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Ultimate Guide: Raspberry Pi 3B+ and 13.3 HDMI LCD Setup

The Raspberry Pi 3B+ is a compact and powerful single-board computer. It comes with built-in Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and full-size HDMI. This board is great for many projects—from DIY electronics to smart home systems and light desktop setups. It runs using a microSD card that stores the operating system and files. The Pi 3B+ offers excellent performance and works well with a wide range of accessories and displays.

To add a display, the Waveshare 13.3-inch HDMI LCD is an ideal choice. It connects via HDMI for video and uses a USB cable for touch input. The screen is large, sharp, and responsive. This makes it perfect for dashboards, user interfaces, media centers, or portable workstations. It adds interactivity and improves usability, especially when more screen space is needed.

In this guide, you’ll learn how to prepare the microSD card with Raspberry Pi OS. You’ll also connect the 13.3-inch LCD and configure the display. After a few simple steps, your Raspberry Pi 3B+ and Waveshare LCD will be ready for your next creative build.

Components:

Connection:

Here’s a quick guide for you on how to set up your Raspberry Pi 3B+ with a 13.3 inch HDMI LCD (H).

  • When setting up your Raspberry Pi 3B+ with a 13.3 inch HDMI LCD (H) Waveshare, it’s important to start with a properly formatted microSD card. If the card is new or has been used in another device, you should quickly reformat it using the SDCard.org formatter. This step ensures the card is clean and ready for the Raspberry Pi OS. Make sure to choose the Quick Format and Overwrite Format options for the best results, as this helps prevent errors during the installation process.
  • Start by downloading the Raspberry Pi OS from the official Raspberry Pi website. Then, use the Raspberry Pi Imager to write the OS onto a microSD card. For best compatibility with the Raspberry Pi 3B+, choose the 32-bit version of the operating system.

Choose “YES” if you want to pre-configure settings

Choose “YES” if you are ready to erase all data on the SDHC Card and proceed with flashing the Raspberry Pi OS.

This is where you’ll add the settings needed to make the 13.3-inch HDMI LCD (H) (with case) Waveshare work properly. Just copy this block and paste it directly into your config.txt file to save time:

# For more options and information see
# http://rptl.io/configtxt
# Some settings may impact device functionality. See link above for details

# Uncomment some or all of these to enable the optional hardware interfaces
#dtparam=i2c_arm=on
#dtparam=i2s=on
#dtparam=spi=on

# Enable audio (loads snd_bcm2835)
dtparam=audio=on

# Additional overlays and parameters are documented
# /boot/firmware/overlays/README

# Automatically load overlays for detected cameras
camera_auto_detect=1

# Automatically load overlays for detected DSI displays
display_auto_detect=1

# Automatically load initramfs files, if found
auto_initramfs=1

# Enable DRM VC4 V3D driver
dtoverlay=vc4-kms-v3d
max_framebuffers=2

# Don't have the firmware create an initial video= setting in cmdline.txt.
# Use the kernel's default instead.
disable_fw_kms_setup=1

# Disable compensation for displays with overscan
disable_overscan=1

# Run as fast as firmware / board allows
arm_boost=1

[cm4]
# Enable host mode on the 2711 built-in XHCI USB controller.
# This line should be removed if the legacy DWC2 controller is required
# (e.g. for USB device mode) or if USB support is not required.
otg_mode=1

[cm5]
dtoverlay=dwc2,dr_mode=host

[all]

hdmi_force_hotplug=1
config_hdmi_boost=7
hdmi_group=2
hdmi_mode=87
hdmi_cvt 1920 1080 60 6 0 0 0
display_hdmi_rotate=1

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