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Getting started

Setting up your Raspberry

Pi
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How to set up a Raspberry Pi

To get started with your Raspberry Pi computer, you’ll

need the following accessories:

A computer monitor or television. Most should work as a

display for the Raspberry Pi, but for best results, you
should use a display with HDMI input. You’ll also need an
appropriate display cable to connect your monitor to your
Raspberry Pi.

A computer keyboard and mouse

Any standard USB keyboard and mouse will work

with your Raspberry Pi.

Wireless keyboards and mice will work if already

paired.

For keyboard layout conJguration options, see

raspi-conJg.

A good quality power supply.

We recommend the oMcial Raspberry Pi Power Supply,

which has been speciJcally designed to consistently
provide +5.1V despite rapid Ructuations in current draw.
Those Ructuations in demand are something that
happens a lot when you’re using peripherals with the
Raspberry Pi and something that other supplies—
designed to provide consistent current for charging
cellphones—usually don’t cope with all that well. It also
has an attached micro USB cable, which means that you
don’t accidentally use a poor-quality cable—something
that can be an issue.

For the Raspberry Pi 4 Model B and Raspberry Pi 400, you

should use the type C power supply; for all other models,
you should use the micro USB power supply.

Finally, you’ll need an SD card; we recommend a

minimum of 8GB micro SD card and use the Raspberry Pi
Imager to install an operating system onto it.

Connecting a Display
Unless you’re setting up your Raspberry Pi to operate
headless, for regular use, you’ll want to plug the
Raspberry Pi into a display: either a computer monitor or
a television.

Your Raspberry Pi has an HDMI port which you can

connect directly to a monitor or TV with an HDMI cable.
This is the easiest solution; some modern monitors and
TVs have HDMI ports, and some do not, but there are
other options.

NOTE

The Raspberry Pi 4 has two micro HDMI connectors,

which require a good-quality micro HDMI cable,
especially when using 4K monitors or television.
Raspberry Pi sells a suitable cable.

If you’re using your Raspberry Pi with a monitor with built-

in speakers and are connecting to it using an HDMI cable,
you can also use it to output sound. For monitors with a
DVI port, you can use an HDMI-to-DVI cable or an HDMI
cable with a DVI adapter. In addition, you can use an
HDMI-to-VGA adapter for older monitors that only
support VGA.

NOTE

Unlike HDMI the DVI and VGA standards do not

support audio.

Finally, some models of Raspberry Pi have a composite

out port for connecting to analog devices, but the type of
connector varies depending on the model. The original
Raspberry Pi used an RCA connector, and a standard RCA
composite video lead will work. Other models (Raspberry
Pi B+ and later) combine the audio and composite out
onto the same 3.5mm jack. This requires a particular type
of lead, with audio left on the tip, audio right on ring 1,
ground on ring 2, and video on the sleeve. This is the
same as leads used on the Zune and on Apple devices.

More information on connecting to a monitor can be

found in as part of the Raspberry Pi Foundation’s
Learning Resources.

SD Cards for Raspberry Pi

Raspberry Pi computers use a micro SD card, except for
very early models which use a full-sized SD card.

WARNING

Because of a hardware limitation in the Raspberry Pi

Zero, 1 and 2, the boot partition on the SD card must
be 256GB or less otherwise the device will not boot
up. Later models of Raspberry Pi 2 — with a BCM2837
SoC — along with the Raspberry Pi 3, 4, Zero 2 W, and
the Raspberry Pi 400 do not have this limitation. This
does not affect Raspberry Pi OS, which always uses a
small boot partition.

Recommended Capacity

We recommend using an SD card of 8GB or greater

capacity with Raspberry Pi OS. If you are using the lite
version of Raspberry Pi OS, you can use a 4GB card. Other
operating systems have different requirements: for
example, LibreELEC can run from a smaller card. Please
check with the supplier of the operating system to Jnd
out what capacity of card they recommend.

Optional items
A network (Ethernet) cable to connect your Raspberry Pi
to your local network and the Internet.

If you aren’t using an HDMI monitor with speakers you

might also need some form of sound hardware. Audio
can be played through speakers or headphones by
connecting them to the AV jack (not available on the
Raspberry Pi 400). However speakers must have their
own ampliJcation since the output from your Raspberry
Pi is not powerful enough to drive them directly.

Troubleshooting
If you are having problems with your SD card:

Make sure you are using a genuine SD card. The

best way to avoid fake SD cards is to always buy
from a reputable supplier.

Make sure you are using a good quality power

supply: we recommend using an oMcial Raspberry
Pi power supply.

