Raspberry Pi has confirmed its firmware locks boards to their factory RAM configuration, preventing users from swapping in replacement memory chips even to fix failed components. The restriction surfaced after a user couldn't get a Compute Module 5 to recognize a new 4GB chip, with company engineer PhilE explaining the firmware checks additional memory attributes beyond just capacity. Raspberry Pi says the policy exists to stop resellers from installing unauthorized higher-capacity chips and passing modified boards off as factory models.
techspot.com
· 2026-09-23
Raspberry Pi confirmed that its firmware locks boards to their factory-installed RAM capacity, preventing users from swapping in higher-capacity chips. Engineer and forum moderator PhilE said the restriction, rolled out in firmware updates since late 2024, exists to stop resellers from installing larger RAM chips of dubious quality and passing boards off as higher-spec devices. He told users attempting DIY RAM upgrades or repairs that the effort is futile because the firmware also checks other device attributes beyond chip size.
tomshardware.com
· 2026-09-22
YouTuber EastMakes repurposed a 15-year-old HP ProLiant N40L micro-server by designing a custom motherboard around a Raspberry Pi Compute Module 5. Starting from the open-source Raspberry Pi I/O board schematics, he reshaped the PCB to fit the server's original chassis, added an NVMe slot, USB 3.0 ports, and Ethernet, while trimming down to a single HDMI output.
tomshardware.com
· 2026-09-21
Developers demonstrated running JavaFX 27 as a GraalVM native image on a Raspberry Pi 5, tackling the three core challenges of ahead-of-time compilation: static integration glue code, statically linked C/C++/Objective-C binaries for windowing and rendering, and reachability metadata needed for reflection. Using custom annotations, the team got all gluon-samples running without relying on the GraalVM tracing agent, and added JavaFX-specific annotations that auto-generate metadata from FXML and CSS files.
ennerf.github.io
· 2026-09-19
Home Assistant, a free open-source smart home platform with over 1,500 device integrations, officially supports installation on the Raspberry Pi 4 and 5, requiring at least 2GB RAM and a 32GB microSD card. The software carries no subscription or feature paywall, though add-ons like cloud remote access are optional paid extras. Once installed, users can automate their homes based on triggers like location, power usage, NFC tags, or device state changes.
engadget.com
· 2026-09-19
Security researchers demonstrated that Raspberry Pi's RP2350 microcontroller (revision A4) can have its permanently disabled Secure debug re-enabled through photon-emission microscopy combined with SWD-guided laser fault injection. By pinpointing the exact register controlling debug enablement and firing precisely targeted laser pulses, the team flipped two bits to restore debugger access to the chip's Secure world, later extracting a protected secret from one-time-programmable memory after a rescue reset bypassed the runtime lock.
donjon.ledger.com
· 2026-09-18
A developer built Fugleramme, an open-source project that uses a Raspberry Pi, a microphone, and BirdNET-Go's local AI audio classifier to identify birds singing outside a window in real time. Instead of showing a photo or text, the system matches each detected species to one of over 800 hand-curated public-domain natural-history illustrations and renders them on an Inky Impression e-ink panel or a web kiosk, updating only when the birds heard actually change.
github.com
· 2026-09-15
Developers have released FRANK 386, a firmware project built on Tiny386 that emulates an i386 (with partial i486/i586 and optional x87 FPU) PC on Raspberry Pi Pico 2-based RP2350 boards. It supports VGA/HDMI video, SD card storage, PS/2 and USB input, NES gamepads, and multiple sound cards including AdLib and Sound Blaster 16, letting it boot DOS, Windows 3.x/95, and Linux.
github.com
· 2026-09-14
Two hobbyists at the Recurse Center, working around the same time Apple unveiled its own Reference Image proof-of-capture system, built a competing open-source camera using a Raspberry Pi Zero, a crypto chip, and a shutter button. Instead of storing signatures in metadata, which gets stripped when images are shared, their system embeds a signed perceptual hash directly into the pixels using frequency-domain steganography that survives compression like WhatsApp resizing.
merybenavente.me
· 2026-09-10
A maker restored a vintage 1995 TrueTime XL-AK GPS time server by gutting it and installing a Raspberry Pi 5 paired with Jimmy Paputto's L1 GNSS HAT, turning the old hardware into a working stratum 1 NTP time server. The project reuses the unit's original LCD screen and bicolor LED for status display, and the builder intends to add it to the public NTP Pool and use it for time services at the VCF Midwest event.
jeffgeerling.com
· 2026-09-05
A newly compiled FAQ traces Raspberry Pi's history from its 2012 debut, when the first $35 Model B sold out so fast it crashed retailer Farnell and RS Components' servers, through to 2025, when cumulative sales hit roughly 68 million units. It also charts the company's shift into designing its own silicon, starting with the RP2040 chip in 2021, and its 2024 stock market listing while the founding Foundation remains majority owner.
raspberry.tips
· 2026-09-04
A developer known as LouD has built USBSID-Pico, an open-source hardware board that connects genuine MOS Technology SID chips (6581/8580) from the Commodore 64 to modern computers, phones and media players via USB, MIDI and ASID protocols. Built around the Raspberry Pi Pico's rp2040 and rp2350 microcontrollers, the device can currently drive up to two real SID chips or compatible replacements, with support for four planned.
smallrun.net
· 2026-09-03
GoKawiil