Raspberry Pi blocks RAM capacity upgrades
The gist
Raspberry Pi 5 firmware blocks RAM swaps, showing Error Code 9 and refusing to boot.
The lock stops cheap memory upgrades, affecting hobbyists and resellers who modify boards.
How it unfolded
- Sep 10, 2024Firmware release 2024-09-10-2712 or older is the only easy workaround, allowing RAM swaps.
- Sep 23, 2024Raspberry Pi 5 firmware update pieeprom-2024-09-23.bin introduced a hard RAM capacity check; if RAM does not match the original factory specification, the board shows Error Code 9 and refuses to boot.
- Sep 21, 2026Notebookcheck, XDA, Jeff Geerling, and daily.dev report that Raspberry Pi is intentionally blocking RAM capacity upgrades and that even same-capacity chips from other boards can fail.