solution for 4 or 8 wire touchscreens (http://www.ti.com/sc/docs/psheets/abstract/apps/ 

slaa384a.htm) using their rather cheap MSP4309. 

Character cell LCD modules 

These have controllers and interfaces for feeding in text (and symbols). Common screen 

sizes include 16x2 to 40x4. Often seen in keypads, industrial machines, cash registers, 

laser printers etc. 

The old-style 2-line, 16-character LCD displays can be commonly controlled over UART, 

thus providing a cheap way to display values for sensors etc. 

References 

Raspberry Pi





Hardware 




Software 



Projects 


Retrieved from "http://elinux.org/index.php?title=RPi_Screens&oldid=186068" 




Unported License.

RPi Distributions 

From eLinux.org


Software & 

Distributions: 

Software - an overview. 

Distributions - 

operating systems and 

development 

environments for the Pi. 

Kernel Compilation - 

advice on compiling a 

kernel. 

Performance - measures 

of the Pi's performance. 

Programming - 

programming languages 

that might be used on 

the Pi. 

Contents 

▪ 1 Available Distributions 

▪ 1.1 What is armhf 

▪ 1.2 Comparison 

▪ 1.3 Android 

▪ 1.4 Fedora Remix 

▪ 1.5 Debian (Squeeze/6.x) 

▪ 1.6 Arch 

▪ 1.7 Raspbian 

▪ 1.8 Moebius 

▪ 1.9 Raspbian Server Edition 

▪ 1.10 Red Sleeve Linux 

▪ 1.11 IPFire 

▪ 1.12 Raspberry Pi Thin Client 

▪ 1.13 DarkElec 

▪ 1.14 OpenELEC 

▪ 1.15 Raspbmc 

▪ 1.16 XBian 

▪ 1.17 PwnPi 

▪ 1.18 ha-pi 

▪ 1.19 Bodhi 

▪ 1.20 Gentoo 

▪ 1.21 Adafruit - Occidentalis v0.1 

▪ 1.22 RISC OS 

▪ 1.23 PiBang Linux 

▪ 2 Announced distributions 

▪ 2.1 NetBSD 

▪ 2.2 FreeBSD 

▪ 2.3 Chromium OS 

▪ 2.4 KidsRuby 

▪ 2.5 Meego MER & XBMC 

▪ 2.6 Puppy 

▪ 2.7 OpenWrt 

▪ 2.8 Mes (Marshmallow Entertainment System Engine 

▪ 2.9 Aros Hosted on Linux 

▪ 3 Other Distributions 

▪ 3.1 GeeXboX ARM 

▪ 3.2 Ubuntu 

▪ 4 References

Available Distributions 

What is armhf 

The official Debian Squeeze image issued by the Raspberry Pi foundation uses "soft 

float" settings. The foundation found it necessary to use the existing Debian port for less 

capable ARM devices due to time and resource constraints during development of the 

Raspberry Pi. Therefore, it does not make use of the Pi's processor's floating point 

hardware - reducing the Pi's performance during floating point intensive applications - or 

the advanced instructions of the ARMv6 CPU. 

The official Raspberry Pi distributions (http://www.raspberrypi.org/downloads) are now 

optimized for ARMV6 and for "hard float" which should have better performance on 

certain CPU intensive tasks. 

There are some info on the news groups that "hard float" optimization can speed up 

floating point operating up to 10x, please read detailed discussion on Raspberry Pi 

forums - http://www.raspberrypi.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?p=61497#p61497

Comparison

Distribution Latest First Type License 

Arch Linux ARM 

(http://archlinuxarm.org/) 

BerryTerminal 

(http://www.berryterminal.com/ 

doku.php) 

Bodhi Linux (http://bodhilinux.com/) 

Debian ARM (http://www.debian.org/ 

ports/arm/) 

Fedora Remix 

(http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/ 

Architectures/ARM) 

Gentoo Linux 

(http://www.gentoo.org/) 

IPFire (http://planet.ipfire.org/post/ 

ipfire-on-raspberry-pi-ready-to-firsttest) 

Meego MER + XBMC 

(http://wiki.meego.com/ 

User:Vgrade#Raspberry_Pi) 

Moebius 

(http://moebiuslinux.sourceforge.net/) 

2012-09-18 2012-03-01 Linux 

2012-06-02 2012-06-02 Linux 

2012-09-13 

(raspbian/ 

wheezy) 

2012-04-19 

(Squeeze) 

2012-07-07 

(F14) 

weekly 

autobuilds 

2012-06-27 

(2.11) 

2012-04-27 

(0.2) 

2012-09-11 

(1.0.1) 

2012-06-12 

(wheezy) 

Raspbian 

2012-02-16 

(Squeeze) Linux 

2012-07-07 

(F14) 

Linux 

2012-04-27 Linux 

2012-06-27 

(2.11) 

2012-04-11 

(0.1) 

2012-08-01 

(1.0.0) 

OSI GPLv2 

(http://www.opensource.org/ 

licenses/gpl-2.0.php) 

Core: OSI mixed 

(http://www.debian.org/ 

legal/licenses/) (GPLv2 

BSD etc) 





OSI mixed 

(http://fedoraproject.org/ 

wiki/Licensing:Main) 

(GPLv2 BSD etc) 

GPLv2 



Linux Open Source 

Linux 

(embedded) 

Raspbian (GPLv2) 

OSI mixed 


licenses/index.html) 

(GPLv2 BSD etc)

OpenELEC (http://openelec.tv/ 

component/k2/item/235-openelec-onraspberry-pi-our-first-arm-devicesupported) 

openSUSE (http://lists.opensuse.org/ 

opensuse-arm/) 

OpenWRT (http://wiki.openwrt.org/ 

toh/raspberry_pi) 

PiBang Linux 

(http://pibanglinux.org/) 

PwnPi (http://www.pwnpi.net/ 

index.html) 

QtonPi (http://wiki.qt-project.org/ 

QtonPi) 

2012-11-25 

(3.0 beta 1) 

2012-05-10 Linux 3.6.7 

(embedded) 

2012-10-16 2012-07-30 Linux 3.1 

2012-10-23 2012-08-15 Linux 

November 

9th, 2012 

(RC4) 

2012-06-29 

(Squeeze) 

2012-05-27 

(0.2) 

November 

29th, 2012 

(Alpha1) 

Linux 

2012-05-26 

(Squeeze) Linux 

2012-05-07 

(0.1) 

Linux 

Raspbian (http://www.raspbian.org/) 2012-09-18 2012-05-28 

(Wheezy) Linux 

raspbmc (http://www.raspbmc.com/) 2012-10-10 2012-06-30 

(Squeeze) Raspbian 

RISC OS (http://en.wikipedia.org/ 

wiki/RISC_OS) 

2012-11-01 

(5.19 RC6) 

2012-07-09 

(5.19) 

RISC OS 

OSI mixed 




OSI mixed 




OSI mixed 








GNU General Public 

License version 3.0 





custom 

(http://svn.stmlabs.com/svn/ 

raspbmc/LICENSE) 

Shared Source 

(http://www.riscosopen.org/ 

content/documents/ssfaq)

SliTaz (http://www.slitaz.org/) 

2012-05-29 

(4.0) 

2012-05-29 

(4.0) 

Linux 

Xbian (http://xbian.org/) 2012-10-13 2012-07-29 Raspbian 

Aros hosted on Raspbian Limited 

Demo (http://www.aros.org/) 

Android 

2012-06-14 2012 

Mixed 

Debian6 

and Aros 

Discuss: [1] (http://www.raspberrypi.org/phpBB3/viewforum.php?f=73) 

Wiki & Main site (http://androidpi.wikia.com/wiki/Android_Pi_Wiki) 

Fedora Remix 

The Raspberry Pi Fedora Remix is a Linux software distribution for the Raspberry Pi 

computer. It contains software packages from the Fedora Project (specifically, the Fedora 

ARM secondary architecture project), packages which have been specifically written for 

or modified for the Raspberry Pi, and proprietary software provided by the Raspberry Pi 

Foundation for device access. 

▪ wiki page (http://zenit.senecac.on.ca/wiki/index.php/Raspberry_Pi_Fedora_Remix) 

Debian (Squeeze/6.x) 

http://www.debian.org/ports/arm/ 

Debian (http://www.debian.org/) was the default distribution on the Alpha boards. Boot 

time depends on width & speed of SD-card. Alpha board boot into Debian prompt (no 

GUI) was timed taking about 34 seconds. 

The Debian distro for Raspberry Pi is the Cambridge reference filesystem, which is a 

fully functional Debian Squeeze installation containing LXDE (desktop) and Midori 

(browser); development tools; and sample code for accessing the multimedia 

functionality on the device. 

GPLv2 



OSI mixed 




Mixed - GPLv2 


licenses/gpl-2.0.php) and 

APL (MPL derivative)

Arch 

Arch Linux ARM (http://archlinuxarm.org) is based on Arch Linux 

(http://www.archlinux.org/) , which aims for simplicity and full control to the end user. It 

provides a lightweight base structure that allows you to shape the system to your needs. 

For this reason, the Arch Linux ARM image for the Raspberry Pi does not come with a 

graphical user interface, though you can easily install one yourself. Please note that the 

Arch distribution may not be suitable for beginners. 

Arch Linux ARM is on a rolling-release cycle that can be updated daily through small 

packages instead of huge updates every few months. 

More information is available at http://archlinuxarm.org 

Raspbian 

Raspberry Pi + Debian = Raspbian (http://www.raspbian.org) . A project to create a hard 

float port of Debian Wheezy (7.x) armhf for the Raspberry Pi. The intent of Raspbian is 

to bring to the Raspberry Pi user 10,000s of pre-built Debian packages specifically tuned 

for optimal performance on the Raspberry Pi hardware. The project is still in it's early 

phases, but the major push to rebuild nearly all Debian packages for the Raspberry Pi is 

expected to be completed by early June, 2012 (only several hundred packages remain as 

of June 1st). After that, efforts will focus on making Raspbian the easiest to use, most 

stable and best performing Linux distribution available for the Raspberry Pi. 

More information is available at http://www.raspbian.org 

Moebius 

A very compact ARM HF debian based distribution, it fits in a 1Gb SD card, has 

autoresizing features to better adapt to your SD card size and uses Raspbian huge 

repositories for installing everything you need. A wise configuration and a small memory 

footprint are ideal for an headless machine or for interacting with real word I/O devices, 

take a look at Moebius Website (http://moebiuslinux.sourceforge.net/) 

Raspbian Server Edition 

It's a stripped version of Raspibian with some other packages 

▪ Main site of version 2.1 (http://sirlagz.net/?p=662) 

▪ Dowload Version 2.1 (https://docs.google.com/file/d/ 

0B1RhPrxJp7gySmpybnhXOEo0MXM/edit?pli=1)

Red Sleeve Linux 

Red Sleeve Linux (http://www.redsleeve.org/) is a Linux distribution that aims to bring 

the RHEL clone design to the ARM architecture. There are images for several ARM 

devices including the Raspberry Pi. 

IPFire 

IPFire (http://www.ipfire.org) is an Open Source firewall distribution for x86 and ARMbased 

systems. It turns the Raspberry Pi computer into a small router for home networks 

and very small businesses. As the Raspberry Pi computer comes with only one NIC, it 

works perfectly as a 3G router without plugging in additional hardware. 

The generally small system that provides essential services for networks can be enhanced 

by addons which add new features to IPFire. So the system can be turned into a file 

server and much more. 

More information is available at http://www.ipfire.org 

Raspberry Pi Thin Client 

Thin Client project want to create a very low price thin client over Raspberry Pi board! 

Microsoft RDC, Citrix ICA & VMWare View 

▪ Homepage (http://rpitc.blogspot.se/) 

▪ Dowload (http://rpitc.blogspot.se/p/download.html) 

DarkElec 

None of the currently available solutions do a perfect job with running XBMC on the Pi, 

however OpenELEC comes by far the closest, in spite of its locked down nature. 

This fork aims to remedy the very few flaws in its implementation and to focus 100% on 

the Pi, while also sticking to the upstream and incorporating its updates. 

Features: 

•Low idle CPU usage (< 15%) 

•Smoother and more responsive 

•Built in XBMC addons: iPlayer, custom fixed version of Demand 5, various unofficial repos 

•iPlayer, 4oD, Demand 5, ITV Player, SportsDevil all fully tested+working 

•Improved wifi connectivity 

•Added test-connman scripts for easy wifi setup 

•Added wireless_tools (iwconfig etc.)

•Added rndis_wlan wifi driver (broadcom 4320 chipset) 

•Easy SD card installation script for building from source 

▪ Main site (http://darkimmortal.com/category/raspberry-pi/) 

▪ Download DarkELEC Release 3 (http://shit.weeaboo.com/darkelec3.zip) 

OpenELEC 

OpenELEC is an embedded operating system built specifically to run XBMC 

(http://www.xbmc.org) , the open source entertainment media hub. The idea behind 

OpenELEC is to allow people to use their Home Theatre PC (HTPC) like any other 

device you might have attached to your TV, like a DVD player or Sky box. Instead of 

having to manage a full operating system, configure it and install the packages required 

to turn it into a hybrid media center, OpenELEC is designed to be simple to install, 

manage and use, making it more like running a set-top box than a full-blown computer. 

▪ OpenELEC Mainsite (http://www.openelec.tv) 

▪ In February 2012, OpenELEC.tv announced their ARM port for Raspberry Pi 

(http://openelec.tv/component/k2/item/235-openelec-on-raspberry-pi-our-first-armdevice-supported) 

▪ OpenELEC forum (http://openelec.tv/forum/90-miscellaneous/11763-raspberry-pi) 

thread 

▪ RaspberryPi forum (http://www.raspberrypi.org/forum/general-discussion/openelec) 

thread 

▪ Raspberry Pi build instructions for OpenELEC (http://elinux.org/Rpi_openELEC) 

Raspbmc 

Raspbmc is a minimal Linux distribution based on Debian that brings XBMC to your 

Raspberry Pi. This device has an excellent form factor and enough power to handle 

media playback, making it an ideal component in a low HTPC setup, yet delivering the 

same XBMC experience that can be enjoyed on much more costly platforms. Raspbmc is 

brought to you by the developer of the Crystalbuntu Linux Distribution, which brings 

XBMC and 1080p decoding to the 1st generation Apple TV. 

▪ Main Site (http://www.raspbmc.com/) 

▪ Blog (http://www.stmlabs.com/2012/06/24/network-issues/) 

▪ image (http://files.velocix.com/c1410/raspbmc/downloads/bin/ramdistribution/ 

installer-testing.img.gz) 

▪ 1-click-Installer (Win) (http://download.raspbmc.com/downloads/bin/installers/ 

raspbmc-win32.zip) 

▪ Installation instructions (Mac/Lin) (http://www.raspbmc.com/wiki/user/os-x-linuxinstallation/)

▪ source (http://svn.stmlabs.com/listing.php?repname=raspbmc) 

XBian 

XBian is a small, fast and lightweight media center distro for the Raspberry Pi, based on 

a minimal Raspbian image. It's slogan is "XBMC on raspberry pi, bleeding edge" and 

thus it's main focus is delivering the fastest XBMC solution for the Raspberry Pi. 

Thereby making most of the commercial media-center products obsolete... 

Features: 

▪ Fits on a 1GB SD card 

▪ Low RAM usage and low CPU usage 

▪ Very smooth UI 

▪ Auto mount USB 

▪ AFP support 

▪ NFS support 

▪ AirPlay support 

▪ CEC support 

▪ Lirc support 

▪ PVR support 

▪ Kernel 3.6.1 + a lot of modules 

▪ Performance as the default governor 

▪ Out of the box support for almost all wlan adapters 

▪ User friendly configuration tool xbian-config 

▪ Source code on git 

▪ Main Site (http://xbian.org/) 

▪ Download (http://xbian.org/?page_id=21) 

▪ Xbian Github (https://github.com/Koenkk/xbian) 

PwnPi 

▪ Main Site (http://www.pwnpi.net/index.html) 

PwnPi is a Linux-based penetration testing dropbox distribution for the Raspberry Pi. It 

currently has 181 network security tools pre-installed to aid the penetration tester. It is 

built on the debian squeeze image from the raspberry pi foundation's website and uses 

Xfce as the window manager

ha-pi 

▪ Main Site (https://sourceforge.net/projects/ha-pi/) 

Description This debian squeeze image created to perform "pwn plug" type of attacks 

using Raspberry pi. pleas look at the wiki for further details Wiki (https://sourceforge.net/ 

p/ha-pi/wiki/Home/) 

Bodhi 

Bodhi Linux is a small Linux distribution using the Enlightenment 

(http://www.enlightenment.org) window manager and the ARM build is based on Debian. 

If you hit any snags or find bugs with this image please let us know in the R_Pi section of 

our user forums (http://forums.bodhilinux.com/index.php?/forum/30-raspberry-pi/) so we 

can improve this release. 

▪ ARMHF (http://jeffhoogland.blogspot.co.at/2012/07/bodhi-linux-raspberry-pibeta.html?showComment=1343869408306#c8475812441665709126/) 

announced for 

Bodhi Linux on R_Pi 

▪ Release Announcement (http://jeffhoogland.blogspot.co.at/2012/06/bodhi-linux-armalpha-release-for.html) 

from Bodhi Developer Blog 

▪ Download (http://sourceforge.net/projects/bodhilinux/files/ARM/RaspBerryPi/) from 

sourceforge 

▪ what-about-the-raspberry-pi (http://forums.bodhilinux.com/index.php?/topic/ 

2472-what-about-the-raspberry-pi/) Forum thread 

Alpha Release | Link Alpha Bodhi R_Pi (http://jeffhoogland.blogspot.co.at/2012/06/ 

bodhi-linux-arm-alpha-release-for.html) ) User/Password: bodhi/bodhi root/raspberry 

Beta Release | Link Beta Bodhi R_Pi (http://jeffhoogland.blogspot.co.at/2012/07/bodhilinux-raspberry-pi-beta.html) 

User/Password: pi/bodhilinux Root: sudo su root/ 

bodhilinux 

Bodhi Linux moves ARM Branch to ARMHF (http://jeffhoogland.blogspot.co.at/2012/ 

08/bodhis-arm-branch-moves-to-armhf.html) Download newest Release from Sourcforge 

(http://sourceforge.net/projects/bodhilinux/files/ARMHF/Pi/) The R_Pi Bodhi build is 

built directly on top of Raspbian and incorporates all of their changes and improvements. 

Gentoo 

Gentoo Linux (http://www.gentoo.org/) is a source based rolling-release distribution 

which emphasizes choice and flexibility. Gentoo ARM (http://www.gentoo.org/proj/en/ 

base/arm/) aims to be the most up to date and fastest ARM distribution available.

A Quick Start Guide (http://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/Raspberry_Pi_Quick_Install_Guide) 

exists how to install Gentoo on the Raspberry Pi. 

Gentoo Section (http://www.raspberrypi.org/phpBB3/viewforum.php?f=54) on the 

official Raspberry Pi forum. 

Adafruit - Occidentalis v0.1 

http://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-raspberry-pi-educational-linux-distro/occidentalisv0-dot-1 

Occidentalis v0.1. Rubus occidentalis is the black raspberry. It is derived from 

Raspbian Wheezy July 15 Made a few key changes to make it more hardware-hacker 

friendly! 

▪ I2C and hardware SPI support 

▪ I2C/SPI modules initialized on boot 

... Please keep in mind, adafruit is not full time linux distro maintainers - we will try to 

fix any bugs we find but this distro is not for beginners or people who are new to linux! 

RISC OS 

RISC OS is a fast and lightweight computer operating system designed in Cambridge, 

England by Acorn (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acorn_Computers) . First released in 

1987, its origins can be traced back to the original team that developed the ARM 

microprocessor. RISC OS includes BBC BASIC (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ 

BBC_BASIC) which was primarily conceived to teach programming skills as part of the 

BBC computer literacy project. 

▪ RISC OS Open (http://www.riscosopen.org/) (ROOL) has released the sources. 

Community members have ported the OS to the BeagleBoard and similar hardware 

▪ In November 2011, RISCOScode.com announced that RISC OS will be available as 

an alternative OS (http://www.riscoscode.com/Pages/Item0113.html) for Raspberry 

Pi from launch 

▪ RaspberryPi forum (http://www.raspberrypi.org/ 

forum?mingleforumaction=viewtopic&t=919) thread 

▪ ROOL forum (http://www.riscosopen.org/forum/forums/5/topics/783) thread 

▪ http://www.pilearn.com/Pages/Page1001.html 

PiBang Linux 

PiBang linux is a Raspbian based distribution. PiBang is inspired by Crunchbang Linux, 

an i686 and x86_68 Debian based distribution. It comes preconfigured with many helpful 

scripts and pipemenus as well as a fork of Raspi-config with increases functions such as

support for changing the user and hostname. PiBang is also one of the heavier Rasperry 

Pi distributions boasting a complete package set with favorites such as Abiword, 

OMXPlayer, GIMP, and VLC all pre-installed. 

http://www.pibanglinux.org 

Announced distributions 

The following distributions have been announced and may have been publicly 

demonstrated but distributions are not generally available quite yet. 

NetBSD 

NetBSD is an operating system based off 4.3BSD and is geared towards embedded 

systems. There has been an unofficial public beta release here (ftp://ftp.netbsd.org/pub/ 

NetBSD/misc/skrll/rpi-netbsd-6.img.gz) , however the since there is no video or 

networking support yet, the only way to interface with it is through a serial console. 

FreeBSD 

Details and install guide of the FreeBSD port (http://kernelnomicon.org/?p=164) 

Chromium OS 

Details about the work (http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/20/chromium-os-gets-portedto-raspberry-pi/) 

Chromium OS is Google own version of linux os 

KidsRuby 

KidsRuby is what it sounds like – a Ruby for kids – and it’s running beautifully on the 

Raspberry Pi. This is exactly the sort of application we want to see on the device, and 

we’re really pleased to see it up and running. It looks like there will be some optimisation 

for speed before we launch, but what’s there already is very useable. 

R.Pi blog entry: http://www.raspberrypi.org/2011/09/kidsruby-on-raspberry-pi-anothervideo-demo/ 

More info & Video: http://confreaks.net/videos/ 

637-gogaruco2011-kidsruby-think-of-the-children?player=html5

Meego MER & XBMC 

The MeeGo MER project provides a Linux-based, open source software platform for the 

next generation of computing devices. The MeeGo MER software platform is designed to 

give developers the broadest range of device segments to target for their applications, 

including netbooks, handheld computing and communications devices, in-vehicle 

infotainment devices, smart TVs, tablets and more – all using a uniform set of APIs based 

on Qt. XBMC is an award-winning free and open source (GPL) software media player 

and entertainment hub for digital media. Meego TV 1.2 uses XBMC as a reference GUI 

(that is, a starting point for creating a custom GUI). 

▪ http://www.madeo.co.uk/?p=783 

▪ http://www.madeo.co.uk/?page_id=605 

▪ http://wiki.meego.com/User:Vgrade#Raspberry_Pi 

▪ http://wiki.merproject.org/wiki/Community_Workspace/RaspberryPi 

▪ https://github.com/xbmc/xbmc-rbp 

Puppy 

Puppy Linux is designed to be a small tiny Linux distribution (

Mes (Marshmallow Entertainment System Engine 

Old school 8bit and 16bit 2D game under development. 

▪ Website (http://guillermoamaral.com/marshmallow_h/) 

▪ Demo SD card .img images (https://github.com/gamaral/rpi-buildroot/downloads) 

▪ Youtube Updates (http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6663F4636B896305) 

Aros Hosted on Linux 

Aros (http://www.aros.org) is an open source Amiga like operating system (OS) at the api 

level. This version runs as a task under Linux to take advantage of the drivers available 

inside the GNU Linux OS core. 

Related links 

▪ http://amigaworld.net/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=35843&forum=48 

▪ http://www.raspberrypi.org/archives/tag/aros 

▪ Youtube videos (http://www.youtube.com/ 

results?search_query=raspberry+pi+aros&oq=raspberry+pi+aros&gs_l=youtube.3..0.614.4729.0.4969.11 

tiINLoemg) 

▪ http://www.amiga.org/forums/archive/index.php/t-62135.html 

Other Distributions 

These are other popular distributions that are often asked about for Raspberry Pi but are 

not available. 

GeeXboX ARM 

GeeXboX is a free and Open Source Media-Center purposed Linux distribution for 

embedded devices and desktop computers. GeeXboX is not an application, it’s a fullfeatured 

OS, that one can boot as a LiveCD, from a USB key, an SD/MMC card or install 

on its regular HDD. The GeeXboX distribution is lightweight and designed for one single 

goal: embed all major multimedia applications as to turn your computer into an HTPC. 

http://www.geexbox.org/category/arm/

Ubuntu 

Ubuntu (http://www.ubuntu.com/) was initially planned to be the default distribution, but 

the current version of Ubuntu only supports ARMv7 onwards, not the ARMv6 

architecture used by the Raspberry Pi's processor. Therefore Ubuntu does not work on 

Raspberry Pi, and there is no further information about this changing in the near future. 

A bug report on this subject was submitted to Ubuntu's bug tracker. The responses to that 

bug include an unofficial viewpoint from a Canonical employee, outlining the amount of 

work required to support ARMv6 (and therefore, potentially, Raspberry Pi). See Bug 

848154 (https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+bug/848154) 

https://wiki.ubuntu.com/ARM 

References 

Startup 

Raspberry Pi 


- Basic Setup - Advanced Setup - Beginners 


Hardware 




Software 



Projects 



Retrieved from "http://elinux.org/index.php?title=RPi_Distributions&oldid=195500" 

Categories: Linux ARM Development Boards Broadcom Development Boards 

RaspberryPi Education 



Unported License.

RPi VerifiedPeripherals 

From eLinux.org


Hardware & 

Peripherals: 

Hardware and 

Hardware History. 

Low-level Peripherals 

and Expansion Boards. 

Screens, Cases and 

Other Peripherals. 

Contents 

▪ 1 Notes 

▪ 2 Power Usage Notes 

▪ 3 Linux Driver Issues 

▪ 4 Powered USB Hubs 

▪ 4.1 Working USB Hubs 

▪ 4.2 Problem USB Hubs 

▪ 5 USB Remotes 

▪ 6 USB Keyboards 

▪ 6.1 Working USB Keyboards 

▪ 6.2 Problem USB Keyboards 

▪ 7 USB Mouse devices 

▪ 7.1 Working USB Mouse Devices 

▪ 7.2 Problem USB Mouse Devices 

▪ 8 USB Real Time Clocks 

▪ 9 USB WiFi Adapters 

▪ 9.1 Working USB Wifi Adapters 

▪ 9.2 Problem USB Wifi Adapters 

▪ 10 USB Bluetooth adapters 

▪ 10.1 Working Bluetooth adapters 

▪ 10.2 Problem Bluetooth adapters 

▪ 11 USB Ethernet adapters 

▪ 11.1 Working Ethernet adapters 

▪ 11.2 Problem Ethernet adapters 

▪ 12 USB Sound Cards 

▪ 13 USB 3G Dongles 

▪ 14 USB IR Receivers 

▪ 15 USB Radio devices 

▪ 16 USB TV Tuners and DVB devices 

▪ 17 USB Webcams 

▪ 17.1 Working USB Webcams 

▪ 17.2 Problem USB Webcams 

▪ 18 USB GPS devices 

▪ 19 USB UART and USB to Serial (RS-232) adapters 

▪ 20 Other, exotic USB devices 

▪ 20.1 USB to Parallel Port/Printer Adapters 

▪ 20.2 USB to SATA 

▪ 20.3 CAN Bus 

▪ 20.4 Home automation

A note about this 

page: For USB 

devices, please specify 

if they required a 

powered hub 

Notes 

19-Apr-2012: Now that 

the Model B board is 

shipping, details added 

should relate to this 

board and the default 

Debian distribution 

▪ 20.5 Touch Screen 

▪ 20.6 Floppy Disk Drive 

▪ 20.7 USB Missile Launcher 

▪ 20.8 USB Docking Stations 

▪ 20.9 USB RFID Reader 

▪ 20.10 JTAG 

▪ 20.11 USB 3.0 Multi-Card Reader 

▪ 21 PS2 / AT to USB Converters 

▪ 22 Power adapters 

▪ 22.1 Working power Adapters 

▪ 22.2 Problem power Adapters 

▪ 22.3 External Battery packs (with 5V regulated output) 

▪ 23 Display adapters 

▪ 23.1 HDMI->DVI-D 

▪ 23.2 HDMI->VGA converter boxes 

▪ 23.3 DVI-D -> VGA active adapters 

▪ 23.4 Composite->SCART 

▪ 23.5 Composite->VGA converter boxes 

▪ 24 SD cards 

▪ 24.1 Which SD Card? 

▪ 24.2 Other SD Card content 

▪ 24.3 Technical Information 

▪ 24.4 Preinstalled SD Cards 

▪ 24.5 Working SD Cards 

▪ 24.6 Problem SD Cards 

▪ 24.7 Benchmarks 

▪ 25 Foreign Language Translations 


(http://www.raspberrypi.org/downloads) unless stated otherwise. A suggested suffix 

markup scheme is as follows: 

▪ (A) - Relates to model A production board 

▪ (B) - Relates to model B production board 

▪ (!) - Information from alpha and beta board days -- beta board verified peripherals 

should still apply to production boards for the most part, but the alpha board is fairly 

different 

▪ No markup - relates to all production boards 

Discuss: http://www.raspberrypi.org/forum/?mingleforumaction=viewtopic&t=247 

If you are adding to a product list it would help clarity if entries are kept/added in 

alphabetical order.

Power Usage Notes 

Warning: Adding peripherals may increase the loading on the power supply to your 

board and this, in turn, may affect the voltage presented to the RPi. If the 

RPi's supply voltage falls below a certain value (anecdotally stated as 

around 4.75V), or it begins to fluctuate, your setup may become unstable. 

There is a Wiki section about this issue (http://elinux.org/ 

RPi_Hardware#Power) which is worth a read. 

Model B Hardware Revisions and USB Power limits Hardware Revision 1.0 The 

original Model B board had current limiting polyfuses which limited the power output of 

each USB port to approximatly 100mA. USB devices using more than 100mA had to be 

connected via a powered hub. The PI's PSU was chosen with a power budget of 700mA 

of which 200mA were assigned to the USB ports, so the Raspberry Pi's (poly)fuses were 

designed only for devices up to 100mA, and typical 140mA polyfuses will have as much 

as 0.6 volt across them when drawing currents near the 100mA limit. As a consequence 

the USB ports are only directly suitable for "single current unit" USB devices which, 

according to USB specifications, are designed to work with just 4.4 Volt. Not only do non 

single current unit devices draw more current (causing greater Voltage drops, and greater 

stress on the fuses), they also might require 4.75 Volt to work. 

Model B Hardware Revision 2.0 and Revision 1.0 with ECN0001 change This had the 

polyfuses removed, removing the 100mA current limitation for each USB port (but 

leaving the main fuse F3 intact). Users should still ensure their power supply can power 

the RPi and the USB peripherals. Revision 2.0 was released in August 2012. 

Linux Driver Issues 

Shortly after the Raspberry Pi was released it was confirmed that there were a number of 

issues with the Linux USB driver for the SMSC95xx chip. These included problems with 

USB 1.x peripherals that use split transactions, a fixed number of channels (causing 

problems with Kinect) and the way the ARM processor handles the SMSC95xx 

interrupts. [1] (http://www.raspberrypi.org/phpBB3/ 

viewtopic.php?f=28&t=12097&start=76) [2] (http://www.raspberrypi.org/phpBB3/ 

viewtopic.php?f=28&t=5249&start=44) A large number of fixes were included in the 

2012-08-19-wheezy-raspbian Linux image.

Powered USB Hubs 

A number of low-cost powered USB hubs are known to have caused problems. Members 

of the Raspberry Pi forums have reported low power or no power at all in some cases. 

The following is a list of specific Powered USB Hubs which appear to be fault-free. 

Please note that these do not take into account powering the Raspberry Pi from the hub, 

in addition to its peripherals. 

If you use a powered hub and PI PSU together consider powering them from the same 

power bar with switch, so you can turn them on simultaneously., especially if the HUB 

tries to feed the PI through their interconnect cable, due to the 100mA limiting fuse in the 

PI the PI will be partially powered which may cause problems (unwanted writes to the 

SD card). 

Working USB Hubs 

▪ Acme 

▪ USB 2.0 hub 4 port (ACME (http://www.acme.eu/en-us/product/019188) ) Based 

on NEC μPD720114 USB2.0 Hub Controller USB ID 0409:005a NOTE! It is 

bus-powered hub, but very cheap and small and works after a small modding: on 

usb-hub board you have 4 holes: V, D+, D- and GND. Connect GND, D+ and Dto 

the RasPI, and additionally connect GND and +5v from power supply to the 

same holes on usb-hub GND and V. Now there is common contacts: GND, D+ 

and D- between RasPI and hub needed to work, and additional power for USB 

devices, connected to the hub. Tested on my RasPI. 

▪ Belkin 

▪ F4U040 4-Port Ultra-Slim Desktop hub (powered 5v, 2.6A, lsusb lists as Genesys 

Logic 05e3:0608) 

▪ F5U224 4 port powered USB hub 

▪ F5U231/F5U234 Hi-speed USB 2.0 Tertrahub - 4 port powered USB hub 

(verified.. able to power Raspberry Pi using micro USB directly from hub) 

▪ F5U237 7 Port powered USB 2.0 5V 3.8A (5 back port 2 top ports) 

▪ F5U259-ME USB 2.0 7-Port Hub (Powered, able to apply power to Raspberry Pi 

via micro USB from this hub at same time) 

▪ F5U403 USB 2.-0 4 Port Hub (Powered, suspect see F5U404 in non-working, 

didn't test power the RPi from hub.) 

▪ F5U700 USB 2.0 7-Port Hub (Powered, able to power Raspberry Pi via micro 

USB directly from hub) 

▪ F5U706ea/uk 2-in-1 Hub (USB 2.0, powered, 7-port) 

▪ F5U706701PerBlk 7-in-1 Hub (USB 2.0, powered 5V 2.5A , 7-port) 

▪ F4U039qukAPL 7 port Ultra-Slim Desktop Hub (internally two Genesys Logic 

05e3:0608 devices - powering RPi from port furthest away from power supply. 

Toshiba Stor.E 1TB must be powered from ports closest to the power supply to

avoid errors in dmesg. Flash drives seem fine on ports away from the power 

supply.) 

▪ Benq 

▪ E2220HD LCD Monitor with 4 port USB Hub. Able to power the Pi and no 

backfeed of power from the monitor to the Pi via the interconnect. Just works. 

▪ Biltema 

▪ 23-924 4-port powered USB 2.0 Hub (2.0A) Able to power Raspberry Pi via 

USB port 

▪ C3 Tech 

▪ C3 Tech 7-port powered hub with PSU 5V, 2.0A. Working without 

problems.WARNING The hub is Backpowering so if you don´t like Backpower 

mod the hub or cut the Red wire from uplink cable. USB ID 1a40:0201 Terminus 

Technology Inc. Hub (B) 

▪ CyberPower 

▪ [3] (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817804002) 

CP-H720P 7-port powered hub with 3.6A adapter. Internally, a NEC Corp 

0409:0050 device. Works perfectly with Model B, regardless of whether the RPi 

is being powered by the hub or externally. WARNING: This device seems to 

have been replaced with one based on dual 05e3:0608 Genesys Logic, Inc. 

USB-2.0 4-Port HUB internally 

▪ Dell 

▪ Dell 2001FP monitor has 4 USB ports and acts as a powered hub. 

▪ Dell SP2309W monitor has 4 USB ports and acts as a powered hub. 

▪ Dell 2407FWP monitor has 4 USB ports and acts as a powered hub. Additionally, 

the 6-in-1 Card Reader part of the monitor works as well, though it will not read 

SDXC Cards. 

▪ Dell U3011 monitor has 4 USB ports and acts as a powered hub. Additionally, the 

Card Reader part of the monitor works as well, and is compatible with 128GB 

SDXC Lexar Brand Cards 

▪ Delock 

▪ 4-port powered USB 2.0 Hub (2.0A) Able to power Raspberry Pi via USB port 

(Model: B/N61393) 

▪ DELTACO 

▪ UH-715 Rev 2 (https://www.deltaco.se/products/items/ 

itemid/(UH-715)/index.aspx) 7-port powered hub with 2A adapter. 

▪ DYNEX 

▪ 7port hub idVendor=0409, idProduct=0050 works 

▪ D-Link 

▪ [4] (http://www.amazon.com/D-Link-DUB-H7-High-Speed-7-Port/dp/ 

B00008VFAF) 7-Port USB Hub DUB-H7 (See note below - doesn't work for all, 

apparently). Working model marked BUBH7A....A5. Worked with Debian on 

production B model, for keyboard, mouse, and thumb drives, also worked with

ArchLinux, didn't work with Bodhi Linux immediately thereafter. Recent model 

did not work with default raspbian firmware (3.1.9+ #272); updated firmware 

with rpi-update (to 3.2.27+ #66), now seems to work perfectly. 

▪ [5] (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817111131) 

4-Port USB Hub DUB-H4 Worked on Debian with keyboard, mouse, and thumb 

drive. Also tested with Raspbmc and external HD (powered through USB). While 

the hub has a charging port, which should be able to provide power enough to the 

RasPi (1.2 A), connecting the RasPi here doesn't work, as it seems the power is 

cut during boot (At least with hub hardware rev. C1). While it does boot from any 

of the other ports, it shouldn't be used it doesn't provide enough power (Standard 

500 mA per port. Measuring at P1-P2 on the RasPi: ~4.45 V). 

▪ Digicom 

▪ [6] (http://www.digicom.it/digisit/prodotti.nsf/itprodottiidx/MiniHubUsb204P#) 

MiniHUB 4-Port USB 2.0 with PSU 5V - 2A . 

▪ Digitus 

▪ 7-port USB2.0 Powered Hub. Model DA-70226. 

▪ Eminent 

▪ [7] (http://www.eminent-online.com/en/product/22/em1102-4-port-usb-hub--black.html) 

EM1102 4 Port USB 2.0 Hub with 1A power adapter. It's able to 

power the RPi, external HDD and other peripherals. 

▪ [8] (http://www.eminent-online.com/en/product/27/7-port-usb-2-0-hub.html) 

EM1107 7 Port USB 2.0 Hub with 2A power adapter. It's able to power the RPi, 

external HDD and other peripherals. 

▪ GearHead 

▪ [9] (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004OBZ088/) GearHead 4 Port Hub 

with Energy Saving Power Switch (5V, 1A) 

▪ Gembird 

▪ Gembird UHS 242 4-port USB 2.0 Hub 1.8 Amps 

▪ Genesys Logic (sold at Fry's) 

▪ Genesys Logic 4-Port USB 2.0 Hub (ID 05e3:0608) (Other brands include 

Gigaware and Belkin, same ID shows up in lsusb) 

▪ Genesys Logic 4-Port USB 2.0 Hub (ID 05e3:0606) (Other brands include i- 

Rocks, same ID shows up in lsusb) 

▪ Hama 

▪ Hama 4-way USB 2.0 Hub 

▪ HP 

▪ HP ZR2240w 21.5" Monitor with built in 2-Port USB Hub (B) 

▪ König Electronic 

▪ CMP-USB2HUB55 - 7 port USB2.0 HUB, (ID 1a40:0201 Terminus Technology 

Inc. Hub) 2.0A power supply, backpowers RPi well. 

▪ Laser

▪ "7 port USB hub with AC adapter Version 2.0". 5V 1A (found at Harvey Norman 

Australia for $24.95 and Australia Post Shops for $9.95). You can power the PI 

by connecting both the main USB connector to the PI USB port, and from a 

spare USB port back to the power micro USB socket. If you don't do both, bootloops 

are likely to occur. 

▪ Logik 

▪ [10] (http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/logik-lp4hub10-4-port-powered-usbhub-04979038-pdt.html) 

LP4HUB10 4-Port USB Hub. Throws errors when 

used with Fedora remix 14 

▪ Logik L4THUB10 4 Port powered hub works fine under raspbian/wheezy/model 

B. Captive usb cable, 2A power supply, convenient single top mounted usb 

socket. Unlike my last hub, will power wifi! 

▪ LogiLink 

▪ UA0085 USB 2.0 Hub, 4-Port with PSU 5V, 2A 

▪ UA0091 USB 3.0 Hub, 4-Port with PSU 5V, 4A. Connected with USB2.0 cable. 

1A per port, able to support USB HDD drives and other power hungry devices. 

Tested with kernel 3.1.9-cutdown, Wheezy. 

▪ UA0096 USB 2.0 Hub, 10-Port with PSU 5V, 3.5A (Not suitable for powering 

RPi because it doesn't work unless there is working USB input present even with 

PSU plugged in.) 

▪ UA0160 USB 2.0 Hub, 4-Port with PSU 5V, 2A. Able to power the RPi, 

keyboard, mouse and LogiLink UA0144 USB ethernet adapter. (More testing to 

come.) 

▪ Macally 

▪ [11] (http://www.macally.com/EN/?page_id=2312) Hi-Speed 7-Port USB 2.0 

Powered Micro HUB, AC Powered. Includes a 2000mA wall-wart (US style) 

▪ Manhattan 

▪ [12] (http://manhattan-products.com/en-US/products/6500-hi-speedusb-2-0-micro-hub) 

(#160612) Hi-Speed USB 2.0 Micro HUB, AC Powered 

(identifies as ID 05e3:0608 Genesys Logic) Includes a 1000mA wall-wart (US 

style) 

▪ [13] (http://manhattan-products.com/en-US/products/9583-mondohub) (#161718) 

MondoHub 28 Port USB 3.0 & USB 2.0 HUB (24 USB 2 Ports @500ma each) + 

(4 USB 3.0 Ports @900ma each) Power Switches on each port, AC Powered and 

Includes a 5V 4A wall-wart (US style) 

▪ Newlink 

▪ NLUSB2-224P 4 port USB 2.0 Mini hub with PSU 5V 1A 

▪ NLUSB2-222P 4 port USB 2.0 Hub with 5V 2A PSU (Available From | 

ModMyPi (https://www.modmypi.com/shop/raspberry-pi-accessories/New- 

Link-4-Port-USB-Hub-(USB-2.0-with-Mains-Adaptor)) ) 

▪ Nilox 

▪ Nilox USB 2.0 4port HUB model HUB4USB2AC with PSU 5V 1.0A 

▪ Plugable

▪ [14] (http://plugable.com/products/USB2-HUB4BC/) USB2-HUB4BC 4 Port 

USB 2.0 Hub with BC 1.1 Fast Charging. 5V 2.5A power supply. Powering Pi 

via microUSB from a hub port. USB Audio peripheral tested and working. 

▪ [15] (http://plugable.com/products/USB2-HUB-AG7/) USB2-HUB-AG7 7 Port 

USB 2.0 Hub with 5V 3A power supply. There are US and UK power supply 

versions and it can be ordered in US and (for the UK version) many countries in 

Europe. There is a video showing this hub powering both the Pi several 

peripherals at once[16] (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDA7MxFtoS0) . 

▪ Pluscom 

▪ Pluscom 7 Port USB 2.0 Hub Model U7PH-3A with 3Amp PSU. USB ID 

1a40:0101. Powering Pi via microUSB from a hub port. Internally two 4 Port 

switches linked. Leaks power back up USB data cable to Pi but not really a 

problem when powering Pi at the same time. 

▪ Satechi 

▪ ST-UH12P 12 port powered hub with 2 Control Switches. Also works while 

powering the Pi. 

▪ Staples (Business Depot) (Bureau EN GROS) 

▪ Staples 4-port hub Item 607477-CA 

▪ StarTech.com 

▪ StarTech.com 7-port Compact USB 2.0 Hub (ST7202USB). Comes with 5v 2A 

supply. Shows in lsusb as two Genesys Logic, Inc. USB-2.0 4-Port HUBs 

(05e3:0608). Back powers Pi (Just, Voltage across TP1 & TP2 is a little low 

when powered from this hub). 