The cable from the power supply unit to the

Raspberry Pi can also cause problems. This is
usually due to the resistance of the wires in the USB
power cable; to save money, USB cables have as
little copper in them as possible, which causes a
voltage drop across the cable.

Make sure you shut down the operating system

correctly before you power down the Raspberry Pi.

You can get help with setting up your Raspberry Pi on our

forums.

Installing the Operating

System
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Raspberry Pi recommend the use of Raspberry Pi Imager

to install an operating system on to your SD card. You will
need another computer with an SD card reader to install
the image. Raspberry Pi Imager can be run on another
Raspberry Pi, but also works on Microsoft Windows,
Apple macOS, and Linux.

NOTE

Before you start, don’t forget to check the SD card

requirements.

IMPORTANT

NOOBS, or New Out Of the Box Software to give it its

full name, was an SD card-based installer for
Raspberry Pi computers; we no longer recommend or
support using NOOBS. Going forward, please use
Raspberry Pi Imager.

Using Raspberry Pi Imager

Raspberry Pi have developed a graphical SD card writing
tool that works on Mac OS, Ubuntu 18.04, and Windows
called Raspberry Pi Imager; this is the easiest option for
most users since it will download the image
automatically and install it to the SD card.

How to use Raspberry Pi Imag…

Download the latest version of Raspberry Pi Imager and

install it. If you want to use Raspberry Pi Imager from a
second Raspberry Pi, you can install it from a terminal
using sudo apt install rpi-imager. Then:

Connect an SD card reader with the SD card inside.

Open Raspberry Pi Imager and choose the required

OS from the list presented.

Choose the SD card you wish to write your image

to.

Review your selections and click on the Write

button to begin writing data to the SD Card.

NOTE

If using Raspberry Pi Imager on Windows 10 with

controlled folder access enabled, you will need to
explicitly allow Raspberry Pi Imager permission to
write the SD card. If this is not done, the imaging
process will fail with a "failed to write" error.

NOTE

You can see which operating systems are most often

downloaded, on our statistics page.

You can now insert the SD card into the Raspberry Pi and
power it up. When your Raspberry Pi boots for the Jrst
time a conJguration wizard will run that allows you to set
up your Raspberry Pi.

NOTE

In the past Raspberry Pi OS had a default user name

and password; user name pi, with password
raspberry. This is no longer the case. However if
you are using an older version of the operating
system, or you are working with an existing
installation, this default user may be present. If you
have not already done so, you should change the
default password straight away to ensure your
Raspberry Pi is secure.

Advanced Options

When you have the Raspberry Pi Imager open, and after

you have selected the operating system to install, a cog
wheel will appear allowing you to open an "Advanced
Options" menu if it is supported by the operating system.
This menu lets you carry out tasks like enabling SSH, or
setting your Raspberry Pi’s hostname, and conJguring the
default user before Jrst boot.

NOTE

If you use the Advanced Options menu in Imager to

conJgure your Raspberry Pi OS installation then the
conJguration wizard that normally runs on Jrst boot
will be skipped.

Amongst other things the Advanced Options menu is

useful for when you want to conJgure a headless
Raspberry Pi.

NOTE

In older versions of Imager you should push Ctrl-

Shift-X to open the "Advanced" menu.

If you are installing Raspberry Pi OS Lite and intend to run

it headless, you will still need to create a new user
account. Since you will not be able to create the user
account on Jrst boot, you MUST conJgure the operating
system using the Advanced Menu.

Downloading an Image
If you are using a different tool than Raspberry Pi Imager
to write to your SD Card, most require you to download
the image Jrst, then use the tool to write it to the card.
OMcial images for recommended operating systems are
available to download from the Raspberry Pi website
downloads page. Alternative operating systems for
Raspberry Pi computers are also available from some
third-party vendors.

You may need to unzip the downloaded Jle (.zip) to get

the image Jle (.img) you need to write to the card.

NOTE

The Raspberry Pi OS with desktop image contained in

the ZIP archive is over 4GB in size and uses the ZIP64
format. To uncompress the archive, an unzip tool that
supports ZIP64 is required. The following zip tools
support ZIP64: 7-Zip for Windows, The Unarchiver for
macOS, and unzip on Linux.

Installing over the Network

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WARNING

Network installation is only enabled by default on

Raspberry Pi 4 and Raspberry Pi 400, and only when
using the latest supported bootloader. See Updating
to the LATEST / STABLE bootloader for details of how
to update your bootloader.

When you get a new Raspberry Pi, you also need an SD

Card with an operating system installed on it. The easiest
way to get the operating system onto the SD Card is to
use the Raspberry Pi Imager application running on
another computer to copy it to your SD Card.

