Install Ubuntu on Raspberry Pi via PC

This tutorial will guide you through installing Ubuntu on your Raspberry Pi, using another machine (typically a PC) to flash the boot media. You will need the following:

  • A computer running Ubuntu, Windows, or macOS

  • A Raspberry Pi (any model supported by Ubuntu)

  • Storage media; one of:

    • microSD card sized 16GB or larger, plus a microSD card reader/writer for your other computer

    • SSD drive with an appropriate USB3 adapter

    • NVMe drive with an appropriate HAT (Pi 5 only), plus an NVMe to USB3 interface for your other computer

  • A monitor for the Pi (optional for Ubuntu server)

  • A keyboard for the Pi (optional for Ubuntu server)

  • A mouse for the Pi (optional for Ubuntu server)

  • An internet connection (wifi or ethernet)

Flashing the boot media

The rpi-imager application, displaying a selection of Pi 5, and Ubuntu 24.04.1 desktop

The rpi-imager application, displaying a selection of Pi 5, and Ubuntu 24.04.1 desktop

  1. On your computer, install rpi-imager:

    • On Ubuntu, we recommend using the snap of rpi-imager as this will work regardless of your machine’s architecture:

      sudo snap install rpi-imager

    • On Windows or macOS, visit the Raspberry Pi software page and download a copy of rpi-imager

  2. Insert your blank media:

    • For microSD cards, insert the card into the card writer

    • For SSD or NVMe storage, connect the adapter to your media, then the adapter to a spare USB3 port on your computer

  3. Start rpi-imager

  4. Click the first button, CHOOSE DEVICE, to select your model of Pi. This is optional, but limits the OS image selection to those images compatible with your board

  5. Click the second button, CHOOSE OS to select an OS image. For the purposes of this tutorial, we will select:

    • Other general-purpose OS

    • Ubuntu

    • Ubuntu Desktop 24.04.1 LTS (64-bit)

  6. Click the third button, CHOOSE STORAGE to select the destination media. In our case there’s only a single choice, our SD card

  7. Click NEXT to write the card, and choose YES to indicate you wish to overwrite everything on the target media

  8. Writing the image, especially a desktop image, takes some considerable time depending on the speed of your media, and your Internet connection. However, be prepared to wait at least 10 minutes

  9. Once writing is complete, it will re-read the media to verify the image was written successfully, then prompt you to remove your media

Booting the Pi

  1. Ensure your Pi is not connected to a power source

  2. Install your freshly written media in your Pi

    • A microSD card can simply go in the slot underneath the board

    • If your media is USB-connected, ensure you connect it to the one of the blue USB3 sockets (between the ethernet and the black USB sockets)

    • If your media is NVMe, ensure you have installed your M.2 HAT correctly, particularly that the PCIe flat cable, then install your blank NVMe drive in the HAT

  3. Connect the monitor, keyboard, mouse, and ethernet to the Pi

  4. Switch on the monitor

  5. Switch on the Pi and wait for the boot screen to appear

  6. Proceed with OS setup as normal:

    • On Ubuntu desktop images, the first-time setup wizard will guide you through locale selection and user creation

    • On Ubuntu server images, cloud-init will handle initial user creation and setup. The default username and password can be customized by rpi-imager, but if this is skipped the default username and password will be ubuntu