Skip to content

Identify a Raspberry Pi Board

The most accurate way to identify which edition and model of a Raspberry Pi product is by using one of the following solutions. The rest listed are here as alternative methods that can be helpful depending on the circumstances.

  • Read the circuit board
  • Query directly via the console or terminal

Read Circuit Board

The majority of boards produced now have the edition and model printed directly on the top of the circuit board. See the illustration example below showing the location on the circuit board.

Illustration of identifying the location of board edition and model
By Laserlicht / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0 - Resize, correct white balance, and add illustration

Note

The copyright year will not reflect the circuit board edition and model.

Read Circuit Board Processor

The Broadcom mark (BCM) is identifiable by the first few characters or a Raspberry Pi logo printed on top of the processor. Refer to the illustration example below showing the location on the circuit board.

Processor labels for each Raspberry Pi product.

Board Edition/Model Processor Label
1 2835
2 2836 / 2837
3 2837
4 / 400 2711
5 / 500 2712
Pico Raspberry Pi logo
Zero 2 W RP3A0-AU
Zero / W / WH B4432BBPA-10-F

Note

Raspberry Pi 400/500 is differentiated by the keyboard chassis.

Illustration of identifying the location of processor label
By Gareth Halfacree / CC BY-SA 2.0 - Resized, correct white balance, and add illustration

Console or Terminal

Within the the console or terminal, choose one of the following methods.

$ cat /sys/firmware/devicetree/base/model

Raspberry Pi 2 Model B Rev 1.1


$ cat /proc/cpuinfo | grep Model

Model       : Raspberry Pi 2 Model B Rev 1.1

Tip

Use the tab key to help autocomplete the directory path.

Count Circuit Board Ports

You can generally determine which board it is by the Ethernet or HDMI ports.

Board Edition/Model Port
A Models No Ethernet
B Models Ethernet
1 - 3 HDMI
4 / 400 2 x HDMI micro
5 / 500 2 x HDMI micro
Pico No HDMI
Zero HDMI mini

Counting the amount of USB ports can be a pretty accurate identifier.

Board Edition/Model USB Ports
1 Model A 1
1 Model A+ 1
1 Model B 2
1 Model B+ 4
2 Model B 4
3 Model A+ 1
3 Model B 4
3 Model B+ 4
4 Model B 4, +1 USB-C for power supply
400 3, 1 USB-C for power supply
500 3, 1 USB-C for power supply
5 4, +1 USB-C for power supply
Pico 1 (micro USB)
Zero 1 (micro USB)

Note

Raspberry Pi 5 is differentiated by the on/off button.

Keyboard Series

The Raspberry Pi 400 and 500 is differentiated by the keyboard chassis port orientation. Refer to the applicable illustration below to identify the model and associated circuit board.

A view of the back of a Raspberry Pi 400 chassis with labels indicating what each port is. Port labels start from the left with GPIO header, microSD card slot, 2 x micro HDMI, USB-C power, 2 x USB 3.0, USB 2.0 and gigabit Ethernet.
A Raspberry Pi 400 is powered by a Raspberry Pi 4 circuit board
A view of the back of a Raspberry Pi 500 chassis with labels indicating what each port is. Port labels start from the left with USB 2.0, 2 x USB 3.0, microSD card slot, USB-C power, 2 x micro HDMI, GPIO header and gigabit Ethernet.
A Raspberry Pi 500 is powered by a Raspberry Pi 5 circuit board