Raspberry Pi FAQ

Raspberry Pi is the third best-selling computer brand in the world. The Raspberry Pi is a credit card–sized computer that plugs into your TV or display, and a keyboard and mouse. You can use it to learn coding and to build electronics projects, and for many of the things that your desktop PC does, like spreadsheets, word processing, browsing the internet, and playing games. It also plays high-definition video. The Raspberry Pi is being used by adults and children all over the world to learn programming and digital making. You can learn how to set up and use your Raspberry Pi here.

Buying your first Raspberry Pi

Navigate here to find answers to questions such as:

• Where can I buy a Raspberry Pi, and how much does it cost?

• What do I get when I buy one?

• I'm worried I have a fake Raspberry Pi! How do I know? What can I do?
  
  

Commercial and industry applications, resale

Click here to find answers to questions such as:

• How do I become a Raspberry Pi reseller?

• What manufacturing standards etc. does the Raspberry Pi comply with?

• Can I use a Raspberry Pi in a commercial product?

• Is a Raspberry Pi suitable for industrial applications?
  
  

The computer hardware

Check out this page to find answers to questions such as:

• What are the differences between Raspberry Pi models?

• What hardware documentation is available?

• What hardware interfaces does it have?

• Can I use a Raspberry Pi for audio or video input?

• Where is the on/off switch?

• What are the dimensions of the Raspberry Pi?
  
  

Performance

Navigate here to find answers to questions such as:

• How powerful is it?

• Can I use my Raspberry Pi as a desktop replacement?

• Can I add extra RAM?

• Can I connect multiple Raspberry Pis together to make a faster computer?

• Why does my Raspberry Pi run at a slower clock speed than advertised?

• Does it overclock?

• What is its operating temperature? Does it need a heatsink?
  
  

Software

Click here to find answers to questions such as:

• What operating system (OS) does it use?

• Updates? Upgrades? What do I do?

• I heard about something called rpi-update. When should I use that?

• The processors on the latest Raspberry Pi models are 64-bit, but I cannot find an official 64-bit OS. What do I do?

• Will it run WINE (or Windows, or other x86 software)?

• Will it run the Windows 8 Arm edition?

• Will it run Android or Android Things?

• Will it run old software?

• Why won't my .exe file run?

• Can I share files from my Raspberry Pi with my Windows machines?

• Why does cpuinfo report I have a bcm2835?

• How do I run a program at startup?

• How do I run a program at a specific time?
  
  

Video

Check out this page to find answers to questions such as:

• What displays can I use?

• Does the HDMI port support CEC?

• Why is there no VGA support?

• Can I add a touchscreen?

• What codecs can it play?
  
  

Audio

Navigate here to find answers to questions such as:

• Is sound over HDMI supported?

• What about standard audio in and out?
  
  

Power

Navigate here to find answers to questions such as:

• Is it safe to just pull the power?

• What are the power requirements?

• Can I power the Raspberry Pi from a USB hub?

• Can I power the Raspberry Pi from batteries as well as from a wall socket?

• Is Power over Ethernet (PoE) possible?

• What voltage devices can I attach to the GPIO pins, and how much current can I pull?
  
  

SD cards and storage

Navigate here to find answers to questions such as:

• What size of SD card do I need?

• What size of SD card can it support?

• Can I boot a Raspberry Pi from a USB-attached hard drive instead of the SD card?

• What happens if I brick the device?
  
  

Networking and wireless connectivity

Click here to find answers to questions such as:

• Does the device support networking?

• Is there built-in WiFi?

• Is there built-in Bluetooth?

• Why don't I seem to get full-speed gigabit networking on my Raspberry Pi 3 B+?

• Does the device have support for any form of netbooting or PXE?
  
  

Camera Module

Check out this page to find answers to questions such as:

• What is the Camera Module?

• What model of camera does the Camera Module use?

• What resolutions are supported?

• What picture formats are supported?

• How do I use the Camera Module?

• How much power does the Camera Module use?