16 July 2013 - Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How do I become an approved retailer (sub distributor) for Raspberry Pi in a country?

A: If the country of resale is not covered by our approved sub-distributor network, please send the following information via email to rpiquotes@element14:

Country for retail, your company name and details, url link to your website, and expected initial order quantity

We will assess your application for suitability and let you know accordingly

14 November 2012 - Frequently Asked Questions

Q: I have ordered Raspberry Pi model B (256MB) but instead I have received a Raspberry Pi model B (512MB), is it a mistake in your system? Should I return the product?

A: No, this is not a mistake; we have deliberately sent you Raspberry Pi model B (512MB) with additional RAM at no extra cost.

Q: I have received a Raspberry Pi model B (256MB) but the Raspberry Pi foundation has launched the Raspberry Pi model B (512MB) recently. Can I exchange mine for the increased RAM product?

A: No, based on the demand of the product we will not exchange the Raspberry Pi model B (256MB) for the new Raspberry Pi model B (512MB).

Q: Can I return my Raspberry Pi model B (256MB)?

Yes, if it is within our day return policy. Please see the terms and conditions for your region..

Newark element 14 customers (North America) : http://www.newark.com/jsp/content/freetoair.jsp?content=termsconditions

Farnell element14 customers (Europe) : http://farnell.com/ select your country and terms and conditions will be at the footer of the web page or on the Or on the Rasp pi Microsite.

element14 (Asia Pacific) http://farnell.com/ select your country on the right side of the Farnell site, terms and conditions will be available at the footer of the web page.

Q. How can I tell if I received the new Raspberry Pi model B (512MB)?

A. With several versions of the Raspberry Pi now in the market, you can confirm what version you have by running a command:

cat/proc/cpuinfo

If you are running revision 1.0 you will see code numbers 2 or 3

If you are running revision 2.0 you will see code numbers 4 or 6.

If you are running the Raspberry new Pi Model B (512MB) Revision 2.0 you will see code numbers 13 or 14

Q: What are the key differences between Raspberry Pi model B (256MB) and the new (512MB)?

A: It doubles the RAM memory, which effectively more than doubles the user accessible memory (on the 256MB board approximately 50% of the RAM is dedicated to the operating system)

Other More Technical Differences:

USB output fuses removed: allows greater capacity to power external USB devices.

i2s mod: Raspberry Pi has three independent i2s busses running on it. The decision to swap the two that are surfaced to P1 and S5 means the i2c available for expansion is less busy and more reliable. This allows the user to have higher quality audio. It is now a digital audio signal (rather than analog on the previous version)

Version ID links and Additional Expansion: Version ID links were included to read version ID, but are not ever used. Instead they have been redeployed to add extra 4 x programmable I/O lines. There are now 4 more extra input/output pins for electronic interfacing.

Current leakage from HDMI port: Fixed problem with CEC line in HDMI interface.

New mounting holes: These can be used to properly mount the Pi in an enclosure or other rig. Note - Users risk damaging their Pi if they over tighten any retaining screws they choose to use.





Q: Are you planning to launch any other new versions or upgrades soon?

A: No, for the time being the Raspberry Pi model B (512MB) is the latest product available. Check out element14/raspberrypi on an ongoing basis for news of any exclusive Raspberry Pi’s accessories and starter kits coming soon.

Q: Will my Raspberry Pi Model B (512MB) have been manufactured by Sony in the UK?

A: All the initial Raspberry Pi Model B (512MB) has been manufactured by Sony in the UK. You can tell this by the ‘Made in the UK’ statement on the board itself (next to micro USB connector). To meet worldwide demand we will continue to manufacture future boards in both the UK and China. Irrespective of the manufacturing location all boards supplied by element14 will be Revision2.0 512MB

Q. I heard I can now order more than one Raspberry Pi. Is this true?

A. Yes,

Our Farnell element 14 customers ( Europe) you can now order up to 100 pieces of the new Raspberry Pi model B (512MB).Your Raspberry Pi is expected to be delivered within 3 weeks. At the same, you are welcome to order up to 100 units of any accessories going with new Raspberry Pi .Our Newark element14 customers (North America) you can now order up to 20 pieces of the new Raspberry Pi Model B (512MB). Your Raspberry Pi is expected to be delivered between 4-6 weeks. Q. When will customized cases be available?A. We have introduced three cases: white, black and transparent one for Farnell element14 customers.

For Newark element14 customers: red and transparent as below:

BUD INDUSTRIES PS-11591

ADAFRUIT INDUSTRIES 859

Q: Can I track and trace my order?

