Banana Pro/Pi FAQs
Summary
This page answers the most frequently asked questions about the Banana Pro and Banana Pi single-board computers. Whether you are considering a purchase or troubleshooting an issue, you will likely find a quick answer here.
Who This Is For
Anyone interested in or currently using the Banana Pi or Banana Pro — from first-time buyers to experienced users looking for quick reference answers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is the difference between the Banana Pi and the Banana Pro?
Both boards share the same Allwinner A20 dual-core ARM Cortex-A7 SoC, 1 GB RAM, SATA port, and Gigabit Ethernet. The Banana Pro adds onboard WiFi and Bluetooth via the AP6210 module and uses a different board layout with a microSD slot on the underside. The Banana Pi does not have onboard wireless — you would need a USB WiFi dongle.
Q: What power supply do I need?
Use a 5 V, 2 A (minimum) micro-USB power supply. If you plan to connect power-hungry USB peripherals (external hard drives, WiFi adapters), a 5 V 3 A supply is recommended. Insufficient power is the most common cause of random crashes and reboots.
Q: What SD card should I use?
A Class 10 or UHS-I microSD card with at least 8 GB capacity. We recommend 16 GB or 32 GB from a reputable brand (SanDisk, Samsung, Kingston). Avoid cheap unbranded cards — they often have higher failure rates or fake capacities.
Q: Can I boot from the SATA hard drive?
No. The board always boots from the SD card. However, you can configure the bootloader on the SD card to mount the root filesystem from a SATA drive. This gives you the speed benefits of SATA for the OS while keeping a small SD card for the boot partition only.
Q: How do I access the serial console?
Use a 3.3 V TTL USB-to-serial adapter. Connect TX, RX, and GND to the board's UART header. Open a serial terminal at 115200 baud, 8N1. Do not use a 5 V adapter as it will damage the board. See How to Login to the System for full details.
Q: Why does my board randomly reset or shut down?
The two most common causes are:
- Inadequate power supply: Upgrade to a 5 V 2.5 A or 3 A adapter.
- Failing SD card: Test with a known-good card. SD card corruption can cause kernel panics and reboots.
Q: What operating systems are supported?
The Banana Pi and Banana Pro support a wide range of operating systems including:
- Raspbian (modified for Banana Pi)
- Armbian (Debian and Ubuntu based, well maintained)
- Ubuntu
- Debian
- Arch Linux ARM
- Android 4.x
- Bananian (lightweight Debian)
Armbian is generally recommended for the best community support and up-to-date kernel.
Q: Can I use Raspberry Pi accessories?
Many work, but not all. The 26-pin GPIO header is physically compatible with the Raspberry Pi Model B header layout, so many HATs and breakout boards will fit. However, GPIO pin numbering differs between the Allwinner A20 and the Broadcom BCM2835, so software drivers or pin mappings may need adjustment. Always check electrical compatibility — the Banana Pi uses 3.3 V logic only.
Q: How much power does the board consume?
Typical power consumption is 2–5 W depending on workload:
- Idle: approximately 2 W.
- Light desktop use: approximately 3 W.
- Full CPU + SATA load: approximately 5 W.
Add additional power for USB peripherals connected to the board.
Q: Where can I find more help?
Visit the LeMaker Forum for community support, or browse the rest of this wiki for detailed guides on specific topics.
Related Pages
Author: LeMaker Documentation Team
Last updated: 2026-02-10