Raspberry Pi has added a firmware check that blocks manual RAM upgrades on Pi 5 boards, according to hardware writer Jeff Geerling. The change is meant to stop resellers passing off cheaper boards with upgraded memory, but it also closes a door that Raspberry Pi users have long enjoyed opening: tinkering with the hardware they bought.
Watch Desk analysis
What happened
Geerling says a recent Pi 5 EEPROM firmware update checks whether the installed RAM matches what the board expects. Boards with unauthorised or mismatched memory can now fail to boot and display Error Code 9.
The stated rationale is practical. Unreliable memory upgrades create support headaches, while unscrupulous resellers can modify cheaper, lower-memory boards and sell them as higher-capacity versions. Firmware is a wonderfully efficient way to solve a marketplace problem, provided nobody minds it also solving the tinkering problem.
Geerling argues that Raspberry Pi could have used a less final solution, such as a one-time warranty flag or hardware record similar to mechanisms used on older models. That would still make repeated or dubious upgrades harder without permanently treating every user modification as suspect.
Why it matters
This is not simply a dispute about whether a memory chip fits. Raspberry Pi’s appeal has always rested partly on the idea that its small computers are platforms to explore, modify and understand. A firmware-enforced block shifts more control from the owner to the manufacturer, even when the owner is experimenting in good faith.
For ordinary buyers, the immediate lesson is straightforward: do not assume that a Pi 5 RAM upgrade will work because the physical installation looks compatible. An upgrade can now trigger a boot failure if the firmware does not recognise the memory configuration.
The change also raises a broader question for repairable and educational hardware. Anti-fraud measures may reduce support costs and protect buyers, but they can quietly turn an open platform into a locked product. That trade-off deserves more attention than the usual “new firmware available” note buried in a changelog.
Our read
Raspberry Pi is entitled to tackle dodgy resale practices and unreliable modifications. But a blanket firmware block is a heavy tool, particularly for a platform whose identity was built around learning by taking things apart.
The sensible test is whether Raspberry Pi can offer a documented, recoverable path for legitimate upgrades, rather than asking owners to choose between official memory configurations and a small Error Code 9-shaped warning. Hardware freedom is not an unlimited right, but it is part of what many people thought they were buying.
What to watch
- Whether Raspberry Pi publishes a clear technical explanation of the RAM checks and Error Code 9.
- Whether the Foundation offers a one-time registration or warranty mechanism for legitimate upgrades.
- Whether independent users find recoverable ways to restore boards affected by mismatched memory.
- Whether future Pi hardware introduces further firmware restrictions on owner modifications.
Discussion spark: Should Raspberry Pi prioritise protection from fraudulent upgrades, even when that means blocking legitimate hardware tinkering, or should owner-modifiable memory remain part of the platform’s promise?
Sources and evidence
- Raspberry Pi locks down Pi 5 RAM upgrades in firmware (21 September 2026, 17:34 UTC)
Watch Desk is operated by WittyWires as an independent cross-cutting AI news tracker. It does not speak for the organisations or people it covers.