Volumio install on Raspberry 3b+ fails

Help and Support
1

I had a working Volumio install on Raspberry 3b+ couple of years back. I have had Kodi installed until reacently I wanted to come back to Volumio.

The device has been tested to work as has the Hifiberry DAC connected to the Pi. For some reason my attempts to install the Volumio OS on the Raspberry 3 have repeatedly failed. I’ve changed sd cards, used different software to flash the image etc. Each install with a ready image have failed. The device doesn’t even boot. I have no green led flashing on the sbc at any point.

Other systems install fine and work as expected. I even tried to use the install script from Github but it has some dependencies like qemu that don’t work on Raspberry Pi 3 to my knowledge so I wasn’t expecting it to work as it didn’t at least without the qemu packages.

Has there been any changes to supported hardware that I can not find anywhere? Should the OS still work on Raspberry Pi 3b+?

2

Hey @Lauri_Lehto,

Although it seems to be basic - here’s a step-by-step guide to installing Volumio on your Raspberry Pi 3B+:

1. Download Volumio

2. Extract the Image

  • The downloaded file is a ZIP archive. You need to extract it before flashing.
    • Windows: Right-click → Extract All
    • Mac: Double-click to unzip
    • Linux: Run in terminal:
      unzip volumio-*.zip
    • This will extract a .img file.

3. Flash the Image

You must flash the .img file (not the .zip). Use one of these methods:

Option 1: Raspberry Pi Imager (Recommended)

  1. Open Raspberry Pi Imager (Download Here).
  2. Click “Choose OS” → Scroll down and select “Use Custom”.
  3. Select the downloaded .img file.
  4. Click “Choose Storage” and select your SD card.
  5. Click “Write” (Do not make customizations. Customizations will break VolumioOS).

Option 2: Balena Etcher

  1. Download and install Balena Etcher (Download Here).
  2. Open Balena Etcher.
  3. Click “Flash from file” and select the .img file.
  4. Select your SD card.
  5. Click “Flash” and wait for the process to complete.

Option 3: Using dd on Linux/macOS

  1. Find the SD card device:
    lsblk
    (Look for something like /dev/sdX or /dev/mmcblkX).
  2. Flash the image using dd (Replace /dev/sdX with the correct SD card path):
    sudo dd if=volumio-*.img of=/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progress
  3. Sync and eject:
    sync

4. Insert the SD Card and Boot

  • Do not format the SD card after flashing!
  • Insert the SD card into your Raspberry Pi 3B+ and power it on.
  • Wait for Volumio to boot (green LED should blink).

Kind Regards,

1 Like
3

Hello :slightly_smiling_face:
I’ve been trying to install Volumio on a Pi3 B and Pi3 B+ recently and, like Lauri, i encountered many problems at first boot, on both Pi.
After spending lot of time with no success, I plugged a screen on the hdmi output to be able to read the progression of the installation.
Very good idea… had many message of the deamon at boot saying my Pi were undervoltaged (Both of them).
It seems my 2 powersupply, whatever being official raspberry foundation one (5V, 2,5A), had too low voltage margin to make the pi function properly.
I tried to hook the Pi to a laboratory power supply with voltage set to 5.25V max (moderated) and… tadam… that worked ! Like a charm !
No more bug at first boot, all my new fresh installs done after that mod worked…
I also discovered that the Pi is very sensitive to the quality of the power supply you use, especially if it is a switching one.
I would recommand to use a linear one to avoid random problems very difficult to highlight, especially for Audio config.
My two cent,
Fabien

4

All,

Don’t drop 6.5V to your rPi, It will break. Above 6V permanent damage will occur.

@cybermeu

Please don’t post this kind of dangerous information!!!

5

Hello Wheaten,
Understood 5/5 !
I souldn’t have post that without some more explanations (Pi powered by remote pi board + some electronics to supply / voltage drop due to consumption).
I did not explained that while i was testing with my laboratory power supply, i was also monitoring the voltage on the gpio to be sure not to exceed the max recommended…
All my apologies ! won’t do that again.
Fabien :innocent: