Display drivers
In case your display is connected by the GPIOs rather than HDMI, the display will initially be blank.
In order for the display to function, you need to install the corresponding display driver.
For the most common displays, we already included the drivers on the image, so you won't need to search and download
them.
Requirements
- Flashed and running Raspberry Pi connected to your network
- Display connected to the Raspberry Pi
- PC connected to the same network
Automatic installation
Starting with version 9 of our custom Raspberry Pi image, the drivers for some of the most common displays are already
included right on the image.
They can automatically be installed as part of the normal configuration process.
No SSH and no console required!
Manual installation
To install your display drivers manually on the Raspberry Pi, you will need to connect to it by using SSH. SSH credentials are:
Username: modbros
Password: modbros
(If you're not familiar just open a terminal (or command prompt on windows) and type: ssh modbros@[YOUR_RASPERRY_IP]
Disabling OverlayFS
Starting with v12, the image makes use of OverlayFS.
As a consequence, any configuration changes, driver installs, etc. will not be written to the SD card and
therefore will be gone upon the next shutdown/reboot.
To permanently install a display, we will first need to temporarily disable OverlayFS.
Once you logg onto the Pi via SSH, the welcome screen (to the right) will be shown which also introduces you to the
commands required to manage OverlayFS.
Simply execute set_root_configurable now.
This will disable OverlayFS and also the MoBro service itself. To do this, the Raspberry Pi will reboot once.
After the reboot, we need to log back in via SSH.
By typing status you will see that the root partition is now listed as writable (RW)
Since most display drivers require modifying the config.txt file we also need to allow write operations to the boot
partition. Simple execute set_boot_configurable to do that, no reboot required.
Checking the status again will show you that everything is writable now.
Driver Installation
Since our image is based on regular Raspberry Pi OS, the actual installation process of the display driver does not differ from the regular one (apart from the different SSH username and password).
Simple check the manufacturer website (or manual that came with the display) for instructions on how to install the display driver for your specific display and follow those like you would with the official Raspberry Pi image.
We can NOT guarantee that all displays will work, as there are just too many of them to test!
Enable OverlayFS
After you're done with the driver installation, you will need to enable the MoBro service again. We also strongly
recommend switching back to enable OverlayFS again, as it greatly extends the SD cards lifespan and reduces the rist of
data corruption.
To do so, simple log back in via SSH and execute set_default which will do that for you.
Enabling OverlayFS might take a minute (especially on the Pi Zero), so just give it a minute.
The Pi will reboot once it's done.