--- title: Raspberry Pi GPIO support in Ubuntu description: With Ubuntu 21.04 came support for the Raspberry Pi GPIO pins. Read on to learn about the change and an upcoming live-stream about Ubuntu on Raspberry Pi. url: https://canonical.com/blog/raspberry-pi-gpio-support-in-ubuntu?format=md --- 1. [Blog](https://canonical.com/blog) 2. Article --- [Rhys Davies](https://canonical.com/blog/author/rhys-davies "More about Rhys Davies") 25 May 2021 # Raspberry Pi GPIO support in Ubuntu [Community](https://canonical.com/blog/tag/community) [Raspberry Pi](https://canonical.com/blog/tag/raspberry-pi) [Tutorial](https://canonical.com/blog/tag/tutorial) --- Share the article We are proud to announce that Ubuntu 21.04 includes [support for the GPIO pins](https://ubuntu.com/tutorials/gpio-on-raspberry-pi#1-overview) on the Raspberry Pi. This has been a long time coming. We know. With support for the [camera modules and Bluetooth added last year](https://ubuntu.com/blog/raspberry-pi-and-ubuntu-2020-roundup) GPIO was the obvious next step. But with our Raspberry Pi focused engineers working to make sure there was Pi support for the [Ubuntu Core 20 launch](https://ubuntu.com/core) earlier this year, GPIO got pushed back. But not longer. ## What’s changed? As of the Linux Kernel 5.11, the old methods of communicating with the header pins on the Raspberry Pi no longer work. Even in Raspberry Pi OS. This means that [packages such as RPi.GPIO no longer function properly with the newer kernels](https://waldorf.waveform.org.uk/2021/the-pins-they-are-a-changin.html). Fortunately, there is a new package in Ubuntu 21.04 called LGPIO that allows full control over the header pins with the latest kernel version. Now you might be thinking, ‘Wait, Ubuntu 21.04 released last month, why is this blog post so late?’ Well, it’s because we opened the doors to community members first, and I wanted to [organise a community stream](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3YJ0brUmb0) over on [UbuntuOnAir](https://ubuntuonair.com)! ## What next? We published [a tutorial on Ubuntu dot com](https://discourse.ubuntu.com/t/how-to-use-gpio-pins-with-ubuntu-on-raspberry-pi/22009) where users can follow along and test the GPIO pins for themselves and let us know what they think. The tutorial covers some basic functionality of LGPIO, including examples using basic GPIO control, I²C, PWM, and SPI. I wrote a brief [note in the Raspberry Pi forum](https://www.raspberrypi.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=131&t=310494&p=1857016#p1857024) Ubuntu sub-category to see if there was interest over there too, and, as a part of our (the Ubuntu Community team’s) initiative to [restart UbuntuOnAir](https://musing-press.com/ubuntuonair/) we’ve scheduled a live stream. This is all because we want to build a more interactive community around Ubuntu on the Raspberry Pi. A big part of building a community like this is starting conversations. That started with our call for feedback and to ‘try things out’, and continues next week (June 1st) when Will Wilson (jawn-smith, the author of the tutorial), Dave Jones (waveform and long time Ubuntu Pi guy), and I sit down on [a YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3YJ0brUmb0) and [Twitch live stream](https://www.twitch.tv/ubuntuonair) to talk about Ubuntu on Raspberry Pi, the past, the future, and the community. Set yourself a reminder and come along. We’ll be answering all the questions and talking more about how you can get involved. ## Sign up for our newsletter Get the latest Canonical news and updates in your inbox. Work email: \*I agree to receive information about Canonical's products and services. By submitting this form, I confirm that I have read and agree to [Canonical's Privacy Policy](https://canonical.com/legal/dataprivacy). Sign up ## Share on --- ## Related posts [### Canonical becomes Gold Sponsor of Trifecta Tech Foundation](https://canonical.com/blog/canonical-becomes-gold-sponsor-of-trifecta-tech-foundation) Canonical is pleased to announce it is now a Gold Sponsor of the Trifecta Tech Foundation, a non-profit that creates open source building blocks for critical infrastructure... 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