▪ SumVision 

▪ Sumvision Slim 4 Port High Speed USB 2.0 HUB with PSU 5V 1.0A (from | 

7dayshop (http://www.7dayshop.com/catalog/ 

account_history_info.php?page=1&order_id=5130107) ) 

▪ Sitecom 

▪ CN-032 4 Port USB 2.0 Pocket Hub. Works for powering the Pi, an USB WLAN 

Adapter, wireless Kbd+Mouse. Using an 2500 mA Voltcraft 

▪ CN-060 4 Port USB 2.0 Hub powered with AC Adapter (1A). Powering Pi via 

microUSB from a hub port. 

▪ Sweex 

▪ US014 4 Port USB 2.0 Hub 

▪ Targus 

▪ ACH81xx 7-port powered hub. 5V 3A power supply, with 2 high power ports. 

(possible conflicting behaviour with USB keyboard / Wifi Dongles) 

▪ ACH63EU 4-port. Using a 5V 2A power supply, which isn't supplied with the 

hub, it is able to power the PI as well. 

▪ The Pi Hut 

▪ 7 Port USB Hub (from The Pi Hut's Raspberry Pi Store (http://thepihut.com/ 

products/7-port-usb-hub-for-the-raspberry-pi) )

▪ Trendnet 

▪ [17] (http://www.trendnet.com/products/ 

proddetail.asp?prod=130_TU2-700&cat=49) TU2-700 7 Port Powered USB 2.0 

Hub with AC Adapter (5V 2A) 

▪ Tripp-Lite 

▪ [18] (http://www.tripplite.com/en/products/model.cfm?txtModelID=3167) 

U222-007-R 7 Port Powered USB 2.0 Hub with AC Adapter (5V 2.5A) Powering 

RPi from Hub works 

▪ Ultron 

▪ [19] (http://www.ultron.de/v1/ 

produktansicht.php?artnr=67072&kid=bfa8340c4e245...&l=en&WGType=Neue+USB- 

HUBS) UHN-710 7-port powered hub with PSU 5V, 3A. USB ID 1a40:0201. 

▪ VANTEC 

▪ 4 Port USB 2.0 Powered Hub Model: UGT-MH304. 5V 2A AC/DC adapter. Go 

2.0 Mini hub. 

▪ Z-TEK 

▪ Z-TEK 7-port powered hub with PSU 5V, 4A. USB ID 1a40:0201. 

▪ "Unknown" 

▪ 10(7-4) port hub idVendor=1a40, idProduct=0201 / idVendor=1a40, 

idProduct=0101 works 

Problem USB Hubs 

Please check known workarounds here (http://elinux.org/Rpi_USB_check-list) before 

adding to the list 

▪ Addon 

▪ 7-Port Powered Hub - labelled ADDUH070P - Gives constant Eth0 errors on 

boot. 

▪ Belkin 

▪ 7-Port Powered Mobile Hub - device labelled F4U018, packaging labelled 

F5U701. lsusb reveals it to be two Genesys Logic 4-port hubs based on the 

GL850G chipset (vendor: 0x05e3 product: 0x0608) ganged together. Yields a lot 

of "handle_hc_chhltd_intr_dma:: XactErr without NYET/NAK/ACK" errors and 

device resets in /var/log/messages. Low speed devices such as keyboards work 

OK, wifi/mass storage is unreliable or broken. -- No error messages with the 

latest kernel, but still unstable with mass storage devices. Also, leaks current back 

to the Pi (can be fixed by overtaping GND and +5V pinouts) 

▪ F4U022 7-Port powered USB hub (powered 5v, 2.6A), same as F4U018 

▪ 7-Port Powered Hub - device labled F5U237 Rev.3 - ID 050d:0237 Wired 

ethernet fails to connect; gives "DWC OTG HCD URB enqueue failed adding 

QTD. Error status -4008" Result is same as DUB-H7 below.

▪ Dell 

▪ F5U404 Hi-Speed USB 2.0 4-Port Mobile Hub. Faulty/bad design; Leaks current 

back up the cable to the Raspberry Pi. 

▪ F5U307 Hi-Speed USB 2.0 7-Port Hub (Powered, able to apply power to 

Raspberry Pi via micro USB from this hub at same time) It work's sometimes. 

(Works always without powering the RPi, haven't tried that) 

▪ Dell U2410 Monitor Built-in 4 Port Hub - Shows up as a pair with 0424:2514 

and 0424:2640. Standard Microsystems Corp. USB 2.0 Hub. When connecting 

some devices it kills the Ethernet with "smsc95xx 1-1.1:1.0: eth0: Failed to read 

register index 0x0000011X" errors. It did work for a keyboard and webcam. 

Bluetooth that works connected directly to the Pi triggers the error. 

▪ DELTACO 

▪ 7-Port USB Hub UH-713 Rev 3. This one consists also of two 05e3:0608 

Genesys Logic, Inc. USB-2.0 4-Port HUBs connected together. The power supply 

is rated at 5 V 2 A. It kills ethernet when X11 is started. 

▪ Dynex 

▪ 7-Port USB Hub - Does not work in Debian 19-04 image. 

▪ DX-HB7PT 7-Port USB Hub - As per the Gear Head below, it's 2 daisy-chained 

Genesys Logic 05e3:0608 devices. Appears to result in significant slow downs 

when the USB is under load, such as running the root filesystem from a USB 

drive. 

▪ Dynamode 

▪ 7-Port USB 2.0 Hub (Silver and black). Feeds power back up the interconnect to 

the Pi causing the power LED to light on the Pi if the hub is powered on but the 

Pi is not. The Pi also fails to boot when powered off this hub, with or without the 

interconnect plugged in. Stops the network from working when connected to the 

Pi after booting the Pi - cannot ssh to the Pi. Best avoided. :-( Shows up in lsusb 

as a pair of ID 05e3:0608 Genesys Logic, Inc. USB-2.0 4-Port HUB which is 

interesting. - Confirmed. This hub also appears unable to power an external USB 

drive using a y-cable as it gives the error -71 message in dmesg (when providing 

external power to the RPi) 

▪ 4-Port High-Speed USB 2.0 Hub (USB-H40-A2.0), came with with a 1A power 

supply. Leaks power to the Pi through the uplink. Doesn't work with Pi, unless 

the Pi is powered by a second power source. This hub is completely generic and 

I've seen it being sold under different brand names as well. Therefore, a picture is 

included (http://i.imgur.com/BPZ3j.jpg) for easy identification. 

▪ D-Link 

▪ 7-Port USB Hub DUB-H7 (Crashes USB stack, including Ethernet, when 

plugging / using some peripherals). (See note above, it works with some distros 

and/or with latest firmware) 

▪ E-Solution

▪ 4-Port 2A Supply (Does not detect at all during boot or after boot- no messages) 

[IC = Alcor Micro Corp (AU6254)] 

▪ Fosmon 

▪ 7-Port USB 2.0 Hub w/ 1A Power Supply (Causes interference with other USB 

devices and sends enough power to light up the pi with it's Micro USB cable 

unplugged). 

▪ Gear Head 

▪ UH7250MAC 7-port powered hub. Internally, two daisy-chained Genesys Logic 

05e3:0608 devices. Causes Ethernet instability when used under very specific 

circumstances, in X11. 

▪ UH5200T 4-port powered hub. As of 2012-08-16 Wheezy, if any USB 1.x device 

(a keyboard, for example) is plugged into this hub, Ethernet stops, and USB 

interrupts for other devices get dropped (keys repeating forever), etc. Occurs even 

if power is not attached (not a power leakage problem). Appears working after a 

bootloader and/or firmware update on 9/12. Also, turned out to be somewhat 

more specific to the combination of two particular low-speed devices. 

▪ Hama 

▪ 4-Port USB 2.0 "bus hub", model 78496 (?). Only works for low power devices 

(card readers?), but does not work for power hungry devices (HDD,WLAN). 

Doesnt boot when hub connected to RPi. The funniest thing is that RPi powers on 

when I plug in this hub to normal size USB port (not that small dedicated port). 

idVendor=05e3, idProduct=0608 

▪ Kensington 

▪ iBall 

▪ 7-Port Dome Hub model no 1500129 (Possible problems with malfunctioning 

keyboard, kills mouse when GUI started). 

▪ Piano 423 4-Port USB hub. Listed in lsusb as Genesys Logic. Fails to deliver 

enough power to connected devices even when using AC power suply. 

▪ Inland 

▪ 4-Port USB 2.0 Cable Hub model no 480426 (Some devices work, some don't, 

cheap unshielded untwisted wire design) 

▪ Logik 

▪ LP7HUB11 7-Port USB Hub. (Ethernet failed, slow response, in LXDE. 

Happened whether or not the hub's independent power supply was connected to 

the hub.) 

▪ Soniq 

▪ 4-Port 5V supply. Model number CUH100. (B). Appears to draw power away 

from the Raspberry Pi, even when the Pi has an isolated power line. Netgear 

WNA1100 WiFi Adapter (which is known to work in other setups is recognized, 

but unresponsive.

▪ Targus 

▪ ACH115EU 7-port powered hub. 5V 3A power supply. Arduino communicates 

with RPi when connected directly to Pi's USB port, but it hangs soon if connected 

via ACH115. Also sometimes smsc95xx eth0 Failed to read register index 

0x00000114 etc. errors in syslog when used. 

▪ TCM 

▪ Model 234298 s/n T634007737 powered hub. 4 ports plus card reader. 1A power 

supply. Model B, Wheezy raspian works ok with keyboard/mouse but problems 

with WiFi no connects. (insufficient power?) 

▪ Trust 

▪ 10-port USB 2.0 Hub (powered). Prevents ethernet from being recognised. 

▪ SliZe 7 port USB 2.0 Hub (powered) - Item number 17080 (Barcode 8 713439 

170801). Prevents ethernet from being recognised. Keyboard sends multiple 

characters. 

▪ Unbranded / Multiple Brands 

▪ 7-port silver/black hub. Also sold elsewhere under brands such as 'EX-Pro', 

'Trixes' and 'Xentra' -- This is probably due to an inadequate power supply. -- I 

replaced the terrible power supply with a very good one, kept getting "DEBUG: 

handle_hc_chhltd_intr_dma:: XactErr without NYET/NAK/ACK" in dmesg, 

with no devices plugged in to the hub (with or without the power supply in). 

Measurements by TrevorGowen (talk) of the power loading behaviour of an 

example of this type of hub and its supplied PSU are logged here 

(http://www.cpmspectre.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/raspberry_pi/MoinMoinExport/ 

PoweredUSBHubs.html) , together with similar measurements of other devices. 

▪ Generic 7-port black hub with Genesys Logic GL850A chipset 

▪ Cerulian 10 Port USB 2.0 Top Loading Hub with 2A supply (kills mouse and 

network port) [1] 

▪ USB 2.0 4 PORT INT/EXT DUAL HUB BAY (http://www.monoprice.com/ 

products/product.asp?c_id=103&cp_id=10307&cs_id=1030701&p_id=226) -- 

Genesys Chipset -- idVendor=05e3, idProduct=0607 -- low speed devices 

worked, but strange USB failures when X session started. High speed devices 

such as hard drives had failures. 

USB Remotes 

▪ ATI Remote Wonder (X10 Wireless Technology, Inc. X10 Receiver) — ID 0bc7:0004 

— appears as a joystick-like 2 button mouse and a 0-9 keypad without drivers on 

console and X. 

▪ Logitech Wireless Touch Keyboard K400 with Built-In Multi-Touch Touchpad 

(920-003070) (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005DKZTMG/ 

ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00) - keyboard and touchpad work. Have not verified 

multi-touch features.

▪ iPazzport (http://www.ipazzport.com/02A.html) mini 2.4 GHz wireless keyboard and 

touchpad. 

▪ PKB 1800 (http://www.ortek.com/html/pdt_view.asp?area=46&cat=152&sn=76) 

Wireless Smart Pad ad Mini Keyboard. Pad works as mouse but not multi touch 

features. Keyboard works. 

▪ Riitek RT-MWK01 (http://www.riitek.com/product_Info.asp?id=56) Rii Wireless 2.4 

Ghz Keyboard-mouse Combo, also known as Digicom WKEYPE01 

(http://www.digicom.it/digisit/prodotti.nsf/itprodottiidx/WKEYPE01) , and Prodige 

Nanox (http://www.verkkokauppa.com/fi/product/52783) . Working perfectly, just 

plug & play. 

▪ Tranksung TS-Y150 (https://www.google.com/search?q=tranksung+TS-Y150) USB 

RF Keyboard and air mouse (B) 

▪ Exo Ultra U12-41310 Mini Keyboard (http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/ 

SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6753651&CatId=3680#) Bluetooth Adapter, 

Touchpad, Laser Pointer, Presentation & Multimedia Controls work perfectly but 

need a little love and config for make it work.Exo Installer script (https://github.com/ 

thunderbirdtr/rs-pi-exo-keyboard) 

USB Keyboards 

USB keyboards that present themselves as a standard HID (Human Interface Device) 

device should work. Please be aware that some of these keyboards were probably 

used with a powered hub 

Working USB Keyboards 

The following is a list of specific keyboards known to work and which appear to work 

fault-free. 

▪ A4 Tech 

▪ ABS 

▪ Model KL-5 USB Keyboard, 20mA. 

▪ M1 Heavy Duty Professional Gaming Mechanical Keyboard (B) 

▪ Action Star 

▪ ACK-5010U Mini Keyboard And Mouse 

▪ Accuratus 

▪ Acer 

▪ KYB-Toughball-HI 

▪ KG-0917 Wireless Keyboard And Mouse Bundle (B) 

▪ KU-0906 Compact Keyboard (B) (Also known as Genius LuxeMate i200 

Keyboard)

▪ SK-9625 Multimedia Keyboard (B) (multimedia functions not tested) 

▪ Adesso 

▪ PS/2 to USB Adapter (http://ergoprise.com/product_images/j/699/ADP- 

PU21_big__14173_zoom.jpg) ADP-PU21, 100mA (tested only with keyboards) 

Any PS/2 keyboard will work only if it will work with a reduced operating 

voltage. 

▪ Model AKB-410UB. Keyboard with Touchpad. 

▪ Apple (Apple keyboards that have USB ports require an external powered hub to 

work, and do not work on the PI directly! Note: Apple keyboard works fine using the 

latest PI, even when connected directly (and with mouse connected)) 

▪ Apple Keyboard with Numeric Keypad (aluminium/wired) A1243 

(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ea/ 

Apple_iMac_Keyboard_A1243.png/800px-Apple_iMac_Keyboard_A1243.png) 

▪ Apple Keyboard (aluminium/wired) A1242 (http://upload.wikimedia.org/ 

wikipedia/commons/8/81/Apple_Keyboard_A1242.jpg) 

▪ Asda 

▪ Basic Wired Keyboard HK2026 (B) 

▪ Basic Wired Keyboard HK3014 

▪ (Please note when I put this keyboard through Newlink USB hub, it didn't 

work as expected) 

▪ Premium Wireless Keyboard (white keys, silver back) HK8028 

▪ Wireless Multimedia Deskset (keyboard, mouse and USB dongle) Model: 

HKM8016B (Note: Shown on Asda Website as HK8016B) (B) 

▪ Asus 

▪ KS-631U (comes with Asus Vento KM-63 keyboard/mouse set, not using 

powered hub) (B) 

▪ Banbridge 

▪ PS/2 to USB Banbridge CPA4002 Adapter (http://www.kurpirkti.lt/imagesi/ 

infodb/org_d69dbd9707af8df77eae6e005f681a9a/BANDRIDGE-USB-2X- 

PS-2-ADAPTER.jpg) (B) (Tested with Logitech C-SF17 Cordless Desktop 

Express) 

▪ BTC - Behavior Tech Computer Corp. 

▪ Wired Portable Keyboard Model 6100 US (86+9 keys) 

▪ Works with or without a powered hub 

▪ Wireless Multimedia Keyboard with build in pointer/mouse Model 9029URF III 

(86+17 keys) (B) 

▪ Wired Multimedia keyboard 6311U/6310U (http://www.btc.com.tw/english/ 

2-7-07keyboard.htm) - rated at 5V/100mA, works directly 

▪ Bush 

▪ Wired Slimline Keyboard KU-0833

▪ Cerulian 

▪ This does not require a USB hub in order to work with the Raspberry Pi 

▪ In the UK, it is available from Argos for £9.99 

▪ Mini wireless keyboard and mouse deskset (B) 

▪ CD Training 

▪ Wireless Combo Keyboard and Mouse (SolClavGlos) (http://www.cdtraining.fr/?&feed=product&product_id=308) 

▪ Cherry 

▪ CyMotion Master Linux (B) 

▪ RS 6000 USB ON 

▪ G84-4100PTMUS (B) (Compact keyboard. Rated 100mA. Works directly in Pi) 

▪ Compaq 

▪ Compaq Internet Keyboard KU-9978 (049f:000e). Rated 5v 100mA. Works 

directly connected to Pi 

▪ Das Keyboard 

▪ Dell 

▪ Model S Professional Keyboard (Built in USB hub not tested) (B) 

▪ Model S Ultimate Keyboard (Built in USB hub working) (B) 

▪ SK-8115 (B) (Rated 100mA. Works directly in pi) 

▪ L100 (B) 

▪ RT7D50 (75mA) (run "sudo dpkg-reconfigure keyboard-configuration") 

▪ KB1421 (100mA) 

▪ KB2521 (100mA) 

▪ KB212-B (Works directly in pi, without powered hub) 

▪ 1HF2Y (Works directly in pi) 

▪ Bluetooth Wireless Keyboard and Mouse Bundle (B), Bluetooth USB dongle C- 

UV35 (Rated 500mA but works great), Keyboard Y-RAQ-DEL2, Mouse M- 

RBB-DEL4 

▪ Delux 

▪ K8050 

▪ Digicom 

▪ WKEYPE01 Wireless 2.4 Ghz Keyboard-mouse Combo, also known as Riitek 

RT-MWK01 (http://www.riitek.com/product_Info.asp?id=56) and Prodige Nanox 

(http://www.verkkokauppa.com/fi/product/52783) 

▪ Dynex 

▪ DX_-WKBD (60ma) (B) 

▪ DX_-WKBDSL (Hot keys not yet tested with Debian) (tested through nonpowered 

3 dongle usb hub) (B) 

▪ EAPPLY

▪ EBO-013 Wireless 2.4GHz compact keyboard with touchpad. Rated

▪ Imation 

▪ KBD-702 Multi-media Wired Keyboard 

▪ IOGEAR 

▪ (works after the firmware update via rpi-update (https://github.com/Hexxeh/ 

rpi-update) as of 06/27/2012) 

▪ IOGEAR GKM561R Wireless HTPC Multimedia Keyboard with Trackball 

▪ IOGEAR GKM681R 2.4GHz Wireless Compact Keyboard with Optical 

Trackball and Scroll Wheel 

▪ iPazzPort 

▪ i.t.works 

▪ KC04 (direct and by usb hub) 

▪ KC Silicone (only tested directly) 

▪ Jenkins 

▪ Jenkins Wireless Desktop Set Blue (B) 

▪ KeySonic 

▪ ACK-540RF (Wireless USB keyboard with built-in trackpad); works fine on 

Debian Squeeze plugged directly into Pi. Also works with Raspbmc with 

powered hub. 

▪ ACK-540RF+ (UK) WiFi keyboard inc touchpad with USB wifi dongle works fb 

with on model B/raspian/wheezy via powered hub 

▪ ACK-3700C 

▪ ACK-340U+(DE) 

▪ ACK-3400U (UK) mini keyboard 

▪ ACK-612RF (GER) Wireless Mini-Keyboard; works fine with its wireless 

adpater plugged directly into Pi 

▪ Labtec 

▪ Ultra-flat Keyboard (http://www.labtec.com/index.cfm/gear/details/EUR/ 

EN,crid=28,contentid=692%7C) 

▪ Laptopmate 

▪ AK-98UNTN7-UBRII Laptopmate RII Touch N7 Mini Wireless Keyboard with 

touchpad 

▪ LC-Power 

▪ K1000BMW (lsusb: ID 1241:f767 Belkin; dmesg: HOLTEK Wireless 2.4GHz 

Trackball Keyboard) tested with Debian 6.0.4 

▪ Lenovo 

▪ SK-8825 UK (B) 

▪ Lenovo Enhanced Multimedia Remote with backlit keyboard N5902 (US) 

▪ Lenovo Mini Wireless Keyboard N5901 (US) 

▪ Lindy

▪ 21840 (Wireless RF 2.4GHz Micro Keyboard with built-in optical touchpad/ 

trackpad, USB); works fine on model B/raspian/wheezy - the supplied Lindy 

USB nano dongle transceiver plugged directly into Pi USB port. 

▪ Logik 

▪ Ultra slim keyboard LKBWSL11 (B) >> This is also listed under Problem USB 

Keyboards? 

▪ Logitech 

▪ Comfort Wave 450, labeled 100mA (M/N Y-U0001, P/N 820-001725, PID 

SC951C40001) 

▪ diNovo Mini wireless keyboard with media controls and clickpad 920-000586 

(B) 

▪ diNovo Edge Keyboard, Windows edition, built-in TouchDisc track-pad, 

bluetooth w/ USB mini-receiver 967685-0403 (B) 

▪ Wii wireless keyboard KG-0802 (!) 

▪ C-BG17-Dual Wireless keyboard and mouse with wired USB receiver (B) 

▪ Deluxe 250 Keyboard 

▪ Internet 350 (M/N 967740-0403) 

▪ Internet Navigator Keyboard 

▪ MK120 wired keyboard and mouse 

▪ MK220 wireless keyboard and mouse 

▪ MK250 wireless keyboard and mouse (no hub needed) 

▪ MK260 wireless keyboard and mouse (no hub needed) 


▪ MK320 wireless keyboard and mouse [20] (http://www.amazon.co.uk/ 

Logitech-920-002885-MK320-Wireless-Desktop/dp/B003STDQYW/ 

ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1339166178&sr=8-3) 

▪ MK350 wireless keyboard (using Unifying receiver) 


▪ MK550 wireless keyboard and mouse (B) 

▪ MX3200 wireless keyboard and mouse (B) 

▪ MX5000 Bluetooth keyboard and mouse (B) The Logitech Bluetooth dongle also 

does proprietary wireless so it works without Bluetooth drivers. 

▪ EX100 Cordless Desktop, Wireless Keyboard and Mouse (B) 

▪ EX110 Cordless Desktop, wireless keyboard and mouse (B) 

▪ C-SF17 Cordless Desktop Express, Wireless Keyboard and Mouse (B) PS/2 

Interface. Tested using PS/2 to USB Banbridge CPA4002 Adapter 

(http://www.kurpirkti.lt/imagesi/infodb/ 

org_d69dbd9707af8df77eae6e005f681a9a/BANDRIDGE-USB-2X- 

PS-2-ADAPTER.jpg) 

▪ K120 Keyboard (B) 


▪ K230 Wireless Keyboard (Unifying receiver, no powered hub) (B) 

▪ K340 Wireless Keyboard (Unifying receiver, no powered hub) (B) 

▪ K350 Wireless Keyboard (B)

▪ K400 wireless keyboard with touchpad - also listed under "problematic". Works 

for weeks with openelec and raspbian without any problems. Worked out of the 

box - the on/off switch needs to be "on" for it to function correctly. Highly 

recommended if you are "working from the sofa". 


▪ K700 Wireless Keyboard with Touchpad and unifying receiver 

▪ K750 Wireless Solar Keyboard (B) (Mac version works too. (B) ) 

▪ LX 710 - works fine with receiver plugged directly into the RPi (accompanying 

mouse works fine too). 

▪ S510 wireless keyboard and mouse (B) 

▪ Ultra-Flat Keyboard (M/N Y-BP62A P/N 820-000245 PID SY126UK)labelled 

100 mA. OK direct into Model B RPi. 

▪ G19 Gaming Keyboard, works fine with no external power. Illumination with 

external power. Powered hum in back of keyboard works too. 

▪ G15 Gaming keyboard, as long as you press the backlight button twice to turn off 

the backlight (it says below it dosen't work with backlight on. 

▪ V470 Bluetooth Laser Mouse 

Keyboards and mice also together with Unifying receiver 

▪ Microsoft 

▪ Microsoft Comfort Curve Keyboard 2000 

▪ Microsoft Comfort Curve Keyboard 3000 for Business 

▪ Microsoft Digital Media Pro Keyboard Model : 1031 (Debian 13-Apr-2012) 

▪ Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000 (B) (Debian "Wheezy" beta 

18-June-2012) 

▪ Microsoft Wired Keyboard 600 Model 1366 (Debian 28-May-2012 on 

Production Model B) 

▪ Microsoft Wireless Desktop 700 Keyboard v2.0 (Raspbian Pisces image 

08-June-2012 on Production Model B) 

▪ Microsoft Wireless Photo Keyboard (Model 1027) Unifying receiver, no hub 

▪ Microsoft Wireless Natural Multimedia Keyboard (Raspbian Pisces 

08-July-2012) (B) 

▪ Microsoft Windows 2000 Keyboard (KB-USBK110610) 

▪ Microsoft Wired Keyboard 600 (https://www.microsoft.com/hardware/en-us/p/ 

wired-keyboard-600/ANB-00001) . The keyboard is rated at 5v/100mA (Wheezy 

5-Sept-2012) 

▪ Mikomi 

▪ Wireless Deskset KM80545 Keyboard and mouse (Works but range is terrible 

less than a metre) (B) 

▪ Monoprice 

▪ PS/2 To USB Adapter (http://www.monoprice.com/products/ 

product.asp?c_id=104&cp_id=10404&cs_id=1040401&p_id=6854&seq=1&format=2%7CMonopric 

Directly and through an unpowered hub with a USB mouse plugged in.

▪ Motorola 

▪ ▪ Bluetooth wireless ultra slim keyboard and mouse combo (sold as for the "Atrix" 

phone) work in combination with the Technika Bluetooth adaptor listed below 

▪ Novatech 

▪ Wireless Combo - Keyboard & Mouse, Nano adapter 

(http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/peripherals/desktopkits/novwcombo.html%7CNovatech) 

(B) 

▪ ONN 

▪ ONN Keyboard Stock No: ONA11HO089 (from Walmart). Seems to work fine, 

even without a hub. 

▪ ONN Keyboard Stock No: ONA11HO087 (from Walmart). Combination 

keyboard and mouse package with nano receiver. Be sure to configure keyboard 

layout. 

▪ Ortek 

▪ Ortek Technology, Inc. WKB-2000S (http://www.ortek.com/html/ 

pdt_view.asp?area=46&cat=150&sn=79) Wireless Keyboard with Touchpad 

works fine on Raspbian Wheezy and Raspbmc. Wireless USB receiver (device ID 

05a4:2000) is recognised automatically. Connected directly to Pi USB port, no 

powered hub used. 

▪ Perixx 

▪ Periboard 716 Wireless Ultra-Slim Keyboard with Touchpad (Debian 

07-Jun-2012 on Production Model B) 

▪ PERIBOARD-502 wired keyboard inc built in touchpad (model B/raspian 

wheezy) 

▪ Periduo-707 Plus (Wireless Keyboard and Mouse) works fine most of the time. 

Does suffer from dropouts and glitches though. Usual "drawing too much power 

from USB" problems show up as well - dropped key presses or constant 

autorepeats. These can be cured by pulling out and reinserting the dongle in the 

USB socket. The keyboard sometimes hangs after power on when used with my 

laptop - it seems to need 30 seconds of non-use before it works fine. Again, 

remove and insert the dongle cures it. Works fine vi my Benq monitor's USB 

Hub. 

▪ Philips 

▪ Wired Multimedia Keyboard SPK3700BC/97 (Debian 19-Apr-2012 on 

Production Model B) 

▪ Prodige 

▪ Nanox Wireless 2.4 Ghz Keyboard-mouse Combo, also known as Riitek RT- 

MWK01 (http://www.riitek.com/product_Info.asp?id=56) and Digicom 

WKEYPE01 (http://www.digicom.it/digisit/prodotti.nsf/itprodottiidx/ 

WKEYPE01) 

▪ Rapoo

▪ Rapoo E9080 Wireless Ultra-Slim Keyboard with Touchpad 

▪ Rapoo Wireless Multi-media Touchpad Keyboard E2700 [21] 

(http://www.rapoo.com/showdetails.aspx?P_No=E2700) 

▪ Rapoo Ultra-Slim Wireless Multimedia Keyboard and Mouse E9060 (works 

proper on powered USB Hub) 

▪ Riitek 

▪ RT-MWK03 mini wireless keyboard & trackpad 

▪ RT-MWK02+ mini bluetooth keyboard & trackpad. Followed instructions from 

this page: [22] (http://www.ctheroux.com/2012/08/a-step-by-step-guide-to-setupa-bluetooth-keyboard-and-mouse-on-the-raspberry-pi/) 

and it worked, connection 

persists across reboots, no problem with either builtin USB or powered USB hub. 

▪ RT-MWK01 mini wireless 2.4 Ghz Keyboard-mouse Combo, also known as 

Digicom WKEYPE01 (http://www.digicom.it/digisit/prodotti.nsf/itprodottiidx/ 

WKEYPE01) , and Prodige Nanox (http://www.verkkokauppa.com/fi/product/ 

52783) 

▪ Rosewill 

▪ RK-200 Standard Keyboard 

▪ Saitek 

▪ Eclipse II Backlit Keyboard PK02AU (B) 

▪ Eclipse Backlit Keyboard PZ30AV (B) - works fine when connected directly to 

Pi rev.1 and 2 USB port. No powered hub used. 

▪ Expression Keyboard (US) 

▪ Cyborg V.5 (B) 

▪ SelecLine 

▪ SIIG 

▪ WK11P & WM11P-SP-PP. Keyboard and mouse set. (B) 

▪ SIIG Wireless Multi-Touchpad Mini Keyboard 02-1286A v1.0 (B) 

▪ Silvercrest 

▪ MTS2219 Wireless Keyboard and mouse set. Powered hub NOT used. (B) 

▪ SolidTek 

▪ Sony 

▪ Solid Tek KB-P3100BU ASK-3100U. 

▪ Keyboard for PlayStation 2 (PS2) Linux. Works without powered hub with 5v1A 

supply, requires manual keyboard remapping with Debian Squeeze to USA 

101-key layout. 

▪ SteelSeries 

▪ Merc keyboard (B) 

▪ Sun Microsystems 

▪ Model: Type 7, SUN PN: 320-1348-02 (Danish key layout) 

▪ Model: Type 6, SUN PN: 320-1279-01 (Danish key layout)

▪ Sweex 

▪ KB060UK (http://www.sweex.com/en/assortiment/input/keyboards/KB060UK/) 

Wired Multimedia Keyboard 

▪ Technika 

▪ WKEY03 (B) 

▪ TKD-211 

▪ Tesco 

▪ Value Keyboard VK109 (B) 

▪ Multimedia K211 Wired Keyboard (B) 


▪ Super Slim Apple Style Keyboard (from The Pi Hut's Raspberry Pi Store 

(http://thepihut.com/products/usb-keyboard-for-the-raspberry-pi) ) 

▪ Super Slim Apple Style Keyboard Set (Keyboard & Mouse) (from The Pi Hut's 

Raspberry Pi Store (http://thepihut.com/products/usb-keyboard-mouse-bundlefor-the-raspberry-pi) 

) 

▪ Trust 

▪ Trust 17916 Compact Wireless Entertainment Keyboard http://www.trust.com/ 

products/product.aspx?artnr=17916 (B) 

▪ Trust ClassicLine Keyboard http://trust.com/17184 

▪ Trust Camiva MultiMedia Keyboard http://trust.com/products/ 

product.aspx?artnr=16087 

▪ Trust Convex Keyboard http://trust.com/products/product.aspx?artnr=17603 

tested debian6-19-04-2012 and archlinuxarm-13-06-2012 (B) 

▪ Unbranded 

▪ AK-601 Wireless Mini Keyboard and Trackball (with laser pointer) - sourced 

from eBay Chinese seller 

▪ Unicomp 

▪ USB Endurapro - keyboard and trackpoint work perfectly from powered hub 

▪ Q-Connect 

▪ AK-808 (B) 

▪ Xenta 

▪ 2.4GHz Wireless Multimedia Entertainment Keyboard with Touchpad (B) 

▪ Mini Multimedia Keyboard (Model no.: 808M) (B) 

Problem USB Keyboards 

Note that generally PS/2 keyboards with an USB adapter will not work directly on a PI 

port, due to the fact that PS/2 keyboards are designed for normal 5V +-5% range, while 

USB keyboards must be designed to work with 4.4 Volt, and generally USB devices on 

the PI may receive less than 4.75 Volt. PS/2 + USB adapter keyboards might work behind

a powered hub, which does provide the full 5.0V. Some of these keyboards work when 

running the latest raspbian but not when using the overclocked xbmc version of raspbmc, 

probably due to the overclocking drawing more power away from the rest of the support 

system devices. 

▪ A4 Tech 

▪ Model GL-6 USB Keyboard, 20mA. Part of wireless keyboard/mouse bundle 

GL-6630 (GL-6 + G7-630 + RN-10B) - suffers from USB flakeyness. Even on a 

powered hub. No problems on other computers I have tested it with. 

▪ Accuratus 

▪ Accuratus KYBAC100-101USBBLK causes kernel panic (rated 100mA). Tested 

with 1000mA cheap unbranded and Nokia 1200mA power adaptors. 

▪ Apple 

▪ Apple Keyboard (109 keys) A1048 (http://www.powerbookmedic.com/xcart1/ 

images/D/apple-keyboard.jpg) . Draws too much power and does not seem to 

work properly when plugged into a powered hub. 

▪ Argos 

▪ Argos Value Wired Keyboard causes kernel panic 

▪ Choidy 

▪ Identifiers from usb-devices: Vendor=1a2c ProdID=0002 Rev=01.10 

Product=USB Keykoard (yes, 'Keykoard') causes kernel panic 

▪ Cit 

▪ KB-1807UB Causes kernel panic (Rated

▪ Wired Multimedia Keyboard Model: LKBWMM11 - causes kernel panic (on 

Debian 190412 distro) (B) 

▪ Wired Ultra Slim Keyboard Model: LKBWSL11 - causes USB power issues. Not 

reliable. Causes other USB devices to fail (B) >> This is also listed under 

Working USB Keyboards?? 

▪ Logitech 

▪ Logitech Illuminated Keyboard (unstable; not working with led light on; tested 

both US and NO layouts with both Apple iPad 2 and Asus TF-101 USB chargers) 

▪ G110 Gaming Keyboard - only works with illumination off, otherwise 

unresponsive. Once failed it needs reconnecting before another attempt. (B) 

▪ G15 Gaming Keyboard - LCD and key backlights flicker, 95% unresponsive to 

typing. I don't know of a way to turn the illumination off. (B) 

▪ K360 Wireless Keyboard - Occasional sticky keys. (B) 

▪ K400 wireless keyboard with touchpad (completely non-functional on 

debian6-19-04-2012) 

▪ G510 Gaming Keyboard - lagging or unresponsive keys. 

▪ MX5500 wireless keyboard and mouse with usb bluetooth reciever - Unstable, 

looses connection without prior notice 

▪ EX100 Cordless Desktop, wireless keyboard and mouse. Mouse and keyboard 

hangs every few minutes (with or without hub). 

▪ Microsoft 

▪ Wireless Desktop 800 - Keyboard has 'sticky' keys. (B) 

▪ Wireless Entertainment Keyboard - No key input recognized (possibly 

connectivity issue as pairing devices does not seem to work) 

▪ Wireless Optical Desktop 1000 - Keyboard has 'sticky' keys (B) 

▪ Wireless Keyboard 2000 - Keyboard has 'sticky' keys. (B) 

▪ Wireless Desktop 3000 - Keyboard has 'sticky' keys. 

▪ Arc wireless - Keyboard has 'sticky' keys. (B) 

▪ Sidewinder X4 - Keyboard has 'sticky' keys. (B) 

▪ Sidewinder X6 - Keyboard has 'sticky' keys. (B) 

▪ Wireless Comfort Keyboard 5000 - Keyboard has 'sticky' keys. (B) 

▪ Razer Reclusa - Keyboard has 'sticky' keys. (B rev 2.0) 

▪ Novatech 

▪ NOV-KEY2 - Causes kernel panic (B) [2] 

▪ PC World Essentials 

▪ PKBW11 Wired Keyboard - no power to keyboard, no error messages on both 

Arch 29-04-2012 and Debian6-19-04-2012, same Pi works with Asda keyboard. 

Me too, but caused a kernel panic -- tested on powered hub and direct. 

▪ Razer 

▪ Razer Tarantula gaming keyboard - sticky keys, could be power issue as is 

programmable with host powered USB hub and audio jacks. 

▪ Razer BlackWidow - Sticky keys, could be a power related issue due to 

illuminated logo (Blue LED).

▪ Razer Arctosa - Sticky keys, most probably power related issue since it states it's 

rated at 5v 500mA. (B) 

▪ SIIG 

▪ Wireless Ultra Slim Multimedia Mini Keyboard JK-WR0612-S1 - Unresponsive 

and sticky keys. 

▪ Texet 

▪ MB-768B standard keyboard (Rated 5V 1.5A(!), so probably too much power 

drain. Kernel panic, Debian6-19-04-2012) 

▪ Trust 

▪ TRUST GXT 18 Gaming Keyboard - No power to keyboard, could be a driver 

issue - no error messages. 

▪ Unbranded 

▪ Compuparts 

▪ model no. HK-6106 (B) [3] 

▪ LK-890 (Multimedia keyboard & Optical Mouse) - kernel panic on Debian 

Squeeze, ArchLinux and Qtonpi. 

▪ Verbatim 

▪ 97472 Mini Wireless Slim Keyboard and Mouse (http://www.amazon.com/gp/ 

product/B004LB5AKY/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i02%7CVerbatim) - Keyboard 

has lagging, unresponsive and sticky keys issues. (Tested with and without 

powered USB hub.) 

▪ Wilkinsons / TEXET 

▪ Model MB-768B causes kernel panic on debian6-19-04-2012. 

▪ Xenta 

▪ HK-6106 - causes kernel panic (on Debian 190412 distro)(B) 

▪ Multimedia Wireless Keyboard and Mouse Set (Keyboard Model: HK3518B + 

Mouse Model HM3301) (B) - occasional sticky keys, and occasional complete 

lock-up 

USB Mouse devices 

USB mouse devices that present themselves as a standard HID (Human Interface Device) 

device should work, however some hardware requires special drivers or additional 

software, usually only compatible with Windows operating systems. 

Working USB Mouse Devices 

The following is a list of specific mouse devices known to work and which appear to be 

fault-free. 

▪ A4Tech 

▪ OP-530NU Padless Wired Mouse

▪ Asda 

▪ HM5058 (Smart Price) Wired Mouse 

▪ Wireless Multimedia Deskset (keyboard, mouse and USB dongle) Model: 

HKM8016B (Note: Shown on Asda Website as HK8016B) (B) 

▪ ASUS 

▪ MS-511U (comes with Asus Vento KM-63 keyboard/mouse combo) (B) 

▪ MG-0919 (wireless) 

▪ Belkin 

▪ Dell 

▪ F8E882-OPT (B) 

▪ M-UVDEL1 (B) 

▪ MOC5UO (100mA) 

▪ M056U0A (B) 

▪ DZL-MS111-L (B) (100mA) 

▪ MS-111P (100mA) 

▪ Bluetooth Wireless Keyboard and Mouse Bundle (B), Bluetooth USB dongle C- 

UV35 (Rated 500mA but works great), Keyboard Y-RAQ-DEL2, Mouse M- 

RBB-DEL4 

▪ Dynex 

▪ DX-WMSE (100mA) (B) 

▪ Fellowes 

▪ 99928 USB Micro Track Ball (works without a hub, directly plugged in) (B) 

▪ Filand 

▪ OP-102i Mini Optical Mouse 

▪ Genius 

▪ HP 

▪ GM-04003A (B) 

▪ Slimstar 8000 wireless mouse (Can be intermitent. Mouse pointer sometimes is 

irratic.) 

▪ Traveler 515 Laser 

▪ MN-UAE96 (The basic stock HP wired mouse)(B) 

▪ iConcepts 

▪ 2.4GHz Wireless Keyboard and Optical Mouse Model 62550 

▪ Jenkins 

▪ (saves a USB port since keyboard and mouse share one transceiver, $14.99 at 

Fry's Electronics) 

▪ Jenkins Wireless Desktop Set Blue (B) 

▪ Kensington 

▪ Kensington Expert Mouse Trackball K64325

▪ Kensington Expert Mouse "Slimblade" K72327US 

▪ Labtec 

▪ Corded Laser Glow Mouse 1600, rated 5V 100mA (P/N 810-000819, M/N M- 

UAZ149, PID GT83401) 

▪ Lenovo 

▪ Wired Optical Mouse Model: MO28UOL 

▪ Logik 

▪ Wired Optical Glow Mouse Model: LGGMO10. (B) 

▪ Logitech 

▪ B105 Mouse for Laptops (OEM) 

▪ Cordless Pilot Optical Mouse M/N M-RR95 with Cordless Mouse Receiver M/N 

C-BA4-MSE 

▪ G5 Logitech Gaming Mouse (B) 

▪ G5v2 Logitech Gaming Mouse (B) 

▪ G500 Logitech Gaming Mouse (B) 

▪ G700 Logitech Wireless Gaming Mouse (B) 

▪ LX-700 Cordless Desktop Receiver (B) 

▪ LX 710 Wireless Mouse - works fine with receiver plugged directly into RPi 

(accompanying keyboard works fine too). 

▪ M90 optical mouse 

▪ M185 Wireless Mouse (B) 

▪ M210 (part of the MK260 set) (B) 

▪ M305 Wireless Mouse 

▪ M310 Cordless Mouse 

▪ M325 Wireless Mouse 

▪ M505 USB wireless laser, model no: 910-001324 (B) 

▪ M510 Wireless Mouse (B) 

▪ M705 Marathon Mouse (Unifying receiver, no powered hub) (B) 

▪ M-BD58 Wheel Mouse (B) 

▪ M-BJ58/M-BJ69 Optical Wheel Mouse (B) 

▪ M-BJ79 (B) 

▪ M-BT96a Optical Mouse 

▪ MX320/MX400 laser mouse (B) 

▪ MX518 Optical wheel mouse (B) 

▪ Optical USB Mouse (M/N 931643-0403) 

▪ Performance Mouse MX (B) 

▪ MX Revolution (B) (Debian "Wheezy" beta 18-June-2012) 

▪ VX Nano Cordless Laser Mouse for Notebooks 

▪ Wheel Mouse (M/N BJ58) 

▪ Medion 

▪ Mini mouse Model M101-CBJ P/N 40016632 S/N 7BFSA00003445 rated 5v 

100ms Works fb on model B with raspian wheezy

▪ Microsoft 

▪ Comfort Curve Mouse 3000 for Business 

▪ Comfort Mouse 6000 (works when directly connected to Pi (B). Does not work 

when connected through USB Hub (mouse pointer intermittent). 

▪ Compact optical mouse 500 V2.0 (B) 

▪ Wheel Optical Mouse (wheel and additional buttons not tested) (B) 

▪ Microsoft Intellimouse Optical Mouse 

▪ Microsoft Wireless Laser Mouse 8000 

▪ Microsoft Wireless Mobile Mouse 1000 



▪ Microsoft Wireless Mouse 700 v2.0 

▪ Microsoft Comfort Mouse 4500 

▪ Wireless IntelliMouse Explorer 2.0 (unifying receiver, no hub) 

▪ Novatech 

▪ M1 USB Mouse - Wired (http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/peripherals/ 

miceandtrackballs/nov-mouser.html%7CNovatech) (B) 

▪ DL10 Wireless Mouse (http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/peripherals/ 

miceandtrackballs/nov-dl10.html%7CNovatech) (B) 

▪ Razer 

▪ Boomslang Collectors Edition 2007 (B) 

▪ Rosewill 

▪ Rosewill RM-C2U 

▪ Saitek 

▪ Notebook Optical Mouse (PM46) 

▪ Samsung 

▪ Samsung model:AA-SM3PCPB usb Optical Mouse (draws 50mA) 

▪ Sun microsystems 

▪ Model: FID-638 , SunPN: 371-0788-01 

▪ Sweex 

▪ MI015 (http://www.sweex.com/en/assortiment/input/optical-mice/MI015/) 

▪ Swiftpoint 

▪ [24] (http://http://www.americas.futuremouse.com/) Swiftpoint Mini Wireless 

Optical Mouse. Does not require any special drivers. Haven't confirmed if 

charging the mouse requires a powered USB hub or not. 