Yes, you can. All orders placed after 25th October on our new consumer Microsite (Farnell element14 customers only) are now available to track with UPS tracking system. Your Raspberry Pi order will be sent by UPS standard delivery service. You will get your tracking number as soon as your parcel leaves our warehouse (Newark element14 customers)

Frequently Asked Questions about Raspberry Pi

Updated 16 July 2012, 11:44 GMT

Q. I heard I can now order more than one Raspberry Pi. Is this true?

A. Yes. element14 is pleased to announce that we will now be taking volume orders for the Raspberry Pi Model B with an expected delivery lead-time of 4-6 weeks. This is because our order backlog has improved and our production has continued to increase. If you wish to purchase 10 or more Raspberry Pi's please email rpiquotes@element14.com for the very latest delivery information. These orders will be serviced and delivered in the order that they are taken and will not impact any deliveries already committed to other customers.

Updated 20 June 2012, 18:13 GMT

Q. I have received an email update on my Raspberry Pi. Why?

A. We're sorry to have to say that due to an unforeseen production delay with our manufacturer, there will be a short delay on some shipments up to 1 week. Some of the orders that were received before 18th April will now be shipped at the end of June / early July. If you have received an email, your order has been impacted. For orders received after the 18th April, we will be shipping those deliveries throughout July into August. You will receive an email confirming your delivery prior to dispatch.

Q. How will I know my Raspberry Pi is on its way?

A. You will receive a notification email saying when your Raspberry Pi has been dispatched from the warehouse (unless you’ve opted out from such service communications). We will also be sending regular delivery updates on an ongoing basis.

Updated 27 May 2012, 18:04 GMT. Modified 30 May 2012, 13:54 GMT

Q. What happened to the first initial batch of 10,000 Raspberry Pi’s?

A. (Edit 28 May). Due to exceptional customer demand, the Raspberry Pi Foundation received the first 2000 of the initial production run. The remaining 8,000 were received by RS Components and ourselves. Our 4000 units were sent as soon as we received a formal confirmation about compliance testing being achieved.

Q. What batch of Raspberry Pi’s caused the delay? Has this now been fixed?

A. The issue has been resolved. It was the need to do compliance testing on the first batch that caused the initial delays. RS Components and element14 had to wait just in case the compliance testing resulted in any changes. As soon as we found out that everything was up to standards, the necessary paperwork was completed and the first batch of 10,000 Raspberry Pi’s were released for shipment. However, the testing also meant that we had to delay our volume manufacturing until we found out that nothing needed to be changed. Once this milestone was passed, we started our volume manufacturing to meet demand and we are on track to meet that demand.

Q. The first 10,000 that the Raspberry Pi Foundation talked about are now shipped out. What’s next?

A. As Jenny Peters mentioned in the Raspberry Pi forum, we have started volume manufacturing to meet demand. We are delighted to say that we will have shipped out 41,000 Pi’s globally by the end of May. If you are interested in learning where Pi’s have been shipped to, check out this really cool Raspberry Pi tracker that’s been developed http://rastrack.ryanteck.org.uk/ by Ryan Walmsley.

Q. Are you on track with your promise to fill all back orders?

A. Yes. We made a promise to customers who ordered before 18th April, that they would ship their Pi’s before the end of June. We are on track to keep that commitment. We will have shipped out 41,000 Raspberry Pis by the end of May and our customers will have received, or will be receiving their Pis over the next few days. We are on track to have shipped 100,000 Raspberry Pis by the end of June and have further production planned for delivery to customers in July. (Modified on 20-June : We're sorry to have to say that due to an unforeseen production delay with our manufacturer, there will be a short delay of up to 1 week. Orders that were received before 18th April will now be shipped at the end of June / early July. For orders received after the 18th April, we will be shipping those deliveries throughout July into August. We will send you an email confirming your delivery prior to despatch. )

Q. Do you have any plans to make Raspberry Pi peripherals available?

A. Yes we do. We’ve seen a lot of questions around finding the right peripherals for your Pi. We’ve already got some recommendations to help you get started here. While we don’t want to give too much away, we can say we are looking into this and we will have some exciting news on hardware and software soon. But in the meantime, you might be interested in the XL Star, PandaBoard, Arduino or Beaglebone. We’ve noticed that your fellow Raspberry Pi fans have been checking these out.

Q. Why can I no longer pre-order? Why is my only option to register at the moment?

A. We are currently on track to ship 100,000 Raspberry Pis by the end of June. In order to be fair, we have temporarily closed the option to pre-order until we have cleared all back orders. As soon as most of the back orders have been delivered, we will again invite people who have registered to place their order.

