Raspberry Pi - How To Check OS Version AND Identify Model
If you have found yourself here it is probably because you were searching for one of two things. You might be looking to find out which version of Rasbian/Raspberry Pi OS that you are running. You also might just want to know how to identify which Raspberry Pi model you have. We’re going to answer both of those questions. We’re assuming you are running Raspberry Pi OS or Raspbian.
The easiest way to check which version of Raspberry Pi OS / Raspbian you are running is to just run this command:
cat /etc/rpi-issueThe next best thing would be to use this command:
cat /etc/os-releaseYou could also check this file:
cat /boot/issue.txtIf you want another alternate command you can install and run the following:
sudo apt-get install lsb_release
lsb_release -aIf you want the kernel version and architecture you can use this command:
uname -aHow to Check Which Model of Raspberry Pi You Have
We have two main ways of doing this:
- Check from the command line
- Examine the hardware
We also have a big list comparing the specs of every Raspberry Pi model here.
How to Identify Raspberry Pi Model from the Command Line
You can find this very quickly using the following command on newer versions of Raspbian / Raspberry Pi OS:
cat /proc/device-tree/modelThe above should give you exactly what you want. Another way to do this is from the command line by running the following and looking for the revision:
cat /proc/cpuinfoYou can then look it up in this table from elinux.org.
| Revision | Release Date | Model | PCB Revision | Memory | Notes |
| Beta | Q1 2012 | B (Beta) | ? | 256 MB | Beta Board |
| 0002 | Q1 2012 | B | 1.0 | 256 MB | |
| 0003 | Q3 2012 | B (ECN0001) | 1.0 | 256 MB | Fuses mod and D14 removed |
| 0004 | Q3 2012 | B | 2.0 | 256 MB | (Mfg by Sony) |
| 0005 | Q4 2012 | B | 2.0 | 256 MB | (Mfg by Qisda) |
| 0006 | Q4 2012 | B | 2.0 | 256 MB | (Mfg by Egoman) |
| 0007 | Q1 2013 | A | 2.0 | 256 MB | (Mfg by Egoman) |
| 0008 | Q1 2013 | A | 2.0 | 256 MB | (Mfg by Sony) |
| 0009 | Q1 2013 | A | 2.0 | 256 MB | (Mfg by Qisda) |
| 000d | Q4 2012 | B | 2.0 | 512 MB | (Mfg by Egoman) |
| 000e | Q4 2012 | B | 2.0 | 512 MB | (Mfg by Sony) |
| 000f | Q4 2012 | B | 2.0 | 512 MB | (Mfg by Qisda) |
| 0010 | Q3 2014 | B+ | 1.0 | 512 MB | (Mfg by Sony) |
| 0011 | Q2 2014 | Compute Module 1 | 1.0 | 512 MB | (Mfg by Sony) |
| 0012 | Q4 2014 | A+ | 1.1 | 256 MB | (Mfg by Sony) |
| 0013 | Q1 2015 | B+ | 1.2 | 512 MB | (Mfg by Embest) |
| 0014 | Q2 2014 | Compute Module 1 | 1.0 | 512 MB | (Mfg by Embest) |
| 0015 | ? | A+ | 1.1 | 256 MB / 512 MB | (Mfg by Embest) |
| a01040 | Unknown | 2 Model B | 1.0 | 1 GB | (Mfg by Sony) |
| a01041 | Q1 2015 | 2 Model B | 1.1 | 1 GB | (Mfg by Sony) |
| a21041 | Q1 2015 | 2 Model B | 1.1 | 1 GB | (Mfg by Embest) |
| a22042 | Q3 2016 | 2 Model B (with BCM2837) | 1.2 | 1 GB | (Mfg by Embest) |
| 900021 | Q3 2016 | A+ | 1.1 | 512 MB | (Mfg by Sony) |
| 900032 | Q2 2016? | B+ | 1.2 | 512 MB | (Mfg by Sony) |
| 900092 | Q4 2015 | Zero | 1.2 | 512 MB | (Mfg by Sony) |
| 900093 | Q2 2016 | Zero | 1.3 | 512 MB | (Mfg by Sony) |
| 920093 | Q4 2016? | Zero | 1.3 | 512 MB | (Mfg by Embest) |
| 9000c1 | Q1 2017 | Zero W | 1.1 | 512 MB | (Mfg by Sony) |
| a02082 | Q1 2016 | 3 Model B | 1.2 | 1 GB | (Mfg by Sony) |
| a020a0 | Q1 2017 | Compute Module 3 (and CM3 Lite) | 1.0 | 1 GB | (Mfg by Sony) |
| a22082 | Q1 2016 | 3 Model B | 1.2 | 1 GB | (Mfg by Embest) |
| a32082 | Q4 2016 | 3 Model B | 1.2 | 1 GB | (Mfg by Sony Japan) |
| a020d3 | Q1 2018 | 3 Model B+ | 1.3 | 1 GB | (Mfg by Sony) |
| 9020e0 | Q4 2018 | 3 Model A+ | 1.0 | 512 MB | (Mfg by Sony) |
| a02100 | Q1 2019 | Compute Module 3+ | 1.0 | 1 GB | (Mfg by Sony) |
| a03111 | Q2 2019 | 4 Model B | 1.1 | 1 GB | (Mfg by Sony) |
| b03111 | Q2 2019 | 4 Model B | 1.1 | 2 GB | (Mfg by Sony) |
| c03111 | Q2 2019 | 4 Model B | 1.1 | 4 GB | (Mfg by Sony) |
How to Identify Raspberry Pi Model by Examining the Board
The board will probably have the model printed on the PCB so you can just read it. This won’t necessarily tell you the revision of that model though.
You can also get a comparison of some of the models HERE