▪ Targus 

▪ AMU2701EUK (B) 

▪ Technika 

▪ TKOPTM2 (B)

▪ TKD-211 

▪ TKNM110 

▪ Tesco 

▪ Wired optical mouse M211 (B) 


▪ USB Mouse for Raspberry Pi (from The Pi Hut's Raspberry Pi Store 

(http://thepihut.com/products/usb-mouse-for-the-raspberry-pi) ) 

▪ Super Slim Keyboard & Mouse Set (from The Pi Hut's Raspberry Pi Store 

(http://thepihut.com/products/usb-keyboard-mouse-bundle-for-the-raspberry-pi) ) 

▪ Trust 

▪ Trust Nanou Wireless Micro Mouse http://trust.com/products/ 

product.aspx?artnr=17087 

▪ Verbatiam 

▪ Mini Nano Optical Mouse 97470 (wireless on non-powered 3 usb dongle hub) 

(B) 

▪ Xenta 

▪ MOW0810 (B) 

▪ Wired Optical Mouse (from The Pi Hut's Raspberry Pi Store (http://thepihut.com/ 

products/usb-mouse-for-the-raspberry-pi) ) 

▪ Generic 

▪ Generic 2.4GHz Wireless Mouse (ID 040b:2013 Weltrend Semiconductor) (B) 

Problem USB Mouse Devices 

The following is a list of specific mouse devices that have problems working with the 

Raspberry Pi 

▪ A4Tech 

▪ Model G7-630 Wireless Mouse, 20mA. Part of wireless keyboard/mouse bundle 

GL-6630 (GL-6 + G7-630 + RN-10B) - suffers from USB flakeyness. Even on a 

powered hub. No problems on other computers I have tested it with. 

▪ HP 

▪ HP Retractable Mobile Mouse (Optical) HP Product Number XP472AA - errors / 

boot loop RASPBMC (B)removed mouse, started with no further errors. 

▪ Logik 

▪ Logik IMF Blue Trace Wired USB mouse (Model LMWBLU11) - disconnects 

from the USB port every 20 seconds when using the Raspian distro. Always 

reconnects to the USB port successfully (B) 

▪ Logitech

▪ Logitech G400 Gaming Mouse - 100% CPU load and laggy mouse cursor when 

the mouse is moved. MX518 works fine on the same setup, so I suspect it's a 

polling rate issue. this (http://tech2.in.com/reviews/mice/logitech-g400-is-it-aworthy-successor/231012) 

says the mouse is 1000Hz out of the box, whereas the 

518 is only 125Hz. Solution found: add usbhid.mousepoll=8 to the kernel 

commandline. 

▪ Microsoft 

▪ Microsoft Touch Mouse - Does not see right clicks, Only left. 

▪ Razer 

▪ Naga Wired USB mouse - the mouse seems to present itself as a keyboard 

because the numpad on the left-hand side of the device works but the cursor 

doesn't move. 

▪ Roccat 

▪ Kone[+] Wired USB mouse - Nothing happens when moving the mouse, haven't 

looked further into the issue (B) 

▪ Trust 

▪ Optical USB Mouse MI-2250 - Nothing happens when moving the mouse (B) 

▪ Xenta 

▪ Multimedia Wireless Keyboard and Mouse Set (Mouse Model: HM-3301) (B) - 

frequent lost connection giving stuttering mouse cursor indicating USB current 

not enough for dongle 

USB Real Time Clocks 

▪ Cymbet 

▪ Cymbet CBC-EVAL-06 USB Real Time Clock (FT2232 to SPI to RV-2123) 

Device information at http://www.cymbet.com/pdfs/DS-72-22.pdf Code to access the 

RTC from Linux: https://github.com/owendelong/Cymbet-RTC Does not require a 

powered hub. 

USB WiFi Adapters 

See also: http://www.element14.com/community/docs/DOC-44703/l/raspberry-pi-wifiadapter-testing 

There is a howto on installing the TL-WN722N adapter here (http://elinux.org/ 

RPi_Peripherals#Wireless:_TP-Link_TL- 

WN722N_USB_wireless_adapter_.28Debian_6.29) , which also acts as a guide for 

installing others too.

Working USB Wifi Adapters 

These adapters are known to work on the Raspberry Pi. This list is not exhaustive, other 

adapters may well work, but have not yet been tried. 

Note: A WiFi adapter will probably need more power than the Raspberry Pi USB port 

can provide, especially if there is a large distance from the WiFi adapter to the WiFi 

Access Point. Therefore, you may need to plug the WiFi adapter into a powered USB 

hub. 

▪ 3COM 

▪ 3CRUSB10075: ZyDAS zd1211rw chipset (!) 

▪ 7DayShop 

▪ Alfa 

▪ W-3S01BLK, W-3S01BLKTWIN : Unbranded product available from 

7DayShop, in a single or twin pack. [25] (http://www.7dayshop.com/catalog/ 

product_info.php?cPath=777_9&products_id=112046) , [26] 

(http://www.7dayshop.com/catalog/product_info.php?&products_id=112527) . 

Tested on Debian Wheezy, with the dongle attached directly to the RPi along 

with the wireless keyboard receiver. Shows up as a Ralink RT5370 device, and no 

drivers or additional software downloads required. Created wpa.conf, edited 

'interfaces' file and restarted the networking. The manufacturer portion of the 

MAC address (7cdd90) is assigned to "Shenzhen Ogemray Technology Co., Ltd." 

▪ It works without additional software connected directly to a Rev 2 Pi but stops 

working after a period of time (3 to 4 hours) with a fully updated Wheezy and all 

the 'USB workarounds' [27] (http://elinux.org/Rpi_USB_check-list) in place. 

▪ AWUS036NEH: Tested on Debian Squeeze (with Ralink firmware package) 

▪ AWUS036NH: Tested on Arch Linux ARM using the rt2800usb module. 

▪ AWUS036NH: Tested on Debian Wheezy (with Ralink firmware package). 

Tested on Raspbian too (drivers from aircrack-ng). 

▪ AWUS036H (500mW version): Tested on Raspbian (drivers from aircrack-ng). 

▪ AWUS036H (1W version): Tested on Raspbian (drivers from aircrack-ng). Needs 

USB powered HUB or Rev2 of the board / polyfuse bypass. 

▪ AWUS036NHA: Tested on Raspbian (drivers from aircrack-ng). Works fine if 

connected after boot, otherwise Raspberry Pi won't boot up. 

▪ AirLink101 

▪ Asus 

▪ AWLL5088: Tested on Debian Wheezy. This adapter is based on the OEM 

Edimax EW-7811Un. For automatic installation, See MrEngmanns script listed 

below under the Edimax device. 

▪ USB-N10 (http://www.element14.com/community/docs/DOC-44703) USB ID 

0b05:1786, r8712u staging driver, included on Fedora Remix & Arch, must

download (http://www.element14.com/community/servlet/JiveServlet/download/ 

44948-8-97488/r8712u_ko.zip) for Debian and install firmware-realtek from nonfree 

squeeze repo (B) (not needed with latest Raspbian “wheezy” 2012-07-15: 

this Asus works N10 out of the box) Does not support nl80211 APIS, so hostapd 

won't work. 

▪ USB-N13 (http://www.element14.com/community/docs/DOC-44703) USB ID 

0b05:17ab, works with Adafruit Occidentalis v0.1 image 

(http://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-raspberry-pi-educational-linux-distro/ 

occidentalis-v0-dot-1) as it includes kernel with 8192u driver built-in 

(http://www.element14.com/community/message/57635#57660) (B) 

▪ WL-167G v1 USB ID 0b05:1706, Ralink RT2571 working out-of-the-box on 

Debian image from 2012-04-19. Requires powered hub, otherwise it is detected 

by OS but will not function. 

▪ WL-167G v3 USB ID 0b05:1791, working out-of-the-box on Linux raspberrypi 

3.2.27+ #160 PREEMPT Mon Sep 17. Does not require powered hub. 

▪ AusPi Technologies 

▪ AusPi Wireless Adapter [Realtek RTL8188S]. Works without a powered HUB. 

Tested on OpenELEC (works OOB), RaspBMC (works OOB), XBian (works 

OOB) and 2012-08-08 Raspbian Wheezy (works OOB). Distributed in Australia 

by Buy Raspberry Pi Australia (http://www.buyraspberrypi.com.au/raspberrypi-802-11bgn-usb-wireless-dongle/) 

. 

▪ Belkin 

▪ Belkin Components F5D7050 Wireless G Adapter v3000 [Ralink RT2571W]. On 

Debian requires the firmware-ralink package from the non-free repository. The 

usbcore module needs to be added to /etc/modules install instructions 

(http://www.penguintutor.com/blog/viewblog.php?blog=6281) . 

▪ Belkin Components F5D8053 ver.6001 Wireless N Adapter [Realtek 

RTL8188SU]. Tested on OpenELEC (works OOB), RaspBMC (works OOB), 

Raspian - 2012-07-15-wheezy-raspbian (followed instructions here 

(http://forum.xbian.org/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=29) ) Powered hub required! 

▪ Belkin Components F5D8053 ver.6001 Wireless N Adapter [Realtek 

RTL8188SU]. Works on RaspBMC OOB (with NetworkManager plugin). Works 

WITHOUT powered hub on 5v 800mA power with 6 overvolt (nothing else 

connected to USB) 

▪ Belkin Components F7D1101 v1 Basic Wireless Adapter [Realtek RTL8188SU] 

USB ID 050d:945a, r8712u staging driver, included on Fedora Remix & Arch, 

must download (http://www.element14.com/community/servlet/JiveServlet/ 

download/44948-8-97488/r8712u_ko.zip) for Debian and install firmware-realtek 

from non-free squeeze repo (B) 

▪ Belkin Components F6D4050 V1 [Realtek RT3070] USB ID: 050d:935a Driver: 

RT3572STA(recommended),RT2800USB,RT2870STA. Tested under Arch using 

this (https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/ 

Setting_Up_Belkin_F6D4050_Wireless_USB_Dongles) guide.

▪ Belkin Components F6D4050 V1/V2 [Realtek RT3070] USB ID: 050d:935a / 

935b Driver: RT3572STA. Tested with Raspbian - See installation instructions 

(http://iggy82.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/wireless-n-raspberry-pi-belkinf6d4050.html) 

- Powered hub not required! 

▪ Belkin Components F7D2102 "N300" Micro Wireless USB adapter. Tested with 

Occidentalis 0.1. Tested and working on Rasbian wheezy (and RaspBMC), driver 

RTL8192CU, no powered hub needed (dongle directly attached to the onboard 

ports) 

▪ Belkin Components F9L1001v1 "N150" Wireless USB Adapter. Tested and 

working on Rasbian wheezy WITHOUT powered hub. 

▪ Belkin Surf Micro WLAN USB-Adapter (Raspbian Wheezy, unpowered hub, 

"N150") 

▪ BlueProton 

▪ BT3 (http://www.element14.com/community/docs/DOC-44703) USB ID: 

0bda:8187; tested on Debian, Fedora & Arch; rtl8187 driver (B) 

▪ Buffalo 

▪ USB ID: 0411:01A2 WLI-UC-GNM - Tested on Raspbmc; rt2800usb driver 

▪ Conceptronic 

▪ C300RU. Works out of the box in Raspbian. Causes reboot when plugging on a 

live Rev. 2 RPi 

▪ Conrad 

▪ WLAN Stick N150 mini. Works out of the box in OpenELEC, requires firmwarerealtek 

and r8712u kernel module on Debian (http://www.t3node.com/blog/ 

sempre-wireless-usb-stick-wu300-2-on-raspberry-pi/) . 

▪ WLAN Stick N150 Nano [Realtek RTL8188CUS]. Requires a powered USB 

hub. See Micronet SP907NS for installation instructions and script. 

▪ DELL 

▪ Wireless 1450 [Intersil ISL3887]. Works out of the box but requires a powered 

hub (the RPi boots with this dongle plugged in, recognizes and configures it, 

works for some time but then crashes randomly under heavy traffic. A powered 

hub seems to fix the issue). 

▪ DIGICOM 

▪ USBWAVE54 [chipset Zydas ZD1211] . [[28] (http://www.digicom.it/digisit/ 

prodotti.nsf/itprodottiidx/UsbWave54) ] Works out of the box in OpenELEC. 

With Raspbian or Debian squeezy/wheezy works with zd1211-firmware . 

▪ USBWAVE300C [chipset Ralink 2870] . [[29] (http://www.digicom.it/digisit/ 

prodotti.nsf/itprodottiidx/UsbWave300c) ] Works out of the box in OpenELEC. 

With Raspbian or Debian squeezy/wheezy works with firmware-ralink . 

▪ D-Link 

▪ AirPlus G DWL-G122 (rev. E). USB ID 07d1:3c0f, Ralink RT2870. On Debian 

requires the firmware-ralink package from the squeeze-firmware

non-free repository. (However I experience total crashes on raspbian 2012-07-15 

after a few minutes of load on the wlan. Will have to investigate via serial 

console.) 

▪ AirPlus G DWL-G122 (rev. C). USB ID 07d1:3c03, Ralink RT2571. Working 

out-of-the-box on Arch image from 2012-04-29. 

▪ AirPlus G DWL-G122 (rev. B1). USB ID 2001:3c00, Ralink RT2571. Working 

out-of-the-box on Arch image from 2012-06-13. 

▪ DWA-110 (Version A1). Requires the ralink package from the non-free repository 

on Debian. 

▪ DWA-121 (Version A1). Wireless N 150 Pico. Works out-of-the-box with 

Raspian Wheezy (2012-09-18) and Raspbmc (2012-11-06) using Network- 

Manager addon (see Program - Addons) 

▪ DWA-123 (Version A1). USB ID 2001:3c17, Ralink RT2800. Working out-ofthe-box 

on Arch image from 2012-04-29. (working without UBS Hub - not yet 

sure if it achieves full speed though.) 

▪ DWA-131 USB ID 07d1:3303,Realtek RTL8192SU, 802.11n Wireless N Nano. 

Works out of the box on Raspbian “wheezy”. Verified with direct USB : no 

powered USB hub needed. Also verified when Nano used in powered USB hub. 

Someone had trouble configuring SSID/Passphrase in etc/network/interfaces file. 

But no problem & very easy to configure using wicd : wicd is a gui interface on 

LXDE for network configuration. Install it using command-line : apt-get 

install wicd. Once configured ith wicd to auto-run on boot, no need to turn 

back to LXDE. Recommended. 

▪ DWA-140 (Version B1). USB ID 07d1:3c09, Ralink RT2870. On Debian requires 

the firmware-ralink package from the squeeze-firmware non-free 

repository. 

▪ DWA-140 (Version B2). USB ID 07d1:3c0a, Ralink RT3072. Workaround for 

faulty firmware binary: Place file rt2870.bin from linux-firmware_1.53.tar.gz 

(https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/oneiric/+source/linux-firmware/1.53/+files/linuxfirmware_1.53.tar.gz) 

in /lib/firmware. Explanation (https://bugs.launchpad.net/ 

ubuntu/+source/linux-firmware/+bug/770232) . 

▪ DWA-160 (Version B1). USB ID 07d1:3c11, Ralink RT2870. On Debian requires 

the firmware-ralink package from the squeeze-firmware non-free 

repository. 

▪ DWA-160 (Version A2). USB ID 07d1:3a09, Atheros AR9170. (NOTE: I can 

only get it to work through powered USB hub) requires carl9170-fw firmware 

[30] (http://http://aur.archlinux.org/packages.php/packages.php?ID=44102) 

▪ Edimax 

▪ EW-7811Un (http://www.edimax.co.uk/en/ 

produce_detail.php?pd_id=328&pl1_id=1&pl2_id=44) USB ID 7392:7811, 

RTL8192CU, driver blob download (http://www.electrictea.co.uk/rpi/ 

8192cu.tar.gz) via Element14 (http://www.element14.com/community/docs/ 

DOC-44703) , works with WPA2-AES-CCMP (howto (http://www.ctrl-alt-del.cc/ 

2012/05/raspberry-pi-meets-edimax-ew-7811un-wireless-ada.html) ) (B) -

Alternative driver download link that works with Raspian (http://dl.dropbox.com/ 

u/80256631/8192cu-latest.tar.gz) . Note: With current raspbian 

(2012-09-18-wheezy) it is recognized immediately, the default module works 

fine; the configuration is easy using wireless-essid and wireless-key in /etc/ 

network/interfaces. 

▪ The EW-7811Un can be powered directly from the Raspberry Pi if the Raspberry 

Pi is powered using a well regulated power supply. 

▪ A script-based installation for the EW-7811Un (http://www.edimax.co.uk/en/ 

produce_detail.php?pd_id=328&pl1_id=1&pl2_id=44) by MrEngman can be 

found on the RasPi forums (http://www.raspberrypi.org/phpBB3/ 

viewtopic.php?f=26&t=6256&hilit=edimax) . Tested with Debian Squeeze and 

Raspbian. An installation guide can be found here. (http://dl.dropbox.com/u/ 

80256631/install-rtl8188cus.txt) 

▪ Instructions for getting the EW-7811Un (http://www.edimax.co.uk/en/ 

produce_detail.php?pd_id=328&pl1_id=1&pl2_id=44) working in Raspbmc 

(tested RC3) can be found here (http://forum.stmlabs.com/ 

showthread.php?tid=780) . 

▪ Simple step-by-step instructions for EW-7811Un (http://www.edimax.co.uk/en/ 

produce_detail.php?pd_id=328&pl1_id=1&pl2_id=44) which uses the RTL8192 

chipset RPi_edimax_EW-7811Un(B) 

▪ EW-7318USg (http://www.edimax.com/en/ 

produce_detail.php?pd_id=8&pl1_id=1&pl2_id=44) USB ID 148f:2573, rt73usb. 

RT2573 chipset. Works with powered usb-hub or shorted polyfuses. 

▪ EW-7711UAn (http://www.edimax.co.uk/en/ 

produce_detail.php?pd_id=261&pl1_id=1&pl2_id=44) , Ralink RT2870, works 

perfectly on Arch with a powered hub (not tested without yet). Simply required 

wireless_tools and wpa_supplicant, the drivers/firmware are included in kernel 

3.0. I followed the Arch Wireless Setup (https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/ 

Wireless_Setup) instructions. 

▪ edup 

▪ [Edup 150MBPS wifi adapter (http://www2.buyincoins.com/details/usb-150mwifi-wireless-lan-network-card-adapter-antenna-product-1916.html) 

] USB ID: 

148f:5370 Ralink Technology, Corp. RT5370 Wireless Adapter. Driver is the 

RT2800USB module, I had to install the firmware as rt2870.bin in /lib/ 

firmware.(requires firmware-ralink from wheezy (http://raspberry-pinotes.blogspot.com/2012/05/rt5370-cheap-micro-usb-wireless-dongle.html) 

) (B) 

▪ Ultra-Mini Nano USB 2.0 802.11n 150Mbps Wifi/WLAN Wireless Network 

Adapter (http://dx.com/p/ultra-mini-nano-usb-2-0-802-11n-150mbps-wifi-wlanwireless-networkadapter-48166?item=1&Utm_rid=24958662&Utm_source=affiliate) 

USB ID: ID 

0bda:8176 Works stable when using VLC for internet radio receiver. Works 

stable 24/7 on two of my Raspberries used as webserver. Use method shown here 

(http://www.raspberrypi.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=7471&p=91736) for 

debian.

▪ ▪ edup nano EP-N8508 (http://www.szedup.com/show.aspx?id=1681) Use method 

shown here (http://www.raspberrypi.org/phpBB3/ 

viewtopic.php?t=7471&p=91736) for debian. Requires powered USB hub for 

adequate power. When directly powered by Pi, it fails after a few minutes. (B) 

Unusable with analog audio because when data is being send or recieved the 

audio get disorted. Use script from here (http://dl.dropbox.com/u/80256631/ 

install-wheezy-beta-rtl8188cus-20120619.sh) for Wheezy. 

▪ Eminent 

▪ EM4575 - rt2800usb driver. 

▪ EnGenius 

▪ EUB9603 EXT - Realtek r8712u driver 

▪ Gigabyte 

▪ Gigabyte GN-WB32L 802.11n USB WLAN Card. Works with the rt2800usb 

driver. 

▪ GMYLE 

▪ Wireless 11n USB Adapter. Uses RTL8188CUS chipset - cheap on eBay. Installs 

and works using the install-rtl8188cus-latest.sh script. 

▪ IOGear 

▪ GWU625 (http://www.element14.com/community/docs/DOC-44703) USB ID 

0bda:8172, r8712u staging driver, included on Fedora Remix & Arch, must 

download (http://www.element14.com/community/servlet/JiveServlet/download/ 

44948-8-97488/r8712u_ko.zip) for Debian Squeeze and install firmware-realtek 

from non-free squeeze repo. No need to download firmware when using Debian 

Wheezy (B) 

▪ Linksys 

▪ Linksys (Cisco) WUSB100 ver.2 1737:0078, tested on raspbian; follow 

Brucalipto.org (http://www.brucalipto.org/linux/the-raspberry-diarywusb100-wireless-n/) 

instructions; not stress tested but works without issues for 

light network load. 

▪ Linksys (Cisco) WUSB600N, test on raspbian, details here (http://elibtronic.ca/ 

content/20120731/raspberry-pi-part-1-wifi-support) 

▪ Linksys WUSB54GC (manufactured 07/2008) No issues! needs powered hub on 

version 1.0 boards. 

▪ LogiLink 

▪ Wireless LAN USB 2.0 Nano Adapter 802.11n LogiLink [31] 

(http://www.logilink.eu/showproduct/WL0084B.htm) is working even usb 

powered. 

▪ Micronet 

▪ Micronet SP907NS, 11N Wireless LAN USB Adapter (uses Realtek 

RTL8188CUS) works plugged directly into R-Pi USB (B) Debian installation 

instructions (http://dl.dropbox.com/u/80256631/install-rtl8188cus.txt)

▪ MSI 

IMPORTANT: read the instructions first to avoid problems, and Auto-install 

script (http://dl.dropbox.com/u/80256631/install-rtl8188cus-latest.sh) . The script 

has been used to install other adapters using the RTL8188CUS chip. Updated 

driver (http://dl.dropbox.com/u/80256631/8192cu-latest.tar.gz) that handles the 

latest rpi-updates that kill the original driver, download for manual installation, 

automatically installed by the Auto-install script. 

▪ 0db0:6861 MSI-6861 802.11g WiFi adapter (US54G): works with external 

powered USB hub, requires firmware from here (http://sourceforge.net/projects/ 

zd1211/files/zd1211-firmware/) , power management must be disabled: 

iwconfig wlan0 power off 

▪ Mvix 

▪ Mvix Nubbin (MS-811N): works out of the box on Raspbian "wheezy" and does 

not need a powered USB hub. 

▪ Netgear 

▪ N150: Reported as WNA1100 device, uses the Atheros ar9271 chipset. On 

Debian, requires the firmware-atheros package from the squeezebackports 

non-free repository (!) 

▪ N150: Some versions reported as Realtek RTL8188CUS device. Read Micronet 

entry above and use RTL8188CUS script for installation. Works best plugged into 

powered USB hub. 

▪ WG111v1: Prism54 chipset. Needs powered hub. Follow info for Prism54 chipset 

on Debian wiki. 

▪ WG111v2: Realtek rtl8187 chipset. Seems to draw a lot of power; e.g. I can't 

power this and a USB thumb drive simultaneously. 

▪ WNA1000M works with Raspberry Pi Model B Board v. BS1233.However when 

downloading torrents, when torrent pick up speed system become unresponsive. 

▪ OvisLink 

▪ Evo-W300USB: USB ID 148f:2270 Ralink Technology RT2770. apt-get install 

firmware-ralink 

▪ Patriot Memory 

▪ PCUSBW1150 (http://patriotmemory.com/products/ 

detailp.jsp?prodline=6&catid=69&prodgroupid=163&id=1198&type=20) 

Wireless 11N USB adapter (uses Realtek RTL8188CUS) Install using Micronet 

script. Works only through powered usb hub. 

▪ PCBOWAU2-N (http://www.patriotmemory.com/products/ 

detailp.jsp?prodline=6&catid=69&prodgroupid=163&id=973&type=20) Wireless 

11N USB adapter (uses Realtek RTL8191SU chip) Installed using r8712u Kernel 

module 

▪ Ralink

▪ inner 02 joggler wifi usb RT2770F USB-ID 148f:2770 (firmware-ralink required) 

(only got dhcp on powered hub) 

▪ RT2070 (http://www.dx.com/p/24688) USB-ID 148f:2070 firmware is already 

loaded into Raspbian. For Debian, the firmware must be installed (instructions 

(http://wiki.debian.org/rt2870sta) ). Needs a powered USB hub. 

▪ RT3070 USB-ID 148f:3070 firmware is already loaded into Raspbian. 

▪ RT2501/RT2573 (http://www.element14.com/community/docs/DOC-44703) 

USB-ID 148f:2573 (firmware-ralink required) (B) 

▪ RT5370 USB-ID 148f:5370 (requires firmware-ralink from wheezy 

(http://raspberry-pi-notes.blogspot.com/2012/05/rt5370-cheap-micro-usbwireless-dongle.html) 

) RPi_Ralink_WLAN_devices(B). An image of an adapter 

with this chip can be found here (http://i.imgur.com/wRF7L.jpg) . 

▪ Rosewill 

▪ RNX-N180UBE Wireless B/G/N Adapter 

▪ Realtek RTL8191SU chipset, USB-ID 0bda:8172 

▪ Tested in Arch, works out of box. Powered USB hub required. 

▪ Tested in Raspbian, used wicd to configure network settings. Powered USB 

hub Required. 

▪ Tested in Raspbmc. Needs package firmware-realtek and used wicd-curses to 

configure. Powered USB hub required 

▪ RNX-G1 Wireless B/G Adapter 

▪ Realtek RTL8187 chipset, USB-ID 0bda:8187 

▪ Tested in Arch, works out of box. USB hub required. 

▪ RNX-MiniN1 (RWLD-110001) Wireless-N 2.0 Dongle (Realtek Semiconductor 

Corp. RTL8188CUS 802.11n WLAN Adapter) 

▪ Sagem 

▪ Tested in Raspbian, powered from USB hub. 

▪ Sagem Wireless USB stick XG-760N : USB ID 079b:0062, Module is not 

shipped in Debian image, but can be "sudo apt-get install zd1211-firmware" 

▪ Sempre 

▪ SL 

▪ Sempre Wireless USB stick WU300-2: USB ID 0bda:8172, Realtek r8712u 

driver + firmware-realtek package. Module is shipped in Raspbian image. If you 

need to build it for other distros, read this: http://www.t3node.com/blog/semprewireless-usb-stick-wu300-2-on-raspberry-pi/ 

▪ SL-1507N: USB 802.11n 150M WiFi Wireless Lan Network Card Adapter 

SL-1507N Black 

▪ I bought this on on eBay for $4.19 (free shipping) @ http://www.ebay.com/ 

itm/ 

270853614804?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649#ht_4379wt_119 

▪ It worked out of the box on Raspbmc RC4, with the network manager addon; 

seems to be an rt2800usb

▪ SMC 

▪ dmesg output "usbcore: registered new interface driver rt2800usb" 

▪ SMCWUSBS-N : Hardware detected as rt2800 but missing firmware; "sudo aptget 

install firmware-ralink" fixed it 

▪ SMCWUSB-G : Gives "couldn't load firmware" error. "sudo apt-get install 

zd1211-firmware" fixes it. 

▪ Sony 

▪ Sony UWA-BR100 802.11abgn Wireless Adapter [Atheros AR7010+AR9280] 

(Vendor ID: 0411, Product ID: 017f) - Tested with Raspbian. Needs package 

firmware-atheros.(B) 

▪ Tenda 

▪ USB 11n adapter on a G network: Ralink 2870/3070 driver (!) 

▪ Tenda W311MI Wireless N Pico USB Adapter (identified as Ralink RT5370 

Wireless Adapter; USB-ID: 148f:5370) - Works out-of-the-box for Raspian 2012/ 

09/18 or later. An earlier version gave me problems. 

▪ Tenda W311U Mini 11N Wireless USB Adapter (USB-ID 148f:3070): Ralink 

2870/3070 driver; needs powered hub. Debian installation instructions 

(http://blog.modmypi.com/2012/06/installing-tenda-w311u-mini-wireless.html) 

▪ Tenda W311U+ Wireless USB Adapter - Tested with Raspian. 


▪ USB 802.11n WIFI adapter (from The Pi Hut's Raspberry Pi Store 

(http://thepihut.com/products/usb-wifi-adapter-for-the-raspberry-pi) ) 

▪ TP-Link 

▪ TL-WN422G v2 (ath9k_htc) Works OOTB in Debian Wheezy Beta. Runs 

without powered Hub when plugged into running RasPi, but the RasPi won't boot 

while the stick is plugged in. 

▪ TL-WN721N (ath9k_htc device with htc_9271.fw file from 

http://linuxwireless.org/download/htc_fw/1.3/htc_9271.fw); needs powered USB 

Hub (B) | works OOTB with wheezy raspbian (2012-08-16) connected directly to 

raspberry pi (B) and AP functionality tested with hostapd. 

▪ TL-WN722N (ath9k_htc device with htc_9271.fw file from 

http://linuxwireless.org/download/htc_fw/1.3/htc_9271.fw); needs powered USB 

Hub (B) 

▪ TL-WN723N (RTL8188SU); works OOTB with raspbian 2012-09-17, (B) stable 

with 1A PSU and without powered USB hub on r2.0. 

▪ TL-WN821N v3 (ath9k_htc, htc_7010.fw); works out of the box on 

ArchLinuxARM and on OpenElec (>r11211), Problems with prior OpenElec; 

needs powered USB Hub (B) 

▪ TL-WN823N Works out of box on Raspian using powered USB Hub 

▪ Trendnet 

▪ TEW-648UBM (http://www.wikidevi.com/wiki/TRENDnet_TEW-648UBM) 

USB ID: 20f4:648b, works OOTB with Adafruit Occidentials Raspbian Wheezy

variant (http://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-raspberry-pi-educational-linux-distro/) 

as it includes kernel with RTL8188CUS driver built-in 

(http://www.wikidevi.com/wiki/ 

Special:Ask?title=Special%3AAsk&q=%5B%5BChip1+model%3A%3ARTL8188CUS%5D%5D&p 

(B) 

▪ Widemac 

▪ RT5370 Wireless Adapter from Ebay (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ 

180887771838?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649) 

runs without powered hub. Follow these instructions (http://elinux.org/ 

RPi_Ralink_WLAN_devices) but go to ftp.de.debian.org/debian/pool/non-free/f/ 

firmware-nonfree/ (http://ftp.de.debian.org/debian/pool/non-free/f/firmwarenonfree/) 

and pick the latest firmware-ralink_0.xx_all.deb 

▪ ZyXEL 

▪ NWD2105 (http://www.element14.com/community/message/50015#50015/l/reinstalling-kernel-headers-on-the-pi) 

USB ID: 0586:341e, RT3070 chipset, 

rt2800usb driver (B) 

▪ G-202 (http://www.zyxel.com/products_services/g_202.shtml) model 0586:3410 

ZyXEL Communications Corp. ZyAIR G-202 802.11bg using zd1211rw kernel 

module and zd1211-firmware package 

Problem USB Wifi Adapters 

These adapters were tested and found to have issues the Raspberry Pi. Note [32] 

(http://www.raspberrypi.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=6928) as a possible 

solution/explanation for errors while running LXDE. 

▪ Alfa 

▪ AWUS036NHA (Vendor ID: 0cf3, Product ID: 9271) - Tested with Raspbian. 

Works fine if connected after boot. Kills boot process if previously attached. 

Details here. (http://www.raspberrypi.org/phpBB3/ 

viewtopic.php?f=28&t=16809&p=169469#p169469) 

▪ EDIMAX 

▪ EW-7811Un (Vendor ID: 7397, Product ID: 7811) - Reports as containing the 

Realtek RTL8188CUS chipset listed below, no lockup or kernal oops under 

wheezy but dmesg reports constant timeouts trying to initialize the module. This 

appears to be resolved on 2012-09-18-wheezy-raspbian and newer versions. 

▪ Linksys 

▪ WUSB300N (Vendor ID: 13B1, Product ID: 0029) - Tested with Raspbian, 

OpenELEC, among others. No Linux chipset support for Marvell 88W8362 at all. 

▪ LogiLink 

▪ WL0085 tested under debian (squeeze, wheezy, raspbian); no stable connection 

can be established. This gets even worse when X is running.

▪ MicroNEXT 

▪ MN-WD152B (Debian image) modprobe hangs when plugged in, lsusb hangs. 

udevd errors in the logs. [33] (http://www.element14.com/community/thread/ 

17632) [34] (http://www.raspberrypi.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=6737) 

▪ Netgear 

▪ Possible fix: try the new Adafruit Occidentalis v0.1 (http://learn.adafruit.com/ 

adafruit-raspberry-pi-educational-linux-distro/occidentalis-v0-dot-1) image 

(based on Raspbian Wheezy) as it includes the needed 8192cu driver builtin 

to the kernel 

▪ WNDA3100v2 tested with debian (wheezy); no driver for broadcom chipset (see 

http://www.wikidevi.com/wiki/Netgear_WNDA3100v2). 

▪ Realtek 

▪ RTL8188CUS USB-ID 0bda:8176, kernel oops in dmesg and freeze when pulled 

from USB. (B) 

▪ Trendnet 

▪ TEW-424UB (http://www.element14.com/community/docs/DOC-44703) USB 

ID: 0bda:8189; tested on Debian, Fedora & Arch; rtl8187 driver; errors with 

LXDE running (B) 

▪ TP-Link 

▪ TL-WN821N (http://www.element14.com/community/docs/DOC-44703) USB 

ID: 0cf3:7015; tested on Debian; requires htc_7010.fw (http://linuxwireless.org/ 

download/htc_fw/1.3/htc_7010.fw) firmware; ath9k_htc driver; errors with 

LXDE running (B) 

▪ TL-WN723N USB ID: 0bda:8176; tested on Arch without a powered hub; it 

seems to draw too much current. 

USB Bluetooth adapters 

Working Bluetooth adapters 

▪ Asus USBIA-EG (paired with Asus Blutooth Keyboard/Media Center Remote 

▪ Verified works error-free in Multiple Distros (Openelec, Raspbian, RaspBMC, 

Xbian) Latest builds eliminate text echo problems. 

▪ Cambridge Silicon Radio, Ltd Bluetooth Dongle (HCI mode) - (USB ID 0a12:0001) 

▪ Example of above is; TOPDIGI UA01 Bluetooth USB Dongle Plug and Play 

(install bluez package from std repos) 

▪ Tesco own brand 'Technika' Nano Bluetooth Adaptor has the Cambridge Silicon 

Radio chipset and works fine, cost £5.97 at time of posting. 

▪ Hama USB Bluetooth 3.0 adapter (Class 1) ~£10 on amazon.co.uk. 

▪ Another sample: Product ID: 0a12:0001, pictured here: 

http://www.element14.com/community/message/58288

▪ RiiTek RT-MWK02+ - comes with a usb bluetooth adapter that works perfectly 

for both the RiiTek mini bluetooth keyboard/mouse and other bluetooth devices. 

Tested both on builtin USB and on powered USB hub. There are other RiiTek 

bluetooth (and non-bluetooth wireless) devices on the working list. Bluetooth 

adapter shows up in lsusb as "0a12:0001 Cambridge Silicon Radio" - this is 

notable as most other sources of this chipset do not seem to be available in the 

US. 

▪ D-Link DBT-122, with ID 07d1:f101, using a Broadcom chip 

▪ http://www.element14.com/community/message/58288 

▪ IOGear GBU321 (Broadcom BCM2045 Chipset) 

▪ Works with Raspbian Wheezy directly attached to Pi and via powered USB hub. 

▪ Trust BT-2400p 

▪ Working well with Raspbian Wheezy directly attached to Pi. Using with smabluetooth 

(SMA Solar Inverter reading software). 

Problem Bluetooth adapters 

▪ Belkin 

▪ Belkin F8T017. Tested with Raspbian 2012-07-15 and bluez installed with aptget. 

When dongle is inserted into Pluscom powered USB hub, my remote PuTTY 

session scrolls incredibly slowly (testing with ls -R to generate text). Suspect 

network issue. Lots of errors on dmesg too. Pi itself is responsive when using 

directly. On removal of the device everything goes back to normal. 

▪ Generic 

▪ Bluetooth "3.0" Dongle (http://dx.com/p/mini-bluetoothv3-0-usb-2-0-dongle-71248) 

. Doesn't work reliably - eg. after some time it will 

hang and the device will need to be reset using fcntl. The device id is 1131:1004 

Integrated System Solution Corp. Bluetooth Device. 

▪ Asus USB-BT211 

▪ Shows up as HCI device in Raspbian, but does not scan or pair. 

▪ http://www.raspberrypi.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=9962 

USB Ethernet adapters 

Working Ethernet adapters 

▪ AVM 

▪ FRITZ!Box WLAN 3030 USB Ethernet Adapter: Works out of the box. No 

external power source needed. 

▪ Wintech

▪ USB 2.0 LanCard Model: LAU-15 (CK0049C) using the mcs7830 driver. 

Probably needs more than 100 mA current. [35] (http://www.raspberrypi.org/ 

phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=8708#p106136) 

▪ LogiLink 

▪ USB 2.0 UA0144: AX88772 chipset using the asix kernel driver. Tested only on 

powered USB hub so far. 

▪ LogiLink Fast EN USB 2.0 to RJ45 Adapter: Test on wheezy-Raspian 

(2012-08-16) without USB Hub will be confirmed 

lsusb output: Bus 001 Device 004: ID 9710:7830 MosChip Semiconductor MCS7830 10/ 

100 Mbps Ethernet adapter 

▪ Apple 

▪ Apple USB Ethernet Adapter using asix kernel driver. Works out of the box on 

Raspbian, haven't tested on any other OS. 

▪ Edimax 

▪ Edimax EU-4230 USB2.0 Fast Ethernet Adapter with 3 port USB hub. Works out 

of the box. Needs its own power source. 

▪ D-Link 

▪ D-Link DUB-E100 Fast Ethernet USB 2.0 Adapter - works out of the box, 

requires own power supply (from powered USB hub) 

▪ Sitecom 

▪ Sitecom LN-030 V2 detected as ASIX AX88772 USB 2.0 Ethernet Adapter 

works out of the box. Doesn't seem to require any extra power supply. 

▪ A-Link 

▪ A-Link NA1GU Gigabit USB 2.0 ethernet adapter 

This adapter works, but (probably) requires a bit of work. The driver for the chipset (Asix 

AX88178) included with the Raspbian kernel (v 3.1.9+ Aug 7 2012) does not work. With 

that driver the device is detected, but it does not seem to be possible to actually put any 

traffic through it. :-( In order to make it work you need to download the latest driver from 

the chipset manufacturer (http://www.asix.com.tw/ 

products.php?op=pItemdetail&PItemID=84;71;100&PLine=71) . The version I used was 

"Linux kernel 3.x/2.6.x Driver" v4.4.0, released 2012-05-18. Fortunately this is GNU 

GPLv2 -licenced source code and not a binary blob, so compiling it for the Raspberry Pi 

is perfectly doable. The hardest part was in fact getting the Linux source code required, 

because the repositores contained the source for the wrong kernel version. >:-( 

Fortunately there is a very useful guide (https://www.grendelman.net/wp/compilingkernel-modules-for-raspbian-raspberry-pi) 

for how to get the sources from github, and 

preparing that source so that you can compile modules. Unfortunately you will have to 

compile the kernel (even if you don't actually install it) - which will take the better part of 

the day on the Raspberry, but once that's done you can unpack the driver source and just 

run "make && sudo make install". Reboot and you should have a fully working ethernet 

adapter.

The adapter seems to work without a powered USB hub, but according to the 

specifications it can draw up to 190 mA, so there might be stability issues if additional 

power is not provided. 

Problem Ethernet adapters 

▪ Axago 

▪ Axago ADE-X1 10/100 Ethernet Adapter (usb: 9710:7830 driver:mcs7830). 

Adapter working about 10 minutes without problem, but after that kernel write 

error message to dmesg and no packet is received. Needed to unplug and plug 

USB again. Tested with and without powered USB hub. 

USB Sound Cards 

You will usually want the alsa package for sound. In the Debian image for Raspberry Pi 

(and possibly other distributions) USB sound cards are prevented from loading as the first 

sound card, which can be an annoyance if it's the only device you have. To disable this 

behaviour edit /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf and comment out the last 

line; options snd-usb-audio index=-2 . If you are not user pi you may need 

to add your username to the audio group thus: sudo adduser yourusername 

audio (user pi usually belongs to this group anyway). 

▪ Creative 

▪ Sound Blaster Play! (http://asia.creative.com/products/ 

product.asp?category=1&subcategory=207&product=17892) 

▪ Daffodil 

▪ USB Sound Adapter US01 (http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B002FI7GWK/ 

ref=oh_details_o03_s00_i00) . Tested with low-cost headphone/microphone set 

via audacity (See notes at cpmspectre.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/raspberry_pi/ 

MoinMoinExport/DaffodilUSBSoundAdapter 


DaffodilUSBSoundAdapter.html) ). 

▪ Edirol 

▪ UA-1A (http://www.roland.com/products/en/UA-1A/) 

▪ Hercules 

▪ Gamesurround Muse XL (Pocket LT3) (http://www.hercules.com/fr/Cartes-Son/ 

bdd/p/123/gamesurround-muse-xl-pocket-lt3/) 

▪ Logilink 

▪ UA0053 USB Soundcard with Virtual 3D Soundeffects LogiLink 

(http://www.logilink.de/showproduct/UA0053.htm?seticlanguage=en) 

▪ NuForce uDAC-2

▪ NuForce uDAC-2 Headphone Amplifier and USB DAC 

(http://www.nuforce.com/hp/products/iconudac2/index.php) 

▪ Terratec 

▪ Aureon Dual USB (http://www.terratec.net/fr/produkte/ 

Aureon_Dual_USB_12339.html) 

▪ Texas Instruments PCM2704 

▪ PCM2704 98dB SNR Stereo USB2.0 FS DAC with line-out and S/PDIF output, 

Bus/Self-powered (http://www.ti.com/product/pcm2704) 

USB 3G Dongles 

▪ Huawei E173 

▪ Huawei E220 

▪ Huawei E160 (AT commands only) 

▪ Franklin U600 from Sprint / VirginMobile 

▪ Use usb_modeswitch and vendor 0x1fac and product 0x0150/0x0151 

▪ Digicom Internet Key 7.2 HSUPA MU372-L01 [36] (http://www.digicom.it/digisit/ 

prodotti.nsf/itprodottiidx/MU372L01) 

Tested on Raspbian and Archlinux. Detected as 230d:0001. Works with cdc_acm driver. 

Install usb_modeswitch. There are 2 "com ports"( /dev/ttyACM0 and /dev/ttyACM1 ) . 

Tested with Network Manager.Works also perfectly with SAKYS3G [37] 

(http://www.sakis3g.org/) tools (!! led is always off !!) and wvdial. A working 

wvdial.conf : http://ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php?p=10361881&postcount=28 . (for 

example for Vodafone IT , replace Init3 with this : Init3 = 

AT+CGDCONT=1,"IP","web.omnitel.it" and replace line Modem = /dev/ttyUSB0 with 

Modem = /dev/ttyACM1 ) and run with wvdial voda . 

USB IR Receivers 

SMK Manufacturing, Inc. eHome Infrared Receiver (Works out of the box with 

OpenELEC) 

USB Radio devices 

▪ FM Radio 

▪ ADS InstantFM Music - FM radio tuner works fine under debian. 

