Did you get Raspberry Pi 400 as a home learning or working device? We hope you’ve been getting on well with our affordable all-in-one computing solution.
If you’re a new user, here are some tips for you to get the most out of your brand-new Raspberry Pi 400.
First things first!
Make sure your Raspberry Pi runs the newest version of the Raspberry Pi OS. Here is how (and here is a video preview of what the process looks like):
Open a terminal window by clicking on the Terminal icon in the top menu bar. Then type this command in the terminal window:
sudo apt update
Press Enter on the keyboard. Once the update is downloaded, type into the window:
sudo apt full-upgrade
Press Enter again. It is safe to just accept the default answer to any questions you are asked during the procedure by typing y and pressing Enter.
Now reboot your Raspberry Pi.
Videoconferencing, collaboration, files
With the newest version of Raspberry Pi OS installed, you can use the following applications in the Chromium browser:
Just log in with your username and password and start working or learning!
Raspberry Pi OS also has LibreOffice installed for working with text files, spreadsheets, and the like.
Printing on your Raspberry Pi
Go into the Preferences section in the main menu, and open Print Settings. This shows the system-config-printer dialog window, where you can do the usual things you’re familiar with from other operating systems: add new printers, remove old ones, set a printer as the default, and access the print queue for each printer.
Like most things in Linux-based operating systems such as Raspberry Pi OS, whether you can make your printer model work depends on user contributions; not every printer is supported yet. We’ve found that most networked printers work fine, while USB printers are a bit hit-and-miss. The best thing to do is to try it and see, and ask for help on our forums if your particular printer doesn’t seem to work.
More tips for using Raspberry Pi as a home computer
Our very own Alasdair Allen wrote a comprehensive guide that covers more topics of setting up a Raspberry Pi for home working, from getting your audio and video ready to setting up a Citrix workspace. Thanks Alasdair!
Free resources for learning at home
We’ve got a host of completely free resources for young people, parents, and teachers to continue computing school lessons at home and learn about digital making. Discover them all here!
What do you need?
Let us know in the comments if there are any niggles you’re experiencing, or if you have a top tip to help others who are just getting to grips with using Raspberry Pi as a home learning or working device.
