Does the 3.5 Resistive Touch TFT screen install script not work with the Pi Zero W?

EL Wire/Tape/Panels, LEDs, pixels and strips, LCDs and TFTs, etc products from Adafruit

Moderators: adafruit_support_bill, adafruit

Please be positive and constructive with your questions and comments.
Locked
User avatar
LukeDupont
 
Posts: 4
Joined: Fri Jan 27, 2023 10:08 am

Does the 3.5 Resistive Touch TFT screen install script not work with the Pi Zero W?

Post by LukeDupont »

I'm having trouble getting this screen to work with the Zero W.

It works just fine with my Pi 3B+. The physical screen also worked just fine with a very old version of Jessie and the Zero W. But a new image and the new install script don't seem to work with the Zero W in my case.

I get a white screen, and then, when the desktop should appear, the screen goes black. If I then plug in HDMI to see what's going on, I notice that the resistive touch does work (mostly. It's a little wonky in that it interferes with using a trackpad and maybe even a mouse -- haven't tried the mouse yet), but the display doesn't.

Can anyone confirm that this does or doesn't work for them? Using the latest version of RaspbianOS installed with the imager tool on Linux.

User avatar
mikeysklar
 
Posts: 13824
Joined: Mon Aug 01, 2016 8:10 pm

Re: Does the 3.5 Resistive Touch TFT screen install script not work with the Pi Zero W?

Post by mikeysklar »

You could encounter an issue with Bullseye. Are you running 32-bit or 64-bit? Is it lite or desktop?

When you went to setup the display did you use a command line this:

Code: Select all

 sudo python3 adafruit-pitft.py --display=35r --rotation=90 --install-type=console

User avatar
LukeDupont
 
Posts: 4
Joined: Fri Jan 27, 2023 10:08 am

Re: Does the 3.5 Resistive Touch TFT screen install script not work with the Pi Zero W?

Post by LukeDupont »

mikeysklar wrote: Fri Jan 27, 2023 1:19 pm You could encounter an issue with Bullseye. Are you running 32-bit or 64-bit? Is it lite or desktop?

When you went to setup the display did you use a command line this:

Code: Select all

 sudo python3 adafruit-pitft.py --display=35r --rotation=90 --install-type=console
32-bit desktop, if I recall correctly. I believe the processor on the Pi Zero only supports armhf 32bit.

Yes, I installed using this command: sudo python3 adafruit-pitft.py --display=35r --rotation=90 --install-type=fbcp
I actually tried reinstalling several times, including just running adafruit-pitft and going through the options.
On all occasions, I got the TFT functioning on the Pi 3B but not the Zero. I'm pretty sure that anyone who follows the same procedure on the latest RaspbianOS image will get the same results.

RaspbianOS was installed using the official imager for Linux on my primary Desktop computer, which also happens to be running Debian Bullseye.

User avatar
LukeDupont
 
Posts: 4
Joined: Fri Jan 27, 2023 10:08 am

Re: Does the 3.5 Resistive Touch TFT screen install script not work with the Pi Zero W?

Post by LukeDupont »

Follow up:

I just tried with a 2.8" resistive touch screen that I have.
Same problem: Works on Pi 3B+ but not Pi Zero W.

Whatever the bug, it likely affects all large TFT screens and first series Pi Zero (W)'s.

Just a totally wild guess, but maybe cmake is compiling in 64bit mode whilst the Pi Zero processor can only run 32bit? I'm just stabbing in the dark and have no basis for this supposition other than the fact that the script failed to install cmake (for I don't know what reason) when I ran it in interactive mode on the PiZero. Manually installed it myself and it proceeded. Most likely not related. I can always look at the code myself but it'd likely take a while for me to make heads or tails of anything...

I made a ticket about this here: https://github.com/adafruit/Raspberry-P ... issues/239
It should really be retitled as it appears to apply to more than just the 3.5" display.

User avatar
mikeysklar
 
Posts: 13824
Joined: Mon Aug 01, 2016 8:10 pm

Re: Does the 3.5 Resistive Touch TFT screen install script not work with the Pi Zero W?

Post by mikeysklar »

When you purchased the Pi Zero W did it come with the 40-pin header pre-soldered or did you solder it yourself?

Are you able to try the Pi3B micro-SD card on the Pi Zero to confirm that the issue does not follow the OS installation?

User avatar
LukeDupont
 
Posts: 4
Joined: Fri Jan 27, 2023 10:08 am

Re: Does the 3.5 Resistive Touch TFT screen install script not work with the Pi Zero W?

Post by LukeDupont »

mikeysklar wrote: Sat Jan 28, 2023 3:00 pm When you purchased the Pi Zero W did it come with the 40-pin header pre-soldered or did you solder it yourself?

Are you able to try the Pi3B micro-SD card on the Pi Zero to confirm that the issue does not follow the OS installation?
Presoldered.

FYI, it worked with an old installation that I had on both the Zero and the 3B so it's not the hardware.

I've also tried with two SD cards and fresh installations using the imager tool, so I'm confident that it's not an issue with the OS installation.

The fact that the screen goes blank (black) from white indicates that the connection between the pi and the TFT is sound and that it's just a software/driver issue.

I've ruled out everything I can on my end. I've also looked at the install scripts and don't see any glaring issue. If I knew more about how the drivers and TFT screens actually work, I'd look into that bit of the code, but it's way over my head.

Can you replicate on your end? I'm pretty positive that a fresh install on a Pi Zero and any of the larger 2.2" ~ 3.5" resistive touch TFT screens will render the same results.

User avatar
mikeysklar
 
Posts: 13824
Joined: Mon Aug 01, 2016 8:10 pm

Re: Does the 3.5 Resistive Touch TFT screen install script not work with the Pi Zero W?

Post by mikeysklar »

I loaded up Bullseye Desktop (32bit) without issue on my Pi Zero W.

The only tricky step is mentioned in the FAQ. You cannot boot directly into X-windows. You need to setup the system to boot to console (using raspi-config) and then manually startx.
My PiTFT works for a bit and then I get a black screen with a short line of white pixels in one corner

Sounds like you tried to configure your Pi to 'boot straight to X', that is, start up the graphics interface on boot. This doesn't work by default because the Pi operating system is not expecting a PiTFT so it boots to the HDMI output. See below for how to set up your Pi to boot to X on the PiTFT

To 'fix' this, you can either connect an HDMI monitor, then in a terminal window run sudo raspi-config and configure the Pi to boot to the command line not X! If you do not have an HDMI monitor, you can also try a console cable
https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-pit ... aq-2859077

Locked
Please be positive and constructive with your questions and comments.

Return to “Glowy things (LCD, LED, TFT, EL) purchased at Adafruit”