USB TV Tuners and DVB devices 

▪ August

▪ DVB-T205, based on rtl2832u chipset, working with this driver 

(https://github.com/ambrosa/DVB-Realtek-RTL2832U-2.2.2-10tunermod_kernel-3.0.0) 

. Tested with Saorview (Irish DTT service), both HD & SD. 

▪ DVBSky 

▪ Mystique SaTiX-S2 Sky USB (http://dvbsky.eu/Products_S860.html) : Scanning/ 

watching SD and HD works via vdr and streamdev plugin, watching on the Pi 

directly is laggy as hell. DVB-USB and I2C support must be enabled in the 

kernel. Needs drivers/firmware from here (http://dvbsky.eu/Support.html) . 

▪ Sundtek 

▪ Sundtek MediaTV Digital Home 

▪ Sundtek MediaTV Pro 

▪ Sundtek SkyTV Ultimate 

▪ DVB-C, DVB-T, DVB-S/S2 (http://shop.sundtek.de) : digital TV works, 

streaming to Windows / Linux is no problem. Easy installation English 

(http://support.sundtek.com/index.php/topic,4.0.html) 

▪ Hauppauge 

▪ Hauppauge NOVA-T Stick (Revision 70xxx) DiBcom DiB0700 chipset, requires 

powered hub. 

▪ Hauppauge NOVA-TD Stick (Revision 52xxx) DiBcom DiB0700 chipset, 

requires powered hub. 

▪ Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-1950 (tested analog tuner with omxplayer) 

▪ Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-950Q (tested Digital OTA with TVHeadend in 

Raspbian) 

▪ K-World 

▪ K-World UB499-2T Dual DVB-T USB Tuner. IT9137 chipset. With no other 

USB devices connected Pi can just about power this stick. IR and supplied 

remote work with XBMC. 

▪ Technisat 

▪ Technisat_SkyStar_USB_HD. Instructions: http://www.linuxtv.org/wiki/ 

index.php/Technisat_SkyStar_USB_HD Used the Pi to receive and redirect it via 

network to another host. Didn't try to play back the stream on the Pi itself. Tested 

with Astra 19.2E radio and SD-TV channels 

▪ Generic 

▪ DVB-T USB Dongle (Silver casing) (http://www.onsources.com/product_images/ 

a/757/watch_and_record_digital_tv_dongle__44323_zoom.jpg) , based on 

AF9015 chipset. 

▪ DVB-T USB Dongle (http://www.electrodepot.fr/media/catalog/product/cache/1/ 

image/500x/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/P926993.jpg) , based on 

RTL2832 FC12 (HD/SD), IR detected but not tested

USB Webcams 

Debian image is missing v4l kernel modules, so video devices are not available. Kernel 

and firmware upgrade can possibly be used to fix this[38] (http://blog.pixelami.com/ 

2012/06/raspberry-pi-firmware-update-for-debian-squeeze/) . 

Working USB Webcams 

▪ Canyon 

▪ Canyon CNR-WCAM820 - 2Mpix cam with manual focus; works with fswebcam 

and v4l4j on Raspbian wheezy armhf; problems with 1600x1200 resolution in 

some apps (timeouts - probably too slow USB); 1280x1024 and lower resolutions 

works OK 

▪ Creative 

▪ HP 

▪ Creative VF0470 Live! (works out of the box on ArchLinux) 

▪ Creative VF0260 Live! Cam Vista IM (works out of the box) 

▪ Creative VF0640 Live! Cam Socialize (works on Raspbian at 320x240 

resolution, 15fps) 

▪ Webcam Notebook PD1170 (detects, untested) 

▪ Webcam HD-2200 (Amazon) (http://www.amazon.com/HP-Webcam- 

HD-2200-BR384AA-ABA/dp/B004UR9P9Q/) (HP) (http://shopping.hp.com/ 

en_US/home-office/-/products/Electronics/Webcams/BR384AA?HP- 

HD-2200-Webcam) (Walmart) (http://www.walmart.com/ip/HP-Webcam- 

HD-2200/16775645) 

▪ Webcam HP-3100 - UVCVideo /dev/video0 Needs chmod to 666 to operate. Will 

work without hub if only device in USB ports. Works with both Arch and wheezy 

out of the box 

▪ Logitech 

▪ Webcam C100 Model Number V-U0013 (works fine without powered hub - 

Tested on 2012-08-16-wheezy-raspbian image - motion detection was good - 

video streaming was really slow might be unusable) 

▪ Webcam C200 

▪ Webcam C270 (with external power) 

▪ Webcam C310 does not require a powered hub to capture snapshots 

▪ Webcam C510 

▪ Webcam C525 (works fine without powered hub) 

▪ HD Webcam C615 (works fine without powered hub) 

▪ Webcam C910 (with external power, is uncvideo) 

▪ Webcam C920 (with powered hub, detected out of box on Raspain as Video0 

V4L device) 

▪ QuickCam Orbit/Sphere USB webcam (ext. power)

▪ QuickCam Pro 9000 - powered by Raspi, working on debian wheezy 

▪ Webcam Pro 9000 (046d:0809), powered by RPi (measured ~120 mA capturing 

at ~5 fps), works on Arch 

▪ Medion 

▪ MD86511 - powered by Raspi, working on Raspbian “wheezy” from 2012-07-15 

▪ Microsoft 

▪ Xbox Live Vision camera (045e:0294), powered by Raspi, working on Arch 

▪ LifeCam Cinema 720p USB HD Webcam H5D-00001 - Powered by USB Hub. 

Working on Raspbian "wheezy" 

▪ LifeCam HD-6000 - Powered by Raspberry Pi. Working on Raspbian "wheezy" 

(2012-07-15) 

▪ LifeCam NX-6000 - Powered by Raspberry Pi. Working on Debian "wheezy" 

▪ LifeCam VX-7000 - Powered by USB Hub. Working on Raspian "wheezy" 

▪ LifeCam VX-3000 - On "raspbian" wheezy (though there do appear to be some 

issues with image quality and getting partial frames and such, with fswebcam) 

▪ LifeCam VX-800 - Powered by Raspberry Pi. Working out of the box on 

Raspbian (Amazon) (http://www.amazon.it/Microsoft-JSD-00008-LifeCam- 

VX-800/dp/B0057FWVSC) Doesn't work at full 640 * 480 resolution but OK at 

352 * 288. 

▪ Sony 

▪ PlayStation Eye (for PlayStation 3) (the occasional frame is corrupted/stutters 

when running at 640x480) 

▪ PlayStation Eyetoy (for PlayStation 2) (Occasional 'mangled frame' directly 

connected to Rev 2 Pi) 

▪ Trust 

▪ 2MP Auto Focus Webcam (works out of the box on ArchLinux) 

Problem USB Webcams 

▪ Creative 

▪ WebCam Pro / PD1030 - ov519 driver crashes almost immediately. ("gspca: 

ISOC data error: [0] len=0, status=-4004") 

▪ Logitech 

▪ Webcam Pro 9000 - Has issues capturing images at higher than default 

resolutions (using motion - Arch and Debian). 

▪ Webcam Pro 4000 - It uses pwc driver which does not work. Maybe it's because 

of general Raspi USB bug. 

▪ Microsoft 

▪ Lifecam HD5000 - Picture breaks up at the bottom 

▪ LifeCam Studio/Cinema - Has UVC issues detailed here [39] 

(http://www.ideasonboard.org/uvc/#devices) . Horizontal lines problem [40]

▪ Sony 

(http://www.raspberrypi.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=63&t=12304) . Stability 

issues [41] (http://www.raspberrypi.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=63&t=12247) . 

▪ Eye Toy (PlayStation 2) model SLEH 00030 - (OV519 camera). Picture 

constantly breaks up on xawtv and wxcam under Arch Linux. Noted there were 

ISOC data error len=0 status=-4004 errors in dmesg. This happens when powered 

from the Pi and when powered from a Pluscom USB hub. Arch was updated on 

17th July 2012 

▪ Trust 

▪ SPACEC@M 200 - (OV511 camera). Picture stops after a few seconds in xawtv 

under Arch Linux and xawtv reports libv4l2 errors. This happens when powered 

from the Pi and when powered from a Pluscom USB Hub. Arch was updated on 

17th July 2012 

USB GPS devices 

▪ Royaltek 

▪ Royaltek RGM 2000 SiRF2 using the included serial (TTL) to USB - converter. 

That uses a Profilic pl2303-chip so you'll need to compile the module or the 

kernel manually 

▪ Garmin 

▪ Garmin eTrex Vista HCx: Works but may draw much power. To get it working 

(software part): https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/USB_Garmin_on_GNU/ 

Linux 

▪ GlobalSat 

▪ GlobalSat BU-353 Does not require a powered hub, works fine when directly 

plugged into the RPi. On Raspian, requires the gpsd and gpsd-client packages. 

For some reason, the gpsd daemon does not always start correctly on boot. You 

may need to do something like the following to manually restart it: 

▪ Wintec 

sudo killall gpsd; sudo gpsd /dev/ttyUSB0 -F /var/run/gpsd.sock 

▪ WBT-200: No problem on Debian 

▪ Holux 

▪ Holux M-215: Works fine on Arch, uses Silicon Labs CP210x RS232 serial 

adaptor driver 

▪ Bluenext 

▪ Bluenext BN903S: No problem on Debian image (19-04-2012).

USB UART and USB to Serial (RS-232) adapters 

A USB UART adapter is used to access the serial console of the Raspberry Pi from a 

development host such as a laptop or desktop PC. The USB end connects to the PC and 

the UART header end connects to the USB. While it is possible to connect the USB end 

to another Raspberry Pi, this configuration has not been tested unless explicitly 

mentioned against an individual entry below. 

▪ FTDI 

▪ FT232 chip based adapters works for some people but others find it hangs Linux 

when the port is opened. module is ftdi_sio 

▪ ▪ FT2232D dual RS232/FIFO works (used in various JTAG devices) 

▪ Prolific 

▪ PL2303 chip based adaptors works fine on latest Debian tested with minicom and 

gtkterm 

A USB to Serial (RS-232) adapter is used the other way around, ie. the USB end connects 

to the Raspberry Pi and the RS-232 end (DSUB-9 or DSUB-25 pin) to the other device 

which may be another computer, (old) modem or printer, or some electronic test 

equipment. 

▪ "Best Connectivity" (Possibly also sold under the "Newlink HQ" or "Kenable HQ" 

labels) 

▪ FG-U1232-PL2 Based upon the Prolific PL2303X chipset and listed by lsusb as 

ID 067b:2303 Prolific Technology, Inc. PL2303 Serial 

Port. Appears as /dev/ttyUSB0, and requires the user to be a member of the 

dialout group (which pi is for Raspbian Wheezy). Initially tested using an old RS 

Datalinker setup in "loopback" mode via microcom upto 9600 baud, and gtkterm 

after installing that from source code. All handshake lines toggled as expected 

and no characters were lost. Subsequently gtkterm was used to check bidirectional 

communication with an ancient brother EP44 electronic typewriter (as 

a printer/dumb terminal) at 1200 baud. Signal lines were again monitored with 

the Datalinker. 

Other, exotic USB devices 

USB to Parallel Port/Printer Adapters 

▪ Prolific 

▪ PL2305 Chipset with Centronics 36w connector. Originally purchased for use 

with a netbook and connected to an old Canon BJC-250 printer. Worked fine 

under RISC OS Pi with its in-built BJC-250 driver. Could not install the CUPS

drivers etc. for wheezy-raspbian but was able to do so for wheezy-armel. (See 

notes at http://www.cpmspectre.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/raspberry_pi/ 

MoinMoinExport/USBtoParPrntAdapter 


USBtoParPrntAdapter.html) for more info.) 

USB to SATA 

▪ Nippon Labs 

▪ 2.5" SATA HDD USB Adapter with silicone HDD sleeve. Model: USB- 

ADT-25SATA. Works on powered Hub, not directly to Raspberry Pi. Built-in "Y" 

power adapter. 

CAN Bus 

▪ PEAK-System (www.peak-system.com) 

▪ PCAN-USB using the driver (kernel module) from http://www.peak-system.com/ 

fileadmin/media/linux/index.htm 

Home automation 

▪ Tellstick (www.telldus.com), installation instructions 

▪ Depends on libftdi1 

Touch Screen 

▪ ACER T230H touch screen [42] (http://support.acer.com/acerpanam/monitor/2009/ 

acer/t230h/t230hnv.shtml) 

▪ USB TS identifies as "Quanta Computer, Inc. Optical dual-touch panel", module 

hid_quanta 

▪ Seems to draw over 200 mA from USB! 

Floppy Disk Drive 

▪ Samsung USB Floppy Drive SFD-321U/HP 

▪ I suppose a floppy drive might be considered exotic nowadays! 

▪ LSUSB lists it as Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co. Floppy Disk Drive 

▪ Only tried connected to a powered USB hub, as the drive is labelled 5V at 0.5A 

on a Raspberry Pi running Debian Wheezy. 

▪ tail -f /var/log/syslog looking for mount device when plugged in, came up as 

SDA in testing. 

▪ sudo mkdir /media/floppy 

▪ sudo mount /dev/sda /media/floppy

▪ Contents of floppy now available in /media/floppy 

▪ To remove drive, ensure no sessions have the floppy directory as the current 

working directory. 

▪ sudo umount /media/floppy 

USB Missile Launcher 

▪ USB Missile Launcher / Rocket Launcher sold in UK by Marks and Spencer but also 

sold under a range of other names. 

▪ USB ID 1130:0202 Tenx Technology, Inc. Use apt-get install pymissile (python 

code) and there is C code at usbmissile from Source Forge (http://sourceforge.net/ 

projects/usbmissile/) 

USB Docking Stations 

▪ StarTech USB 3.0 to Dual 2.5"/3.5" SATA HDD Dock (SATDOCK2U3GB) 

▪ This is an externally powered dual sata HDD docking station, which has USB2.0 

compatibility with the Pi. 

▪ Tested with latest raspbmc and debian wheezy raspbian, 3.1.9+ #168 

USB RFID Reader 

▪ Unbranded 125KHz EM4100 RFID reader from eBay sellers (< £7), the one with a 

Windows logo on (easily scratches off for Linux users). 

JTAG 

▪ Initially would not work when plugged in directly to RPi. Worked when 

connected via an unpowered Trust hub. Worked after RPi was modified with 10K 

resistors over the USB polyfuses (warranty invalidated). Probably would work 

fine with powered hub. 

▪ Sends a 10 digit string to current window or console as if it was a keyboard. Can 

be captured independently of keyboard using Linux event interface (/dev/input) 

but kernel in current distributions does not have CONFIG_INPUT_EVDEV 

selected so kernel rebuild is necessary. 

▪ FTDI2232D dual RS232/FIFO based JTAG (e.g. SheevaPlug JTAGKey USB-ID 

9e88:9e8f) 

▪ works using the RPi as a development host 

USB 3.0 Multi-Card Reader 

▪ US Robotics All-In-One Multi-Format Card Reader (Product # USR8420) Accepts 5 

cards simultaneously

▪ SD/MMC + MS/MS PRO or DUO/DUO PRO + CF/MD + SM + SD/MMC or 

MS/MS PRO. Useful for backing up cards containing other OS Distros 

PS2 / AT to USB Converters 

▪ Unbranded active converter known as the "blue cube". Based on the Cypress 

CY7C63723C 8 bit RISC. Please see http://geekhack.org/showwiki.php?title=PS2-to- 

USB+adapters for more information. 

Note that although the adapter might work, PS/2 keyboards were not designed to be low 

power USB devices, so they might not meet the requirement to work with considerable 

lowered supply voltage (4.4 volt) provided by the USB ports of the raspberry PI. These 

keyboards should work when powered by a powered hub. 

Tested PS2/AT keybords 

All above tested with the famous "blue cube" on a powered USB hub. 

▪ IBM Model F (please note requires an additional AT to PS2 converter) 

▪ Dell AT101w 

▪ Northgate Ominikey Ultra T (please note requires an aditonal AT to PS2 converter) 

▪ 04d9:1400 Holtek Semiconductor, Inc. PS/2 keyboard + mouse controller 

▪ Working: Ipex RT215KTW PS/2 keyboard 

▪ Not working: HP SK-2502 PS/2 keyboard (gets power but does not init - three 

LEDs remain permanently lit. Keyboard + Holtek converter work on a Linux PC, 

although this keyboard doesn't work with some native PS/2 ports.) 

Power adapters 

The Raspberry Pi uses a standard Micro USB (type B) power connector, which runs at 5v. 

Generally you can use a MicroUSB to USB cable and then either power the Raspberry Pi 

directly from your main computers USB ports (if they provide enough power), or by 

using a USB to Mains adaptor. A number of mobile phones use MicroUSB power cables, 

and these are compatible with the Raspberry Pi in most cases. Below is a list of power 

adaptors known to work. 

Working power Adapters 

▪ AlcaPower 

▪ 5V 2.5A Model AP5A - Charger/switching with 7 connectors(also Microusb) 

▪ Ansmann 

▪ ▪ Dual USB charger slim, Model-Nr. 1201-0001 

▪ Apple

▪ 5V 2.1A USB charger for iPad2, model A1357 

▪ 5V 1.0A USB Charger for iPod 

▪ 5V 1.0A USB Charger for iPhone 4 

▪ Amazon 

▪ 5V 0.85A USB charger for Kindle 

▪ 5V 2A Mains to USB A adaptor, Branded "CostMad" 

▪ Asus 

▪ 5V 2.0A USB charger for Google Nexus 7 

▪ Belkin 

▪ 5V 2.6A 4 port Ultra-Slim Desktop hub (Model F4U040) (RPi running from 

USB Hub port) 

▪ 5V 2.5A 4 port USB Hub (Model F5U404) (RPi running from USB Hub port) 

▪ 5V 3.5A 7 port USB 2.0 Mobile Powered Hub (Model F4U018) (RPi running 

from USB Hub port) 

▪ 5V 3.5A 7 port USB Hub (Model F5U706) (RPi running from USB Hub port) 

▪ Mini Surge Protector Dual USB Charger (Model BZ103050-TVL) 

▪ Universal USB Wall Charger (5V 1A) (Model F8Z222uk) 

▪ Blackberry 

▪ Charger for Pearl Flip 8220, Bold 9600 (B) 

▪ Charger for Tour 9630 

▪ 5V 0.7A Model PSM04R-0500CHW1(M), RIM Part Number HDW-17957-003 

(B) 

▪ 5v 750mA Model RIM-C-0004aDUUUC-001, RIM Part Number 

HWD-24481-001 (comes with Blackberry 9300) 

▪ 5v 750mA Model RIM-C-0004ADUUS-001 035D, Single port plug. (Tested with 

USB B to Micro USB cable from Logitech H760 Headset) 

▪ 5V 2A Model PSAC10R-050QT, RIM Part Number HDW-34725-001 

▪ 5v 550ma curve 8520 charger works with raspberry pi Model B Board v. 

BS1233. It does not work with raspbmc image.Symtoms are frequent key board 

and external hdd disconnects. 

▪ Deal Extreme 

▪ S-10-5 5V 2A Regulated Switching Power Supply (110~220V) (http://dx.com/p/ 

5v-2a-regulated-switching-power-supply-110-220v-94518) (DIY: requires 

additional micro-USB connector and wiring) 

▪ Dell 

▪ USB Hub integrated in Dell monitors (B) 

▪ The FX Factory 

▪ 5V 1A (1.2A max) AC Travel Charger Model KJ-USB Mains. Typically provides 

4.9V at 1A [4] 

▪ Garmin 

▪ 5V 1A charger (Model: PSA105R-050Q) supplied with Garmin Edge 800 GPS. 

Requires a USB-A to MicroUSB-B cable. Belkin 6ft cable (F3U151B06) works.

▪ Globe Electric 

▪ 2-Outlet Tap with Surge Protection and 2 USB Chargers (46082 (http://globeelectric.com/product/2-outlet-tap-with-surge-protection-and-2-usb-chargersgrounded-white/) 

). Rated at 1000 mA. 120V systems only. 

▪ Griffin 

▪ Power Block Model P2417. 5V 2.1A 

▪ Power Block Model P1190R2 Two USB 5V Outputs, 1Amp each 

▪ Hama 

▪ 1000mA Travel Charger for Micro USB universal (barcode nr: 4 007249 935854) 

▪ HP 

▪ 5.3V 2A Charger for HP Touchpad (B) 

▪ HTC 

▪ 5V 1A TCP-300 USB phone charger (B) 

▪ 5V 1A TC B250 USB charger (HTC R/N: 79H00096-00M) 

▪ 5V 1A TC E250 USB charger (HTC R/N: 79H00098-02M) 

▪ i-box (Philex Electronic Ltd) 

▪ 5V 1A USB charger, 1 USB socket, no USB lead supplied, Model: 76971HS/02 

(available from ASDA and others in the UK) (B). 

▪ IDAPT 

▪ i4 multi device charger (http://www.idaptweb.com/universal_chargers/i4/) - 3 

interchangeable device tips + USB A socket (see it in use (https://twitter.com/ 

andrewmk/status/226057302879375361) ) 

▪ Innergie 

▪ 15W Dual USB Adapter. Model: mMini AC15. Output: 5V, 3A (max per port), 

15W max. Spec Sheet (http://www.myinnergie.com/DuoPowerKit/ 

specification.aspx) 

▪ Kodak 

▪ 5V 1A TESA5G1-0501200 

▪ 5V 1.0A K20-AM 

▪ LG 

▪ 4.8V 1A Travel Adapter 

▪ 5.1V 0.7A Travel Adapter (Model: STA-U34WVI) 

▪ 5.1V 0.7A Travel Adapter (Model: STA-U12ER) 

▪ Logic 

▪ 4 port USB Hub (Model LP4HUB10). (RPi running from USB Hub port, red 

power line (+5v) inside hub cut) (B) 

▪ LogiLink 

▪ 5V 2.1A Switching power supply, model PA0040 (B) 

▪ Logitech 

▪ 5V 1A SDC115-USB Remote Control Charger and cable 

▪ Maplin Electronics

▪ 5V 1A dual USB power supply, model number H25B-MT-K2 

▪ Micro USB Power Supply N19HX 

▪ Medion 

▪ 5V 1A USB power supply for OYO ebook reader 

▪ Microsoft 

▪ ▪ Zune Zune AC Adapter v2 

▪ Motorola 

▪ 5V 0.85A SPN5504 Charger with Cable (http://www.amazon.com/Motorola- 

Micro-USB-Home-Travel-Charger/dp/B004EYSKM8/) 

▪ Nokia 

▪ 5V 1.2A AC-10E Charger 

▪ 5V 1A AC-16E Charger (http://accessories.nokia.com/products/nokia-fast-usbcharger-ac-16/) 

▪ Noname 

▪ 5V 2.1A KMS-AC09 4 port USB charger (B) [43] 

(http://www.miniinthebox.com/kms-ac09-universal-ac-adapter-for-ipadipad-2-iphone-white_p208568.html) 

▪ 5.2V 1A MW-3NU10GT - no cable, but this one works well (1m): [44] 

(http://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B005L8VELA) 

▪ 5V 1A Model H-IP008 Serial No. H10T80L068 

▪ Novatel Wireless 

▪ 5V 1.05A Charger, model number SSW-1811, packaged with Verizon Wireless 

MiFi device 

▪ Orange 

▪ 5V 0.7A Charger for Orange San Francisco 

▪ Palm 

▪ 5V 1A Charger for Palm Pixi+ (B) 

▪ Pantech 

▪ 5.0V 1A CNR USB with LG DLC100 micro usb cable 

▪ Petzl 

▪ 5.0V 1A Charger that came with the Tikka core2 XP 

▪ Phihong 

▪ Switching Power Supply. Model: PSAC09R-050. Output: 5V, 1.8A, microUSB. 

Digi-key Link (http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/PSAC09R-050/ 

993-1109-ND/2635771) 

▪ PortaPow 

▪ PortaPow UK Mains Wall Power Supply 

▪ RS Components' 

▪ HNP06UK (RS 7263069) Switching Adapter 5.0V 1200mA 

▪ Samsung 

▪ 5V 0.7A Charger for Galaxy S model ETA0U10EBE

▪ 5V 0.7A Charger for Galaxy SII 

▪ 5V 1A Charger for Galaxy SIII 

▪ 5V 1A Charger for Galaxy Nexus 

▪ 5V 0.7A Charger for Galaxy S Vibrant (SGH-T959) 

▪ 5V 0.7A Travel Adapter model ATADU10EBE 

▪ 5V 1A? Samsung C Series TV USB-port for external HDDs. Running stable with 

openelec 

▪ 5v ?A(Unknown) Samsung Service Port (USB) on LN32A330J1DXZA 720p 32 

inch HDTV 

▪ 5V Unknown Ampere Samsung UA22D5000 & UA32D5000 TV USB Port. Test 

with Raspbian Wheezy, Raspbmc, and RPITC 

▪ Shun Shing 

▪ 100-240VAC to 5VDC 1A USB power supply, model SP5Q-AU Jaycar 

(http://jaycar.co.nz/productView.asp?ID=MP3455) 

▪ Sony Ericsson 

▪ 5V 0.7A Charger CST-80 

▪ 5V 0.85A Greenheart Charger EP800. Typically provides 4.8V at 0.85A [5] . 

▪ StarTech 

▪ 4 Port USB 2.0 Hub Raspberry Pi can be powered just by plugging USB input 

into the Pi, don't need power in micro USB port. 

▪ Travel Charger 

▪ 5V 2.0A USB Power Adapter, Amazon Link (http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/ 

product/B0065JCIPU/) 

▪ Technika 

▪ 5V 1A USB Power Adapter, model MPASS01 (B) 


▪ Micro USB Power Supply for the Raspberry Pi. 5V 1000mA (from The Pi Hut's 

Raspberry Pi Store (http://thepihut.com/collections/power-supplies) ) (also from 

eBay (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/330757401271) ) 

▪ Trisonic 

▪ TS-CP600T - MICRO USB HOME & TRAVEL CHARGER (5V, 800mA) $3 at 

Daiso U.S. stores. 

▪ TruePower 

▪ U-Socket (http://u-socket.com/) 5V 2.1A AC Receptacle with Built-in USB ports 

(2.1A per USB port) model ACE-7169 

▪ Voltcraft 

▪ SPS5-12W, 2500 mA, requires additional USB miniUSB adapter/cable, 

works perfectly (bought from Conrad Shop (http://www.conrad.de/ce/de/product/ 

512660/VOLTCRAFT-SPS5-12W-Steckernetzteil- 

Steckernetzgeraet-5-VDC-2500-mA-12-Watt) )

Problem power Adapters 

▪ Masterplug 

▪ Masterplug Surge Protected USB Adaptor 2 x 1A USB Polished Black - USB 

ports and ethernet don't work with this adapter and some screen artefacts using 

HDMI. 

▪ Monoprice 

▪ 5v, 2A 3 Outlet Power Surge Protector Wall Tap w/ 2 Built-In USB Charger - 

some display artifacts, sometimes unable to find mouse, some failures to boot. 

Measured less than 4.75v between TP1 and TP2 when used with a Monoprice 

cable. 

▪ Sony Ericsson 

▪ 5v, 850mA EP800. Some failures to boot , ethernet loops at boot. 

External Battery packs (with 5V regulated output) 

▪ Anker Astro3 

▪ Anker Astro3 10000mAh with Dual 2A USB Output 

▪ Duracell 

▪ PPS2 Instant USB Charger 

▪ Energizer/XPAL 

▪ XP18000 18000mAh Power Pack 

▪ Generic - eBay no brand 

▪ 6000T Pocket Power 5000mAh - eBay item 271009959140 

▪ Power Bank for iPad/iPhone 5000mAh (looks the same as a New Trent IMP50D 

or TeckNet iEP380) - eBay item 280914455938 

▪ New Trent 

▪ iCurve IMP70D 7000mAh (Approx 12hrs from full charge) 

▪ IMP120D 12000mAh 

▪ Sinoele 

▪ Movpower - Power Bank 5200mAh (8hrs with Wifi active) 

▪ TeckNet 

▪ iEP387 Dual-Port 7000mAh External Power Bank (The charging lead can be 

used to connect the Tecknet to the RPi. Ran the RPi with wifi dongle and wireless 

keyboard receiver for over 9 hours of light use.) 

▪ iEP392 Dual-Port 12000mAh External Power Bank (1A port, ~16.5 hours) 

▪ Rayovac PS60 5v 800mAh 

▪ VINZO 

▪ Power Bank 5000mAh Grey Output 5V 1000mA 

▪ Kodak Power Pack KP1000

▪ 1A USB rechargeable battery pack - see Shea Silverman's blog 

(http://blog.sheasilverman.com/2012/09/its-alive/) 

Display adapters 

Note that active converter boxes may draw power through the HDMI port, and thus will 

put an extra load on your PSU, and also increase the current running through the PI's 

primary input fuse. HDMI ports (and the raspberry PI) are designed so that they deliver a 

very limited amount of power (50mA) to the TV/Monitor/display-adapter and much more 

isn't in theory allowed. In fact there is a diode (D1) in series with the power line which 

can only handle 200mA, if the adapter tries to draw much more than that the diode might 

fail. Therefore only externally powered adapters are to be recommended. Despite this, 

many people report success with these high powered devices. 

HDMI->DVI-D 

There are three kinds of DVI. There is DVI-D, a digital signal fully compatible with 

HDMI, so a passive cable can be used. There is DVI-I, which is a connector with both 

analog pins and digital pins. An HDMI to DVI-D adapter fits in a DVI-I female 

connector. Finally, there is DVI-A. This a fairly rare connection, but occasionally it will 

be found on some monitors and is an analog interface, in fact the same as VGA! 

Some adapters like Farnell part AK-CBHD03-BK are HDMI to DVI-I, which, while not 

fitting in a DVI-D monitor, are still compatible. The analog pins simply must be bent. 

The HDMI to DVI-D cable provided by Apple with the 2010 Mac Mini worked. It does 

not appear this adapter can be purchased separately. 


▪ HDMI to DVI Cable for the Raspberry Pi (from The Pi Hut's Raspberry Pi Store 

(http://thepihut.com/collections/video-output/products/hdmi-to-dvi-cable-for-theraspberry-pi) 

) 

▪ Other Variants 

▪ AmazonBasics HDMI to DVI Adapter Cable (model SK231) works and is 

inexpensive. 

▪ A generic HDMI-to-DVI converter from eBay (http://www.ebay.com/itm/DVI- 

Female-to-HDMI-Male-Adapter-Converter-Adaptor-Gold-for-HDTV-Full-HD- 

/320946033059?pt=US_Video_Cables_Adapters&hash=item4ab9dfd1a3) . 

Works well, but it's probably the cause of some power loss between the RPi and 

the monitor, causing this (http://elinux.org/R- 

Pi_Troubleshooting#Interference_visible_on_a_HDMI_or_DVI_monitor) 

problem. A setting of config_hdmi_boost=5 in /etc/boot solved this. Note that 

config_hdmi_boost=4, as suggested in the troubleshooting guide, helped but did 

not solve the problem completely.

HDMI->VGA converter boxes 

Most will require use RPi_config.txt. Start off with hdmi_safe=1. 

Sanoxy HDMI to VGA converter (http://www.element14.com/community/groups/ 

raspberry-pi/blog/2012/08/16/raspberry-pi-hdmi-to-vga-converter) , $27 from Amazon, 

no changes required with official Raspbian Wheezy image (2012-Jul-15), note: had 

already disabled overscan previously 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B007KEIRNG -- "Neewer" HDMI to VGA -- some 

issues discussed below: However, according to user "Tom1989" the same Neewer HDMI 

to VGA adapter burned out BAT54 Schottky diode D1 on the RasPi and broke its HDMI 

output: Serious HDMI Problems. What's that smell? Burning Raspberry! 

(http://www.raspberrypi.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=9819) . On that thread, 

"mahjongg" suggested the NXP (or equivalent) PMEG2010AET as a high-current 

replacement for D1. The PMEG2010AET has 1A max forward current, much greater 

than the BAT54's 200 mA limit which may be exceeded by your HDMI -> VGA 

converter. Remember that the converter's current must come from your RasPi power 

supply and go through the Micro USB cable and polyfuse F3, so you may get extra 

voltage drops and/or cause F3 to trip depending on how much current the converter uses. 

As always with board modifications, YMMV. Also on the "Burning Raspberry!" thread, 

user "pwinwood" reported the Neewer's current to be 400 mA, which is twice the limit of 

BAT54 diode D1. "pwinwood" also took the Neewer apart and added its own +5V 

connection adapted from a USB cable, which bypasses RasPi's Micro USB cable and 

polyfuse F3. 

▪ Link to a gallery with detailed images & steps of the same adapter modification: 

HERE (http://imgur.com/a/sLogs/all) --by Pinoccio 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/KanaaN-Adapter-Converter-Cable-Resolutions/dp/ 

B007QT0NNW -- "Kanaan" HDMI-VGA 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130699741793 -- eBay is 

swarming with $16 converters all like this one. 

This adapter -- http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/300692770623 -- works from 640x480 up to 

1920x1080, audio over HDMI works too. Sadly the IC's on the PCB have all been 

scrubbed. Requires HDMI boost and overscan, config.txt settings for 640x480@60Hz: 

hdmi_drive=2 

hdmi_group=2 

hdmi_mode=4 

config_hdmi_boost=4 

overscan_top=-30

overscan_bottom=-30 

overscan_left=-30 

overscan_right=-30 

According to user "Mortimer" -- HDFuryPro HDMI to YPbBr/VGA Converter found on 

Amazon -- http://www.amazon.co.uk/Inputs-Component-Video-YPbPr-Converter/dp/ 

B00797ZZ4S/ -- Works with Raspberry Pi. Tested against a Philips 170B 1280x1024 

LCD monitor, producing a full native resolution image. Not tested against a Component 

Video TV yet, and audio has yet to be got working. The config.txt settings used are: 

hdmi_drive=2 

hdmi_group=2 

hdmi_mode=36 

disable_overscan=1 

According to user "Mortimer" -- HDFury1 1080p HDMI to VGA Converter from 

HDFury.com. I'm not sure the HDFury1 can be got a hold of easily nowadays, I happened 

to have access to one to try out. HDFury2, 3 and 4 are available as far as I can tell, but are 

very pricey compared to alternatives. HDFury1 was around £80 when we bought one for 

a project at work. HDFury2 seems to be around £130, 3 and 4 are getting on towards 

£200 or more. So not to be recommended as a solution unless you happen to have one 

lying around. I don't believe there is any relationship between the company that produces 

these and the HDFuryPro I bought for myself (See above). I didn't alter any config 

settings, just plugged it in. It doesn't work without having its external power supply 

connected, as it requires 0.4A, which is too much draw for the 5V supply available from 

the HDMI socket on the Raspberry Pi. Its power LED lights, but no picture is produced. 

In comparison to the HDFuryPro this picture from this device is sharper, but not enough 

to justify the extra cost. The config.txt settings used are: 

hdmi_drive=2 

hdmi_group=2 

hdmi_mode=36 


http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B007SM7O2U/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00 - 

"Cable Matters" 

Here It is another option: http://www.dealextreme.com/p/hdmi-v1-4-male-to-vga-femaleconverter-adapter-cable-white-15cm-130458, 

is cheap (it's free shipping from china) and 

works perfectly, I tested it with an Acer VGA monitor (AL1511), without no change in 

my XBMC distribution. The config.txt for Raspbian (Flatron VGA monitor 1024 * 768): 

hdmi_drive=2 

hdmi_group=2 

hdmi_mode=16 

hdmi_force_hotplug=1 

disable_overscan=0

And another one: http://cgi.ebay.pl/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=251086464644. 

Very cheap but works perfectly. No config.txt changes was needed at all. I've booted 

Raspbian and OpenELEC. Monitor is detected correctly and the optimal resolution is set 

(Raspbian) or you can change the res in the menu (OpenELEC). The /opt/vc/bin/tvservice 

is able to read monitor edid data. I tested the adapter using NEC 72VM 15" LCD. 

(1280x1024 60Hz, 1024x768 60Hz, 640x480 works) The adapter is based on Lontium 

LT8511A chip, but I was unable to get the spec for it. The D1 diode is getting very hot 

though. Most likely the adapter drives more than 200mA. The standard RS Components 

1,2A usb power supply is able to provide enough power for the RPi and the adapter. I'll 

try to modify the adapter to connect external power to bypass D1. Marcin. 

DVI-D -> VGA active adapters 

None are currently listed 

Composite->SCART 

SCART adapters (SCART plugs with three RCA connectors in the back), will probably 

work when used with the yellow RCA plug connected to the R-PI's RCA video output. 

Additionally using a splitter cable (3.5mm jack plug on one end, and red-white RCA 

plugs on the other end) will probably work when plugged into the red and white (left and 

right audio channels) of the SCART adapter. 

▪ Generic - works 

Composite->VGA converter boxes 

▪ Extron DVS-204 (http://www.extron.com/product/product.aspx?id=dvs204%7C) - 

works no problem! 

SD cards 

The SD card is a key part of the Raspberry Pi; it provides the initial storage for the 

Operating System and files. Storage can be extended through many types of USB 

connected peripherals. 

When the Raspberry Pi is 'switched on', i.e. connected to a power supply, a special piece 

of code called the bootloader is executed, which reads more special code from the SD 

Card that is used to start up the Raspberry Pi. If there is no SD Card inserted, it will not 

start. Do NOT push in or pull out an SD Card while the Raspberry Pi is connected to the 

power, as this is likely to corrupt the SD Card data (you might get away with it, but it is 

best not to).

The SD Card must be formatted, or written to, in a special way that means the Raspberry 

Pi can read the data it needs to start properly. If you are new to this check the instructions, 

or buy a pre-formatted SD Card. 

One advantage to using an SD Card like this is that you can have several SD Cards, each 

with a different operating system, or a different purpose. Simply power off, switch cards, 

and reconnect the power. You have a different computer to play with. 

Which SD Card? 

SD Cards come in three physical sizes (see picture). The 

Raspberry Pi needs the largest one. The miniSD Card and 

the MicrSD Card can be used in a Raspberry Pi, but you 

will need an adaptor / holder to fit it. 

SD Cards come in a range of storage sizes. You need one 

of type SDHC, but there are other types of SDSC, SDXC 

and SDIO which will not work in a Raspberry Pi 

(confirmation needed). The SDHC type comes in memory 

sizes of up to 32GB. 

There are other properties of SD Cards that are not 

covered here. Read the Wikipedia article 

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secure_Digital) for those 

details. 

Other SD Card content 

See the following links for other information: 

▪ Select a Distribution 

▪ Easy SD Card set up 

▪ Advanced set up 

▪ Troubleshooting 

▪ SD Card Performance 

Technical Information 

Note that manufacturers change their designs over time, even as the specs stay the same. 

(E.g. an ACME 8 GB class 4 card manufactured in 2011 might work, while one 

manufactured in 2012 might not.) For this reason, please specify product numbers in the 

lists below, when possible. 

You can also attach the following fields from your card's CID :

cd /sys/class/mmc_host/mmc?/mmc?:* 

echo "man:$(cat manfid) oem:$(cat oemid) name:$(cat name) hwrev:$(cat hwrev) fwrev:$(cat fwrev)" 

please merge with http://elinux.org/RPi_Performance#SD_card 

Preinstalled SD Cards 

Sandisk SD Cards Preinstalled with the latest Raspbian operating system are available 

from The Pi Hut's Raspberry Pi Store (http://thepihut.com) . 

▪ SanDisk 

▪ 4GB SDHC Class 4 - Preinstalled with Raspbian Wheezy Linux. 

(http://thepihut.com/products/4gb-sandisk-sd-sdhc-card-with-raspbian-wheezylinux-preinstalled) 







Kingston and other verified SD Cards Preinstalled with the latest Raspbian operating 

system are available from many other websites Amazon UK (http://www.amazon.co.uk) 

and eBay UK (http://www.ebay.co.uk/) . 

Working SD Cards 

▪ 7DAYSHOP.COM 

▪ 8GB Professional SDHC Class 10 (man:0x000027 oem:0x5048 name:SD08G 

hwrev:0x3 fwrev:0x0) 

▪ Adata 

▪ 2GB SD Class 2 Speedy (8B0947 printed on back) This card works with every 

distro I tried. May be old, may not be the fastest, but is very stable. 

▪ 4GB SDHC Class 4 (BH1109416141G) 

▪ 8GB SDHC Class 2 (MMB3F08GWMCA-GE) 

▪ 8GB SDHC Class 4 (MicroSD w/ adapter) 

▪ 8GB SDHC Class 6 (MMAGR08GUDCA-DB) 

▪ 8GB SDHC Class 10 (AUSDH8GCL10-R) 

▪ 8GB SDHC Class 10 (ASDH8GCL10-R) Tested on 2012-06-18-wheezy-beta.zip 

▪ 8GB SDHC Class 10 (P-SDH8G10-EC from BJ's USA tested on Raspbian)

▪ 16GB SDHC Class 6 

▪ 16GB SDHC Class 10 (16GSDHC10) 

▪ 16GB SDHC Class 10 (microSD w/ adapter AUSDH16GCL10-RA1) 

▪ 32GB SDHC Class 10 (ASDH32GCL10-R) Tested on wheezy-beta with latest 

kernel and firmware and raspbian wheezy 

▪ AmazonBasics 

▪ 8GB SDHC Class 10 B0058GH0LS (http://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics- 

SDHC-Class-Secure-Digital/dp/B0058GH0LS) 

▪ 16GB SDHC Class 10 B0058GH1IK (http://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics- 

SDHC-Class-Secure-Digital/dp/B0058GH1IK) 


▪ Apacer 

▪ 8GB microSDHC Class 10 (with adapter) 


▪ Centon 

▪ 16GB SDHC Class 4 (1447 printed on back) 

▪ CnMemory 

▪ 8GB SDHC Class 4 (Silver/Black label says 'High Capacity Card') 

84209_8GB_SDHC, bought from Maplins. No error messages seen, but 

operation is much slower than with a SanDisk 4GB Class 4 card. 

▪ Dane-Elec 


▪ 16GB Pro 200X Class 10 DEMS16GB2683ENBA 

▪ Dikom 

▪ 16GB SDHC Class 10 (serial 207H3MD016IBSD) 

▪ Duracell 


▪ 16GB SDHC Class 10 (labelled Pro Photo 200x) 

▪ 32GB SDHC Class 10 (man:0x00001d oem:0x4144 name:SD hwrev:0x1 

fwrev:0x0) (~4.6MB/s read, ~4.4MB/s write on debian6-19-04-2012, following 

RPi_Performance#SD_card) 

▪ Emtec 

▪ 2GB SD man:0x000027 oem:0x5048 name:SD02G hwrev:0x2 fwrev:0x0 

▪ 4GB SDHC Class 4 (EKMSD4G60XHCN) 

▪ 16GB SDHC Class 10 (EKMSD16G150XHC) (less than half as fast as Sandisk 

16gb Class 10) 

▪ Extrememory 

▪ 16GB SDHC Class 10 (man:0x000012 oem:0x3456 name:F0F0F hwrev:0x1 

fwrev:0x0)

▪ 32GB SDHC Class 10 (man:0x000003 oem:0x5344 name:SMI hwrev:0x1 

fwrev:0x0) 

▪ Eye-Fi 

▪ Fugi 

▪ 4GB WiFi SDHC (Wi-Fi doesn't work) 

▪ 32GB SDHC Class 10 (P10NM00580A) (man:0x000073 oem:0x4247 

name:NCard hwrev:0x1 fwrev:0x0) 

▪ Hama 

▪ 2GB SD Class 2 

▪ 8GB SDHC High Speed Pro Class 6 

▪ Hema (Dutch dept. store) 

▪ 4GB 


▪ Goodram 

▪ HP 

▪ 8GB microSDHC Class 4 

▪ 16GB microSDHC Class 4 (SDU16GHCAGRR10) 


▪ 8GB SDHC Class 4 (doesn't reboot during first time startup process, but restart 

again and fine after that). 

