How to flash out Screenly to an SD card

Eric
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Last updated: January 10, 2025

This article will guide you through installing Screenly on your Raspberry Pi 3B or 4B device. Most Raspberry Pi units come with a microSD card, so if yours is in a case, you will need to open it and remove the card from the slot to proceed. 

For a more comprehensive guide on putting all the pieces together from scratch—case, microSD card, power cable, and all—check out How to self-build a Screenly Player.

What you will need:

  1. A microSD card - We recommend SanDisk Industrial grade cards, specifically model ID: SDSDQAF3-016G.
  2. A microSD card reader - You can buy from Amazon.
  3. A tool for writing the image file onto your microSD card. We suggest using Raspberry Pi Imager or balenaEtcher.

Raspberry Pi Imager - Steps for flashing out Screenly to an SD card

  1. Download and install the latest version of Raspberry Pi Imager.
  2. Power off your Screenly device, remove the SD card, and insert this into your computer's SD card reader slot.
  3. Open Raspberry Pi Imager.
  4. For Raspberry Pi Device ("Choose Device"), select the device type that you have (3B/3B+ or 4B).
    For Operating System ("Choose OS"), select Freemium & Paid-For OS >> Digital Signage OS >> Screenly Digital Signage >> Screenly Player (3B/3B+ or RPi 4).
  5. For Storage ("Choose Storage"), select your SD card.
  6. Select Next to start flashing (no changes to the defaults needed if prompted).
  7. That's it!

balenaEtcher - Steps for flashing out Screenly to an SD card

  1. Download and install the latest version of Etcher.

  2. Download the image for your hardware.

    Determine whether you are using a Pi 3B/3B+, or a Pi 4B (if unsure, the name will be printed on the hardware circuit board directly), and find the download links by logging into your web console, then selecting +New >> Hardware Screen >> How do I self-build a Screenly Player. See the image below for details.

    (Alternatively, if you are using a SharpNEC display with a built-in RPi CM3, use this link: Raspberry Pi CM3)

  3. Insert your microSD card into the SD card reader and plug the reader into the appropriate port on your computer. SD card readers come in different shapes and sizes.

  1. In Windows, you might see a pop-up asking you if you want to format the SD card. You should format the SD card in the FAT32 format.

  1. On your computer, open Etcher.
  2. Etcher will ask if you want to flash from a file or a URL. Select Flash from URL, then paste in the relevant URL that you copied in Step 2 above.

  1. Next, click Select Target and choose your microSD card.
  2. To start the flash, click Flash! The flashing process may take a few minutes. If you prefer to flash from file, you will need to download the disk image onto your computer, and then select Flash from file in Etcher.
  3. Once Etcher is done flashing the card, right-click on the microSD card drive and select Eject.  The drive will then be safe to remove. 
  4. Remove your SD card and plug it into the tiny slot on the bottom side of your Raspberry Pi motherboard. 
  5. You're done! Put your player back together, plug it in, and continue with the setup.

Frequently asked questions on flashing out Screenly to an SD card

Q: When I view the SD card contents on my computer it says that it has a much smaller capacity than before, it went from 16 GB to 31 MB! What's up? 

A: The storage space is still there. We've just formatted it so that it will not show up correctly on Windows or Mac OS. This is normal; don't worry about it. 

Q: When I insert the SD card into my computer it says that it is locked or read only and I can't format it, what do I do? 

A: SD Card adapters have a physical switch on them that locks the card into read only mode. Flipping the switch down should unlock it. 

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