Q. What happens when I register?

A. (Correction 20 June): Once you register, you will see a ‘pop up’ message confirming that you have registered. A thank you email will follow with more information. In some cases, we have heard that using different browsers affects the registration confirmation email at peak times. It might also be that you have entered your email address and details incorrectly. You will be invited to place your order via email.

Q. How can I tell if I’ve ordered?

A. You will have received an email acknowledging your order. If you have an order reference number or ORP number, you are in the queue to receive a Raspberry Pi.

Q . I am a Newark element14 customer. How do I check my order status if I ordered from Newark element14?

A. We have just updated Newark.com with accurate dates as to when the next batches of stock will arrive in our US warehouse. Please allow a few days for your order to be processed; you can access this information at Newark.com by following these simple steps:

Log on to the site, hover over the “My Account” tab on the header bar and from the dropdown select “Order History”

Within the ‘Order History’ page locate your order showing a ‘Back Order’ order status, to view this order click on the “Purchase Order” number

The expected ship date of your item on back order will be shown under the “Ship Date/Tracking” column

Q. I’m a Newark element14 customer. Why do I still show an August delivery date even though I ordered before 18th April?

A. If you are a Newark element14 customer, some orders will continue to show an August date until we have exact production and delivery dates for you. Once we have a more complete picture of stock levels, we will update your delivery day with a more accurate date.

Q. I am a Farnell element14 customer. What is the order confirmation process?

A. There is a sequential email notification process from Farnell element14. These are automatically triggered at the appropriate moment. You will receive an email confirming that you have placed an order, you will receive an order confirmation and you will receive an email when your order has been shipped. (Thanks to Morgaine who helped post the really helpful information on our discussion forums).

Your Farnell Order Acknowledgement - FARNELL-REF

Your Farnell Order Confirmation. Your Reference: YOUR-REF, Our Reference: FARNELL-REF

Your Farnell Order Has Been Shipped. Your Reference: YOUR-REF, Our Reference: FARNELL-REF

Q. I am an element14 customer from an Asia Pacific country. How do I check my order status?

A. Please visit the element14 website and login in with your account details. From the top navigation menu on the site choose "ORDERS" which is available under the "MY ACCOUNT" tab. This will take you to the "MY ORDERS" section of your account where you can see a list of your existing orders. Look at the column "Order Status" and it will inform you of the current status of your Raspberry Pi. If you are not a registered customer of our website, you can also contact the local customer service team in your country. Just check the webiste for the phone number, which is located on the top right hand corner of the website.

UPDATED AT 16:36 GMT 27 April

Q. If I have pre-ordered, when will I receive a confirmed delivery date?

A. By early next week, you will receive a confirmed delivery date for your Raspberry Pi.

Q. If I register now, when can I expect my delivery?

A. If you are still interested in purchasing a Raspberry Pi and have not had a chance, please register your interest. We expect that anyone who registeres with us now will receive a delivery date in July or August depending on where you end up in the ordering line.

Q. Is the “one per customer” order limitation now going to be lifted?

A. We now have manufacturing orders of the Raspberry Pi in large enough volume to meet demand. As soon as we make sure that everyone who has either ordered with us or registered with us has their order fulfilled, we hope to lift this restriction.

UPDATED AT 10:24 am GMT 19 April

Q. Which countries has this first batch gone to?

A. We're pleased to announce that we received our first batch of Raspberry Pi’s last Friday, April 13th. They were shipped to 30 countries over the weekend to customers across the globe-- to members in Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK, Ukraine, USA, Hong Kong, Indonesia, India, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.

Q. When do you expect to receive your next shipment?

A.We expect to receive our next shipment early in May. Deliveries will be made strictly in the order the were received within each region-- Europe, Asia, and the Americas.

Q. If I ordered before 18th April, what should I expect?

A. Everyone who ordered before 18th April will definitely receive their Raspberry Pi before the end of June. (You'll also get an email letting you know when your unit actually ships!).

Q. What happens if I ordered after 18th April?

A. We will send each of you an updated email as soon as we can confirm your specific delivery date.

Q. When will customised cases be available?

A. Customised cases will soon be available for your Raspberry Pi’s! We will update the Community as soon as we know exact dates.

UPDATED AT 5:51pm GMT 13 April

Q. What can an element14 customer expect now that the first batch of the Raspberry Pi has arrived?

A. The first batch of Raspberry Pis has finally arrived and were delivered by Eben and Liz Upton to our Leeds, UK office. Over the weekend, we will begin shipping to our regional distribution centres in the Americas and Asia. Customers who will receive their Raspberry Pi from this first batch will be contacted early next week with their delivery date. We expect that some of our customers based in Europe might even have their Raspberry Pi as early as the end of next week. We will continue to post to this document in the weeks ahead with additional Raspberry Pi availability updates.