▪ 32GB SDHC Class 10 (http://www.amazon.com/HP-CG790A-AZ-Flash- 

Memory-Class/dp/B007X7U224) 

▪ ICIDU 

▪ 4GB SDHC Class 10 (also had no issues) 

▪ 16GB SDHC Class 10 (image write had issues, might be my inexperience. It 

boots & shows Xserver) 

▪ 32GB SDHC Class 10 (had no issues whatsoever, the comment above might be a 

dud.) 


▪ 16GB microSDHC Class 10 (20MB/sec) 

▪ 32GB microSDHC Class 10 (20MB/sec) 

▪ Integral 

▪ 4GB SDHC Ultima Pro Class 10 

▪ 4GB SDHC Class 4 SD-K04G (Purple label). Also type SD-MO4G. 

▪ 8GB SDHC Ultima Pro Class 6 (Works - initial error -110 but boots within 5 

seconds with no further errors or issues) 

▪ 8GB SDHC Ultima Pro Class 10 (20MB/s) (Works - initial error -110 but boots 

within 5 seconds with no further errors or issues) 

▪ 16GB SDHC Ultima Pro Class 6 

▪ 16GB SDHC Class 10 Ultima Pro (20MB/s) (http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/ 

product/B0047T6XME)

▪ 32GB SDHC Ultima Pro Class 10 (20MB/s) - Slow to initially boot past the 

Rainbow Screen. 

▪ Joyflash 

▪ 16GB SDHC Class 10 (LTSD1112016GB) 

▪ Kingmax 


▪ 4GB microSDHC Class 4 (KM04GMCSDHC4) won`t reboot when it`s hot 

▪ 8GB microSDHC Class 4 (KM08GMCSDHC41A) won`t reboot when it`s hot 

▪ Kingston 

▪ 2GB SD 

▪ 2GB microSD (N0185-002.A00LF) + Adapter (File system .img written via 

Transcend microSDHC "USB stick-like" adapter - P3-102510) 

▪ 4GB microSD Class 4 

▪ 4GB SDHC Class 4 (SD4/4GB) (Writes at 4.8MB/s, Reads at 9MB/s) 

▪ 4GB SDHC Class 10 (SD10V/4GB) 

▪ 8GB SDHC Class 4 (http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/1619/dsc0253y.jpg) 

(SD4/8GB (http://img833.imageshack.us/img833/2028/dsc0254br.jpg) ) (Works 

reliably with Raspbian 18-9-2012 and previous Debian releases) (Writes at 

4.8MB/s, Reads at 9MB/s) 

▪ 8GB microSDHC Class 4 (http://img600.imageshack.us/img600/3849/ 

dsc0251et.jpg) (SDC4/8GB (http://img707.imageshack.us/img707/363/ 

dsc0252ld.jpg) ) 

▪ 8GB SDHC Class 6 (SD6/8GB) (errors on boot, boots Debian ok) 

▪ 8GB SDHC Class 10 (SD10G2/8GB, SD10V/8GB, ultimateX 100X, ultimateX 

120X) 

▪ 16GB SDHC Class 4 (SD4/16GB) 

▪ 16GB microSDHC Class 10 (SDC10/16GB) 

▪ 16GB SDHC Class 10 (SD10G2/16GB, ultimateX 100X) 

▪ 16GB SDHC Class 10 (SD4/16GBET) 

▪ 32GB SDHC Class 10 (SD10V) 

▪ 32GB SDHC Class 10 (SD10G2/32GB, ultimateX 100X) 

▪ 64GB SDXC Class 10 (SDX10V/64GB) 

▪ Kodak 



▪ Kruidvat 


▪ 8GB SDHC Class 10 (actually cheaper then the class 4 in my store) 

▪ Lexar 

▪ 4GB SDHC Class 4 (Boots consistently and no error messages in log after 1/2 

hour use ) (works with Raspbmc)

▪ 4GB SDHC Class 6 Platinum II (from Microcenter (http://www.microcenter.com/ 

single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0350735) ) 


▪ 8GB SDHC Class 6 Premium Series 

▪ 8GB SDHC Class 6 Platinum II 

▪ 16GB SDHC Class 6 Platinum II 

▪ 32GB microSDHC HIGH-SPEED Class 10 (from Amazon 

(http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lexar-32GB-Micro-Speed-Reader/dp/ 

B004BR2ZTM) ) 

▪ 128GB SDXC UHS-I Card LSD128CTBNA400 (from Amazon 

(http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007BZRXK2) ) 

▪ Master 

▪ 16GB SDHC Class 10 [man:0x000003 oem:0x5344 name:SMI hwrev:0x1 

fwrev:0x0] 

▪ Medion 

▪ 8GB Class 4 SDHC UK sourced (Aldi) 

▪ Microcenter Brand (sold in bins at checkout) 

▪ 8GB SDHC Class 4 (http://www.microcenter.com/ 

single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0289508) 





▪ Mushkin 

▪ 16GB SDHC Class 10 (MKNSDHCU1-16GB) [45] (http://www.newegg.com/ 

Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226324) 

▪ 32GB SDHC Class 10 (MKNSDHCC10-32GB) [46] (http://www.newegg.com/ 

Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226235) 

▪ Mustang 

▪ 8GB SDHC Class 10 (http://www.mustang-flash.de/Products/Flash%20Products/ 

Secure%20Digital/SD-Card/ 

8GB%20Mustang%20SDHC%20Card%20LeMans%2C%20Class%2010%2C%20Retail%7CSD8GH 

R.html) 

▪ MyMemory 

▪ 8GB SDHC Class 10 (MYMESDH8G10) MyMemory 8GB class 10 

(http://www.mymemory.co.uk/SDHC/MyMemory/MyMemory-8GB-SD-Card- 

%28SDHC%29---Class-10) (Latest batch not working) 

▪ 16GB SDHC Class 10 (MYMESDH16G10) [47] (http://www.mymemory.co.uk/ 

SDHC/MyMemory/MyMemory-16GB-SD-Card-(SDHC)---Class-10) 

▪ 32GB SDHC Class 10 [48] (http://www.mymemory.co.uk/SDHC/MyMemory/ 

MyMemory-32GB-SD-Card-%28SDHC%29---Class-10) 

▪ NovaTech

▪ 8GB SDHC Class 10 (Integral Branded) 

▪ OCZ 

▪ 8GB SDHC Class 6 Gold Series (08110596-8GB-6) tested with Debian Squeeze 

(official Raspberry Pi distribution debian6-19-04-2012.zip) 

▪ Optima 

▪ 8GB SDHC Class 10 (Pro-Speed) 

▪ 8GB SDHC Class 4 - working from 2012-09-18 

▪ Panasonic 


▪ 4GB SDHC Class 10 UHS-I (~11.2MB/s read, ~6.2MB/s write, following 


▪ 8GB SDHC Class 2 (~11.1MB/s read, ~9.7MB/s write, following 


▪ 8GB SDHC Class 6 (~4.8MB/s read, ~4.4MB/s write, following 


▪ Patriot 

▪ 8GB SDHC Class 6 (PSF8GSDHC10-PC) 

▪ 8GB SDHC Class 10 LX Series (PSF8GSDHC10-PC1) 

▪ 16GB SDHC Class 10 (PSF16GMCSDHC10) 

▪ 16GB SDHC Class 10 LX Series (PSF16GSDHC10) (19.3MB/s read, 9.3MB/s 

write) 

▪ 16GB microSDHC Class 10 (PSF16GMSHC10) (requires recent kernel update 

for boot) 

▪ 32GB SDHC Class 10 (PSF32GSDHC10) 

▪ 32GB SDHC Class 10 UHS-1 (PEF32GSDHC10U1) (20.4MB/s read, 12.1MB/s 

write) 

▪ Peak 

▪ 4GB microSDHC Class 4 (MMBTR04GUBCA-ME) tested with Arch 

▪ Philips 

▪ 8GB SDHC Class 4 (FM08SD35B) 

▪ Platinum 


▪ 8GB SDHC Class 6 (man:0x00006f oem:0x0000 name:SMI hwrev:0x1 

fwrev:0x0) 

▪ 64GB SDCX Class 10 

▪ Play.com 

▪ PNY 

▪ 4GB SDHC Class 6 (S4E3CD04GEFAA 0907090121106) 


▪ 4GB SDHC Class 4 Optima (SD-K04G 0834TT1297Y)

▪ pqi 

▪ 4GB SDHC Class 4. Micro SD Card with adapter. 


▪ 8GB SDHC Class 10. Micro SD card with adapter. 


▪ 16GB SDHC Class 10 (P-SDHC16G10-GE) 

▪ See the note for P-SDHC16G10-EF. Works with Wheezy, does not work with 

Squeeze, Arch, or Fedora Remix. 

▪ 16GB SDHC Class 10 (P-SDHC16G10-EF) 

▪ Works with Debian Wheezy (http://www.raspberrypi.org/archives/1435) 

▪ Does not work with Debian Squeeze (debian6-19-04-2012: mmc0: timeout 

waiting for hardware interrupt). 

▪ Does not work with Arch Linux Arm (archlinuxarm-29-04-2012: no video is 

displayed, solid red power light, tiny green light) 

▪ 16GB SDHC Class 10 Pro-Elite (P-SDH16U1-30-GE). Works with raspbmc, 

haven't tested others. 


▪ PRETEC 

▪ Works with official debian6-19-04-2012 

▪ 8GB SDHC Class 10 (8DK52-122ME) 

▪ Samsung 

▪ 4GB SDHC 

▪ 8GB SDHC Class 6 (MB-SS8GAEU) 

▪ 8GB SDHC Class 10 (MB-MP8GA, MB-SP8GA/EU, MB-SP8GA/AM) 

▪ 16GB SDHC Class 6 (MB-SSAGAEU) 

▪ 16GB SDHC Class 10 (MB-SPAGA aka MB-SPAGAEU) 

▪ 32GB SDHC Class 10 (MB-SSBGA, MBSSBGVEOBGA-SH) fine with Debian 

Wheezy (http://www.raspberrypi.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=8071) , but 

does not work with Debian Squeeze (debian6-19-04-2012: mmc0: timeout 

waiting for hardware interrupt). 

▪ SanDisk 

▪ 2GB SD, white "SanDisk for Wii" branded, no class mentioned 

▪ 2GB SD (with a circle 2 --probably class 2), writes at 3.5 Mb/s 

▪ 2GB SD Class 2 (BE0816113150D) 

▪ 2GB SD Class 4 Ultra (15MB/s) 

▪ 2GB SD Class 4 Ultra II 

▪ 2GB SD Ultra II (BE0719111366D) 

▪ 2GB SD Extreme III (BE0715105083B) 

▪ 2GB SD Extreme III (BE0804212046D) - 20MB/s - Class 6 

▪ 4GB SDHC Class 2 (BH0820113475D) - Tested with RPITC (Based on Raspbian 

Wheezy) 

▪ 4GB SDHC Class 4 (SDSDB-004G-B35)

▪ 4GB SDHC Class 4 (SDSDB-004G-BT35). Confirmed working with stock 

debian6-19-04-2012.img 

▪ 4GB SDHC Class 4 (BH1210821913G) 

▪ 4GB SDHC Class 4 (SDSDH2-004G-AC11, BH1127216239D) Costco 2-pack, 

booting Wheezy 2012-07-15 

▪ 4GB SDHC Class 4 Ultra (SDSDH-004G-U46) won`t reboot when it`s hot 

▪ 4GB SDHC Class 4 Ultra II 

▪ 4GB SDHC Class 6 Extreme III labelled as 30MB/s works with (B) 

2012-10-28-wheezy-raspbian 

▪ 4GB SDHC Class 6 Ultra 30MB/s BH1200421822D) 

▪ 4GB SDHC Class 6 Ultra (SDSDH-004G-U46 - BH1136121837G, 

BH1130521822D) 

▪ 4GB SDHC Class 10 Extreme (BH10297143382G) 

▪ 8GB SDHC Class 4 (writes at ~1.5MB/s) 

▪ 8GB SDHC Class 4 Ultra labelled as 15MB/s (BI1024716014G) 

▪ 8GB SDHC Class 6 Ultra 

▪ 8GB SDHC Class 6 micro - MMAGR08GUDCA-DB 

▪ also SDSDH-008G-U46 - BI1131222083D see update from andrew.blake 


▪ except SDSRH-008G-A11 could be problematic, see below 

▪ 8GB SDHC Class 6 Ultra labelled as 20MB/s (BI11321422083D) 

▪ 8GB SDHC-I Class 6 Ultra labelled as 30MB/s (SDSDH2-008G-AC11) 

▪ requires updated Squeeze or Wheezy beta 

▪ 8GB SDHC Class 10 Extreme (BI11017514367G) 

▪ 8GB SDHC Class 10 Extreme (B11209116254G) - Managed to get it working 

with raspbian R3 rpi_pisces_r3.zip (http://archive.raspbian.org/images/ 

rpi_pisces_r3.zip) however does not work with official squeeze nor Arch linux. 

▪ 8GB SDHC Class 10 Extreme (30MB/s HD Video) - working with new 

bootcode.bin (https://github.com/raspberrypi/firmware/blob/ 

9308c7ed387e5422883753f7fb71a75506abd1f8/boot/bootcode.bin) . Confirmed 

on 2012-07-10 for Debian Squeeze 2012-04-19 and Arch Linux 2012-06-13 

images (BI1130916254G). 

▪ 8GB SDHC Class 10 Ultra(30MB/s) (SDSDU-008G-U46) - Works with stock 

debian6-19-04-2012 or raspbian images but not with OpenELEC r11212 (works 

with OpenELEC r11493) 

▪ 8GB SDHC Class 10 Ultra(30MB/s) (SDSDU-008G-UDQ46) - Works with stock 

2012-09-18-wheezy-raspbian 

▪ 8GB SDHC Class 10 Extreme (SDSDX-008G-X46/BI1218822414G) - Works 

with stock 2012-08-16-wheezy-raspbian 

▪ 8GB SDHC Class 10 Extreme Pro (95MB/s UHS-I) (SDSDXPA-008G-X46) - 

Works with stock 2012-07-15-wheezy-raspbian 


▪ 16GB SDGC Class 4 (SDSDB-016G-B35) - working with bootcode.bin 

(https://github.com/raspberrypi/firmware/blob/

234c19de7cbaaf4997671d61df20a05759066295/boot/bootcode.bin) . Confirmed 

on 2012-07-15 for Debian Squeeze 2012-04-19 

▪ 16GB SDHC Class 6 Ultra (30MB/s) (BL1133921933G) - Work with OpenELEC 

r11324 

▪ 16GB SDHC Class 10 Ultra(30MB/s) (SDSDU-016G-U46) - Work with stock 

debian6-19-04-2012 image. Gave Kernel Panic with stock debian6-19-04-2012 

image. Worked fine with Wheezy image. 

▪ 16GB SDHC Class 10 Extreme (30MB/s HD Video) (SDSDX3-016G-X46) - 

Works with 2012-06-18-wheezy-beta.img and updated firmware (tested 

2012-07-02) 

▪ 16GB SDHC Class 10 Extreme (45MB/s U1) (BL1203322025G) - Works with 

2012-08-16-wheezy-raspbian.img (tested 2012-09-15). Doesn't work with stock 

debian6-19-04-2012 image, but does work with freshly compiled kernel 

▪ 16GB SDHC Class 10 Extreme (45MB/s) (SDSDX-016G-X46) (UPC 

619659062224) - Works with 2012-09-18-wheezy-raspbian.img (tested 17/10/ 

2012). Working with Raspbmc RC5 if writing standalone image; working with 

Raspbian “wheezy”. 

▪ 16GB SDHC Class 10 Extreme (45MB/s) (SDSDXPA-016G-FPP) - Working 

with latest RaspBMC image (tested 12/09/2012) Amazon Link 

(http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00422J0CG/ 

ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00) 

▪ 16GB SDHC Class 10 Extreme Pro (95MB/s UHS-I) (SDSDXPA-016G-A75) - 

Doesn't work with stock debian6-19-04-2012 image, but does work with freshly 

compiled kernel 



▪ 32GB SDHC Class 10 Ultra (30MB/s) - Works with stock debian6-19-04-2012 

image 

▪ 32GB SDHC Class 10 Extreme (45 MB/s UHS-I) (SDSDX-032G-X46) - works 

with arch-04-29-image and latest firmware (booting problems without firmware 

update) 

▪ 64GB SDXC Class 10 Extreme (45 MB/s UHS-I) (SDSDX-064G-X46) - works 

with 2012-07-15-wheezy-raspbian 

▪ microSDHC / microSDXC 





▪ 8GB microSDHC Class 6 Mobile Ultra (SDSDQY-008G-U46A) working 

with the latest firmware, won`t reboot when it`s hot 

▪ 8GB microSDHC Class 10 Ultra(30MB/s) (SDSDQU-008G-U46) tested and 

working on Raspbian wheezy (and RaspBMC) 

▪ 16GB microSDHC Class 10 Mobile Ultra (SDSDQUA-016G-U46A) 

working with the latest firmware

▪ 32GB microSDHC Class 4 (SDSDQM-032G-B35) 

▪ 64GB microSDXC Class 6 Mobile Ultra (http://img217.imageshack.us/ 

img217/6435/dsc0255uc.jpg) (SDSDQY-064G-A11A) (boots up much more 

consistently with latest firmware) 

▪ Silicon Power 

▪ 4GB microSDHC Class 6 (SP004GBSTH006V10-SP) 

▪ 8GB microSDHC Class 10 (S608G1202) 

▪ 16GB microSDHC Class 10 (SP016GBSTH010V10) 

▪ 16GB SDHC Class 10 (SP016GBSDH010V10) 

▪ Sony 

▪ 4GB SDHC Class 4 (SF-4B4) (Write 6MB/s, Read 20MB/s) 

▪ 4GB SDHC Class 4 (SF-4N4) 

▪ 8GB SDHC Class 4 (Write 11.8MB/s, Read 17.4MB/s) 

▪ 32GB SDHC Class 10 (SF-32NX/TQ) (http://store.sony.com/webapp/wcs/stores/ 

servlet/ 

ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&partNumber=SF32NX/ 

TQ#features) (Max read speed of ~94MB/s, min write speed of ~10MB/s) - 

Works with archlinuxarm-29-04-2012 dd image with latest firmware update (as 

of 10-06-2012) 

▪ Strontium 

▪ 8GB SDHC Class 10 (SD-T08G 1045 US6923 G (White Shell - SKU 8 886450 

703492)) 

▪ Super Talent 

▪ 32GB Secure Digital High Capacity SDHC Card (Class 10), Model 

SDHC32-C10 SKU: 116-557-001 (works with Raspbmc RC4 and 

2012-07-15-wheezy-raspbian)) 

▪ TakeMS 

▪ TDK 

▪ 4GB microSDHC Class 4 (with adapter) Micro SDHC Class 4 + 1 Adapter(Order 

No.88662) (http://www.takems.com/ 

products.php?categ=flash&prod=Micro_SDHC-Card) 

▪ 4GB SDHC Class 4 (1008WW5261B) 

▪ 4GB SDHC Class 4 (80-56-10275-004G,Debian works BUT mmc0 errors when 

booting Fedora) 

▪ 4GB microSDHC Class 4 (80-56-10301-004G) 

▪ 4GB SDHC Class 6 (S404G1113) - Works with Debian Wheezy (2012-06-18 

beta), not tried latest OpenELEC yet. 

▪ 8GB SDHC Class 10 - Works with Raspbian 2012-07-15 

▪ Sandisk 64GB Class 10 Ultra SDXC UHS-I FFP (3A114807) 

▪ Toshiba 

▪ 8GB mircoSDHC SD-C08GJ(BL3A

▪ 16GB SDHC Class 10 SD-T16G (1046 US7022 C) 

▪ Transcend 

▪ 4GB SDHC Class 4 - we've found these to work without any errors and offer 

reasonable performance 

▪ 4GB SDHC Class 4 (TS4GSDHC4 - BH1130821915G) 

▪ 4GB SDHC Class 6 (TS4GSDHC6) - no problems. (does not work with Raspbmc 

as of 6/1/12) 

▪ 4GB SDHC Class 10 (TS4GSDHC10E) 

▪ 8GB SDHC Class 4 (http://www.mymemory.co.uk/SDHC/Transcend/ 

Transcend-8GB-SD-Card-(SDHC)---Class-4) (TS8GSDHC4) (man:0x000003 

oem:0x5344 name:SD08G hwrev:0x8 fwrev:0x0) - works with both Debian 

"squeezy" and Raspbian "wheezy" distributions. 

▪ 8GB SDHC Class 6 (~5.8 MB/s read/write following 


▪ 8GB SDHC Class 6 (TS8GSDHC6-P2 - MMBFG08GWACA-M6) 

▪ 8GB SDHC Class 10 (TS8GSDHC10) Transcend 8G class 10 

(http://www.mymemory.co.uk/SDHC/Transcend/Transcend-8GB-SD-Card- 

%28SDHC%29---Class-10-) 

▪ 16GB SDHC Class 6 (TS16GSDHC6) 

▪ 16GB SDHC Class 10 (TS16GSDHC10)(TS16GSDHC10E) 

▪ 32GB SDHC Class 10 (http://www.transcend.com.es/tarjetas-de-memoria/sdsdhc/32gb-sdhc-class-10) 

(TS32GSDHC10)(TS32GSDHC10E) 

▪ 64GB SDXC Class 10 (TS64GSDXC10) 

▪ Verbatim 

▪ 8GB SDHC Class 10 (43961) 




▪ Traveler 

▪ 4GB High Speed Memory Card - no class mentioned. No problems. Tested with 

Raspbian. 


▪ Sandisk 4GB Class 4 - Preinstalled with Raspbian Wheezy Linux. (from The Pi 

Hut's Raspberry Pi Store (http://thepihut.com/products/4gb-sandisk-sd-sdhc-cardwith-raspbian-wheezy-linux-preinstalled) 

) 


Hut's Raspberry Pi Store (http://thepihut.com/products/8gb-sandisk-sd-sdhc-cardwith-raspbian-wheezy-linux-preinstalled) 

) 


Hut's Raspberry Pi Store (http://thepihut.com/products/16gb-sandisk-sd-sdhccard-with-raspbian-wheezy-linux-preinstalled) 

)


Hut's Raspberry Pi Store (http://thepihut.com/products/32gb-sandisk-sd-sdhccard-with-raspbian-wheezy-linux-preinstalled) 

) 

▪ V-Gen 

▪ 8GB microSDHC - no class mentioned. No problems.(man:0x000073 

oem:0x4247 name:NCard hwrev:0x1 fwrev:0x0). Tested with Raspbian Wheezy 

& Raspbmc. 

▪ Veho (http://www.veho-uk.com) 

▪ 8Gb "Ultra Fast" Class 6. (man:0x00001b oem:0x534d name:00000 hwrev:0x1 

fwrev:0x0) 7.8Mb/s. Slow but tested with Arch Linux. 

▪ W Photo (Walgreens photo) 

▪ 1GB SD memory card. Works with raspbmc, have not tested others. 

▪ 2GB SD memory card. Works with raspbian, not tested with others. 

Known good (and pre-loaded) cards will be available for sale from RS and element14 at a 

later date (TBA). 

Problem SD Cards 

Make sure that you buy your card from a reliable source. There are many cheap Chinese 

copies of (brand name) SD-Cards on the market, [49] (http://www.petapixel.com/2011/ 

05/20/one-third-of-the-sandisk-memory-cards-on-earth-are-counterfeit/) in addition they 

are often mislabeled as having greater capacity than they really have. For example they 

might be sold as being 4GB, but are actually 2GB (or even less). 

There were initially issues with most Class 10 SDHC cards, apparently due to a bug in 

the Broadcom bootloader.[50] (http://www.raspberrypi.org/forum/general-discussion/ 

class-10-sd-cards-on-the-production-boards/page-3/#p39181) 

This seems to have been fixed in sdhci.c: [51] (https://github.com/raspberrypi/linux/ 

commit/7e8ae226fe6e95954df6b0dcdde40a53dbbc1a0b) Further feedback will be useful. 

If you add an SD card here, please also mention the kernel date and the date you tried it. 

This allows people to estimate how likely it is that a driver-fix in the kernel has been 

fixed. (i.e. I think some/most of the cards here work fine now, because a problem in the 

kernel driver has been fixed). 

▪ Acumem 

▪ 8GB SDHC Class 6 (many errors on 6/7/2012) 

▪ Adata 

▪ 2GB Speedy (MMAGF02GWMCA -NA) 

▪ 8GB SDHC Class 6 - Sometimes boots

▪ 16GB SDHC Class 6 (Possibly SD5MY168G0, label with gold black 

gradient) - Doesn't boot 

▪ Agfa 

▪ 16GB MicroSDHC class 6 (as written on SD-Adapter, MicroSD card itself noname? 

ENAAJK121960): mixed results, such a card was working on another RPi 

▪ Amazon Basics 

▪ 16GB SDHC Class 10 (many errors on 6/7/2012) 

▪ Delkin Devices 

▪ 4GB SDHC Class 6 "Delkin pro" -- Note: works with Fedora Beefy Miracle 17 

▪ GSkill 


▪ Integral 

▪ 16GB SDHC Class 6 Ultima Pro (SH016GAA2BB) 

▪ 4GB SDHC class 4 (S404G1115) 

▪ Kingston 

▪ 2GB SD looks like this (http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=KING-SD- 

M02G-BULK) - boots the kernel, but damages the filesystem. 

▪ 4GB SDHC Class 6 - Boots kernel but won't run init (times out) 

▪ 8GB/Go SDHC Class 10 - SD10V/8GB Very slow writing images to card and 

then either won't boot, or boots very slowly 

▪ 16GB SDHC Class 4 (SDC4/16GB) - Reported earlier as not working. Stable and 

works well with all Debian/Raspbian releases 

▪ 16GB SDHC Class 10 (SD10V/16GB) - Starts boot ok but then gets stuck in 

mmc0 timeouts 

▪ Memory2GO 

▪ 4GB SDHC Class 6 (S404G1029) - I/O Errors leading to Kernel Panic on startup. 

▪ Micro Center 

▪ 4GB SDHC Class 4 — hasn't worked with any of the images I've tried; appears to 

be completely unrecognized 

▪ MyMemory.com 


▪ Optima 

▪ 8GB SDHC Class 4 - Does not boot with Raspbian Wheezy 2012-07-15 - works 

with 2012-09-18 

▪ Panasonic 

▪ 8GB SDHC Class 10 (RP-SDU08GD1K) mmc0: timeout waiting for hardware 

interrupt Panasonic 8GB Class 10 (http://www.mymemory.co.uk/SDHC/ 

Panasonic/Panasonic-8GB-UHS-1-London-2012-Collection-SDHC-Card--- 

Class-10) 

▪ Patriot

▪ 8GB SDHC Class 6 (PS8GSDHC10-BC) - repeatable corruption after 1 or 2 

reboots with 2012-07-15-wheezy-raspbian 

▪ 8GB SDHC Class 10 (PSF8GSDHC10) 

▪ 8GB SDHC Class 10 (PSF8GSDHC10-PC) - won't even boot 

2012-08-16-wheezy-raspbian (mmc0: timeout waiting for hardware interrupt, 

followed by continuous I/O errors, timeouts, etc.). Seems functional in Arch, but 

sometimes freezes at the beginning of boot (blinking underscore). 

▪ Platinum 

▪ 8GB SDHC Class 8 (O08G840 M3100487 TW) 

▪ 16GB SDHC Class 10 (article code 177117) - Does not boot with Raspbian 

Wheezy 2012-09-12 

▪ PNY 

▪ 8GB Optima SDHC 120 HD Class 4 SD-K08G 0928 WF3673 - mmc -110 errors 

at init time on 6/12/12 

▪ 8GB Premium SDHC Class 4 - mmc - mmc0: timeout waiting for hardware 

interrupt 

▪ 32GB SDHC Class 10 Professional (P-SDHC32G10-EF) from play.com 

(http://www.play.com/Electronics/Electronics/4-/18814903/-/Product.html) 

(mmc0 timeout with Debian, error -84 whilst initialising sd card with Fedora and 

QtonPi. Arch seems to work, gets to the login prompt) 

▪ 2GB card SD-M02G 

▪ Polaroid 

▪ 16GB SDHC C10 (P-SDHC16GB10-EFPOL) - mmc0: timeout waiting for 

hardware interrupt on debian6-19-04-2012 

▪ PRETEC 

▪ 8GB SDHC Class 10 233x - mmc0: timeout waiting for hardware interrupt, 

Sometimes does not boot, kernel panic, ... 

▪ Reekin 

▪ 4Gb HighSpeed SH4GC6M16MIN9C0812TE (old) don't boot ! (11/07/2012) 

▪ Samsung 

▪ 4GB SDHC Class 4 (MB-SS4G MBSS4GMBDDBA-DD) doesn't boot with 

2012-07-15-wheezy-raspbian (http://downloads.raspberrypi.org/images/raspbian/ 

2012-07-15-wheezy-raspbian/2012-07-15-wheezy-raspbian.zip) - OK light 

partially lit. 

▪ 32GB SDHC Class 10 (MB-SSBGA, MBSSBGVEOBGA-SH) does not work 

with Debian Squeeze (debian6-19-04-2012: mmc0: timeout waiting for hardware 

interrupt), but works fine with Debian Wheezy (http://www.raspberrypi.org/ 

phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=8071) 

▪ SanDisk 

▪ 2GB SD Extreme III (BE0722702998D) (man:0x000003 oem:0x5344 

name:SD02G hwrev:0x8 fwrev:0x0) - tested with Raspbian (build 2012-07-15) 

and Raspbmc installer (build 2012-07-13) 

▪ 2GB SD (BE0916214253D)

▪ 2GB Ultra || 15MB/s (BE0828713280D) 

▪ 4GB SDHC Class 2 - Debian and xbmc boot, but fedora gets a lot of mmc0 note 

long write sync errors and then hc_xfer_timeout errors at the login prompt. 

▪ 4GB SDHC Class 2 "Limited Edition" (8H825413279G) - Error -110 whilst 

initialising sd card 

▪ 4GB SDHC Class 4 (BH1030216016G) - Doesn't boot. 

▪ 4GB SDHC Class 4 (BH1031116016G) - Doesn't boot. 

▪ 4GB SDHC Class 6 Extreme (BH0822411730D) 

▪ 4GB SDHC Class 6 Extreme III (30 MB/s) (BH0822712362G) 

▪ 4GB SDHC Class 10 Extreme (SDSDX-004G-X46) (30 MB/s HD Video) doesn't 

boot (also not with new kernel.img and start.elf 17-06-2012 or "wheezy"-beta) 

▪ 4GB SDHC Class 10 Extreme (30 MB/s HD Video) (Doesn't boot) - Works with 

new kernel.img and start.elf [52] (https://github.com/raspberrypi/firmware/tree/ 

master/boot) 

▪ 4GB microSDHC Class 6 Mobile Ultra (tried 15-06-2012 with kernel 

19-04-2012) error -84 transferring data, kernel panic: no init found 

▪ 8GB SDHC Class 6 Ultra (B11201421964G) 

▪ 8GB SDHC Class 6 Ultra (SDSDH-008G-U46 - BI1131222083D) - Boots kernel 

but won't run init ( mmc timeout waiting for interrupt ) see update from 

andrew.blake (http://www.raspberrypi.org/phpBB3/ 

viewtopic.php?p=88625#p88625) 

▪ 8GB SDHC Class 6 Ultra labelled as 30MB/s (BI1208721965G)) - Boots kernel 

but won't run init ( mmc timeout waiting for interrupt ) 

▪ 8GB SDHC Class 6 Ultra labelled as 30MB/s SDSRH-008G-A11 - Boots kernel 

but won't run init ( mmc timeout waiting for interrupt ) 

▪ 8GB SDHC Class 6 Ultra labelled as 30MB/s SDSDH-008G-T11 - Boots kernel 

but won't run init ( debian6-19-04-2012: mmc timeout waiting for interrupt ) , but 

works fine with Debian Wheezy (http://www.raspberrypi.org/phpBB3/ 

viewtopic.php?f=50&t=8071) on 6/22/12 

▪ 8GB SDHC Class 6 Ultra I (BI1201221964G) - Boots kernel but won't run init ( 

mmc timeout waiting for interrupt ) 



▪ 8GB SDHC Class 10 Extreme (BI1201416254G) - Still doesn't work with Debian 

Wheezy beta (2012-06-18) 

▪ 8GB SDHC Class 10 Extreme (BI1201516254G) [amazon.co.uk 

(http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00422FBJ2) ]+amazon.fr works with 

wheezy 19/09/2012 

▪ 8GB SDHC Class 10 Extreme (BI1200916252D/SDSDX-008G-X46) - Tried 

with Debian "Squeeze"(19/04/2012), Debian "Wheezy"(18/06/2012) and Arch 

Linux(13/06/2012). None works. With Debian "Wheezy" Green LED stays ON 

continuously, with the other two it turns on very faint. 

▪ 8GB SDHC Class 10 Extreme Pro- Works with updated kernel/firmware, stock 

debian6-19-04-2012 boots kernel but won't run init ( mmc timeout waiting for 

interrupt )

▪ 16GB SDHC Class 10 Extreme (30MB/s HD Video) (SDSDX3-016G-X46) - 

Doesn't boot with debian6-19-04-2012.img, or newer firmware (tested 

2012-06-17). 

▪ 16GB SDHC Class 6 Ultra (BL1202021933G) 

▪ 16GB SDHC Class 6 Ultra I (BL1205921933G) - Boots kernel but won't run init 

( mmc timeout waiting for interrupt ) 

▪ Silicon Power 

▪ 8GB SDHC Class 10 (SP008GBSDH010V10) - Boots kernel but won't run init 

(mmc timeout waiting for interrupt ) - Tested 20/11/2012, 2012-10-28-wheezyraspbian.img 

with Nov 20 kernel. 

▪ 32GB SDHC Class 6 (LS2N732GQON03ASP) - boots debian6-19-04-2012.img, 

but frequent slow response / system hangs. 

▪ TDK 

▪ 4GB SDHC Class 6 (S404G1041) - Tried (end May 2012) with new kernel.img 

and start.elf [53] (https://github.com/raspberrypi/firmware/tree/master/boot) but 

still won't run init. 

▪ 4GB SDHC Class 6 (S404G1046) [Barcode: 4 902030 784447] - Tried (4th June 

2012) with debian6-19-04-2012.img and with replacement kernel.img and 

start.elf from github [54] (https://github.com/raspberrypi/firmware/tree/ 

87a04c0be0c05e20f94f223183a0310b37c9bd89/boot) but still got 'Error -84' and 

'Kernel panic - not syncing: No init found' 

▪ Transcend 

▪ 2GB MicroSD (MMAGR02GUECA-MB) - reads fine initially after image was 

written on a PC, gives mmc0 timeout errors reading back data after writing a 

large amount (in this case with 'pacman -Syu'). Still seems to work, but is *very* 

slow after this happens, even across reboots. 

▪ 32GB MicroSD (TS32GUSDHC4) - Doesn't boot. 

▪ 2GB SD (6451AG 2G O2DS1) 

▪ 16GB SD Class10 (TS16GSDHC10U1) - Doesn't Boot, show that "kernel panic - 

not syncing attempted to kill init" 

▪ Veho 


▪ Verbatim 

▪ 16GB SDHC Class 6 (47178) - Raspbian Pisces RC3 - boots, but after login: 

mmc timeout waiting for interrupt 

▪ 8GB microSD Class 10 (44012) - ArchLinux - boots, but after system update 

develops segmentation faults 

▪ 8GB SDHC Class 10 (Premium) - Tested with September release of Raspbian 

and Debian Wheezy - both fail to boot with mmc errors. 

The usual warnings against less reputable sellers (such as Ebay merchants) apply.

Note that the following error is sometimes accompanied with a non-working SD card 

after booting (on Debian): 

mmc0: timeout waiting for hardware interrupt 

Benchmarks 

▪ http://www.sakoman.com/OMAP/microsd-card-perfomance-test-results.html 

▪ http://usbspeed.nirsoft.net/usb_drive_speed_summary.html?o=11 

▪ http://www.raspberrypi.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=4076 

▪ http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1005633 (Doesn't originate from 

R-Pi, but very related) 

Foreign Language Translations 

▪ Ru:RaspberryPiBoardVerifiedPeripherals 

References 

1. ↑ http://www.raspberrypi.org/forum/absolute-beginners/cheap-powered-usb-hubuk/#p76452 

2. ↑ http://www.raspberrypi.org/forum/troubleshooting/keyboard-creates-kernalpanic/page-2 

3. ↑ http://www.raspberrypi.org/forum/troubleshooting/keyboard-creates-kernalpanic/page-2 

4. ↑ http://www.cpmspectre.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/raspberry_pi/MoinMoinExport/ 

USBPowerSupplies.html 

5. ↑ http://www.cpmspectre.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/raspberry_pi/MoinMoinExport/ 

USBPowerSupplies.html 

Raspberry Pi 





Hardware 




Software 



Projects 

DataSheets - Education - Communities

♦ 


index.php?title=RPi_VerifiedPeripherals&oldid=195698" 

Categories: Linux ARM Development Boards Broadcom Development Boards 

RaspberryPi Education 



Unported License.

R-Pi Troubleshooting 



This page lists the most common problems and suggests some solutions. 

See RPi_Bugs for problems that are bugs. 

Contents 

▪ 1 Power / Start-up 

▪ 1.1 Red power LED does not light, nothing on display 

▪ 1.2 Red power LED is blinking 

▪ 1.3 Red power LED is on, green LED does not flash, nothing on display 

▪ 1.4 Green LED blinks in a specific pattern 

▪ 1.5 Coloured splash screen 

▪ 1.6 Kernel Panic on boot 

▪ 1.7 Raspberry Pi shuts down (or restarts) soon after booting up 

▪ 1.8 Pi boots sometimes but not always 

▪ 2 Keyboard / Mouse / Input Devices 

▪ 2.1 R-Pi does not respond to key presses / Keyboard randomly repeats key presses 

▪ 2.2 Keyboard / Mouse interferes with USB WiFi device 

▪ 2.3 Wireless Keyboard trouble 

▪ 2.4 Re-mapping the keyboard with Debian Squeeze 

▪ 2.5 Slow keyboard mapping 

▪ 2.6 No USB device works, with known good PS, SD card, KB 

▪ 3 Updating firmware 

▪ 3.1 Check your firmware version 

▪ 3.2 Get the latest firmware version 

▪ 3.3 Choosing the right ARM/GPU memory split 

▪ 4 SD cards 

▪ 5 Networking 

▪ 5.1 Ethernet connection is lost when a USB device is plugged in 

▪ 5.2 Ethernet connects at 10M instead of 100M 

▪ 5.3 Cannot ssh in to Pi 

▪ 5.4 Network/USB chip gets too hot to touch 

▪ 5.5 Networking no longer works when changing SD card between two Raspberry 

Pis

▪ 5.6 Crashes occur with high network load 

▪ 5.7 Network connection fails when a Graphical User Interface is being used 

▪ 6 Passwords 

▪ 6.1 I do not know the password to login 

▪ 6.2 Some programs refuse to accept my password 

▪ 6.3 I don't know the root password 

▪ 7 Sound 

▪ 7.1 Sound does not work with an HDMI monitor 

▪ 7.2 Sound does not work at all, or in some applications 

▪ 8 Display 

▪ 8.1 Startx fails to start 

▪ 8.2 Screen is the wrong color 

▪ 8.3 Video does not play or plays very slowly 

▪ 8.4 Can only get 800x480 resolution in LXDE (Arch linux) 

▪ 8.5 Big black borders around small image on HD monitors 

▪ 8.6 Writing spills off the screen on HD monitors 

▪ 8.7 Interference visible on a HDMI or DVI monitor 

▪ 8.8 No HDMI output at all 

▪ 8.9 Composite displays no image 

▪ 8.10 Composite displays only black and white image 

▪ 8.11 HDMI -> VGA adapters 

▪ 9 GPIO 

▪ 10 General 

▪ 10.1 The time is incorrect 

▪ 10.2 A part broke off 

▪ 10.3 Unable to install new software 

▪ 11 Troubleshooting power problems 

▪ 12 Hardware versions/revisions 


Power / Start-up 

A good power supply that will supply 5V is vital. There is more information about See 

#Troubleshooting_power_problems. 

Note that the PI has no BIOS, so nothing will be displayed on screen unless the PI 

successfully boots! 

Red power LED does not light, nothing on display 

The power is not properly connected.

Red power LED is blinking 

The red power LED should never blink, because it is hard-wired to the 3.3V power 

supply rail. If it is blinking, as one user has reported [1] it means the 5V power supply is 

dropping out. Use a different power supply. 

Red power LED is on, green LED does not flash, nothing on display 

note; For technical reasons the green LED might light up very faintly, this is normal, but 

it doesn't mean it "burns". When flashing/blinking the green LED should light up as 

bright as the power LED. 

▪ The Raspberry Pi cannot find a valid image on the SD card. Check card is inserted 

correctly. Check that you have correctly written a Raspberry Pi image to the card. Did 

you have admin rights when you used the SD-card writer software? Without it the 

software might go through the motions without actually doing anything! To check if 

the writing process did actually happen Insert the SD card into a Windows machine 

and you should see bootcode.bin, fixup.dat and start.elf amongst others. See also, 

Known SD Cards. It is also possible that the image you are writing to the card is 

corrupt, as downloads do occasionally end up corrupted or truncated. You can check 

with the checksum utility if your download is correct. 

▪ Try with no cables connected except the USB power lead, and SD card inserted. You 

should see flashing of the OK light for ~20 seconds. If that helps, plug in cables one 

at a time to identify which is interfering with boot. 

▪ Confirm the USB cable is properly seated in the power slot. The red power LED does 

not necessarily mean it is fully connected. 

▪ The voltage is too low (below 5 V), try a different power supply and/or cable. The R- 

Pi needs a supply rated for 700 mA or more. Some supplies labeled as such cannot 

actually provide their rated current while maintaining 5V. See also, 


▪ There may be a bug in the distributed version of bootcode.bin which causes problems 

with some sdcards. Try this version: https://github.com/raspberrypi/firmware/blob/ 

234c19de7cbaaf4997671d61df20a05759066295/boot/bootcode.bin. Please let us 

know if it "fixes" your non-working SD card (or, more importantly, if it doesn't). This 

can also manifest itself as intermittent booting, or only booting when cold. 

▪ (unlikely) hardware abuse, for example by connecting a 7 V supply to a 3v3 GPIO 

output pin [2] or powering up the board after a solder splash shorts some traces [3] . 

▪ Look at the SD card holder on the Raspberry Pi carefully. At first glance it may look 

fine but the contacts must be springy and they must protrude at least 2mm as 

measured from the lower edge of the holder to the top of the contact bulge. This 

happens due to the solder process and the type of holder used. Some of the solder 

residue falls into the contact cavity restricting the springiness and the height that the

contact protrudes. You can fix this yourself but remember you can void your 

warranty. The contacts are delicate so be carefull. Insert a needle pin under the 

contact bulge and pull lightly up until the one end of the contact unclips. Clean the 

cavity where the contact unclipped from of any solder or other residue by blowing 

into the cavity. Clip the contact back into the cavity by lightly pushing it into the 

cavity. Do this for all the contacts. Look at these photos. Media:SDcardHolder.JPG, 

Media:UnclipContact.JPG, Media:UnclippedContact.JPG 

▪ If for whatever reason the main polyfuse F3 has been overheated previously it may 

happen that it hasn't completely recovered, in which case, if you turn the PI on, a 

considerable amount of energy from the power supply is lost in the fuse and doesn't 

reach the PI. Try if the polyfuse seems hot. For this problem too read 


Green LED blinks in a specific pattern 

With recent firmware, according to this forum post (http://www.raspberrypi.org/phpBB3/ 

viewtopic.php?f=28&t=8725#p103338) the green light will blink in a specific pattern to 

indicate some types of errors: 

▪ 3 flashes: loader.bin not found 

▪ 4 flashes: loader.bin not launched 

▪ 5 flashes: start.elf not found 

▪ 6 flashes: start.elf not launched 

▪ 7 flashes: kernel.img not found 

Firmware since 20th October 2012 no longer requires loader.bin, and the flashes mean: 

▪ 3 flashes: start.elf not found 

▪ 4 flashes: start.elf not launched 

▪ 7 flashes: kernel.img not found 

If start.elf won't launch it may be corrupt.

