Jeffgeerling iconJeffgeerlingSep 21, 2026

Raspberry Pi locks down Pi 5 RAM upgrades in firmware

Apparently there were people buying cheap 1 or 2 gig Pi 5s, soldering in some cheap and sometimes unreliable 8 gig RAM chips, and selling them as new 8 gig Pi 5s. They don't wanna support Pis being sold like this, because flaky RAM and dodgy resellers are a huge problem.

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Apparently there were people buying cheap 1 or 2 gig Pi 5s, soldering in some cheap and sometimes unreliable 8 gig RAM chips, and selling them as new 8 gig Pi 5s.

They don't wanna support Pis being sold like this, because flaky RAM and dodgy resellers are a huge problem.

Especially with how profitable can be in the current AI bubble.

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Apparently there were people buying cheap 1 or 2 gig Pi 5s, soldering in some cheap and sometimes unreliable 8 gig RAM chips, and selling them as new 8 gig Pi 5s. They don't wanna support Pis being sold like this, because flaky RAM and dodgy resellers are a huge problem. Especially with how profitable can be in the current AI bubble.

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  • Especially with how profitable can be in the current AI bubble.

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