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Setup on Pi NVME

Setup on Pi NVME

Download & Setup

📦 Already got the official PiFi Kit? - See the PiFi Kit Quick Start Guide instead
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Before you get going: You’ll need a smartphone, a Raspberry Pi 4 or 5, a Pi NVME HAT, an ethernet cable, a sufficient power supply (see Raspberry Pi docs) and a PC/laptop (Mac, Windows or Linux) with an SD card reader/dongle in order to flash the SD card.

1. Before starting: Download the PiFi App

To start download the PiFi app. Visit pifi.org/app on your phone or if you’re already on your phone, tap the links below:

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If you have the ability to use Raspberry Pi OS, use method 1 to install on NVME. If you don’t have an SD Card, you can use method 2. Both require a monitor/keyboard/mouse to be connected to Pi.

Method 1: Raspberry Pi OS

On your Raspberry Pi, boot into Raspberry Pi OS installed and booted via an SD Card.

1.1 Grab the latest PiFi Firmware Image

Download the latest firmware image for your Raspberry Pi 4 or 5:

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Tip: Only flash firmware images from trusted sources, we recommend using pifi.org/downloads for official builds

1.1 Install via Raspberry Pi Imager

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On Raspberry Pi OS, go to Raspberry Icon > Accessories > Raspberry Pi Imager (as shown above)

Flashing via Raspberry Pi imager

  • Select Operating System (Choose OS) > Use Custom and select the image you downloaded above in step 1.1
  • Select Choose Storage and select your NVME Drive which should show
  • Tap Next, tap No to ‘apply OS customisation settings’, tap Yes to erasing existing data
  • You’re all set!

1.2 Remove Power and SD Card. Then Power On.

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  • Power off or remove power cable from your Raspberry Pi 5
  • Remove the micro-SD card from the Raspberry Pi
  • Insert your power supply into the Raspberry Pi again and power it on. It should now boot from NVME.
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Important: 🚥 On PiFi - a red/orange LED on Raspberry Pi means VPN is off, and after booting a green LED suggests VPN is enabled. This differs from the usual LED pattern, particularly on Raspberry Pi 5 which suggests it’s in “shutdown state”. So red/orange LED is nothing to worry about

1.3 Connect to PiFi in WiFi Settings

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  • Allow up to up to 3 minutes for PiFi to install on your Raspberry Pi (the Pi may turn on or Pi may reboot during install)
  • After three minutes, open WiFi Settings on the same smartphone / device where you installed the PiFi app in step one
  • Allow it a few moments for the networks on your device to refresh
  • You should see PiFi 5 Setup or PiFi 5 (if using Raspberry Pi 5)
  • Tap that network to connect to PiFi and enter the default password:
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Default password: Raspberry314
Note: If your PiFi is offline on Android, you may need to accept the ‘Stay connected’ notification to be able to allow your Raspberry Pi to communicate with the PiFi app
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1.4 Open the PiFi app 🎉

You should now be all set - just tap ‘Get Started’ and follow the on-screen steps. If you need help with using the PiFi in-app features check our the PiFi documentation for help, tips and tutorials.

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Method 2: Install via Network Install

2.1 Grab the latest PiFi Firmware Image

Download the latest firmware image for your Raspberry Pi 4 or 5:

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Tip: Only flash firmware images from trusted sources, we recommend using pifi.org/downloads for official builds

2.2 Save Image to USB Flash Drive

This requires a USB Thumb Drive (something like this)

2.3 Boot into Network Install

Power on Raspberry Pi with an ethernet cable connected and no SD Card.

Our Raspberry Pi is now ready to download and write microSD cards with no further action necessary on our computer.

1. Power on the Raspberry Pi with all peripherals connected, including a monitor and Ethernet.

2. Wait for the Pi’s “BIOS” to finish loading. It may take around 30 seconds.

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(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

3. When prompted, press and hold Shift and then press Spacebar. This will trigger the Pi to download a special boot image version of Raspberry Pi Imager which is copied to RAM.

Once this has booted it looks just like Pi Imager, from Operating System again choose Custom OS and select the image from your USB Drive.

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Optional: Help & Support

If you run into issues, see our troubleshooting docs and if you can’t find the answer there, ask the PiFi community for help