Coloured splash screen 

With recent firmware, a coloured splash screen is displayed after firmware (start.elf) is 

loaded. This should be replaced by linux console a second later. However if the coloured 

screen remains, it suggests the kernel.img file is failing to boot. Try replacing it with a 

known good one. 

Immediately after displaying the splash screen, the PI starts consuming a little more 

current, if the PI resets at that moment its an indication that your PSU isn't able to deliver 

the full current your PI requires, but dips its output voltage below a minimum when 

loaded with the full current the PI needs. 

Kernel Panic on boot 

Text appears on screen, but then hangs with debug messages. This can be caused by USB 

devices such as keyboards. Try again with nothing in the USB. 

Raspberry Pi shuts down (or restarts) soon after booting up 

This is caused by a power supply producing too low a voltage. See 


Pi boots sometimes but not always 

With a known good power supply and known good SD card, the R-Pi boots occasionally, 

but other times shows only a tiny green flicker from the "OK" LED and it fails to start, 

[4] [5] [6] 

even with no USB devices and no Ethernet. This has been reported several times 

and remains an open issue. Low voltage or an improper SD card can cause it. Some SD 

cards will work until they warm up slightly, and then fail [7] . When exposed to 21 C room 

temperature the warmest part of an uncased working R-Pi should be 41 C [8] . The wiki

has a list of working SD cards. Buy from a reliable vendor as it has been claimed 

(http://www.petapixel.com/2011/05/20/one-third-of-the-sandisk-memory-cards-on-earthare-counterfeit/) 

that 1/3 of all "Sandisk" labelled memory cards are counterfeit. 

▪ It could be that the SD memory card is not making proper contact with the Raspberry 

Pi. Look at the SD card holder on the Raspberry Pi carefully. At first glance it may 

look fine but the contacts must be springy and they must protrude at least 2mm as 

measured fron the lower edge of the holder to the top of the contact bulge. This 

happens due to the solder process and the type of holder used. Some of the solder 

residue falls into the contact cavity restricting the springiness and the height that the 

contact protrudes. You can fix this yourself but remember you can void your 

warranty. The contacts are delicate so be carefull. Insert a needle pin under the 

contact bulge and pull lightly up until the one end of the contact unclips. Clean the 

cavity where the contact unclipped from of any solder or other residue by blowing 

into the cavity. Clip the contact back into the cavity by lightly pushing it into the 

cavity. Do this for all the contacts. Look at these photos. Media:SDcardHolder.JPG, 

Media:UnclipContact.JPG, Media:UnclippedContact.JPG 

Keyboard / Mouse / Input Devices 

R-Pi does not respond to key presses / Keyboard randomly repeats key 

presses 

note:during entering the password most linux distro's wont show that you typed in 

anything (not even "*" characters) this is normal behaviour, try the keyboard while 

entering the user name! 

This is most often caused by inadequate power. Use a good power supply and a good 

power cable. Some cheap cables that work with a cell phone, cannot fully power the R-Pi. 

Some USB devices require a lot of power: most will have a label showing the voltage and 

mA requirements. They should be 5v 100mA each max, any more than this they must be 

used with a powered USB hub. Try unplugging every USB device except the keyboard 

(you should also note that some keyboards have built in hubs and can try to draw 150mA 

(Pi can only handle 100mA per USB slot without a hub)). Also, use the latest software. 

Forum user MrEngman reported (http://www.raspberrypi.org/forum/absolute-beginners/ 

using-a-powered-usb-port-to-power-a-rpi#p76485) some keyboard repeats and wireless 

hangs until upgrading (http://www.raspberrypi.org/downloads) to the 

debian6-19-04-2012 kernel, which he reports stable with no problems even with a low 

TP1-TP2 voltage of 4.65 - 4.68 volts.

Some users have reported that their keyboards work fine on Arch linux, but on Debian 

distro's, their keyboards become erratic (repeats and/or skips key presses). One suggested 

remedy to this, which has some positive feedback, is to adjust the USB bus speed. To do 

this, you need to edit the cmdline.txt file, and add "dwc_otg.speed=1" (without quotes) to 

the end of the file (found in the /boot directory). 

Worst case scenario, some (advanced) keyboards, such as the Roccat Arvo, have kernel 

modules that need activating. If you have access to another keyboard temporarily, you 

will need to modprobe the relevent driver. Or if this is not possible, you can rebuild the 

kernel (instructions available on the wiki page) with the modules installed. (to find the 

drivers for keyboards etc, you need to find "Device Drivers -> hid Devices".) 

Keyboard / Mouse interferes with USB WiFi device 

Connecting a keyboard and/or mouse while a USB WiFi device is connected, may cause 

one or both devices to malfunction. On April 30 2012, there was a bugfix [9] relating to 

USB sharing between high-speed (eg. WiFi) and full/low-speed devices (eg. keyboard/ 

mouse). User spennig [10][11] reports this patch did not fix the Mouse/WiFi conflict. On 

2012-05-12, user spennig was pleased to confirm that wifi was working with a USB 

keyboard and mouse, as long as the Raspberry Pi had a good PSU and a powered hub. 

Even so, some experimentation was needed, e.g. USB WiFi connected to the device, and 

the keyboard and mouse connected to the powered hub. Some experimentation may be 

necessary to find a working combination; however a good power supply is essential. 

Wireless Keyboard trouble 

Some wireless keyboards, for example the Microsoft Wireless Keyboard 800 are reported 

to fail [12] even though the current drawn by the wireless adaptor is within the R-Pi USB 

spec limit of 100 mA. This may be a software driver problem. 

Re-mapping the keyboard with Debian Squeeze 

If different letters appear on-screen from that which you typed, you need to reconfigure 

you keyboard settings. In Debian, from a command line type: 

sudo dpkg-reconfigure keyboard-configuration 

Follow the prompts. Then restart your RasPi. 

Or: 

From the command line type: 

sudo nano /etc/default/keyboard

Then find where it says 

XKBLAYOUT=”gb” 

and change the gb to the two letter code for your country. [1] 


Slow keyboard mapping 

If you have remapped your keyboard and get a very long delay during the keyboard 

mapping at startup, type the following once on the command line after you have logged 

in: 

sudo setupcon 

No USB device works, with known good PS, SD card, KB 

There has been more than one report [13][14][15] of a R-Pi booting but not getting USB 

input, using a known-good power supply, SD card, and keyboard. The more common 

cause for no USB devices working is low power supply voltage from bad PSU, cable, or 

USB hub, but in this case the problem was no clock signal present at the LAN9512 USB/ 

Ethernet chip "IC3", and the solution was to reflow the solder on the 25 MHz crystal 

"X1" on the bottom side of the board. Or return the board for a replacement, but before 

making this conclusion, confirm known good peripherals. A significant number of USB 

keyboards are not compatible with R-Pi. As of June 1 2012, Eben reported [16] that only 

about 1 in 1000 shipped R-Pi boards have been found to have a hardware fault of any 

kind. 

Updating firmware 

Check your firmware version 

Using the latest firmware version may help various problems with SD card and display 

compatibility. Check the kernel version with: 

uname -a 

Linux RPi 3.1.19 #1 PREEMPT Fri Jun 1 14:16:38 CEST 2012 armv6l GNU/Linux 

And the GPU firmware with: 

/opt/vc/bin/vcgencmd version 

May 31 2012 13:35:03

Copyright (c) 2012 Broadcom 

version 317494 (release) 

Get the latest firmware version 

The GPU firmware and kernel can be updated with Hexxeh's rpi-update tool 

(https://github.com/Hexxeh/rpi-update) . 

However this requires the Pi to be successfully booted. With sdcard problems, you may 

not get that far, so can try a manual udpate. If you have a Linux machine, rpi-update can 

be run on that in an offline mode, and will update your sdcard from the Linux machine. 

Otherwise, on a Windows computer, you will see the "/boot" partition appear as the 

contents of SD card. You can download the latest GPU firmware version here 

(https://github.com/raspberrypi/firmware/blob/master/boot/start.elf) . Click on view raw, 

then save it, and put the new start.elf file on the sdcard replacing the existing one. 

Similarly, the latest kernel is here (https://github.com/raspberrypi/firmware/tree/master/ 

boot/kernel.img) . After updating these files you should be able to boot. You still need to 

run rpi-update to update the kernel modules (in /lib/modules) and the GPU libraries (in 

/opt/vc). 

Choosing the right ARM/GPU memory split 

There is a choice of how the 256M/512M of RAM is divided between the ARM and 

GPU: 

gpu_mem=16 : 16M GPU, 240M/496M ARM split : Maximum ARM memory. Good for ARM desktop use. No accelerated 

gpu_mem=64 : 64M GPU, 192M/448M ARM split : Reasonable ARM memory. Simple video (omxplayer) or 3D (quake 

gpu_mem=128 : 128M GPU, 128M/384M ARM split : Use this for heavy 3D work, or 3D plus video. Needed for XBM 

To switch, edit the gpu_mem= setting in your config.txt and reboot. 

Note: other amounts are also possible, but setting gpu_mem=32 is usually the wrong 

choice. gpu_mem=16 is almost always a better choice. 

Also note that before the release of the 51MB PI a different method was used based on 

splitting the 256MB RAM in a part for the CPU and GPU. As this noting system was 

causing trouble if the amount of RAM was not always the same. the above new method 

was adapted. 

Make sure your editor doesn't change the first letter of the line into an uppercase letter, as 

some editors do. The entry is case sensitive.

SD cards 

▪ If you have problems, check you have latest firmware version (described above) 

▪ Some SD cards do not work on the R-Pi, so check the list of known SD cards. 

▪ If you are having problems setting up your SD card you might want to start by 

erasing it completely - especially if it has been used elsewhere and still contains data 

/ partitions. 

▪ Windows and Mac users can download a formatting tool from the SD 

Association: https://www.sdcard.org/downloads/formatter_3/ 

▪ Reformatting cards is also easy to do in a digital camera. 

▪ After writing the image to the SD card, verify that you can see the boot partition 

when you insert the SD card into your computer. The partition should contain a 

number of files, including start.elf and kernel.img. If you do not see these files on the 

SD card, you have made an error writing the image file. 

▪ If you are manually preparing your SD card on Linux or Mac OS using the dd 

command, this operation will completely erase any existing data and partitions. Make 

sure you write to the whole card (e.g. /dev/sdd) and not to an existing partition 

(e.g. /dev/sdd1). 

▪ If you have an sdcard that doesn't work with latest firmware, head over here 

(http://www.raspberrypi.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=63&t=6093) . 

▪ If you put the SD card into your PC in an attempt to write the R-Pi operating system 

onto it, and the PC tells you the card is write-protected, even with the write-protect 

tab in the correct, forward position, then you may have a faulty SD-card rewriter. 

There's a common fault with many SD-card rewriters - The write-protect tab is 

detected by a very thin, narrow metal strip, that is part of a switch. When the card is 

inserted, the write-protect tab is supposed to push the strip and make/break the 

contact, as needed. Unfortunately, these strips have a habit of getting stuck, because 

they are mounted in a thin plastic channel, and only need to be deformed slightly 

sideways to get jammed. 

Luckily, if you have this problem, most built-in card readers are easy to pull apart and 

repair; some users have even reported succesfully unjamming the switch with a blast of 

compressed air from a can into the SD-card slot without having to dismantle anything. 

You may also be able to temporarily get round the problem by putting the write-protect 

tab in a half-way position - this pushes on a different part of the strip and may break the 

contact - it's worth trying a few, slightly different positions. You could also use a USB- 

SD card adaptor, which are cheap to buy.

Networking 

Ethernet connection is lost when a USB device is plugged in 

This is often caused by inadequate power. Use a good power supply and a good power 

cable. Some cheap cables that work with a cell phone, cannot fully power the R-Pi. Some 

USB devices require a lot of power (>100 mA), so they must be used with a powered 

USB hub. Some cheap USB hubs suck power from the Raspberry Pi even if a USB power 

supply is connected. (More often than not, however, the reverse is true with cheap 

hubs—the Pi draws just enough power backwards from the powered hub to 

unsuccessfully attempt booting.) 

There is an ongoing issue with the Ethernet connection being lost when low-speed 

devices, such as mice or keyboards are connected via a powered USB hub. The simplest 

way to solve this is to connect your mouse and keyboard directly into the 2 USB ports on 

the R-Pi (assuming they draw less than 100 mA apiece). 

Ethernet connects at 10M instead of 100M 

The LED in the corner of the board labelled "10M" is mislabeled. When that LED is on, 

the R-Pi is actually connected at 100 Mbps. You can confirm the true transfer rate using a 

network benchmark such as iperf. You can also read the current network speed with 

cat /sys/class/net/eth0/speed 

Cannot ssh in to Pi 

In the Debian image, ssh is disabled by default. Boot commands are taken from /boot/ 

boot.rc if that file present. There is an example file named boot_enable_ssh.rc that 

enables ssh. So: 

sudo mv /boot/boot_enable_ssh.rc /boot/boot.rc 

and reboot should enable ssh. (password as below) 

Network/USB chip gets too hot to touch 

This is normal. In open air at 24 C, the LAN9512 Ethernet/USB chip reaches about 52 C 

after some time. This is too hot to touch for more than a few seconds, but it is not 

unusually hot for the chip.

The LAN9512 data sheet (http://www.smsc.com/media/Downloads_Public/Data_Sheets/ 

9512.pdf) in Table 4.1 on p.40 says it comes in two versions, rated for operation at an 

ambient temperature in still air (Ta) of 70 C (commercial) or 85 C (industrial). It uses 763 

mW at 3.3V with maximum traffic on 100baseT and both USB ports (Table 4.3.4, p. 42). 

There is a study of RasPi heat profiles by "Remy" at ¿Se calienta el ordenador Raspberry 

Pi? Estudio de sus temperaturas en funcionamiento (http://www.geektopia.es/es/ 

technology/2012/06/22/articulos/se-calienta-el-ordenador-raspberry-pi-estudio-de-sustemperaturas-en-funcionamiento.html) 

(Is the Raspberry Pi computer getting hot? A 

study of its operational temperature.) The Spanish article has numerous color 

temperature images of RasPi in various operational modes, with the highest LAN9512 

case temperature measured as 64.5 C. 

Networking no longer works when changing SD card between two 

Raspberry Pis 

In some distributions, /etc/udev/rules.d/70-persistent-net.rules remembers which MAC 

address is associated with eth0, so each new device will be assigned as a different 

interface (eth1, eth2, etc.) due to the different MAC addresses. Editing /etc/udev/rules.d/ 

70-persistent-net.rules to remove the invalid rules and rebooting may help fix the 

problem. 

Crashes occur with high network load 

The USB driver allocates memory from the kernel, and when traffic is very high (e.g. 

when using torrents/newsgroup downloads) this memory can be exhausted causing 

crashes/hangs. You should have a line like: 

vm.min_free_kbytes = 8192 

in /etc/sysctl.conf. Try increasing that number to 16384 (or higher). If that doesn't work, 

try adding to /boot/cmdline.txt 

smsc95xx.turbo_mode=N 

which will reduce network throughput, but has improved stability issues for some. 

Network connection fails when a Graphical User Interface is being used 

The network connection may fail when the command startx is used to enter a Graphical 

User Interface. This is caused by a bug in the USB driver related to certain types of USB 

mouse.

As of 1 September 2012, this fault is fixed in the latest firmware. To load the latest 

firmware, see http://elinux.org/R-Pi_Troubleshooting#Updating_firmware 

Passwords 

I do not know the password to login 

Please check the page http://www.raspberrypi.org/downloads for the correct username 

and password for each image. 

Here are the most common username/password combinations: 

▪ Debian after Feb 2012: pi/raspberry 

▪ Debian 17 Feb 2012: pi/suse 

▪ Arch: root/root 

▪ Bodhi: pi/bodhilinux 

Some programs refuse to accept my password 

While using Debian, some programs may ask for your password but refuse to accept a 

valid password. 

This is a fault in old Debian images previous to September 2012. If you are using an 

image with this fault, upgrade to a more modern image or enter the following command 

on the command line. 

gconftool-2 --type bool --set /apps/gksu/sudo-mode true 

Please enter this command carefully, the spaces are important. The command should be 

accepted without any response or errors. 

I don't know the root password 

There is no root password set by default on Debian. You are expected to do everything 

through sudo. You can set one with "sudo passwd root" - just make sure you know what 

you are doing with a root account.

Sound 

Sound does not work with an HDMI monitor 

This is caused by some computer monitors which select DVI mode even if an HDMI 

cable is connected. This fix may be necessary even if other HDMI devices work perfectly 

on the same monitor (or TV)! 

Edit the configuration file - see the instructions at R-Pi_ConfigurationFile. 

Add the following line to the configuration file: 

hdmi_drive=2 

This will force it to select HDMI mode. 

More reasons why sound does not work with an HDMI monitor 

With an HDMI connection it might be possible to hear: 

./hello_audio.bin 1 

but not: 

aplay /usr/share/sounds/alsa/Front_Center.wav 

Firstly, it seems that some HD TVs mute audible sound output when there is no digital 

input, and slowly fade the sound up and down at the start and end of digital input. This 

means that short duration sounds will not be heard. A work around is to play longer 

duration wav files. 

Secondly, it seems that some HD TVs mute audible sound output when there is only one 

channel of digital input. So, as the file Front_Center.wav is mono, it might not be heard. 

ALSA aplay uses the file information header to configure its digital output. And the aplay 

-c 2 option does not over-ride the settings aplay picks up from the file information header. 

So, if your HD TV doesn't accept just one channel of digital input, you cannot use aplay 

to hear a mono wav file. However, with the command speaker-test, the -c2 option does 

work, and sets 2 channels in the digital stream. So speaker-test can be used to hear the file 

Front_Center.wav in either the left or right speaker using the -s option 1 or 2. For 

example

Speaker-test -c 2 -s 1 -t wav -W /usr/share/sounds/alsa -w Front_Center.wav 

should be heard on the left speaker. But note that the command speaker-test seems only to 

like mono wav files, and seems not to play stereo wav files. 

The command aplay plays 2 channel stereo wav files in stereo sound without problem 

(provided they last longer than the time it takes the TV to unmute and remute). A helpful 

example I found is the stereo file LRMonoPhase4.wav at the Kozco web site [2] 

(http://www.kozco.com/tech/soundtests.html) 

Sound does not work at all, or in some applications 

In Debian Squeeze, sound is disabled by default because the ALSA sound driver is still 

"alpha" (not fully tested) on the R-Pi. To try out sound, from the command prompt before 

"startx", type 

sudo apt-get install alsa-utils 

sudo modprobe snd_bcm2835 

On Debian Wheezy, snd_bm2835 is enabled, by default, do that step is not necessary. 

Next try: 

sudo aplay /usr/share/sounds/alsa/Front_Center.wav 

By default output will be automatic (hdmi if hdmi supports audio, otherwise analogue). 

You can force it with: 

sudo amixer cset numid=3 

where n is 0=auto, 1=headphones, 2=hdmi. 

With recent firmware, you can build hello_audio with: 

cd /opt/vc/src/hello_pi/ 

./rebuild.sh 

cd hello_audio 

With older firmware 

cd /opt/vc/src/hello_pi/hello_audio 

make

to test analogue output: 

./hello_audio.bin 

and: 

./hello_audio.bin 1 

to test HDMI. 

Also note that you may have to add your user to the 'audio' group to get permission to 

access the sound card. 

Display 

Startx fails to start 

If you just get errors instead of a desktop when typing 

startx 

you may be out of storage space on the SD card. By default there are only a few hundred 

MB free in the 2 GB main partition, which can quickly fill up if you download files. 

Make sure there is some space free (gparted can expand a partition, if the SD card is > 

2GB). Also, installing some software may incorrectly create or modify a .Xauthority file 

in your home directory, causing startx to fail, according to this thread 

(http://www.raspberrypi.org/forum/troubleshooting/startx-fails-worked-yesterday) . 

Temporarily renaming, moving, or deleting that file may fix the problem. 

Screen is the wrong color 

Check and see if the DVI cable is screwed in properly. If that doesn't work then try this 

section. 

Video does not play or plays very slowly 

The only hardware-accelerated video player is in the XBMC distribution 

(http://www.raspberrypi.org/forum/general-discussion/openelec-meets-raspberry-pipart-1-xbmc) 

and its command line variant omxplayer. H264 is the only hardwareaccelerated 

codec, for playback. No hardware encoding is supported. Additional codecs 

were not purchased as licensing fees would have increased the R-Pi's price.

Can only get 800x480 resolution in LXDE (Arch linux) 

Known issue with distro package as of 17th April 2012 - there's some missing boot 

config information. Creating a suitable cmdline.txt fixes it - type the following at the 

Raspberry Pi command line: 

sudo echo "dwc_otg.lpm_enable=0 console=ttyAMA0,115200 kgdboc=ttyAMA0,115200 root=/dev/mmcblk0p2 rootfstype 

Big black borders around small image on HD monitors 

Out of the box, R-Pi graphics don't necessarily fill the whole screen. This is due to 

something called "Underscan", and it can be fixed easily. 

Note: the best solution is to disable overscan in display menu options (it may be called 

"just scan", "screen fit", "HD size", "full pixel", "unscaled", "dot by dot", "native" or 

"1:1"), then use the disable_overscan=1 option. 

Edit the configuration file, see the instructions at R-Pi_ConfigurationFile. 

Add the following lines to the configuration file... 

If your display has no overscan: 


or if your display has some overscan: 

overscan_left=-20 

overscan_right=-20 

overscan_top=-20 

overscan_bottom=-20 

Making the R-Pi graphics fill the screen is a matter of experimenting with the numbers 

you put in the config.txt file. Change the numbers – try jumps of 5 or 10 at a time. Bigger 

negative numbers reduce the black borders (so -40 means less black border than -20). The 

numbers do not all have to be the same; you can use this feature to centre the display on 

the screen.

Writing spills off the screen on HD monitors 

Out of the box, R-Pi graphics may be larger than the 1080p (ie Full HD) screen. This is 

due to something called "Overscan", and it can be fixed easily by creating a simple text 

file on the R-Pi SD card by using Notepad on your PC. 

Follow the instructions in the section "Big black borders around small image on HD 

monitors", but use positive numbers for the overscan settings, for example 

overscan_left=20 

overscan_right=20 

overscan_top=20 

overscan_bottom=20 

Interference visible on a HDMI or DVI monitor 

This may be caused by loss of signal on long video cables. The signal level may be 

increased by changing a configuration parameter.


Add the following line to the configuration file 


You may experiment with different values of config_hdmi_boost. Value 1 is used for very 

short cables, value 7 is used for very long cables. At your own risk, you can go up to 11, 

but risk frying a sensitive monitor. 

Note that various adapters, such as HDMI-to-DVI, can also cause power loss and 

therefore require high values of config_hdmi_boost even with short cables. 

This option can also help when there is no display output at all, the display periodically 

blanks, or colours are wrong/inverted. 

This symptom can also be caused by RasPi +5V (measured from TP1 to TP2) falling too 

low. See Troubleshooting Power Problems.

No HDMI output at all 

First make sure the display is powered on and switched to the right input before booting 

Pi. 

If you have the Wheezy (http://www.raspberrypi.org/archives/1435) image 

(recommended) then try 

hdmi_safe=1 

Otherwise, try adding the following line to the configuration file (similar to interference 

case above) 


Your monitor/cable may not be asserting the hotplug signal. You can override this with: 

hdmi_force_hotplug=1 

Also try (http://www.raspberrypi.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=7513) the 

following video options: 

hdmi_group=2 

hdmi_mode=4 

which resolved an issue with DVI monitor reporting "input signal out of range" 

As a last resort, try deleting (rename to keep backup) config.txt from the SD card. 

Also check that the RasPi +5V voltage (measured from TP1 to TP2) is in the correct 

range. One user found that his DVI-D monitor blanked out when +5V was too low. See 

Troubleshooting Power Problems. 

Here's a rare cause: A standard HDMI cable has five individual ground wires plus a 

shield. Some cheap HDMI cables do not implement the individual grounds and just have 

a common foil shield that's connected to the HDMI plug shells at both ends. This works 

OK in most HDMI applications since most HDMI sources (like RasPi) and most 

monitors connect the shells to circuit ground. However, some HDMI or DVI monitors 

may requires individual ground lines. You can tell if an HDMI cable implements the 

individual grounds by checking for continuity using an Ohmmeter or multimeter. You can 

find the HDMI pinout for full-size connectors at Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ 

HDMI) .

Composite displays no image 

The output display will default to HDMI if a HDMI display is connected, and composite 

if not. Make sure there isn't a HDMI cable connected when you want to use composite 

output. 

Also, check that your TV is set to the correct input, normally marked "AV". If your TV 

has multiple AV inputs, try all of the inputs, normally by pressing a button marked "AV" 

or "Input" or "Source" or "->O" on the remote control. 

Composite displays only black and white image 

The composite display defaults to NTSC (American) output. Most TVs will show an 

image with that, but older PAL (European) televisions may display only back and white 

or no image. To fix this: 


Add the following line to the configuration file 

sdtv_mode=2 

(You can try other values: 0 is NTSC, 1 is Japanese NTSC, 2 is PAL, 3 is Brazilian PAL) 

HDMI -> VGA adapters 

Some good information can be found here: 

▪ RPi_VerifiedPeripherals#HDMI-.3EVGA_converter_boxes 

▪ (RPi forum) Serious HDMI Problems. What's that smell? Burning Raspberry! 

(http://www.raspberrypi.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=9819) 

A commonly used adapter from Ebay: gallery with detailed images & steps of a 

modification to use external power source: HERE (http://imgur.com/a/sLogs/all) --by 

Pinoccio 

GPIO 

Remember that the GPIO pins are 3.3V logic level only, and are NOT 5V tolerant. 

If you momentarily shorted the two end GPIO pins together (+3.3V and +5V), or a 

supply pin to ground, and the Pi appears to be dead, don't panic. The input polyfuse may 

have tripped. It is self-resetting after it cools down and the polymer re-crystallizes, which 

can take several hours. Set the Pi aside and try again later.

The GPIO pins connect directly into the core of the ARM processer, and are staticsensitive, 

so you should avoid touching the pins wherever possible. If you are carrying a 

static charge, for example by taking off an acrylic pullover, or walking across a nylon 

carpet, touching the GPIO pins could destroy your R-Pi, so always earth yourself before 

touching the pins or anything connected to them. 

General 

The time is incorrect 

If the clock is off by a series of hours, in the command line type: 

sudo dpkg-reconfigure tzdata 

The R-Pi has no real-time clock, so unless it can access a timeserver over the network at 

boot, or time is manually entered by the user, the time/date will restart counting from the 

last logged time in the previous session. 

A part broke off 

The silver cylinder near the microUSB power input is a 220 uF capacitor ("C6" on 

schematic). It sticks up and due to the small surface-mount pads, it is easy to break off; 

several people have done so. This is a power supply filter capacitor which reduces any 

noise and spikes on the input +5V power. If you like, you can solder it back on, or just 

leave it off. If you do solder it back on, take care to observe the correct polarity with the 

black stripe towards the board edge. This part, C6 is a "just in case" component which is 

good design practice to include, but as it turns out (http://www.raspberrypi.org/phpBB3/ 

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=4926%7C) most power supplies still work OK without this part 

installed. This part is also discussed here (http://elinux.org/ 

RPi_Hardware#Capacitor_C6) . 

Unable to install new software 

When trying to install a software package (using the command sudo apt-get install xxxx) 

you may see the error 

Package yyyy is not available 

This means that your software list is out of date. Before attempting to install software, 

you should always make sure that you are using the latest software list by using the 

command

sudo apt-get update 

Troubleshooting power problems 

If you think you have a problem with your power supply, it is a good idea to check the 

actual voltage on the Raspberry Pi circuit board. Two test points labelled TP1 and TP2 

are provided on the circuit board to facilitate voltage measurements. 

Use a multimeter which is set to the range 20 volts DC (or 20v =). You should see a 

voltage between 4.75 and 5.25 volts. Anything outside this range indicates that you have 

a problem with your power supply or your power cable. 

If you have not used a multimeter before, see these [basic instructions 

(http://www.sparkfun.com/tutorials/202) ] 

Note: Even if the multimeter shows the correct voltage, you may have some power 

supply problems. A multimeter only displays the average voltage. If there are very shortlived 

dips or spikes in the voltage, these will not be shown by the multimeter. It is best to 

measure voltage when Pi is busy. 

If your voltage is low, it could be: 

▪ The power supply produces too low a voltage 

▪ The power supply cannot supply enough current, which results in a voltage drop. 

Make sure Power supply is labelled as at least 700mA. (Some cheap power supplies 

don't deliver what is labelled). 

▪ The Micro USB power cable is low quality. Some Micro USB cables have very thin 

conductors, resulting in enough voltage drop for RasPi to fail even if the power 

supply itself is fine. For details, see On_the_RPi_usb_power_cable. 

▪ Attached USB devices want too much power. The Pi is only designed for up to 

100mA USB devices. A USB device wanting more that that will cause a voltage 

drop. 

▪ The F3 Polyfuse could be blown or bad, see below for how to test. 

Note: keyboards with LCD displays, built in USB hubs, backlights, etc are likely to be 

problematic. Try to use a basic one. Wifi dongles are also unlikely to work when directly 

connected. Connect high powered USB devices to a powered USB hub. 

Try booting without HDMI, ethernet or USB deviced plugged in, and see if the voltage 

improves. See also: Power Supply Problems

How to test the F3 polyfuse [17] 

1. Remove all the things plugged into your Raspberry Pi, including SD card. 

2. Locate the TP2 test point on the top of the board.

3. Turn your board over and find the TP2 test point on the bottom of the board. One 

lead of your multi-meter will always be on the TP2 point on the bottom of the 

board for all tests. 

4. Plug your power supply into the micro usb port and power your board. 

5. Place one lead of your multi-meter on the TP2 point on the bottom of the board 

and one lead on the side of the F3 fuse closest to the edge of the board. Note the 

voltage. This is the voltage coming into your RPi from your power supply. 

6. Keeping one lead on TP2, move the other lead to the side of F3 closest to the SD 

card slot. This is the voltage coming out of the F3 fuse. 

Multi-meter lead placement for testing the Raspberry Pi F3 Polyfuse 

If the voltage is different by more than about 0.3v you probably have an issue with the F3 

fuse [18] . 

When polyfuses "blow" their resistance increases dramatically, there by limiting the 

voltage that can pass through them. If your power problem suddenly appeared after your 

board was known to be working fine, it is probable the fuse is just "blown" and will 

return to normal. It can take 24 hours for the resistance to go back down to normal so 

leave it unpowered and check it again in 24 hours. If your power problem has been since 

the first time you plugged in your board, the fuse was probably bad when it arrived and 

should be returned to place you purchased it. 

If you prefer to make your own PSU - see: Power Supply construction - HowTo

Hardware versions/revisions 

Several different boards have been found probably from different assembly lines, and the 

following tables try to help you identify your board for better troubleshooting. 

Look for the date of manufacturing printed with the year and week. In this example year 

(2012) and week (18th): 

For what we can see for model B boards there are 

mainly two versions that differ on the type RAM 

used, Samsung (S) and Hynix (H). 

For Board ver. we used: (ex.: BS1218 is "Model B, 

Samsung RAM, 18th week of 2012") 

Model A: 

Board 

ver. 

Model B: 

RAM 

Chip 

USB 

Chip 

Front Back

Board 

ver. 

RAM 

Chip 

USB 

Chip 

BS12xx Samsung SMSC 

BH12xx Hynix SMSC 

Front Back 

See a complete list and user feedback here: RaspberryPi Boards 

References 

1. ↑ http://www.raspberrypi.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=7528

2. ↑ http://www.raspberrypi.org/phpBB3/ 

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=5096&p=76503#p76503 



4. ↑ http://www.raspberrypi.org/forum/troubleshooting/will-not-boot-consistentlyany-suggestions-before-i-send-my-pi-back 

5. ↑ http://www.raspberrypi.org/forum/troubleshooting/booted-once-wont-workagain 

6. ↑ http://www.raspberrypi.org/forum/troubleshooting/possible-fault-pi-bootssometimes-but-not-always 





9. ↑ https://github.com/raspberrypi/linux/commit/ 

e09244e60881148431ecd016ccc42f1fa0678556 

10. ↑ http://www.raspberrypi.org/forum/troubleshooting/usb-power-hub-wifi/ 

page-4#p74609 

11. ↑ http://www.raspberrypi.org/forum/troubleshooting/success-with-kb-mousewifi?value=3761&type=8&include=1&search=1 

12. ↑ http://www.raspberrypi.org/forum/troubleshooting/display-and-keyboardissues-on-a-real-pi#p74816 

13. ↑ http://www.raspberrypi.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=7533 

14. ↑ http://www.raspberrypi.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=5766#p77576 

15. ↑ http://www.raspberrypi.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=5766#p80995 


viewtopic.php?f=28&t=6822&p=89589&hilit=eben#p89513 




Raspberry Pi 





Hardware 




Software 



Projects 


Retrieved from "http://elinux.org/index.php?title=R-Pi_Troubleshooting&oldid=195746" 

Category: RaspberryPi



Unported License.

RPiconfig 


(Redirected from RPi config.txt) 

The Raspberry Pi config.txt file is read by the GPU before the ARM core is initialised. It 

can be used to set various system configuration parameters. 

This file is an optional file on the boot partition. It would normally be accessible as /boot/ 

config.txt from Linux. 

To edit the configuration file, see the instructions at R-Pi_ConfigurationFile. 

You can get your current active settings with the following commands: 

vcgencmd get_config - lists a specific config value. E.g. vcgencmd get_config arm_freq 

vcgencmd get_config int - lists all the integer config options that are set (non-zero) 

vcgencmd get_config str - lists all the string config options that are set (non-null) 

Contents 

▪ 1 File format 

▪ 2 Memory 

▪ 3 Video 

▪ 3.1 Video mode options 

▪ 3.2 Which values are valid for my monitor? 

▪ 4 Licensed Codecs 

▪ 5 Boot 

▪ 6 Overclocking 

▪ 6.1 Overclocking options 

▪ 6.1.1 force_turbo mode 

▪ 6.2 Clocks relationship 

▪ 6.3 Tested values 


File format 

The format is "property=value" where value is an integer. You may specify only one 

option per line. Comments may be added by starting a line with the '#' character.

Here is an example file 

# Set stdv mode to PAL (as used in Europe) 

sdtv_mode=2 

# Force the monitor to HDMI mode so that sound will be sent over HDMI cable 

hdmi_drive=2 

# Set monitor mode to DMT 

hdmi_group=2 

# Set monitor resolution to 1024x768 XGA 60Hz (HDMI_DMT_XGA_60) 

hdmi_mode=16 

# Make display smaller to stop text spilling off the screen 

overscan_left=20 

overscan_right=12 

overscan_top=10 

overscan_bottom=10 

And here is another example file (https://raw.github.com/Evilpaul/RPi-config/master/ 

config.txt) , containing extended documentation of features. 

Memory 

disable_l2cache disable ARM access to GPU's L2 cache. Needs corresponding L2 

disabled kernel. Default 0 

gpu_mem GPU memory in megabyte. Sets the memory split between the ARM and 

GPU. ARM gets the remaining memory. Min 16. Default 64 

gpu_mem_256 GPU memory in megabyte for the 256MB Raspberry Pi. Ignored by the 

512MB RP. Overrides gpu_mem. Max 192. Default not set 

gpu_mem_512 GPU memory in megabyte for the 512MB Raspberry Pi. Ignored by the 

256MB RP. Overrides gpu_mem. Max 448. Default not set 

Video 

Video mode options 

sdtv_mode defines the TV standard for composite output (default=0) 

sdtv_mode=0 Normal NTSC 

sdtv_mode=1 Japanese version of NTSC – no pedestal 

sdtv_mode=2 Normal PAL 

sdtv_mode=3 Brazilian version of PAL – 525/60 rather than 625/50, different subcarrier 

sdtv_aspect defines the aspect ratio for composite output (default=1)

sdtv_aspect=1 4:3 



sdtv_disable_colourburst disables colour burst on composite output. The picture will be 

monochrome, but possibly sharper 

sdtv_disable_colourburst=1 colour burst is disabled 

hdmi_safe Use "safe mode" settings to try to boot with maximum hdmi compatibility. 

This is the same as the combination of: hdmi_force_hotplug=1, config_hdmi_boost=4, 

hdmi_group=1, hdmi_mode=1, disable_overscan=0 

hdmi_safe=1 

hdmi_ignore_edid Enables the ignoring of EDID/display data if your display is a crappy 

Chinese one 

hdmi_ignore_edid=0xa5000080 

hdmi_edid_file when set to 1, will read the edid data from the edid.dat file instead of 

from the monitor. [1] 

hdmi_edid_file=1 

hdmi_force_edid_audio Pretends all audio formats are supported by display, allowing 

passthrough of DTS/AC3 even when not reported as supported. 

hdmi_force_edid_audio=1 

avoid_edid_fuzzy_match Avoid fuzzy matching of modes described in edid. Picks the 

standard mode with matching resolution and closest framerate even if blanking is wrong. 

avoid_edid_fuzzy_match=1 

hdmi_ignore_cec_init Doesn't sent initial active source message. Avoids bringing (CEC 

enabled) TV out of standby and channel switch when rebooting. 

hdmi_ignore_cec_init=1

hdmi_ignore_cec Pretends CEC is not supported at all by TV. No CEC functions will be 

supported. 

hdmi_ignore_cec=1 

hdmi_force_hotplug Pretends HDMI hotplug signal is asserted so it appears a HDMI 

display is attached 

hdmi_force_hotplug=1 Use HDMI mode even if no HDMI monitor is detected 

hdmi_ignore_hotplug Pretends HDMI hotplug signal is not asserted so it appears a 

HDMI display is not attached 

hdmi_ignore_hotplug=1 Use composite mode even if HDMI monitor is detected 

hdmi_drive chooses between HDMI and DVI modes 

hdmi_drive=1 Normal DVI mode (No sound) 

hdmi_drive=2 Normal HDMI mode (Sound will be sent if supported and enabled) 

hdmi_group defines the HDMI type 

Not specifying the group, or setting to 0 will use the preferred group reported by the edid. 

hdmi_group=1 CEA 

hdmi_group=2 DMT 

hdmi_mode defines screen resolution in CEA or DMT format 

These values are valid if hdmi_group=1 (CEA) 

hdmi_mode=1 VGA 

hdmi_mode=2 480p 60Hz 

hdmi_mode=3 480p 60Hz H 


hdmi_mode=5 1080i 60Hz 


hdmi_mode=7 480i 60Hz H 



hdmi_mode=10 480i 60Hz 4x 

hdmi_mode=11 480i 60Hz 4x H 

hdmi_mode=12 240p 60Hz 4x 

hdmi_mode=13 240p 60Hz 4x H 





hdmi_mode=18 576p 50Hz H







hdmi_mode=25 576i 50Hz 4x 

hdmi_mode=26 576i 50Hz 4x H 










hdmi_mode=36 480p 60Hz 4xH 



hdmi_mode=39 1080i 50Hz reduced blanking 





















H means 16:9 variant (of a normally 4:3 mode). 

2x means pixel doubled (i.e. higher clock rate, with each pixel repeated twice) 

4x means pixel quadrupled (i.e. higher clock rate, with each pixel repeated four times) 

These values are valid if hdmi_group=2 (DMT) 

hdmi_mode=1 640x350 85Hz 














hdmi_mode=15 1024x768 43Hz DO NOT USE 


hdmi_mode=17 1024x768 70Hz



hdmi_mode=20 1024x768 120Hz 


hdmi_mode=22 1280x768 reduced blanking 




hdmi_mode=26 1280x768 120Hz reduced blanking 









hdmi_mode=35 1280x1024 60Hz 

hdmi_mode=36 1280x1024 75Hz 

hdmi_mode=37 1280x1024 85Hz 





hdmi_mode=42 1400x1050 60Hz 

hdmi_mode=43 1400x1050 75Hz 

hdmi_mode=44 1400x1050 85Hz 







hdmi_mode=51 1600x1200 60Hz 

hdmi_mode=52 1600x1200 65Hz 

hdmi_mode=53 1600x1200 70Hz 

hdmi_mode=54 1600x1200 75Hz 

hdmi_mode=55 1600x1200 85Hz 



hdmi_mode=58 1680x1050 60Hz 

hdmi_mode=59 1680x1050 75Hz 

hdmi_mode=60 1680x1050 85Hz 


hdmi_mode=62 1792x1344 60Hz 

hdmi_mode=63 1792x1344 75Hz 


hdmi_mode=65 1856x1392 60Hz 

hdmi_mode=66 1856x1392 75Hz 



hdmi_mode=69 1920x1200 60Hz 

hdmi_mode=70 1920x1200 75Hz 

hdmi_mode=71 1920x1200 85Hz 


hdmi_mode=73 1920x1440 60Hz 

hdmi_mode=74 1920x1440 75Hz 



hdmi_mode=77 2560x1600 60Hz 

hdmi_mode=78 2560x1600 75Hz 

hdmi_mode=79 2560x1600 85Hz 



hdmi_mode=82 1080p 60Hz





overscan_left number of pixels to skip on left 

overscan_right number of pixels to skip on right 

overscan_top number of pixels to skip on top 

overscan_bottom number of pixels to skip on bottom 

framebuffer_width console framebuffer width in pixels. Default is display width minus 

overscan. 

framebuffer_height console framebuffer height in pixels. Default is display height 

minus overscan. 

framebuffer_depth console framebuffer depth in bits per pixel. Default is 16. 8bit is 

valid, but default RGB palette makes an unreadable screen. 24bit looks better but has 

corruption issues as of 20120615. 32bit has no corruption issues but needs 

framebuffer_ignore_alpha=1 and shows the wrong colors as of 20120615. 

framebuffer_ignore_alpha set to 1 to disable alpha channel. Helps with 32bit. 

test_mode enable test sound/image during boot for manufacturing test. 

disable_overscan set to 1 to disable overscan. 

config_hdmi_boost configure the signal strength of the HDMI interface. Default is 0. 

Try 4 if you have interference issues with hdmi. 7 is the maximum. 

display_rotate rotates the display clockwise on the screen (default=0) or flips the 

display. 

display_rotate=0 Normal 

display_rotate=1 90 degrees 



display_rotate=0x10000 horizontal flip 

display_rotate=0x20000 vertical flip 

Note: the 90 and 270 degrees rotation options require additional memory on GPU, so 

won't work with the 16M GPU split. Probably the reason for: 

▪ Crashes my RPI before Linux boots if set to "1" -- REW 20120913.

Which values are valid for my monitor? 

Your HDMI monitor may support only a limited set of formats. To find out which formats 

are supported, use the following method. 

▪ Set the output format to VGA 60Hz (hdmi_group=1 hdmi_mode=1) and boot up the 

Raspberry Pi 

▪ Enter the following command to give a list of CEA supported modes 

/opt/vc/bin/tvservice -m CEA 

▪ Enter the following command to give a list of DMT supported modes 

/opt/vc/bin/tvservice -m DMT 

▪ Enter the following command to show your current state 

/opt/vc/bin/tvservice -s 

▪ Enter the following commands to dump more detailed information from your monitor 

/opt/vc/bin/tvservice -d edid.dat 

/opt/vc/bin/edidparser edid.dat 

The edid.dat should also be provided when troubleshooting problems with the default 

HDMI mode 

Licensed Codecs 

Hardware decoding of additional codecs can be enabled by purchasing a license that is 

locked to the CPU serial number of your Raspberry Pi. 

decode_MPG2 License key to allow hardware MPEG-2 decoding. 

decode_MPG2=0x12345678 

decode_WVC1 License key to allow hardware VC-1 decoding. 

decode_WVC1=0x12345678 

License setup for SD-card sharing between multiple Pis. Maximum of 8 licenses at once.

decode_XXXX=0x12345678,0xabcdabcd,0x87654321,... 

