Skip to main content

Waveshare 3.5-inch RPi LCD

Use the Waveshare 3.5-inch Raspberry Pi LCD (Waveshare 3.5" RPi LCD (B)) on Radxa Dragon Q6A.

Hardware connection​

Attach the display to the board.

Enable in software​

Use the built-in Rsetup tool in Radxa OS to enable the Waveshare 3.5-inch Raspberry Pi LCD.

Rsetup quick guide
  • Select an item: the item will be highlighted
  • Confirm: press Enter
  • Cancel/Back: press ESC
  • Navigate: use Up, Down, Left, Right
  • Multi-select: press Space to toggle, then press Enter to confirm; a * indicates the option is enabled

Run rsetup in the terminal to start Rsetup:

radxa@dragon-q6a$
rsetup

In Rsetup, go to: Overlays -> Manage overlays.

  1. Use the arrow keys to find: [ ] Enable Waveshare 3.5inch RPi LCD (B) on SPI12
  2. Press Space to toggle it to: [*] Enable Waveshare 3.5inch RPi LCD (B) on SPI12
  3. Press Enter to confirm and save the settings.
  4. Reboot the system to apply the configuration.

Check the device​

Check which fb (framebuffer) device the screen is bound to. The device name for this LCD is fb_ili9486.

radxa@dragon-q6a$
cat /sys/class/graphics/fb0/name

If the display is enabled correctly, you should see output similar to the following (fb0 as an example):

fb_ili9486

Note: If the LCD is not on fb0, replace fb0 with the actual one, e.g. cat /sys/class/graphics/fb1/name.

Display an image​

Install fbi​

radxa@dragon-q6a$
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y fbi

Show an image​

Display an image to the LCD framebuffer. Prepare an image file in advance. The following uses fb0 as an example.

radxa@dragon-q6a$
sudo fbi -vt 1 --noverbose -d /dev/fb0 logo.bmp

Show a terminal (TTY)​

  • Map the output of tty2 to the LCD

Run the following command in the terminal to map the output of tty2 to the LCD.

radxa@dragon-q6a$
sudo con2fbmap 2 0

Parameter notes: 2 is TTY2, 0 is fb0.

Press Ctrl + Alt + F2 to switch to TTY2 text mode. tty2 will be shown on the LCD.

  • Map the output of tty3 to the LCD

Run the following command in the terminal to map the output of tty3 to the LCD.

radxa@dragon-q6a$
sudo con2fbmap 3 0

Parameter notes: 3 is TTY3, 0 is fb0.

Press Ctrl + Alt + F3 to switch to TTY3 text mode. tty3 will be shown on the LCD.

    You need to be logged into GitHub to post a comment. If you are already logged in, please ignore this message.

    Radxa-docs © 2026 by Radxa Computer (Shenzhen) Co.,Ltd. is licensed under CC BY 4.0