But how do you get the operating system onto your SD

card if you don’t have another computer?

If you do not have another computer to run Raspberry Pi

Imager you can start the application directly on a
Raspberry Pi 4 or Raspberry Pi 400 by connecting it to the
Internet with an Ethernet cable. This will allow you to
install the operating system onto a blank SD Card directly
from the network without using another computer.

Using Network Installation

You will need a keyboard to make use of the network
installation feature. While a Raspberry Pi 400 always has
a keyboard "attached", if you’re using a Raspberry Pi 4 you
will need to plug in a USB keyboard.

Raspberry Pi Network Bootloa…

Either insert a blank SD Card into the SD card slot of your

Raspberry Pi, or press and hold the SHIFT key.

Power on your Raspberry Pi. As always it will Jrst look for

an SD Card, and then a USB drive, to Jnd bootable media.
However if you have a keyboard attached, the Raspberry
Pi will now show the network installation screen.

In the background the Raspberry Pi is still looking for a

bootable image, but you can now start a network
installation by holding down the SHIFT key. You will then
be prompted to connect your Raspberry Pi to the network
with an Ethernet Cable.

NOTE

You can also start network install by holding SHIFT

when powering on the device.

Plug your Raspberry Pi into the network using an Ethernet

cable. When it detects a cable has been inserted it should
start downloading the Raspberry Pi installer. If the
download fails, you can repeat the process to try again.

InstallRaspberryPiOSusingRaspberryPiImager

Pleasewaitfordownload
https://fw-download-alias1.raspberrypi.com:443/net_install/boot.img

Progress:Downloadinginstaller:14/22MBat1196KBps

Press<ESC>tocancelandgotodiagnosticsscreen

Eventually it should start the Raspberry Pi Imager

application allowing you to install a full operating system
to a blank SD Card or a USB Drive.

NOTE

More information can about using the Raspberry Pi

Imager can be found in the section on installing your
operating system.

After installing the operating system onto your blank SD

Card you will no longer see the network installation
screen on boot. If you do want to run it, you can hold
down the SHIFT key while powering on the device. But
take care not to overwrite any working SD cards that you
want to keep!

See HTTP boot for details about how to conJgure

network install.

ConHguration on First Boot

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If you have not already conJgured your operating system

using the Advanced Menu of Raspberry Pi Imager when
Raspberry Pi OS starts up for the Jrst time you will be
guided through initial setup.

WelcometotheRaspberryPiDesktop!

Beforeyoustartusingit,thereareafewthingstosetup.
Press'Nexttogetstarted.

IfyouareusingaBluetoothkeyboardormouse,puttheminto
pairingmodeandwaitforthemtoconnect.
IP:192168.1.89

Next

The Raspberry Pi OS conJguration wizard will run on the

Jrst boot. The wizard starts off by allowing you to
conJgure international settings and your timezone
information.

NOTE

If you are using a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse the

Jrst page will prompt you to put any Bluetooth
keyboard or mouse you wish to use into pairing mode,
and then to wait. As long as you are on the Jrst page
of the wizard, the Raspberry Pi will now scan for
pairable Bluetooth mice and keyboards, and will
automatically pair the Jrst of each which it Jnds. You
will see messages pop up to indicate that a Bluetooth
device has been found and is being paired – you may
need to wait a few seconds after the Jnal “connected”
dialog appears for the newly-connected device to
wake up and start being used by the system. This
works both with the built-in Bluetooth adapter on
Raspberry Pi 3 and 4, and also with USB Bluetooth
adapters on earlier models of Raspberry Pi – just
make sure the USB adapter is inserted before the
Raspberry Pi is booted.

After hitting "Next" you’ll be prompted to create a user

account. Here you can choose your username, and a
password.

If you want to you can set your username to the old

default username of pi, which was used on older
versions of Raspberry Pi OS.

NOTE

Some older software may require the presence of the

pi user.

However, if you do choose to create this account you will

trigger a warning message, and we’d advise you to avoid
the old default password of raspberry.

After creating an user account you can conJgure your

screen,

and your wireless network.

Once your wireless network is conJgured and your

Raspberry Pi has access to the Internet you will be
prompted to update the operating system to the latest
version. This will automatically download any patches
and updates needed to bring your new operating system
right up to date.

Once the operating system is updated you will be

prompted to reboot your Raspberry Pi.

NOTE

If you are installing Raspberry Pi OS Lite you will still

need to create a new user account. You will therefore
be prompted to create an account by text prompts at
the command line when you Jrst boot a Lite image. If