Boot 

disable_commandline_tags stop start.elf from filling in ATAGS (memory from 0x100) 

before launching kernel 

cmdline (string) command line parameters. Can be used instead of cmdline.txt file 

kernel (string) alternative name to use when loading kernel. Default "kernel.img" 

kernel_address address to load kernel.img file at 

kernel_old (bool) if 1, load kernel at 0x0 

ramfsfile (string) ramfs file to load 

ramfsaddr address to load ramfs file at 

initramfs (string address) ramfs file and adress to load it at (it's like ramfsfile+ramfsaddr 

in one option). NOTE: this option uses different syntax than all other options - you 

should not use "=" character here. Example: 

initramfs initramf.gz 0x00800000 

device_tree_address address to load device_tree at 

init_uart_baud initial uart baud rate. Default 115200 

init_uart_clock initial uart clock. Default 3000000 (3Mhz) 

init_emmc_clock initial emmc clock. Default 100000000 (100MHz) 

boot_delay wait for given number of seconds in start.elf before loading kernel. delay = 

1000 * boot_delay + boot_delay_ms. Default 1 

boot_delay_ms wait for given number of milliseconds in start.elf before loading kernel. 

Default 0 

avoid_safe_mode if set to 1, safe_mode boot won't be enabled. Default 0

Overclocking 

WARNING: Setting any of the parameters which overvolt your Raspberry Pi can set a 

permanent bit within the SOC and your warranty is void. Warranty will be voided when 

you use force_turbo or current_limit_override or temp_limit>85 together with 

over_voltage>0. [2] So If you care about the warranty, do not adjust voltage. 

The latest kernel has a cpufreq (http://www.pantz.org/software/cpufreq/ 

usingcpufreqonlinux.html) kernel driver with the "ondemand" governor enabled by 

default. It has no effect if you have no overclock settings. But when you do, the arm 

frequency will vary with processor load. Non default values are only used when needed 

according to the used governor. You can adjust the minimum values with the *_min 

config options or disable dynamic clocking with force_turbo=1. [3] 

Overclock and overvoltage will be disabled at runtime when the SoC reaches 85°C to 

cool it down . You should not hit the limit, even with maximum settings at 25°C ambient 

temperature. [4] 

Also at your own risk you can try overscan settings from our wiki. These were posted 

(http://www.raspberrypi.org/forum/features-and-requests/should-we-make-a-wiki-pagefor-overscan-settings) 

on the forum and are not confimed to work. 

Overclocking options 

Option Description 

arm_freq Frequency of ARM in MHz. Default 700 

gpu_freq 

core_freq 

Sets core_freq, h264_freq, isp_freq, v3d_freq together. Default 

250 

Frequency of GPU processor core in MHz. It have an impact 

on ARM performance since it drives L2 cache. Default 250 

h264_freq Frequency of hardware video block in MHz. Default 250 

isp_freq 

Frequency of image sensor pipeline block in MHz. Default 

250 

v3d_freq Frequency of 3D block in MHz. Default 250 

avoid_pwm_pll 

Unlink core_freq from the rest of the gpu. Can cause low 

quality analog audio, which should be fixed with latest 

firmware. Default 0 

sdram_freq Frequency of SDRAM in MHz. Default 400

over_voltage 

over_voltage_sdram 

over_voltage_sdram_c 

over_voltage_sdram_i 

over_voltage_sdram_p 

force_turbo 

initial_turbo 

arm_freq_min 

core_freq_min 

sdram_freq_min 

over_voltage_min 

temp_limit 

current_limit_override 

force_turbo mode 

force_turbo=0 

ARM/GPU core voltage adjust. [-16,8] equates to [0.8V,1.4V] 

with 0.025V steps. force_turbo will allow values higher than 6. 

Default 0 (1.2V) [5] 

Sets over_voltage_sdram_c, over_voltage_sdram_i, 

over_voltage_sdram_p together 

SDRAM controller voltage adjust. [-16,8] equates to 

[0.8V,1.4V] with 0.025V steps. Default 0 (1.2V) [5] 

SDRAM I/O voltage adjust. [-16,8] equates to [0.8V,1.4V] 

with 0.025V steps. Default 0 (1.2V) [5] 

SDRAM phy voltage adjust. [-16,8] equates to [0.8V,1.4V] 

with 0.025V steps. Default 0 (1.2V) [5] 

Disables dynamic cpufreq driver and minimum settings below. 

Enables h264/v3d/isp overclock options. Default 0 

Enables turbo mode from boot for the given value in seconds 

(up to 60) or until cpufreq sets a frequency. Can help with 

sdcard corruption if overclocked. Default 0 [6] 

Minimum value of arm_freq used for dynamic clocking. 

Default 700 

Minimum value of core_freq used for dynamic clocking. 

Default 250 

Minimum value of sdram_freq used for dynamic clocking. 

Default 400 

Minimum value of over_voltage used for dynamic clocking. 

Default 0 

Overheat protection. Sets clocks and voltages to default when 

the SoC reaches this Celsius value. Setting this higher than 

default voids warranty. Default 85 

Disables SMPS current limit protection when set to 

"0x5A000020". Can help if you are currently hitting a reboot 

failure when overclocking too high. [7]

enables dynamic clocks and voltage for the ARM core, GPU core and SDRAM. When 

busy, ARM frequency go up to "arm_freq" and down to "arm_freq_min" on idle. 

"core_freq", "sdram_freq" and "over_voltage" behave the same. "over_voltage" is limited 

to 6 (1.35V). Non default values for the h264/v3d/isp parts are ignored. 

force_turbo=1 

disables dynamic clocking, so all frequencies and voltages stay high. Overclocking of 

h264/v3d/isp GPU parts is allowed as well as setting "over_voltage" to 8 (1.4V). [8] 

Clocks relationship 

The GPU core, h264, v3d and isp share a PLL, therefore need to have related frequencies. 

ARM, SDRAM and GPU each have their own PLLs and can have unrelated 

frequencies. [9] 

The following is not necessary with "avoid_pwm_pll=1". 

pll_freq = floor(2400 / (2 * core_freq)) * (2 * core_freq) 

gpu_freq = pll_freq / [even number] 

The effective gpu_freq is automatically rounded to nearest even integer, so asking for 

core_freq=500 and gpu_freq=300 will result in divisor of 2000/300 = 6.666 => 6 and so 

333.33MHz. 

Tested values 

The following table shows some successfull attempts of overclocking, which can be used 

for orientation. These settings may not work on every device and can shorten the lifetime 

of the Broadcom SoC. 

Warning: Warranty will be voided if: 

(force_turbo || current_limit_override || temp_limit>85) && over_voltage>0 

arm_freq gpu_freq core_freq h264_freq isp_freq v3d_freq sdram_freq over_voltage over_voltage_sdr 

800 

900 275 500 

900 450 450 

930 350 500

1000 500 500 6 

1050 6 

1150 500 600 8 

There are reports (http://www.raspberrypi.org/phpBB3/ 

viewtopic.php?f=29&t=6201&p=159188&hilit=hynix#p159160) that Hynix RAM is not 

as good as Samsung RAM for overclocking. 

References 

1. ↑ http://www.raspberrypi.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?p=173430#p173430 


viewtopic.php?f=29&t=6201&sid=eda2ef9b994cdfb28eef3e8a20d1a1e8&start=350#p176865 


4. ↑ http://www.raspberrypi.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=11579#p169872 

5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 What this means is that you can specify -16 and expect about 0.8V 

as the GPU/core voltage. This is 0.4V below the normal value of 1.2. If you 

specify 16, you'd get 0.4V ABOVE the normal value of 1.2V, or 1.6V. The fact 

that someone carefully specified "8" and "1.4V" as the upper limit in the 

examples leads me to think that it is likely to shorten the life of your raspberry pi 

significantly if you would specify values above "8". So: don't specify values 

above zero, but if you do, don't go above 8. 


viewtopic.php?f=29&t=6201&start=425#p180099 




viewtopic.php?f=29&t=6201&sid=852d546291ae711ffcd8bf23d3214581&start=325#p170793 



Raspberry Pi 





Hardware 




Software 



Projects 


Retrieved from "http://elinux.org/index.php?title=RPiconfig&oldid=195398" 




Unported License.

RPi Low-level peripherals 


(Redirected from Rpi Low-level peripherals) 

Back to 

the Hub. 

Contents 

▪ 1 Introduction 

▪ 2 General Purpose Input/Output (GPIO) 

▪ 2.1 Referring to pins on the Expansion header 

▪ 2.2 Power pins 

▪ 2.3 GPIO hardware hacking 

▪ 2.4 P2 header 




▪ 2.8 Driver support 

▪ 2.9 Graphical User Interfaces 

▪ 2.9.1 WebIOPi 

▪ 3 GPIO Code examples 

▪ 3.1 GPIO Driving Example (C) 

▪ 3.2 GPIO Pull Up/Pull Down Register Example 

▪ 3.3 GPIO Driving Example (Python) 

▪ 3.4 GPIO Driving Example (Java using the Pi4J Library) 

▪ 3.5 GPIO Driving Example (Java) 

▪ 3.6 GPIO Driving Example (Java Webapp GPIO web control via http) 

▪ 3.7 GPIO Driving Example (Shell script) 

▪ 3.8 GPIO Driving Example (Shell script - take 2) 

▪ 3.9 GPIO Driving Example (C) 

▪ 3.10 GPIO Driving Example (Perl) 

▪ 3.11 GPIO Driving Example (C#) 

▪ 3.12 GPIO Driving Example (Ruby) 

▪ 4 MIPI CSI-2 

▪ 5 DSI 

▪ 6 CEC 


Hardware & Peripherals:

Hardware and Hardware History. 

Low-level Peripherals and Expansion Boards. 


Introduction 

In addition to the familiar USB, Ethernet and HDMI ports, the R-Pi offers lower-level 

interfaces intended to connect more directly with chips and subsystem modules. These 

GPIO (general purpose I/O) signals on the 2x13 header pins include SPI, I2C, serial 

UART, 3V3 and 5V power. These interfaces are not "plug and play" and require care to 

avoid miswiring. The pins use a 3V3 logic level and are not tolerant of 5V levels, such as 

you might find on a 5V powered Arduino. Not yet software-enabled are the flex cable 

connectors with CSI (camera serial interface) and DSI (display serial interface), and a 

serial link inside the HDMI connector called CEC. (consumer electronics control)

General Purpose Input/Output (GPIO) 

General Purpose Input/Output (a.k.a. GPIO) 

is a generic pin on a chip whose behavior 

(including whether it is an input or output 

pin) can be controlled (programmed) 

through software. 

The Raspberry Pi allows peripherals and 

expansion boards (such as the Rpi 

Gertboard) to access the CPU by exposing 

the inputs and outputs. 

For further general information about 

GPIOs, see:the wikipedia article 

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GPIO) . 

The production Raspberry Pi board has a 

26-pin 2.54 mm (100 mil) [1] expansion 

header, marked as P1, arranged in a 2x13 

strip. They provide 8 GPIO pins plus access 

to I²C, SPI, UART), as well as +3.3 V, +5 V 

and GND supply lines. Pin one is the pin in 

the first column and on the bottom row. [2] 

GPIO voltage levels are 3.3 V and are not 

5 V tolerant. There is no over-voltage 

protection on the board - the intention is 

that people interested in serious interfacing 

will use an external board with buffers, level 

conversion and analog I/O rather than 

soldering directly onto the main board. 

All the GPIO pins can be reconfigured to 

provide alternate functions, SPI, PWM 

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulsewidth_modulation) 

, I²C and so. At reset 

only pins GPIO 14 & 15 are assigned to the 

alternate function UART, these two can be 

switched back to GPIO to provide a total of 

17 GPIO pins [3] . Each of their functions and 

full details of how to access are detailed in 

the chipset datasheet [4] . 

The layout of the Raspberry Pi Revision 1 

P1 pin-header seen from the top, containing 

pins useable for general purpose I/O. 

Colour coded to the table. Source 

(https://sites.google.com/site/ 

burngatehouse/home/drawings/ 

GPIOs2.gif)

Each GPIO can interrupt, high/low/rise/fall/change. [5][6] There is currently no support for 

GPIO interrupts in the official kernel, howewer a patch exists, requiring compilation of 

modified source tree. [7] The 'Raspbian "wheezy"' [8] version that is currently 

recommended for starters already includes GPIO interrupts. 

GPIO input hysteresis (Schmitt trigger) can be on or off, output slew rate can be fast or 

limited, and source and sink current is configurable from 2 mA up to 16 mA. Note that 

chipset GPIO pins 0-27 are in the same block and these properties are set per block, not 

per pin. See GPIO Datasheet Addendum - GPIO Pads Control (http://www.scribd.com/ 

doc/101830961/GPIO-Pads-Control2) . Particular attention should be applied to the note 

regarding SSO (Simultaneous Switching Outputs): to avoid interference, driving currents 

should be kept as low as possible. 

The available alternative functions and their corresponding pins are detailed below. These 

numbers are in reference to the chipset documentation and may not match the numbers 

exposed in Linux. Only fully usable functions are detailed, for some alternative functions 

not all the necessary pins are available for the funtionality to be actually used. 

There is also some information on the Tutorial on Easy GPIO Hardware & Software. 

Kernel boot messages go to the UART at 115200 bit/s. 

R-Pi PCB Revision 2 UPDATE: According to Eben at [1] (http://www.raspberrypi.org/ 

archives/1929#comment-31646) the R-Pi Rev.2 board being rolled out starting in 

September 2012 adds 4 more GPIO on a new connector called P5, and changes some of 

the existing P1 GPIO pinouts. On Rev2, GPIO_GEN2 [BCM2835/GPIO27] is routed to 

P1 pin 13, and changes what was SCL0/SDA0 to SCL1/SDA1: SCL1 [BCM2835/ 

GPIO3] is routed to P1 pin 5, SDA1 [BCM2835/GPIO2] is routed to P1 pin 3. Also the 

power and ground connections previously marked "Do Not Connect" on P1 will remain 

as connected, specifically: P1-04:+5V0, P1-09:GND, P1-14:GND, P1-17:+3V3, 

P1-20:GND, P1-25:GND. According to this comment [2] (http://www.raspberrypi.org/ 

archives/2081#comment-33577) (and confirmed in this post [3] 

(http://www.raspberrypi.org/archives/2233) ) the P1 pinout is not expected to change in 

future beyond the current Rev.2 layout. 

Header Pinout, top row: 

Pin 

Number 

Pin 

Name 

Rev1 

Pin 

Name 

Rev2 

P1-02 5V0 5V0 

P1-04 5V0 5V0 

Hardware Notes 

Supply through 

input poly fuse 

Supply through 

input poly fuse 

Alt 0 

Function 

Other Alternative 

Functions

P1-06 GND GND 

P1-08 GPIO 14 GPIO 14 Boot to Alt 0 -> UART0_TXD ALT5 = UART1_TXD 

P1-10 GPIO 15 GPIO 15 Boot to Alt 0 -> UART0_RXD ALT5 = UART1_RXD 

P1-12 GPIO 18 GPIO 18 

P1-14 GND GND 

P1-16 GPIO23 GPIO23 


P1-20 GND GND 

ALT4 SPI1_CE0_N 

ALT5 = PWM0 

ALT3 = SD1_CMD 

ALT4 = ARM_RTCK 

ALT3 = SD1_DATA0 

ALT4 = ARM_TDO 

P1-22 GPIO25 GPIO25 ALT4 = ARM_TCK 

P1-24 GPIO08 GPIO08 SPI0_CE0_N 

P1-26 GPIO07 GPIO07 SPI0_CE1_N 

Header Pinout, bottom row: 

Pin Pin Name Pin Name 

Number Rev1 Rev2 

P1-01 3.3 V 3.3 V 



Hardware 

Notes 

50 mA max 

(01 & 17) 

1K8 pull up 

resistor 

1K8 pull up 

resistor 

Alt 0 

Function 

Other Alternative 

Functions 

I2C0_SDA I2C0_SDA / I2C1_SDA 

I2C0_SCL I2C0_SCL / I2C1_SCL 

P1-07 GPIO 4 GPIO 4 GPCLK0 

P1-09 GND GND 


ALT3 = UART0_RTS, 

ALT5 = UART1_RTS 

P1-13 GPIO21 GPIO27 PCM_DIN ALT5 = GPCLK1 


P1-17 3.3 V 3.3 V 

50 mA max 

(01 & 17) 

P1-19 GPIO10 GPIO10 SPI0_MOSI 

P1-21 GPIO9 GPIO9 SPI0_MISO 

P1-23 GPIO11 GPIO11 SPI0_SCLK 

P1-25 GND GND 

ALT3 = SD1_CLK ALT4 = 

ARM_TRST

Colour legend 

+5 V 

+3.3 V 

Ground, 0V 

UART 

GPIO 

SPI 

I²C 

KiCad symbol: File:Conn-raspberry.lib 

[9] 

Pin 3 (SDA0) and Pin 5 (SCL0) are preset to be used as an I²C interface. So there are 

1.8 kilohm pulls up resistors on the board for these pins. [10] 

Pin 12 supports PWM (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulse-width_modulation) . 

It is also possible to reconfigure GPIO connector pins P1-7, 15, 16, 18, 22 (chipset 

GPIOs 4 and 22 to 25) to provide an ARM JTAG interface. [11] However ARM_TMS isn't 

available on the GPIO connector (chipset pin 12 or 27 is needed). Chipset pin 27 is 

available on S5, the CSI camera interface however. 

It is also possible to reconfigure GPIO connector pins P1-12 and 13 (chipset GPIO 18 

and 21) to provide an I2S (a hardware modification may be required [12] ) or PCM 

interface. [13] However, PCM_FS and PCM_DIN (chipset pins 19 and 20) are needed for 

I2S or PCM. 

A second I²C interface (GPIO02_ALT0 is SDA1 and GPIO03_ALT0 is SCL1) and two 

further GPIOs (GPIO05_ALT0 is GPCLK1, and GPIO27) are available on S5, the CSI 

camera interface. 

Referring to pins on the Expansion header 

The header is referred to as "The GPIO Connector (P1)". To avoid nomenclature 

confusion between Broadcom signal names on the SoC and pin names on the expansion 

header, the following naming is highly recommended. 

▪ The expansion header is referred to as "Expansion Header" or "GPIO Connector 

(P1)"

▪ Pins on the GPIO connector (P1) are referred to as P1-01, etc. 

▪ Names GPIO0, GPIO1, GPIOx-ALTy, etc. refer to the signal names on the SoC as 

enumerated in the Broadcom datasheet, where "x" matches BCM2835 number 

(without leading zero) and "y" is the alternate number column 0 to 5 on page 102-103 

of the Broadcom document. For example, depending on what you are describing, use 

either "GPIO7" to refer to a row of the table, and "GPIO7-ALT0" would refer to a 

specific cell of the table. 

▪ When refering to signal names, you should modify the Broadcom name slightly to 

minimize confusion. The Broadcom SPI bus pin names are fine, such as "SPI0_*" 

and "SPI1_*", but they didn't do the same on the I²C and UART pins. Instead of using 

"SDA0" and "SCL0", you should use "I2C0_SDA" and "I2C0_SCL"; and instead of 

"TX" or "TXD" and "RX" or "RXD", you should use "UART0_TXD" and 

"UART0_RXD". 

Power pins 

The maximum permitted current draw from the 3.3 V pins is 50 mA. 

Maximum permitted current draw from the 5 V pin is the USB input current (usually 1 A) 

minus any current draw from the rest of the board. [14] 

▪ Model A: 1000 mA - 500 mA -> max current draw: 500 mA 

▪ Model B: 1000 mA - 700 mA -> max current draw: 300 mA 

Be very careful with the 5 V pins P1-02 and P1-04, because if you short 5 V to any other 

P1 pin you may permanently damage your RasPi. Before probing P1, it's a good idea to 

strip short pieces of insulation off a wire and push them over the 5 V pins so you don't 

accidentally short them with a probe. 

GPIO hardware hacking 

The complete list of chipset GPIO pins which are available on the GPIO connector is: 

0, 1, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 15, 17, 18, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25 

(on the Revision2.0 RaspberryPis, this list changes to: 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 15, 17, 

18, 22, 23, 24, 25, 27) 

As noted above, GPIO00 and 01 (SDA0 and SCL0) have 1.8 kilohm pull-up resistors to 

3.3 V. 

If 17 GPIOs aren't sufficient for your project, there are a few other signals potentially 

available, with varying levels of software and hardware (soldering iron) hackery skills:

GPIO02, 03, 05 and 27 are available on S5 (the CSI interface) when a camera peripheral 

is not connected to that socket, and are configured by default to provide the functions 

SDA1, SCL1, CAM_CLK and CAM_GPIO respectively. SDA1 and SCL1 have 1K6 

pull-up resistors to 3.3 V. 

GPIO06 is LAN_RUN and is available on pad 12 of the footprint for IC3 on the Model 

A. On Model B, it is in use for the Ethernet function. 

There are a few other chipset GPIO pins accessible on the PCB but are in use: 

▪ GPIO16 drives status LED D5 (usually SD card access indicator) 

▪ GPIO28-31 are used by the board ID and are connected to resistors R3 to R10. 

▪ GPIO40 and 45 are used by analogue audio and support PWM 

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulse-width_modulation) . They connect to the 

analogue audio circuitry via R21 and R27 respectively. 

▪ GPIO46 is HDMI hotplug detect (goes to pin 6 of IC1). 

▪ GPIO47 to 53 are used by the SD card interface. In particular, GPIO47 is SD card 

detect (this would seem to be a good candidate for re-use). GPIO47 is connected to 

the SD card interface card detect switch; GPIO48 to 53 are connected to the SD card 

interface via resistors R45 to R50. 

P2 header 

The P2 header is the VideoCore JTAG and used only during the production of the board. 

It cannot be used as the ARM JTAG [15] . This connector is unpopulated in Rev 2.0 

boards. 

Useful P2 pins: 

▪ Pin 1 - 3.3V (same as P1-01, 50 mA max current draw across both of them) 

▪ Pin 7 - GND 


P3 header 

The P3 header, unpopulated, is the LAN9512 JTAG [16] . 

P5 header 

The P5 header was added with the release of the Revision 2.0 PCB design. 

▪ Pin 1 - 5V 

▪ Pin 2 - 3V3 

▪ Pin 3 - GPIO28 

▪ Pin 4 - GPIO29





Note that the connector is intended to be mounted on the bottom of the PCB, so that for 

those who put the connector on the top side, the pin numbers are swapped. Pin 1 and pin 

2 are swapped, pin 3 and 4, etc. 

Note that the connector is placed JUST off-grid with respect to the P1 connector. 

P6 header 

The P6 header was added with the release of the Revision 2.0 PCB design. 

The P6 header can be used to connect a reset button to, which with the PI can be reset. 

Driver support 

The Foundation will not include a GPIO driver in the initial release, standard Linux 

GPIO drivers should work with minimal modification. [17] 

The community implemented SPI and I²C drivers [18] , which will be integrated with the 

new Linux pinctrl concept in a later version of the kernel. (On Oct.14,it was already 

included in the latest raspbian image.)A first compiled version as Linux modules is 

available to install on the 19/04/2012 Debian image, including 1-wire support [19] . The 

I²C and SPI driver uses the hardware modules of the microcontroller and interrupts for 

low CPU usage, the 1-wire support uses bitbanging on the GPIO ports, which results in 

higher CPU usage. 

GordonH [20] wrote a (mostly) Arduino compatible/style WiringPi library 

(https://projects.drogon.net/raspberry-pi/wiringpi/) in C for controlling the GPIO pins. 

A useful tutorial on setting up I²C driver support can be found at Robot Electronics 

(http://www.robot-electronics.co.uk/htm/raspberry_pi_examples.htm) - look for the 

downloadable document rpi_i2c_setup.doc 

Graphical User Interfaces 

WebIOPi 

WebIOPi (http://code.google.com/p/webiopi/) allows you to control each GPIO with a 

simple web interface that you can use with any browser. Available in PHP and Python, 

they both require root access, but Python version serves HTTP itself. You can setup each

GPIO as input or output and change their states (LOW/HIGH). WebIOPi is fully 

customizable, so you can use it for home remote control. It also work over Internet. 

UART/SPI/I2C support will be added later. If you need some computing for your GPIO 

go to code examples below. 

GPIO Code examples 

GPIO Driving Example (C) 

Gert van Loo & Dom, has provided (http://www.raspberrypi.org/forum/educationalapplications/gertboard/page-4/#p31555) 

some tested code which accesses the GPIO pins 

through direct GPIO register manipulation in C-code. (Thanks to Dom for doing the 

difficult work of finding and testing the mapping.) Example GPIO code: 

// 

// How to access GPIO registers from C-code on the Raspberry-Pi 

// Example program 

// 15-January-2012 

// Dom and Gert 

// 

// Access from ARM Running Linux 

#define BCM2708_PERI_BASE 0x20000000 

#define GPIO_BASE (BCM2708_PERI_BASE + 0x200000) /* GPIO controller */ 

#include 

#include 

#include 

#include 

#include 

#include 

#include 

#include 

#include 

#include 

#define PAGE_SIZE (4*1024) 

#define BLOCK_SIZE (4*1024) 

int mem_fd; 

char *gpio_mem, *gpio_map; 

char *spi0_mem, *spi0_map; 

// I/O access 

volatile unsigned *gpio; 

// GPIO setup macros. Always use INP_GPIO(x) before using OUT_GPIO(x) or SET_GPIO_ALT(x,y) 

#define INP_GPIO(g) *(gpio+((g)/10)) &= ~(7

#define GPIO_SET *(gpio+7) // sets bits which are 1 ignores bits which are 0 

#define GPIO_CLR *(gpio+10) // clears bits which are 1 ignores bits which are 0 

void setup_io(); 

int main(int argc, char **argv) 

{ 

int g,rep; 

// Set up gpi pointer for direct register access 

setup_io(); 

// Switch GPIO 7..11 to output mode 

/************************************************************************\ 

* You are about to change the GPIO settings of your computer. * 

* Mess this up and it will stop working! * 

* It might be a good idea to 'sync' before running this program * 

* so at least you still have your code changes written to the SD-card! * 

\************************************************************************/ 

// Set GPIO pins 7-11 to output 

for (g=7; g

Make sure pointer is on 4K boundary 

if ((unsigned long)gpio_mem % PAGE_SIZE) 

gpio_mem += PAGE_SIZE - ((unsigned long)gpio_mem % PAGE_SIZE); 

// Now map it 

gpio_map = (unsigned char *)mmap( 

(caddr_t)gpio_mem, 

BLOCK_SIZE, 

PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE, 

MAP_SHARED|MAP_FIXED, 

mem_fd, 

GPIO_BASE 

); 

if ((long)gpio_map < 0) { 

printf("mmap error %d\n", (int)gpio_map); 

exit (-1); 

} 

// Always use volatile pointer! 

gpio = (volatile unsigned *)gpio_map; 

} // setup_io 

GPIO Pull Up/Pull Down Register Example 

// enable pull-up on GPIO24&25 

GPIO_PULL = 2; 

short_wait(); 

// clock on GPIO 24 & 25 (bit 24 & 25 set) 

GPIO_PULLCLK0 = 0x03000000; 

short_wait(); 

GPIO_PULL = 0; 

GPIO_PULLCLK0 = 0; 

GPIO Driving Example (Python) 

This uses the Python module available at http://pypi.python.org/pypi/RPi.GPIO Any 

Python script that controls GPIO must be run as root. 

import RPi.GPIO as GPIO 

# Set up the GPIO channels - one input and one output 

GPIO.setup(11, GPIO.IN) 

GPIO.setup(12, GPIO.OUT) 

# Input from pin 11 

input_value = GPIO.input(11) 

# Output to pin 12 

GPIO.output(12, True) 

# The same script as above but using BCM GPIO 00..nn numbers

GPIO.setmode(GPIO.BCM) 

GPIO.setup(17, GPIO.IN) 

GPIO.setup(18, GPIO.OUT) 

input_value = GPIO.input(17) 

GPIO.output(18, True) 

GPIO Driving Example (Java using the Pi4J Library) 

This uses the Java library available at http://www.pi4j.com/. (Any Java application that 

controls GPIO must be run as root.) 

Please note that the Pi4J library uses the WiringPi GPIO pin numbering scheme [21] [22] . 

Please see the usage documentation for more details: http://pi4j.com/usage.html 

public static void main(String[] args) { 

} 

// create gpio controller 

GpioController gpio = GpioFactory.getInstance(); 

// provision gpio pin #01 as an output pin and turn off 

GpioPinDigitalOutput outputPin = gpio.provisionDigitalOutputPin(RaspiPin.GPIO_01, "MyLED", PinState.LOW); 

// turn output to LOW/OFF state 

outputPin.low(); 

// turn output to HIGH/ON state 

outputPin.high(); 

// provision gpio pin #02 as an input pin with its internal pull down resistor enabled 

GpioPinDigitalInput inputPin = gpio.provisionDigitalInputPin(RaspiPin.GPIO_02, "MyButton", PinPullResista 

// get input state from pin 2 

boolean input_value = inputPin.isHigh(); 

More complete and detailed examples are included on the Pi4J website at 

http://www.pi4j.com/. 

The Pi4J library includes support for: 

▪ GPIO Control 

▪ GPIO Listeners 

▪ Serial Communication 

▪ I2C Communication 

▪ SPI Communication

GPIO Driving Example (Java) 

This uses the Java library available at https://github.com/jkransen/framboos. Any Java 

application that controls GPIO must be run as root. 

public static void main(String[] args) { 

// reading from an in pin 

InPin button = new InPin(8); 

boolean isButtonPressed = button.getValue(); 

button.close(); 

} 

// writing to an out pin 

OutPin led = new Outpin(0); 

led.setValue(true); 

led.setValue(false); 

led.close(); 

GPIO Driving Example (Java Webapp GPIO web control via http) 

This uses the Java Webapp available at https://bitbucket.org/sbub/raspberry-pi-gpio-webcontrol/overview. 

You can control your GPIO over the internet. Any Java application that 

controls GPIO must be run as root. 

host:~ sb$ curl 'http://raspberrypi:8080/handle?g0=1&g1=0' 

{"g1":0,"g0":1} 

GPIO Driving Example (Shell script) 

This must be done as root. To change to the root user: 

sudo -i 

#!/bin/sh 

# GPIO numbers should be from this list 

# 0, 1, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 15, 17, 18, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25 

# Note that the GPIO numbers that you program here refer to the pins 

# of the BCM2835 and *not* the numbers on the pin header. 

# So, if you want to activate GPIO7 on the header you should be 

# using GPIO4 in this script. Likewise if you want to activate GPIO0 

# on the header you should be using GPIO17 here. 

# Set up GPIO 4 and set to output 

echo "4" > /sys/class/gpio/export 

echo "out" > /sys/class/gpio/gpio4/direction

# Set up GPIO 7 and set to input 

echo "7" > /sys/class/gpio/export 

echo "in" > /sys/class/gpio/gpio7/direction 

# Write output 

echo "1" > /sys/class/gpio/gpio4/value 

# Read from input 

cat /sys/class/gpio/gpio7/value 

# Clean up 

echo "4" > /sys/class/gpio/unexport 

echo "7" > /sys/class/gpio/unexport 

GPIO Driving Example (Shell script - take 2) 

You need the wiringPi library from https://projects.drogon.net/raspberry-pi/wiringpi/ 

download-and-install/. Once installed, there is a new command gpio which can be used 

as a non-root user to control the GPIO pins. 

The man page 

man gpio 

has full details, but briefly: 

gpio -g mode 17 out 

gpio -g mode 18 pwm 

gpio -g write 17 1 

gpio -g pwm 18 512 

The -g flag tells the gpio program to use the BCM GPIO pin numbering scheme 

(otherwise it will use the wiringPi numbering scheme by default). 

The gpio command can also control the internal pull-up and pull-down resistors: 

gpio -g mode 17 up 

This sets the pull-up resistor - however any change of mode, even setting a pin that's 

already set as an input to an input will remove the pull-up/pull-down resistors, so they 

may need to be reset. 

Additionally, it can export/un-export the GPIO devices for use by other non-root 

programms - e.g. Python scripts. (Although you may need to drop the calls to 

GPIO.Setup() in the Python scripts, and do the setup separately in a little shell script, or 

call the gpio program from inside Python).

gpio export 17 out 

gpio export 18 in 

These exports GPIO-17 and sets it to output, and exports GPIO-18 and sets it to input. 

And when done: 

gpio unexport 17 

The export/unexport commands always use the BCM GPIO pin numbers regardless of the 

presence of the -g flag or not. 

If you want to use the internal pull-up/down's with the /sys/class/gpio mechanisms, then 

you can set them after exporting them. So: 

gpio -g export 4 in 

gpio -g mode 4 up 

You can then use GPIO-4 as an input in your Python, Shell, Java, etc. programs without 

the use of an external resistor to pull the pin high. (If that's what you were after - for 

example, a simple push button switch taking the pin to ground.) 

A fully working example of a shell script using the GPIO pins can be found at 

http://project-downloads.drogon.net/files/gpioExamples/tuxx.sh. 

GPIO Driving Example (C) 


sudo -i 

You must also get and install the bcm2835 library, which supports GPIO and SPI 

interfaces. Details and downloads from http://www.open.com.au/mikem/bcm2835 

// blink.c 

// 

// Example program for bcm2835 library 

// Blinks a pin on an off every 0.5 secs 

// 

// After installing bcm2835, you can build this 

// with something like: 

// gcc -o blink -l rt blink.c -l bcm2835 

// sudo ./blink 

// 

// Or you can test it before installing with:

gcc -o blink -l rt -I ../../src ../../src/bcm2835.c blink.c 

// sudo ./blink 

// 

// Author: Mike McCauley (mikem@open.com.au) 

// Copyright (C) 2011 Mike McCauley 

// $Id: RF22.h,v 1.21 2012/05/30 01:51:25 mikem Exp $ 

#include 

// Blinks on RPi pin GPIO 11 

#define PIN RPI_GPIO_P1_11 

int main(int argc, char **argv) 

{ 

// If you call this, it will not actually access the GPIO 

// Use for testing 

// bcm2835_set_debug(1); 

} 

if (!bcm2835_init()) 

return 1; 

// Set the pin to be an output 

bcm2835_gpio_fsel(PIN, BCM2835_GPIO_FSEL_OUTP); 

// Blink 

while (1) 

{ 

// Turn it on 

bcm2835_gpio_write(PIN, HIGH); 

} 

// wait a bit 

delay(500); 

// turn it off 

bcm2835_gpio_write(PIN, LOW); 

// wait a bit 

delay(500); 

return 0; 

GPIO Driving Example (Perl) 


sudo su - 

Supports GPIO and SPI interfaces. You must also get and install the bcm2835 library. 

Details and downloads from http://www.open.com.au/mikem/bcm2835 You must then get 

and install the Device::BCM2835 perl library from CPAN http://search.cpan.org/~mikem/ 

Device-BCM2835-1.0/lib/Device/BCM2835.pm 

use Device::BCM2835; 

use strict;

# call set_debug(1) to do a non-destructive test on non-RPi hardware 

#Device::BCM2835::set_debug(1); 

Device::BCM2835::init() 

|| die "Could not init library"; 

# Blink pin 11: 

# Set RPi pin 11 to be an output 

Device::BCM2835::gpio_fsel(&Device::BCM2835::RPI_GPIO_P1_11, 

&Device::BCM2835::BCM2835_GPIO_FSEL_OUTP); 

while (1) 

{ 

# Turn it on 

Device::BCM2835::gpio_write(&Device::BCM2835::RPI_GPIO_P1_11, 1); 

Device::BCM2835::delay(500); # Milliseconds 

# Turn it off 

Device::BCM2835::gpio_write(&Device::BCM2835::RPI_GPIO_P1_11, 0); 

Device::BCM2835::delay(500); # Milliseconds 

} 

GPIO Driving Example (C#) 

RaspberryPiDotNet library is available at https://github.com/cypherkey/RaspberryPi.Net/. 

The library includes a GPIOFile and GPIOMem class. The GPIOMem requires compiling 

Mike McCauley's bcm2835 library above in to a shared object. 

using System; 

using System.Collections.Generic; 

using System.Linq; 

using System.Text; 

using RaspberryPiDotNet; 

using System.Threading; 

namespace RaspPi 

{ 

class Program 

{ 

static void Main(string[] args) 

{ 

// Access the GPIO pin using a static method 

GPIOFile.Write(GPIO.GPIOPins.GPIO00, true); 

} 

} 

} 

// Create a new GPIO object 

GPIOMem gpio = new GPIOMem(GPIO.GPIOPins.GPIO01); 

gpio.Write(false);

GPIO Driving Example (Ruby) 

This example uses the WiringPi Ruby Gem: http://pi.gadgetoid.co.uk/post/015-wiringpinow-with-serial 

which you can install on your Pi with "gem install wiringpi" 

MY_PIN = 1 

require 'wiringpi' 

io = WiringPi::GPIO.new 

io.mode(MY_PIN,OUTPUT) 

io.write(MY_PIN,HIGH) 

io.read(MY_PIN) 

MIPI CSI-2 

On the production board [23] , the Raspberry Pi Foundation design brings out the MIPI 

CSI-2 (Camera Serial Interface [24] ) to a 15-way flat flex connector S5, between the 

Ethernet and HDMI connectors. A compatible camera has been discussed as working in 

tests and is planned for release at a later date. [25] . 

DSI 

On the production board, the Raspberry Pi Foundation design brings out the DSI (Display 

Serial Interface [26] ) to a 15-way flat flex connector labelled S2, next to Raspberry Pi 

logo. It has two data lanes and a clock lane, to drive a possible future LCD screen device. 

Some smart phone screens use DSI [27] . 

CEC 

HDMI-CEC (Consumer Electronics Control for HDMI) is supported by hardware but 

some driver work will be needed and currently isn't exposed into Linux userland. Eben 

notes that he has seen CEC demos on the Broadcom SoC they are using. 

libCEC with Raspberry Pi support has been included in OpenELEC and will be included 

in Raspbmc RC4. [28] 

For more information about HDMI-CEC and what you could do with it on the Raspberry 

Pi please see the CEC (Consumer Electronics Control) over HDMI article.

References 

1. ↑ http://www.raspberrypi.org/forum/features-and-requests/easy-gpio-hardwaresoftware/page-3/#p31907 

2. ↑ http://www.raspberrypi.org/archives/384 

3. ↑ http://www.raspberrypi.org/archives/384 

4. ↑ http://www.raspberrypi.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/BCM2835-ARM- 

Peripherals.pdf 

5. ↑ http://www.raspberrypi.org/archives/384#comment-5217 

6. ↑ http://www.raspberrypi.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/BCM2835-ARM- 

Peripherals.pdf 


8. ↑ http://www.raspberrypi.org/downloads 

9. ↑ http://www.raspberrypi.org/forum/projects-and-collaboration-general/gpioheader-pinout-clarification/page-2 

10. ↑ http://www.raspberrypi.org/forum/features-and-requests/easy-gpio-hardwaresoftware/page-6/#p56480 

11. ↑ http://www.raspberrypi.org/forum?mingleforumaction=viewtopic&t=1288.1 

12. ↑ Forum:Sad about removal of I2S. Why was this change made? 

(http://www.raspberrypi.org/forum/features-and-requests/sad-about-removal-ofi2s-why-was-this-change-made) 


14. ↑ http://www.raspberrypi.org/ 

forum?mingleforumaction=viewtopic&t=1536#postid-21841 




18. ↑ http://www.bootc.net/projects/raspberry-pi-kernel/ 


20. ↑ http://www.raspberrypi.org/forum/general-discussion/wiring-for-the-raspberrypis-gpio 

21. ↑ http://pi4j.com/usage.html#Pin_Numbering 

22. ↑ https://projects.drogon.net/raspberry-pi/wiringpi/pins/ 

23. ↑ http://www.raspberrypi.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Raspberry-Pi- 

Schematics-R1.0.pdf 

24. ↑ http://www.mipi.org/specifications/camera-interface 

25. ↑ http://www.raspberrypi.org/forum/projects-and-collaboration-general/complexcamera-peripherials#p72602 

26. ↑ http://www.mipi.org/specifications/display-interface 

27. ↑ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Display_Serial_Interface 

28. ↑ http://blog.pulse-eight.com/2012/08/01/libcec-1-8-0-a-firmware-upgrade-andraspberry-pi-support/

Raspberry Pi 





Hardware 




Software 



Projects 


Retrieved from "http://elinux.org/index.php?title=RPi_Lowlevel_peripherals&oldid=195584" 




Unported License.

RaspberryPi Boards 


Hardware versions/revisions 

Several different boards have been found probably from different assembly lines, and the 

following table tries to help you identify your board for better troubleshooting. These 

differences are being debated on raspberrypi.org on this thread [1] 

(http://www.raspberrypi.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=9524&start=25) 

For what we can see for model B boards there are mainly two versions that differ on the 

type RAM used, Samsung (S) and Hynix (H). 

Note: For Board ver. we used: (ex.: BS1218 

is "Model B, Samsung RAM, 18th week of 2012") 

Look for the date of manufacturing printed with the year and week (back side, board edge 

near LAN connector). In this example year (2012) and week (18th):

Model A: 

Board 

ver. 

Ayxxxx 

RAM 

Chip 

USB 

Chip C6 

F1 / 

F2 

Ref. 

& 

Ohm 

RG2 

Reported 

issues / 

Feedback 

Front Back Seen 

from Owner

Model B:

Board 

ver. 

RAM 

Chip 

BS1215 Samsung SMSC 


BS1215 

BS1218 

BS1218 

Samsung 

216 

K4P2G324ED-AGC1 

GA30419V 

Samsung 

216 

K4P26324ED-AGC1 

GAL0839V 

Samsung 

216 


GAJ0419C 

SMSC 

USB 

Chip 

LAN9512-JZX 

B1211-A1B17 

BR149884A 

CTI-TW 

SMSC 

LAN9512-JZX 

B1212-A1B17 

BR149884S 

SMSC 

LAN9512-JZX 

B1212-A1B17 

BR149884S 

C6 

220 

16V 

EEZ 

n2 

220 

UD 

n2 

220C 

UD 

220 

16V 

EE5 

220 

16V 

EE5 

F1 / F2 

Ref. & 

Ohm 

? 

? / ? 

? 

? / ? 

14 

? / ? 

T014 

3.8 / 

4.4 

T014 

5.8 / 

3.9 

RG2 

SE8117733 

943-1F 

SE8117T33 

1213-LF 

SE8117T33 

1213-LF 

▪ None 

▪ None 

▪ None 

▪ None 

▪ None

BS1218 Samsung ? 

BH1208 

BH1219 

BH1218 

BH1218 

Hynix 

H9TKNNN2GDMP 

LANDM 149A 

Hynix 

H9TKNNN2GDMP 

LANDM 218A 

Hynix 

H9TKNNN2GDMP 

LRNOM 217A 

Hynix 

H9TKNNN2GDMP 

LRNDM 217A 

SMSC 

LAN9512-JZX 

B1134-A1B17 

8R147769B 

STA-SG 

SMSC 

LAN9512-JZX 

B1206-A1B17 

8R149471A 

CTI-TW 

SMSC 

LAN9512-JZX 

B1215-A1B17 

BR1501888 

SMSC 

LAN9512-JZX 

B1215-A1817 

BR1494828 


? 

? / ? 

220 

16V 

EE2 14 

220 

16V 

2E2 T014 

2E 

220 

16H 

2E 

220 

16H 

2E 

220 

16H 

14 

6.4 / 

5.0 

14 

6.1 / 

5.6 

T014 

? / ? 

SE8117T33 

1001-LF 

SE8117T33 

1217-LF 

SE8117T33 

1213-LF 

SE8117T33 

1213-LF 

SE8117T33 

1213-LF 

▪ None 

▪ No issues after getting a good pow 

▪ Note the SMSC is 8R149482C wh 

▪ Ethernet: LU1S041ALF 1018M 

▪ No issues 

▪ Ethernet: HanRun HR901110A 12 

▪ USB/Keyboard/LAN issues 

▪ "I haven't had any issues"[2] (http 

▪ Ethernet HR901110A 1211 

▪ E2112RSV1.0B1.1 

▪ None

BH1208 Hynix SMSC 


BH1213 

BS12xx 

BH1218 

Hynix 

h9tknnn2c0mp 

landm 1494 

Samsung 

216 k4p 

26324ED 

agc1 

Hynix 

h9trnnn2g0mp 

lrndm 217a 

BH1218 Hynix 

SMSC 

lan9512-jzx 

b1134 a1b17 8r14 

77698 

sta-sg 

SMSC 

lan9512-jzx 

b1212 a1b17 

br149884b 

cti-tw 

SMSC 

lan9512-jzy 

b1215-a1b17 

ase-tw 

SMSC 

LAN9512-JZX 

B1215-A1B17 

BR150188A 

ASE-TW (e3) 


220 

16V 

EE2 

n2 

220c 

UD 

n2 

220c 

UD 

220 

16V 

EE5 

2e 

220 

16h 

2E 

220 

16H 

2B 

220 

16H 

14 

? / ? 

