Setting up Raspberry Pi for the first time

A Raspberry Pi is a small, affordable computer you can use for all sorts of things: a server, Pi-hole, Home Assistant, a retro console or a media player. Here’s how to set it up in fifteen minutes, without a screen or keyboard.

What do you need?

• A Raspberry Pi (4 or 5 is most suitable) with the official power supply. A weak power supply causes strange issues.
• Storage: a microSD card of at least 32 GB (class A1 or A2, from a known brand) or a USB SSD. See memory and storage selection.
• A case, for a Pi 5 with a cooler.
• A network cable (recommended) or your WiFi credentials.
• A computer with an SD card reader to write the operating system to the card.

Step 1: install Raspberry Pi Imager

Download Raspberry Pi Imager and install it on your computer. This is the official program to write an operating system to a card.

Step 2: write the operating system

1. Insert the SD card into your computer and open Raspberry Pi Imager.
2. Under Device, choose your Raspberry Pi model.
3. Under Operating System, choose Raspberry Pi OS (64-bit) if you want a desktop, or Raspberry Pi OS Lite (64-bit) (found under Raspberry Pi OS (other)) for a server without a screen.
4. Under Storage, choose your card. Warning: everything on the card will be erased.
5. Click Next. A prompt will appear asking if you want to customize settings. Choose yes and fill in:
   • Hostname: for example pi. You’ll reach it as pi.local later.
   • Username and password: choose your own name (not something guessable) and a strong password, for example from our password generator.
   • WiFi (only if you’re not using a cable): name, password and country (Netherlands).
   • Locale: time zone Europe/Amsterdam and keyboard layout.
   • Services: enable SSH. You can choose a password or a public key.
6. Confirm and wait until writing and verification are complete.

Step 3: start the Pi

Insert the card into the Pi, connect the network cable and then the power supply. The first boot takes one or two minutes. There is no power button: the Pi starts as soon as it receives power.

Step 4: log in

Open a terminal on your computer (on Windows the program PowerShell) and type, with your own username:

ssh user@pi.local

If pi.local doesn’t work, check your router to see what IP address the Pi has received and use that. You can recognize the Pi by its MAC address: it starts with B8:27:EB, DC:A6:32, E4:5F:01, D8:3A:DD or 2C:CF:67. Check it with our MAC address lookup.

The first time SSH asks if you trust the connection. Type yes and enter your password.

Step 5: update

sudo apt update
sudo apt full-upgrade
sudo reboot

Want to adjust settings, like I2C for sensors or boot behavior? Open sudo raspi-config.

Doesn’t it work?

• No lights are on: check the power supply and the card.
• The Pi won’t start: rewrite the card, or try a different card. A bad card is the most common cause.
• You can’t find it on your network: try a network cable instead of WiFi.

What now?

Make it more secure and reliable with Raspberry Pi as a server, or install Pi-hole right away.