Q. What resources do you have to help me get started?

A. We are really proud to be able to provide a few resources to help you get started. We have the Raspberry Pi webinar presentation and video with Eben Upton and a Download Centre, Technical Documents and Specifications.

Q. When will more Raspberry Pi’s be ready?

A. We are also very excited to say that volume production of the Raspberry Pi has started. This means that element14 has placed a large Raspberry Pi order with our manufacturing partners to meet demand as soon as possible. Check back here for more information about our element14 production of the Raspberry Pi.

Q. What is the status on compliance testing for the Raspberry Pi?

A. The Raspberry Pi computer has now passed all of the necessary compliance checks and we will shortly start shipping to our global customers. For the Raspberry Pi, testing has been completed on CE, FCC, C-tick and REACH. We will send comprehensive safety information with the product that will cover Warnings, Instructions for Safe Use and Compliance Information. If you are interested in learning more about electronics legislation, please consult our Legislation area on the community.

UPDATED AT 5:51 pm GMT 29 March

Q. What’s the latest update?

A. In recent days there has been a lot of communication about Raspberry Pi, the need for compliance testing and the impact of testing on deliveries. We recognise the impact on our customers of the constantly changing delivery dates and apologise for the frustration and disappointment this is causing. We commit to advise everyone of accurate delivery dates just as soon as we can but right now, as the Boards undergo compliance testing we are unable to give specific dates.

Over the past weeks, it is clear that customers who have pre-ordered are going to use the Raspberry Pi as a finished product and not just an engineering development board. We see it as the most responsible approach to ensure that all Pi’s meet the required standards for finished products in their respective country. We are prioritizing the compliance testing process by working closely with the Raspberry Pi foundation and RS Components to make sure there are no more delays. We take our commitment and responsibility in this area very seriously and believe that while this is a frustrating short-term delay, it’s worth it to ensure our customers receive a fully compliant product.

The current situation is:

2000 Raspberry Pi’s are now in the UK. Pictures are posted here for anyone who doubts their existence!

The compliance teams of element14, RS and Raspberry Pi are working round the clock with the testing houses to assess the product now. Any issues that are identified (hardware or software) will then need to be rectified and we will ensure this happens as quickly as is humanly possible.

There are different compliance standards around the globe and we are focused on meeting all of those as quickly as possible. However, some may take longer than others.

As soon as these initial 2000 Boards are compliant to at least one set of required standards, we will receive our share of this first batch from Raspberry Pi. We will ship on a first come, first serve basis to countries where compliance standards have been demonstrably met. So, customers who ordered first in countries where compliance standards have been met, will receive the product first.

Regrettably, we cannot give any firm delivery commitments on Raspberry Pi’s until this testing is complete. Please be assured we will provide this information as soon as we can.

Once the product is fully compliant our manufacturing partners have the necessary stocks of components to ramp up production very quickly, so despite these frustrating, initial delays we are confident the picture will improve and lead times for new orders will reduce.

Our commitment to our customers is to email each customer individually to confirm their personal delivery date as soon as we are able. We recognise that it is the very specific delivery date that you want.

Once again, we apologise to all of our customers for this delay in providing the Raspberry Pi’s that you so desperately want.

HOT OFF THE PRESS UPDATE FROM EBEN UPTON OF RASPBERRY PI EARLIER TODAY:

“We have spoken with BIS this morning, and have been told that, given the volumes involved and the demographic mix of likely users, the development board exemption is not applicable to us; as a result, even the first uncased developer units of Raspberry Pi will require a CE mark prior to distribution in the EU...... ....we are working with RS Components and element14/Premier Farnell to bring Raspberry Pi into a compliant state as soon as is humanly possible.”

UPDATED AT 8:51 am GMT 26 March

Q. What is the latest update ?

A. COMPLIANCE TESTING - Over the weekend, Raspberry Pi provide us with an update on the compliance testing needed for the Model B boards. Originally, they had intended to defer compliance testing until the release of the cased educational boards. But, as demand has been so high for even the uncased version, we've agreed that this testing should happen now instead of later. Raspberry Pi did a first trial run in a test chamber and will have a detailed technical update for us in the next few days. It is still too early to say what this will mean for deliveries and we hope any impact will be minimal. The first batch of boards are due to arrive in the UK this week. We are working closely with the guys from the Raspberry Pi Foundation to understand how this compliance testing will impact delivery dates for our customers and the impact, if any, on future orders that were originally expected to be delivered in April, May and June. We will communicate to all of our Raspberry Pi customers in the coming days once the testing is underway and we have a clearer picture.