14 

? / ? 

14 

? / ? 

? 

? / ? 

14 

? / ? 

14 

8.2 / 

5.9 

? 

6-7 / 

6-7 

? ▪ None 

▪ None 

▪ "pretty stable" 

Se8117t33 

12-13 cf 

SE8117T33 

1213-LF 

▪ OK "has not been stress tested yet 

▪ "stable good runner overclocked t 

▪ USB/Keyboard/LAN power down 

▪ 

▪ None



BH1218 

BH1218 

BH1218 

BH1208 

BH1213 

Hynix 

H9TKNNN2GDMP 

LANDM 217A 

Hynix 

H9TKNNN2GDMP 

LANDM 218A 

Hynix 

H9TKNNN2GDMP 

LRNOM 217A 

Hynix 

H9TKNNN2GDMP 

LANDM 149A 

Hynix 

H9TKNNN2GDMP 

LANDM 149A 

SMSC 

LAN9512-JZX 

B1215-A1B17 

BR150188B 

ASE-TW (e3) 

SMSC 

LAN9512-JZX 

B1215-A1B17 

BR150188A 

ASE-TW (e3) 

SMSC 

LAN9512-JZX 

B1215-A1B17 

8R150188B 

ASE-TW (e3) 

SMSC 

LAN9512-JZX 

B1134-A1B17 

BR147769B 

STA-SG 

SMSC 

LAN9512-JZX 

B1134-A1B17 

BR147769B 

STA-SG 

2B 

220 

16H 

2E 

220 

16H 

2E 

220 

16H 

2E 

220 

16H 

2E 

22- 

16H 

220 

16V 

EE2 

n2 

220C 

UD 

? 

? / ? 

F014 

? / ? 

14 

6.9 / 

5.9 

14 

? / ? 

14 

? / ? 

? 

? / ? 

? 

? / ? 

SE8117T33 

1213-LF 

SE8117T33 

1213-LF 

SE8117T33 

1213-LF 

SE8117T33 

1213-LF 

SE8117T33 

1001-LF 

SE8117T33 

943-LF 

▪ None 

▪ None 

▪ None 

▪ None 

▪ D1 shorted when attaching a Neew 

devices before or since. 

▪ Stable, powers up off any charger 

▪ Ethernet: LU1S041ALF 1018M 

▪ Stable, no power issues (not thour 

▪ Ethernet: HR901110A 1211|

BH1218 

BS1218 

BS1219 

BS1219 

BH1222 

Hynix 

H9TKNNN2GDMP 

LANDM 217A 

Samsung 

216 

K42P2G324ED-AGG1 

GAL0839T 

Samsung 

216 


GAL0859V 

Samsung 

216 


GAL0859D 

Hynix 

H9TKNNN2GDMP 

LANDM 214A 

BS1224 Samsung 

SMSC 

LAN9512-JZX 

B1216-A1B17 

8R149482C 

ASE-TW (e3) 

SMSC 

LAN9512-JZX 

B1212-A1B17 

8R149885A 

ASE-TW (e3) 

SMSC 

LAN9512-JZX 

B1216-A1B17 

8R149482C 

ASE-TW (e3) 

SMSC 

LAN9512-JZX 

B1216-A1B17 

8R149482C 

ASE-TW (e3) 

SMSC 

LAN9512-JZX 

B1215-A1B17 

8R148168E 

ASE-TW (e3) 

SMSC 

LAN9512-JZX 

B1222-A1B17 

2E 

220 

16H 

220 

16V 

EE5 

2E 

220 

16H 

2E 

220 

16H 

2E 

220 

16H 

2F 

220 

16H 

14 

14 / 5.1 

T014 

T014 

/ ? 

T014 

2.9ohm 

/ 

3.0ohm 

T014 / 

T014 

? / ? 

T014 / 

T014 

? / ? 

T014 / 

T014 

? / ? 

SE8117T33 

1213-LF 

SE8117T33 

1213-LF 

SE8117T33 

0941-LF 

SE8117T33 

0941-LF 

SE8117T33 

1217-LF 

SE8117T33 

1217-LF 

▪ Up headless with Squeeze and Wh 

▪ Ethernet: HR901110A 1211 

▪ Comes upp headless with Wheezy 


▪ First had problems (freezing, no L 

Now works OK with Raspbian “w 


▪ F3 0.3ohm 

▪ No issues 


▪ FN120659744 

▪ No issues 


▪ E2712RSV1.0B1.1 

▪ Ethernet: HanRun HR901110A 12

BS1224 

BS1218 

BS1222 

BS1232 

BS1228 

BS1233 

222 


GAA0419T 

Samsung 

222 


GAA0519H 

Samsung 

216 


GAL0839R 

Samsung 

225 


GAC0289E 

Samsung 

225 


GAC0289H 

Samsung 

234 


GAK1229X 

Samsung 

231 

K4P4G324EB-AGC1 

GKG0609V 

(512MB version) 

8R150543C 

CTI-TW (e3) 

SMSC 

LAN9512-JZX 

B1223-A1B17 

8R15D81DA 

CTI-TW (e3) 

SMSC 

LAN9512-JZX 

B1215-A1B17 

8R150188B 

ASE-TW 

(e3) 

SMSC 

LAN9512-JZX 

B1227-A1B17 

8R1511968 

CTI-TW (e3) 

SMSC 

LAN9512-JZX 

B1227-A1B17 

8R151261A 

CTI-TW (e3) 

SMSC 

LAN9512-JZX 

B1228-A1B17 

8R151303B 

CTI-TW (e3) 

SMSC 

LAN9512-JZX 

B1227-A1B17 

8R151261A 

CTI-TW (e3) 

2F 

220 

16H 

2E 

220 

16H 

2F 

220 

16H 

2F 

220 

16H 

2E 

220 

16H 

2E 

220 

CFP 

2G6 

0000 / 

0000 

0 / 0 

F014 

? / ? 

0000 / 

0000 

0 / 0 

0000 / 

0000 

0 / 0 

0000 / 

0000 

? / ? 

None / 

None 

? / ? 

SE8117T33 

1220-LF 

SE8117T33 

1213-LF 

SE8117T33 

1217-LF 

SE8117T33 

1225-LF 

SE8117T33 

1220-LF 

17-33G 

RRB32 (ON) 


▪ No Issues 

▪ Note: F1 and F2 are black 0 ohm 

▪ None 


▪ Both boards by wcfields ordered a 



▪ Both boards by wcfields ordered a 


* Serious problems with the 4GB SDHC- 

* Same issues using rasbian and two d 

* Using RS original power adapter 

-Ethernet Jack: No visible branding 

-PS: 500mA Mobile phone charger & USB 

-Fuse(s): ONLY seems to have green pol 

-In the position of the (other fuses)

BS1236 

} 

Samsung 

225 

K4P46324EB-AGC1 

GKEM509X 

(512MB version) 

SMSC 

LAN9512-JZX 

B1232-A1B17 

8R151680A 

CTI-TW (e3) 

2F 

220 

16H 

None / 

None 

? / ? 

SE8117T33 

1225-LF 

Retrieved from "http://elinux.org/index.php?title=RaspberryPi_Boards&oldid=195062" 



Unported License. 

-There is also an extra header (P5) de 

-Won't boot with a known working (This 

-When using raspbmc powered with 550ma 

-When using torrents and connected wit 

-The unit WILL boot from the SD card b 

-Will add more when I know more. 

▪ Ethernet Jack: HanRun HT901110 

▪ Seems to randomly power off on 3 

▪ Extra header, F1, F2 and F3 and m

RPi Hardware 



Hardware & 

Peripherals: 

Hardware and 

Hardware 

History. 

Low-level 

Peripherals and 

Expansion 

Boards. 

Screens, Cases 

and Other 

Peripherals. 

Introduction 

Contents 

▪ 1 Introduction 

▪ 2 Specifications 

▪ 3 Components 

▪ 4 Schematic / Layout 

▪ 5 Power 

▪ 5.1 Power Supply Problems 

▪ 5.1.1 How Can I tell if the power supply is inadequate? 

▪ 5.1.2 Things that can cause problems 

▪ 5.1.3 Summary 

▪ 5.2 Capacitor C6 


The first product is the size of a credit card, and is 

designed to plug into a TV or HDMI monitor. It comes 

in two variants, model A and B, with B having more 

features. The expected price is $25 for model A and $35 

for model B. The GPIO pins on each board allow the 

use of optional expansion boards. 

Those who are looking to set up a Raspberry Pi for the 

first time, see RPi Hardware Basic Setup. 

The unpopulated Rpi bèta 

board 

Several different Hardware versions/revisions 

RaspberryPi Boards have been found probably from 

different assembly lines. Try to identify your board for better troubleshooting and update 

it if you have one which is not mentioned.

Specifications 

Target price: [1] 

System-on-a-chip 

(SoC): [1] 

Model A Model B 

US$25 Ext tax (GBP £16 Exc 

VAT) 

US$35 Ext tax (GBP £22 

Exc VAT) 

Broadcom BCM2835 (CPU + GPU. SDRAM is a separate chip 

stacked on top) 

CPU: 700 MHz ARM11 ARM1176JZF-S core 

GPU: 

Memory 

(SDRAM)iB 

Broadcom VideoCore IV,OpenGL ES 2.0,OpenVG 1080p30 

H.264 high-profile encode/decode 

256 MiB (planned with 128 MiB, 

upgraded to 256 MiB on 29 Feb 

2012) 

256 MiB (until 15 Oct 

2012); 512 MiB (since 15 

Oct 2012) 

USB 2.0 ports: 1 (provided by the BCM2835) 2 (via integrated USB hub) 

Video outputs: [1] 

Composite video | Composite RCA, HDMI (not at the same 

time) 

Audio outputs: [1] TRS connector | 3.5 mm jack, HDMI 

Audio inputs: none, but a USB mic or sound-card could be added 

Onboard Storage: Secure Digital|SD / MMC / SDIO card slot 

Onboard 

Network: [1] None 10/100 wired Ethernet RJ45 

Low-level 

peripherals: 

Real-time clock: [1] None 

Power ratings 

(provisional, from 

alpha board): 

General Purpose Input/Output (GPIO) pins, Serial Peripheral 

Interface Bus (SPI), I²C, I²S [2] , Universal asynchronous 

receiver/transmitter (UART) 

500 mA, (2.5 W) [1] 700 mA, (3.5 W) 

Power source: [1] 5 V (DC) via Micro USB type B or GPIO header 

Size: 85.0 x 56.0 mm (two different boards, measured with callipers)

Components 

(Provisional - some of 

the expansion 

interfaces won't be 

available on 

production boards) 

(PCB IDs are those of 

the Model B Beta 

board) 

▪ SoC: Broadcom 

BCM2835 media 

processor 

A diagram denoting the places of the different components on the 

Rpi, made by Paul Beech, edited to show 256MB ram for both boards 

(http://www.broadcom.com/products/BCM2835) (datasheet 

(http://www.raspberrypi.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/BCM2835-ARM- 

Peripherals.pdf) , BCM2835 datasheet errata, unofficial pinout) system-on-chip 

featuring: 

▪ CPU core: ARM1176JZF-S (http://infocenter.arm.com/help/topic/ 

com.arm.doc.ddi0301h/DDI0301H_arm1176jzfs_r0p7_trm.pdf) ARM11 core 

clocked at 700MHz; ARM VFP. The ARM11 core implements the ARMv6

Architecture. For details on ARM instruction sets and naming conventions, see 

ARM architecture (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ARM_architecture) and List of 

ARM microprocessor cores (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ 

List_of_ARM_microprocessor_cores) . 

▪ GPU core: a Broadcom VideoCore (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Videocore) IV 

GPU providing OpenGL ES 1.1, OpenGL ES 2.0, hardware-accelerated OpenVG 

1.1, Open EGL, OpenMAX and 1080p30 H.264 high-profile decode. There are 

24 GFLOPS of general purpose compute and a bunch of texture filtering and 

DMA infrastructure. Eben worked on the architecture team for this and the 

Raspberry Pi team are looking at how they can make some of the proprietary 

features available to application programmers 

▪ DSP core: There is a DSP, but there isn't currently a public API (Liz thinks the 

BC team are keen to make one available at some point) 

▪ 256MiB of (Hynix MobileDDR2 (http://www.hynix.com/products/mobile/ 

view.jsp?info.ramKind=28&info.serialNo=H9TKNNN2GDMPLR&posMap=MobileDDR2) 

or Samsung Mobile DRAM (http://www.samsung.com/global/business/ 

semiconductor/product/mobile-dram/detail?productId=7611&iaId=747) ) 

SDRAM (or 512MB Mobile DRAM (http://www.samsung.com/global/business/ 

semiconductor/product/mobile-dram/detail?iaId=747&productId=7609) on later 

boards). The RAM is physically stacked on top of the Broadcom media processor 

(package-on-package technology (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ 

Package_on_package) ). Here is a photo of the SDRAM (left) and BCM2835 

(right) (http://www.raspberrypi.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/ 

brcm2835plusmemory.jpg) ball grid arrays on JamesH's finger. You are looking 

at the bottom side. The BCM2835 top side has a land grid array which matches 

the SDRAM ball grid array. Here is a highly magnified side view of the SDRAM 

stacked on top of the BCM2835 stacked on top of the PCB PoP stack 

(http://www.raspberrypi.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/ 

2012-09-21-10.58.22.jpg) (you can see why it's job that can only be done by 

robots!). 

▪ LAN9512 (Data Brief (http://www.smsc.com/media/Downloads_Public/Data_Briefs/ 

9512db.pdf) | Data Sheet (http://www.smsc.com/media/Downloads_Public/ 

Data_Sheets/9512.pdf) ) (Model B) providing: 

▪ 10/100Mb Ethernet (Auto-MDIX) [3] 

▪ 2x USB 2.0 

▪ S1: Micro USB power jack (5v - Power Only) 

▪ S2: DSI (http://www.mipi.org/specifications/display-interface) interface. 15-pin 

surface mounted flat flex connector, providing two data lanes, one clock lane, 3.3V 

and GND. 

▪ S3: HDMI connector providing type A HDMI 1.3a out 

▪ S4: Composite Video connector: RCA 

▪ S5: MIPI CSI-2 (http://www.mipi.org/specifications/camera-interface) interface. 

15-pin surface mounted flat flex connector. 

▪ S6: Audio connector: 3.5mm stereo jack (output only)

▪ S8: SD/MMC/SDIO memory card slot (underside) 

▪ S7: Either 1x USB 2.0 (Model A) 2x USB 2.0 (Model B) 

▪ P1: 26-pin 2.54 mm header expansion, providing: see Low-level peripherals 

▪ 8 GPIOs at 3v3 

▪ 2-pin UART serial console, 3v3 TTL (debug); or 2 GPIOs at 3v3 

▪ I²C interface (3v3); or 2 GPIOs at 3v3 

▪ SPI interface (3v3); or 5 GPIOs at 3v3 

▪ 3v3, 5v and GND supply pins 

▪ ARM JTAG (if pins are reconfigured in software and one signal is taken from S5) 

▪ Second I²C interface (3v3) (if pins are reconfigured in software) 

▪ I²S interface (if pins are reconfigured in software, hardware hack may be 

required [2] ) 

▪ 6 pins reserved for future use 

▪ P2: 8-pin 2.54 mm header expansion providing GPU JTAG (ARM11 pinout, pin 7 is 

nofit for locating) 

▪ P3: 7-pin 2.54 mm header expansion (header not fitted), providing LAN9512 JTAG 

(pin 6 is nofit for locating) 

▪ P4: 10/100Mb RJ45 Ethernet jack (Model B) 

▪ TP1 and TP2: Test Points giving access to +5V and GND respectively 

▪ 5 Status LEDs [4][5][6][7][8] : 

▪ D5(Green) - SDCard Access (via GPIO16) - labelled as "OK" on Rev1.0 boards 

and "ACT" on Rev2.0 boards 

▪ D6(Red) - 3.3 V Power - labelled as "PWR" on both Rev1.0 and Rev2.0 boards 

▪ D7(Green) - Full Duplex (LAN) (Model B) - labelled as "FDX" on both Rev1.0 

and Rev2.0 boards 

▪ D8(Green) - Link/Activity (LAN) (Model B) - labelled as "LNK" on both Rev1.0 

and Rev2.0 boards 

▪ D9(Yellow) - 10/100Mbit (LAN) (Model B) - labelled (incorrectly) as "10M" on 

Rev1.0 boards and "100" on Rev2.0 boards 

▪ Board size: 85.60 mm x 53.98 mm. Overall height expected to be less than 25 mm. 

[9] 

▪ A model B between highest points (USB connector to card slot) measured 21 

mm. 

▪ Weight: under 40 g? 

▪ Alpha board weighs approx. 55 g. [10] 

▪ A sample model B weighed 39.45 g. 

▪ 6 layer PCB [9]

Schematic / Layout 

▪ PCB screenshot (http://www.raspberrypi.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/ 

gerbers2.png) 

▪ PCB screenshot, labelled version (http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-uO4l8pwSLvU/ 

TsQGbth6x6I/AAAAAAAAAkk/5zQMH3uKPiE/s829/Boardlayout.png) 

▪ PCB screenshot, Alpha board (http://www.raspberrypi.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/ 

07/raspberry1.png) 

▪ Preliminary power supply schematic, Beta board (http://www.raspberrypi.org/wpcontent/uploads/2011/12/psu.png) 

▪ High-resolution PCB front photo, production board (http://elinux.org/File:RPi-Front- 

JPB.jpg) 

▪ High-resolution PCB back photo, production board (http://elinux.org/File:RPi-back- 

JPB.jpg) 

▪ GIMP project containing properly aligned versions of the high-res PCB photos and 

Gerbers on separate layers (117MB) (http://www.andrewscheller.co.uk/bare_pcb.xcf) 

▪ "Xray style" image of the beta board, created from the above GIMP project | desktop 

wallpapers 

▪ Official Rev1.0 schematics PDF (http://www.raspberrypi.org/wp-content/uploads/ 

2012/04/Raspberry-Pi-Schematics-R1.0.pdf) | Official Rev2.0 schematics PDF 

(http://www.raspberrypi.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Raspberry-Pi- 

R2.0-Schematics-Issue2.2_027.pdf) | differences | errata | breakdown | partial BOM 

▪ 'Module groups' of the PCB photos (http://www.andrewscheller.co.uk/ 

rpi_pcb_modules.html) 

Power 

The board takes fixed 5V input, (with the 1V2 core voltage generated directly from the 

input using the internal switch-mode supply on the BCM2835 die). This permits adoption 

of the micro USB form factor, which, in turn, prevents the user from inadvertently 

plugging in out-of-range power inputs; that would be dangerous, since the 5V would go 

straight to HDMI and output USB ports, even though the problem should be mitigated by 

some protections applied to the input power: The board provides a polarity protection 

diode, a voltage clamp, and a self-resetting semiconductor fuse. 

Premier Farnell recommend the following power supplies: 

▪ Model A: 5V dc, 500-700mA 

▪ Model B: 5V dc, 700-1200mA 

Power consumption of the Raspberry Pi device is 

▪ Board A: 5V, 500 mA (2.5W) without any devices connected (e.g. USB, Ethernet, 

HDMI)

▪ Board B: 5V, 700 mA (3.5W) without any devices connected (e.g. USB, Ethernet, 

HDMI) (Is this correct? These [1] (http://www.raspberrypi.org/forum/ 

troubleshooting/usb-hub-sending-power-to-raspberry-pi-through-usb-port/#p68382) 

links [2] (http://www.raspberrypi.org/forum/general-discussion/raspberry-pi-powerrequirements/page-2/#p68224) 

suggest that the 700mA is only required if "using 

networking and high-current USB peripherals" [3] (http://www.raspberrypi.org/ 

archives/260) .) 

You will need to provide a power supply that can provide enough current to power the 

device plus any connected peripherals, and taking into account inefficiencies of the 

supply itself and the cable between the power supply and Raspberry Pi. The community 

advises opting for a power supply that can supply at least 1A if using USB peripherals or 

Pi plates that draw more than a few tens of milliamps of current. 

▪ As the 5V rail is brought out in the GPIO pins, you can power the Rpi from there too. 

You should mind however, that those are behind the power protection circuitry, so 

you should provide your own. 

▪ It is possible to power the Rpi from a powered USB hub the Rpi controls, but only on 

'dumb' devices, that allow the port to supply the full current without waiting for the 

usb device to ask for it[4] (http://www.raspberrypi.org/forum/general-discussion/ 

power-pi-from-usb-hub-connected-to-pi) . As the power input of the Rpi doesn't have 

its data leads connected, there is no chance for a communication loop of some sorts. 

▪ POE (power over ethernet) is currently not available for the Rpi (but nobody stops 

you from taking your soldering iron and doing it yourself - mind though that the 

Ethernet jack on the board is a 'magjack' - http://www.sparkfun.com/datasheets/ 

Prototyping/MagJack.pdf - which means that the usual 'dumb or passive PoE' power 

pins 47 and 78 are *not* wired through to the board. So this is not an entirely trivial 

exercise). 

▪ Back-Powering; (powering the Raspberry Pi from a USB hub through the uplink/data 

port, single cable) Back powering is possible on the Raspberry Pi. Revision 1.0 

boards have to be modified to back power, this is due to the 140ma "polyfuses" that 

are installed in the USB port circuit. Revision 1.1 boards do not need modifications to 

back-power, they have replaced the polyfuses with 0ohm resistors in their place. 

Revision 2.0 boards do not need modification, they have neither resistors nor 

polyfuses. It is advised that short (12" (.3 meter) or less) USB cables be used for 

back-powering a Raspberry Pi. Cable resistance plus connector resistance can quickly 

reduce operating voltages below the proper range(5.25V to 4.75V). 

Power Supply Problems 

There have been a number of problems reported that seem to be caused by inadequate 

power, this is an attempt to explain what is needed and the consequences of not having 

enough power.

The power required by the Pi will vary depending on how busy it is and what peripherals 

are connected. 

▪ Running a GUI will take more power. 

▪ The USB devices and Ethernet connection will take power. 

▪ Running the GPU will take extra power. 

This means that it's difficult to say exactly how much power is needed. People have 

reported current requirements of between 300mA and 550mA. But it could in reality take 

more, especially for short periods. A simple multimeter will not show short surges on the 

power requirement. A surge in the power requirement for a few milliseconds will not be 

detectable by a meter but will be enough to cause problems. If the board does not get 

enough power the voltage will drop. If it drops enough parts of the system will run 

unreliably because data can get corrupted. The USB IC runs on 5V and handles the USB 

and Ethernet ports so it's likely that this will be the first thing to fail. Problems seen are 

unreliable Ethernet connection and unreliable operation of the Keyboard and/or mouse. 

Each of the two USB ports on the Pi has a polyfuse rated at 140 mA, so any connected 

USB devices should draw less than this amount of current. In addition the polyfuse will 

cause a significant voltage drop, so that USB devices get less voltage than is available on 

the RPI itself, sometimes up to half a volt less (maybe more if the fuse has recently been 

hot). For regular "low power" USB devices this doesn't cause a problem as they are 

designed to work with voltages as low as 4.4 Volt. This isn't the case however with some 

USB devices such as WiFi dongles which may need 4.75 Volt, and are also known to 

draw more than 150 mA when configured and active. Because of the problems these 

polyfuses caused Raspberry PI's produced after August 25, 2012 have the USB polyfuses 

F1 & F2 removed (replaced with shorts). 

The microUSB input port also has a 1.1 A polyfuse (700mA "hold current") which may 

also have enough resistance (although much smaller than the 140mA fuses) to cause a 

significant voltage drop on the board, even below its 1.1 A total current. 

A extended explanation of the consequences of the use of these polyfuses can be found 

here Polyfuses explained 

There are several reasons why the power to the board may be inadequate: 

▪ The PSU may not deliver enough power. Although the maximum power requirement 

is said to be 700mA, that is with no peripherals connected (USB, Ethernet etc), so a 

1000mA PSU should be regarded as a minimum. This allows some leeway in case 

the power supply cannot deliver its full power without the voltage dropping. 

▪ The PSU is not regulated. 

▪ The cable connecting the PSU to the Pi may not be good. People have reported cables 

with 4 ohms resistance on the power connections. At 500mA drain this would reduce 

a 5V supply to 3V.

▪ If the PSU is unregulated it can also output too high a voltage, which may trigger the 

overvoltage device in the PI, which will temporarily short the 5V to ground, this will 

then "blow" polyfuse F3, which will take several days to recover from. Meanwhile 

(possibly with another PSU) the PI might not get enough power because the (partly) 

blown polyfuse is consuming some of the power. The solution is when this happens 

to ways a few days to give the polyfuse time to recover before attempting to use the 

better PSU. If you suspect a blow polyfuse, measure the voltage across F3, which 

should be less than 0.05 Volt. 

How Can I tell if the power supply is inadequate? 

Common symptoms of an inadequate power supply are 

▪ Unreliable Ethernet or keyboard operation, especially if it's OK at first but not when 

the GUI is started. 

▪ SD card errors at start up seems to be another symptom of poor power. 

If you think you have a problem with your power supply, it is a good idea to check the 

actual voltage on the Raspberry Pi circuit board. Two test points labelled TP1 and TP2 

are provided on the circuit board to facilitate voltage measurements. 

Use a multimeter which is set to the range 20 volts DC (or 20v =). You should see a 

voltage between 4.75 and 5.25 volts. Anything outside this range indicates that you have 

a problem with your power supply or your power cable, or the input polyfuse F3. 

Anything inside, but close to the limits, of this range may indicate a problem.

Things that can cause problems 

▪ A USB connection on a TV or PC. The USB power supply specification is for up to 

500mA and if the TV implements this then it can cause problems. The system may

work initially but be unreliable because as it becomes more active the power 

requirement increases. 

▪ A single supply from a powered hub. Most hubs seem to deliver more than the 

specified current but there's no guarantee. Check the power supply rating, it must be 

enough to supply everything that's connected to the hub. 

▪ A power supply that is rated for less than 700mA may work some of the time. 

▪ Adding a USB hard disk drive. A HDD will take quite a lot of power as it starts, 

maybe an amp or more. It the power supply for this also supplies the Pi then this 

could overload things and cause trouble. 

▪ Some complex keyboards have been reported to take a considerable amount of 

power, maybe up to 500mA. The Pi cannot deliver this amount of power. Simpler 

budget keyboards may be better. If the system works with no keyboard attached but 

not with a keyboard then it's worth trying a different, simpler, keyboard. 

Summary 

▪ If you are having unreliable operation the first thing to do is check your power 

supply. 

▪ Start with a good quality regulated power supply that is rated to provide 5V and at 

least 1A (1000mA). 

▪ Use a good quality micro USB cable. Cables are notorious for giving trouble so be 

prepared to swap for another one. 

▪ Not all power supplies will deliver what they claim. 

Capacitor C6 

Behind the microUSB power connector on the Model B is a metallic grey component 

called a capacitor, marked as C6. This capacitor helps stabilise the DC power on the 

board, but for some it has also become a place for their thumb when removing the RPI's 

power lead; unfortunately, this can result in the capacitor breaking off! It has been stated 

in the forums that the type of capacitor used for C6 will be changed on later RPi models 

for one with sturdier leads. If you do break off your C6 capacitor, it's highly likely that 

your RPi will still work properly, unless you have a particularly unstable power supply, 

but the general advice is to not use C6 as a leverage point when removing the power 

connector and also take care when storing or transporting your RPi if it's not fitted in a 

case - try not to stow the board where C6 could be knocked by other items - for example 

in a laptop carry case or in amongst some books.

Capacitor C6 (ringed) 

It's unlikely that replacing a broken off C6 capacitor will be covered under warranty, but 

fortunately they are easy to replace if you have average soldering skills 

(http://www.raspberrypi.org/archives/1494) , but remember that reworking your RPi will 

void its warranty too. C6 is a surface mount electrolytic capacitor with a capacitance of 

220 microfarad (μF) and a voltage rating of 16 volt (V). The capacitor is polarised and so 

must be fitted the right way round - notice the black marking on one side in the picture 

above. A replacement capacitor can be purchased from numerous sources - for example: 

Farnell (http://uk.farnell.com/jsp/search/ 

browse.jsp?N=202457+110114112+110119850+110141127+110200576&No=0&getResults=true&appliedpa 

Rapid Electronics (http://www.rapidonline.com/Electronic-Components/ 

220uf-16v-85deg-Smd-Electro-Capacitor-11-2264) 

RS Components (http://uk.rs-online.com/web/c/passives/capacitors/aluminium/?sortby=default&sort-order=default&applieddimensions=4294884868,%204294884170,%204294672278,4294885140&lastAttributeSelectedBlock=4294 

If you prefer to make your own PSU - see: Power Supply construction - HowTo 

References 

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 http://www.raspberrypi.org/faqs 

2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Forum:Sad about removal of I2S. Why was this change made? 

(http://www.raspberrypi.org/forum/features-and-requests/sad-about-removal-ofi2s-why-was-this-change-made) 

3. ↑ Wikipedia:Auto-MDIX (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ 

Medium_dependent_interface#Auto-MDIX)

4. ↑ RPiBlog Post: High-res pics of the PCBs (http://www.raspberrypi.org/archives/ 

402) 

5. ↑ TwitPic:Photo of Board Powered (http://twitpic.com/8edlsf) 

6. ↑ Forum:What do the status indicator LEDs indicate the status of? 

(http://www.raspberrypi.org/forum/features-and-requests/what-do-the-statusindicator-leds-indicate-the-status-of) 

7. ↑ RPi_schematic_errata 

8. ↑ RPiBlog Post: A nice shiny photo of the rev2 board – and User Guide news 

(http://www.raspberrypi.org/archives/1959) 

9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 http://www.raspberrypi.org/archives/344 

10. ↑ 

http://www.raspberrypi.org/?page_id=43&mingleforumaction=viewtopic&t=285.0 

Raspberry Pi 





Hardware 




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Retrieved from "http://elinux.org/index.php?title=RPi_Hardware&oldid=185762" 


▪ This page was last modified on 30 October 2012, at 12:53. 


Unported License.

RPi 5V PSU construction 



Hardware & 

Peripherals: 

Hardware and 

Hardware 

History. 

Low-level 

Peripherals and 

Expansion 

Boards. 

Contents 


▪ 1 A 5V power supply for the Raspberry Pi - Construction How To 

▪ 1.1 Resources on 7805 

▪ 1.2 The testing prototype 

▪ 2 Other PSU options 

▪ 3 Mobile battery power supply options 

▪ 4 Over-voltage protection 


A 5V power supply for the Raspberry Pi - Construction 

How To 

Due to various problems with the power supply for the RaspberryPi, a home made PSU 

might be a solution for some of you. You will need some experience with construction of 

electronic circuits, appropriate tools and a multimeter. 

I have had problems with a cheap 5V/1A adapter from Ebay too (freezing, no LAN, etc.) 

... The adapter could not provide enough power. It had 5.0xV unloaded, but with 

RaspberryPi connected I've measured 4.78V and less - dropping to 4.5V on TP1 and TP2 

[1] , and that's not good. The voltage drop might be partially caused by the cable, but I've 

used a branded Nokia cable that looks pretty solid. Anyway, we have to compensate for 

that too. Also there is some voltage drop on the polyfuse F3 (typically 0.1-0.2V, fuse 

should have about 0.2 Ohms [2] ), hence don't expect to get >=5.0V on TP1-TP2...

Cheap PSU Cheap PSU - inside 

So instead of looking for another PSU (or cell phone charger), I decided to make my own 

PSU with the popular 7805 - 5V/1A regulator [3] [4] . (There is also a 2A version available 

- 78S05) 

The basic idea is shown on this schematic: 

The resistors R1 and R2 serve as adjustment of the output voltage (~ 5.25V). The formula 

is: V out = V fixed + { R2 [ (V fixed/R1) + I standby] }, where V fixed=5V and I 

standby=2.5mA (for 7805). I calculated for resistors that I had at home, but for best 

results R1 should be about 470ohm to 1k. Remember that resistors have some tolerance, 

so results may vary slightly, always measure. Value of C3 is not critical, I recommend 

100-470uF. Same for C4, where for every 1A drawn, use 1000uF of capacity (and add 

some reserve). Don't forget to put C1 and C2 as close as possible to the regulator. And a 

heatsink for the regulator is necessary too. 

I've used an old 9.5V/1500mA power supply from an printer as the source for this 

regulator, so no transformer and rectifier etc. was needed in my case. And it works just 

fine :)

Here is a schematic of a complete PSU including all components: 

(a suggestion, with better filtering and protection) 

Starting from left, we have a transformer (protected by a fuse - F1) supplying about 

7-12V AC at 2A (use what you have at home or what is cheaper to buy). Next is a 

rectifier (or 4 diodes / >1A) with caps (C7-C10, for filtering). Now we should have 

approx. x 1.41 - so if we have a 9V transformer, it will be about 12.69V. 

The 7805 needs at least 2V [5] (depending on type/manufacturer) more on the input than 

on the output (I prefer using a little more, >=3V to be sure) for stable regulation, and it 

can be up to 35V (but a big difference between input and output voltage means "a lot 

work" for the regulator and a lot heating). In this case, 8-9V DC measured after the 

rectifier would be optimal. Main filtering is ensured by C4 (use at least 1000uF for each 

1A drawn), another filtering after the regulator is C3 (100-470uF). C1-C6 serve the 7805 

for stable function and HF filtering. R1 and R2 adjust the voltage to 5.25V, as described 

before. D1 and D2 are for protection. A transil is used for over-voltage (peaks) protection 

on the output, a 5V8 type should be fine (5.8V reverse standoff voltage and approx. 6.2V 

breakdown voltage) - use P6KE6.8A or BZW06-5V8. For operation signaling (device on) 

a LED coupled with R3 is used. You may use another fuse on the output - F2. 

This is a rather fancy circuit, you may simplify it if you like - by leaving out C7-C10, C5, 

C6, D1, D2, LED and R3, F2 (and the transil, if you don't want any protection). Or leave 

just some of them. Your choice ;) 

Also if you prefer to fine-tune the output voltage, you may replace R2 with a small 

pot (trimmer) as shown here:

With this values (R1=1k, R2=100) adjustment from 5V to approx. 5.75V is possible. 

Resources on 7805 

For more info about the 7805 regulator, google the datasheet (http://www.google.com/ 

search?q=7805+datasheet) and see the following resources. 

Resource links: 

The Adjustable Voltage Regulator (http://www.rason.org/Projects/regulator/ 

regulator.htm) , 

Variable power supply using 7805 (http://www.circuitstoday.com/variable-power-supplyusing-7805) 

, 

or google more (http://www.google.com/search?q=7805+regulator) 

The testing prototype 

This is my testing prototype of this PSU, based on the first schematic. It's made of "what 

was found in the drawer". I've used an old 7805 regulator in TO3 package [6] , C3 was 

taken from some broken mainboard, C4 is left out (it's not necessary, because the circuit 

is powered by a stable power supply from some old printer). The PSU provides stable 

5.25V and i have 4.82V on TP1-TP2. My RaspberryPi works OK now :)

5V PSU prototype 5V PSU prototype 5V PSU prototype 

5V PSU prototype 

I will make another PSU (for permanent operation) later - new 7805 in TO-220 package 

[7] , appropriate heatsink, 1k resistor for R1 and a small pot for R2, new "fresh" caps and a 

transil, usb connector on PCB ... and I'll put it in some case. 

~#Pinoccio 

Other PSU options 

Simple switched PSU (with LM2576): The MagPi - Issue 6 (http://www.themagpi.com) - 

page 8+9, 

And more info on LM2576 [8] : link (http://www.hobby-hour.com/electronics/ 

lm2576-step-down-switching-regulator.php) , link (http://wiringschematic.net/ 

lm2576-switching-regulator/) , link (http://www.siongboon.com/projects/ 

2005-08-07_lm2576_dc-dc_converter/)

Mobile battery power supply options 

A Battery Elminator Circuit (BEC) should be able provide a solid 5V output at upto 3A 

which will be plenty to handle the load on a normal RPi 

Something like http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/ 

store/__15212__HobbyKing_Micro_UBEC_3A_5v.html Connect this BEC to a 3S LiPo 

5000mAh batter and you should get 15 hours of run time off one full charge. You could 

also connect it directly to a 12v car battery for even longer run time. 

Over-voltage protection 

Here is a nice upgrade for your PSU - a over-voltage protection circuit (see original post 

(http://blog.3b2.sk/igi/post/Tipy-a-triky-011-Prepatova-ochrana-Voltage-protect-Tipstricks.aspx) 

in Slovak language). It can protect your device (RPi) from unwanted damage 

by high voltage from a faulty/malfunctioning PSU. In such case, it will short-circuit and 

burn its fuse immediately. 

Steps: 

▪ choose appropriate fuse (according to expected load): 1-1.5A (fast type) 

▪ first don't put the fuse in its holder - you have to initially adjust the circuit, so use a 

piece of wire (or you can use a lower-current fuse too if you don't mind spending/ 

burning it during the adjustment process) 

▪ set the 2k2 pot (trimmer) to its max. value 

▪ connect protection circuit to a power supply (if available a stabilized lab-PSU is 

preferred), set to 5.25V output (max. for USB; or exact 5V if you want) and 1-1.5A 

current limit

▪ now slowly turn the 2k2 pot until the PSU's current-limiter goes on (or the fuse burns 

- if you chose that option) 

▪ well done, disconnect, now replace wire with your fuse and you're good to go 

References 

1. ↑ http://elinux.org/R-Pi_Troubleshooting#Troubleshooting_power_problems 


3. ↑ http://www.learningaboutelectronics.com/Articles/What-is-a-LM7805-voltageregulator 

4. ↑ http://www.circuitstune.com/2012/09/7805-voltage-regulatorcircuit-7805-pinout.html 

5. ↑ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/78xx 

6. ↑ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TO-3 

7. ↑ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TO-220 

8. ↑ http://www.ti.com/product/lm2576 

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RPi Documentation 


Back to the 

Hub. 

Resources: 

Hardware & 

Peripherals: 

Hardware and 

Hardware 

History. 

Low-level 

Peripherals 

and Expansion 

Boards. 

Screens, Cases 

and Other 

Peripherals. 

Contents 

Software & OS Distributions: 

Software and Distributions 

Documentation: 

Documentation Page 

▪ 1 Published Datasheets 

▪ 1.1 User Guides 

▪ 1.2 Hardware / Software Datasheets 

▪ 1.2.1 Raspberry Pi Processor Broadcom System-On-Chip: 

▪ 1.2.2 ARM 11 CPU Core: 

▪ 1.2.3 Model B LAN Chip: 

▪ 1.3 Mechanical Data 

▪ 1.3.1 Production Boards (2012 Q1): 

▪ 1.3.2 Beta Boards: 

▪ 1.4 Schematics 

▪ 1.4.1 Production Boards 

▪ 1.4.1.1 Rev 2.0 (2012 Q3): 

▪ 1.4.1.2 Rev 1.0 (2012 Q1): 

▪ 1.4.2 Beta Boards: 

▪ 2 Additional Published Information 

▪ 2.1 Gert Board: 

▪ 2.2 Power Supply Details: 

▪ 3 Documentation Projects 

▪ 3.1 Low Level Documentation 

▪ 3.2 Frambozenier.org Datasheets: 

Frambozenier.org Documentation Project Datasheets 

Note: All datasheets, documents and Trademarks remain the property of their respective owners.

Published Datasheets 

User Guides 

Raspberry Pi Users Guide eBook now available at Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/ 

Raspberry-User-Guide-Gareth-Halfacree/dp/111846446X/ 

ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1347122064&sr=8-2&keywords=raspberry+pi) 

Raspberry Pi Model A/Model B Layout Diagram (http://elinux.org/File:Raspi-Model- 

AB-Mono-2-699x1024.png) 

Hardware / Software Datasheets 

Raspberry Pi Processor Broadcom System-On-Chip: 

BCM2835 ARM Peripherals (http://www.raspberrypi.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/ 

BCM2835-ARM-Peripherals.pdf) - (BCM2835 datasheet errata) 

GPIO Datasheet Addendum - GPIO Pads Control (http://www.scribd.com/doc/ 

101830961/GPIO-Pads-Control2) 

ARM 11 CPU Core: 

(ARM1176JZF-S) (http://infocenter.arm.com/help/topic/com.arm.doc.ddi0301h/ 

DDI0301H_arm1176jzfs_r0p7_trm.pdf) 

Model B LAN Chip: 

(LAN9512) Data Brief (http://www.smsc.com/media/Downloads_Public/Data_Briefs/ 

9512db.pdf) | (LAN9512) Datasheet (http://www.smsc.com/media/Downloads_Public/ 

Data_Sheets/9512.pdf) ) 

Mechanical Data 

Production Boards (2012 Q1): 

none available yet

Beta Boards: 

Gert's Beta Boards Mechanical Data (http://www.scribd.com/doc/77785093/Raspberry- 

Pi-initial-Beta-boards-Mechanical) 

Schematics 

Production Boards 

Rev 2.0 (2012 Q3): 

PCB includes mounting holes, and additional P5 GPIO Header (256Mb RAM briefly - 

512Mb typical) 

Raspberry Pi Rev 2.0 Electrical Schematics (http://www.raspberrypi.org/wp-content/ 

uploads/2012/10/Raspberry-Pi-R2.0-Schematics-Issue2.2_027.pdf) 

Rev 1.0 (2012 Q1): 

Does not include mounting holes or P5 header (256Mb RAM Only). 

Raspberry Pi Rev 1.0 Electrical Schematics (http://www.raspberrypi.org/wp-content/ 

uploads/2012/04/Raspberry-Pi-Schematics-R1.0.pdf) 

Beta Boards: 

Beta Board PCB Layers Screenshot (http://www.raspberrypi.org/wp-content/uploads/ 

2011/11/gerbers2.png) 

Beta Board PCB Layers Screenshot, labelled version (http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/uO4l8pwSLvU/TsQGbth6x6I/AAAAAAAAAkk/5zQMH3uKPiE/s829/ 

Boardlayout.png) 

Additional Published Information 

Gert Board: 

Gertboard-Overview (http://www.scribd.com/doc/88286916/Gertboard-Overview) 

Gertboard Users Manual (pdf) (http://www.element14.com/community/servlet/ 

JiveServlet/downloadBody/48860-102-3-256002/ 

Gertboard_User_Manual_Rev_1%200_F.pdf)

Gertboard Assembly Manual (pdf) (http://www.element14.com/community/servlet/ 

JiveServlet/downloadBody/48916-102-1-256003/ 

Gertboard_Assembly_Manual_Rev1.1_F.pdf) 

Power Supply Details: 

Detailed explanation of the Beta board power supply (http://www.scribd.com/doc/ 

69700160/Rasp-Why-Does-It-Use-More-Power) 

Preliminary power supply schematic, Beta board (http://www.raspberrypi.org/wp-content/ 

uploads/2011/12/psu.png) 

Documentation Projects 

Low Level Documentation 

This section lists community produced documentation of low level aspects of the 

Raspberry Pi that are not documented elsewhere. 

▪ RPi Framebuffer - Documentation on BCM2835's frame buffer and mailbox. Also 

documented in more detail here (https://github.com/raspberrypi/firmware/wiki) 

▪ RPI vcgencmd usage - Documentation for the vcgencmd command. 

Frambozenier.org Datasheets: 

Frambozenier.org Documentation Project Datasheets - Selection of detailed datasheets on 

the Raspberry Pi (developed on the wiki, reviewed then published). 

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