Delete me: Raspberry Pi 4 port status (Rev #38)
category: RaspberryPi
Overview
The Raspberry Pi 4 was launched in June 2019, and work on porting RISC OS to the Raspberry Pi 4 is still ongoing.
Some features are not working, so this build is not yet suitable for new users.
A development ROM image is available from the Downloads page – be sure to choose the one marked “Beta RPi ROM”.
Current status
Components that work
| Date | Details |
|---|---|
| 03 Sep 2019 | UART0 fixed: access to the command line via the serial port now works. |
| 13 Sep 2019 | Add GICv2 interrupt controller support. |
| 16 Feb 2020 | Audio output now works. |
| 18 Feb 2020 | USB devices now visible via USB-C (power input) port. |
Major components needing attention
| Item | Comments |
|---|---|
| Ethernet port | Ethernet is now “direct-attach” rather than “via USB” so a new driver needs to be written. |
| USB ports | The Pi 4 has a USB3 controller, which RISC OS does not yet support. |
| Memory addressing | Ethernet and USB now live above the 4GiB boundary in the memory map: RISC OS will have to add “address extension” code to be able to access them. |
How to get RISC OS running on the Pi 4
The non-availability of the USB ports is a limiting factor. To use RISC OS on the Raspberry Pi 4, you have three options:
- Use a USB-C hub with Power Delivery and an external power supply capable of delivering 3 amps. This allows USB devices to be connected to the hub plugged into the USB-C (power input) port.
- Supply power to the GPIO pins, freeing up the USB-C (power input) port for a conventional USB hub.
- If you have the WiFi HAT for the Raspberry Pi, input is possible via VNC – as no USB devices are needed, a standard power supply can be connected to the USB-C port.
See Software information: Raspberry Pi: Firmware for the firmware required for the Raspberry Pi 4, along with details of the changes needed to config.txt.
Further information
- ROOL announcement (02 July 2019)
- Discussion thread in the General forum
- Discussion thread in the Porting RISC OS forum
For more general information, see Using RISC OS on the Raspberry Pi.
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