UPDATED AT 12:05 pm GMT 15 March

Q. Why have you temporarily removed the Fedora download?

A. We want you to be up and running as quickly as possible. There are 3 Linux operating systems for the computer and when the Fedora Remix became available, we tested it on our Raspberry Pi to make sure it was easy to use. We found issues with the username & password authentication that prevented access to the operating system, effectively making it a bit unusable. To be really clear though, this issue is to do with the software, not the Raspberry Pi board itself. We’ve fed this back to the guys at Fedora, and they’re already working on a new release. When Fedora have fixed the issue, and element14 with the Raspberry Pi foundation have successfully tested it, we’ll bring the Fedora Remix download back to you. Until then, we recommend the Debian “Squeeze” distribution that’s available in our Download Center.

UPDATED AT 11:20 pm GMT 11 March

Q. What is the cost of my Raspberry Pi board?







A. As we work with Raspberry Pi to distribute the Model B $35 boards globally, there has been some confusion and discussion around worldwide pricing. We want to make our pricing globally transparent in keeping with our commitment to make the Raspberry Pi Board accessible to all at a base price no higher than $35 per board. By clarifying our prices now, with the first delivery of reworked boards due to go out next week, we can ensure that all customers have access to the same information. In an effort to clarify and simplify our pricing, we have produced a grid which shows for each country the price and delivery costs in the relevant currency. This eliminates the need to calculate from GBP to your local currency in most instances. The variable costs mostly relates to local sales taxes which still needs to be added to the delivery price.

If a customer has already ordered from us at a HIGHER price than those listed in the grid we will ensure this is corrected at point of shipping to reflect the cheaper prices below. If a customers has been previously quoted a LOWER price, we will honour the lower price.

Also any other Raspberry Pi ‘bundles’ and accessories ordered and shipped at the same time as the Model B will not incur any additional delivery charges. We hope this is clearer for our customers and as always appreciate feedback and suggestions to improve. Please read this document for the full grid and answers to frequently asked questions regarding our pricing.

UPDATED AT 8:31 pm GMT March 9





Q. Update from Raspberry Pi on delivery dates





A. Following additional testing, we have been made aware by Raspberry Pi of a minor technical issue with a part on the current batch. The good news is the problem has been identified and Raspberry Pi is working to correct it. If you are interested in learning more, please consult the Raspberry Pi website. You can also consult our Technical Support FAQ and additional Technical Documentation. We'll be looking to update our Technical Support FAQ as we get more information as well. As always, we are working closely with the Raspberry Pi Foundation to minimise any delay to customers. We sincerely regret any inconvenience caused to all of you who are patiently awaiting your Pi.

Q. What is your policy regarding the use of your site by minors?





A. We've been asked to explain our policy regarding the use of the site by minors. It's quite common to request that users under 18 get parental permission to use social networking types sites and we do that to protect our younger users. The restriction on users under 13 is required by existing US federal law and is consistent with other sites like Facebook and Bebo.

UPDATED AT 5:41pm GMT, March 1





Q. How many can each customer buy?





A. Currently the limit is 1 each. We are trying to allow as many people. as possible to get a first look. Based on our systems, it is possible for people to pre-order more than one, but when it comes time for shipment, that number will automatically reduce to one. Customers will only be charged for the quantity shipped.





UPDATE AT 4:24pm GMT, February 29





Q. Are you distributing globally?





A. Yes! We are distributing globally through the Premier Farnell family of companies, including element14 in Asia Pacific, Farnell element14 in Europe and Newark element14 in the Amercias. Our aim is to make sure that this product is available across the world. The product is priced in line with Raspberry Pi costs, but customers across the globe will see a pricing difference due to tax laws, exchange rates and delivery costs. For more information about our global pricing, please see http://www.element14.com/community/docs/DOC-43546/l/raspberry-pi-pricing-update

Q. What is the link between element14, Farnell and Newark?





A. Our family of brands are all linked by element14. As such, you’ll get access to what you need anywhere in the world by visiting www.element14.com/raspberrypi. Via the site you’ll be able to register your interest to purchase the product. This inquiry will be captured with the trading brand in your geography (element14 in Asia Pacific, Farnell element14 in Europe and Newark element14 in the Amercias). Once you’ve registered you will receive follow up information regarding availability and order status. In the meantime, our element14 community is active with discussions, tutorials, downloads and the free operating system download to help our customers.