Until now, you may have completed a number of robotics and electronics projects with the Raspberry Pi boards. I too have tested and done a few projects with these super powerful computing boards. I have covered some how-to guides and tutorials some of which I faced in my own experiments and some other from the requests by my readers. Today, I am explaining the solution to another common problem with many Raspberry Pi projects; Raspberry Pi HDMI not working. In other words, we will make the Pi display from the HDMI port even if it doesn’t want it to do!
Raspberry Pi Video Output
Before going to the tutorial, we will check how many video outputs a Raspberry Pi have. For this, we will take the consideration of the smartest Raspberry Pi board till the date, the Raspberry Pi 3.
Among its number of connectivity options, the Pi 3 board has a total of three video output ports.
- It has a display DSI port to connect the Raspberry Pi touchscreen monitor to the board
- A 4-pole audio/video jack output port to connect smaller displays
- One full HDMI port which helps to make the video connection through the HDMI. This port also can be used to connect the VGA display by using the HDMI to VGA converter
All these ports help to make the video connection output to the Raspberry Pi. However, in some cases, users get some issues of Raspberry Pi not displaying output through HDMI. Here comes the solution.
How to Fix Raspberry Pi HDMI Not Working
Before going to the fix of the problem of Raspberry Pi no display, ensure that you have the right connections made and the system is powered on.
Now, start on your Raspberry Pi PC if it still shows the message like ‘No HDMI Input Detected,’ then there are two main reasons for that:
1) If the configuration is not made properly
2) If you do not have enough power supply
Let’s check both these causes and their solutions in detail.
1) Raspberry Pi No Display – Check HDMI Configuration
Here, we will change the configuration text file (config.txt) through SSH. Follow the steps below to do that:
- Connect your Raspberry Pi via SSH
- Open the command terminal on the system
- Write the line below to open the configuration file in the text editor
sudo nano /boot/config.txt
- Look for the line as stated below in that file. If these lines are not there, then add them at the last
#hdmi_force_hotplug=1
#hdmi_drive=2
- These lines will force the Raspberry Pi to display through HDMI on your TV and also fix some sound problems. When you find the above lines in the configuration file, remove the hashtag (#) sign
- Save the configuration file
- Reboot Raspberry Pi system
That’s it. After you restart your Raspberry Pi, you will see that the ‘Raspberry Pi No Display’ problem is solved.
2) Raspberry Pi Not Displaying – Not Enough Power Supply
Sometimes, biggest of problems can be solved by trying simplest of solutions. If you tried enough to troubleshoot the Raspberry Pi HDMI, not working problem, then check for the power source. It’s a known fact that though the Raspberry Pi 3 is the fastest computing board in the family, it consumes more power than any other Pi board out there. And if you have connected some other devices like monitor, USB devices, speakers, etc. to your Pi setup, then the power requirement can go further. So, it is advisable to get the proper Raspberry Pi Power Supply according to your setup and requirements, especially in case of HDMI monitor.
What if the HDMI is still not displaying?
If you are using a simple Raspberry Pi monitor instead of a TV, then you should avoid the line “hdmi_drive=2” mentioned in the first solution. Instead, you can add the command line as “hdmi_safe=1”, save the configuration file, and then Reboot your Raspberry Pi. This may reduce the quality of the display, but it will work to the Raspberry Pi no display issue for sure.
Conclusion
These tricks should do the work and the problem of Raspberry Pi HDMI not working. Hope you find this article help you for troubleshooting this common problem with Raspberry Pi 3 setups. Spread your words in the comment section below. Also, if you know any other reliable method to fix the issue of ‘Raspberry Pi displays not working’ then you can mention it here.
