Banana Pi specifications

Summary

This page provides a practical specification summary for Banana Pi: the interfaces you'll commonly use in projects, hardware capabilities and limitations, boot and storage expectations, and verification commands that confirm the board is behaving as expected. Rather than listing every technical specification from the datasheet, this guide focuses on information directly relevant to setup, troubleshooting, and project planning.

Understanding these specifications helps you choose appropriate accessories, diagnose hardware issues, and set realistic performance expectations for your applications.

Processor and memory

CPU specifications

• Processor - Allwinner A20 (sun7i), ARM Cortex-A7 dual-core
• Clock speed - 1.0 GHz (both cores)
• Architecture - ARMv7-A 32-bit with NEON SIMD extensions
• L1 cache - 32KB instruction + 32KB data per core
• L2 cache - 256KB shared between cores
• Floating point - VFPv4 hardware floating point unit

Memory

• RAM - 1GB DDR3 SDRAM shared with GPU
• GPU - ARM Mali-400 MP2 (dual-core), supports OpenGL ES 2.0
• Video memory - Dynamically allocated from system RAM

Storage interfaces

MicroSD card slot

• Interface - SDIO 2.0 compatible
• Maximum capacity - Tested up to 128GB (larger cards may work)
• Recommended - Class 10 or UHS-I, 8GB minimum for OS
• Boot priority - Always boots from microSD; cannot boot from SATA alone
• Performance note - Card quality significantly impacts system responsiveness

SATA port

• Interface - SATA II (3 Gbps), single port
• Connector - Standard 7-pin SATA data + 15-pin SATA power
• Power delivery - 5V power available via connector for 2.5\" drives
• 3.5\" drive support - Requires external power supply (12V rail)
• Hot-plug - Not officially supported; power off before connecting/disconnecting
• Typical use - Network storage, media libraries, backup targets

Network interfaces

Ethernet

• Speed - 10/100/1000 Mbps Gigabit Ethernet
• Chipset - Realtek RTL8211E/D PHY
• Connector - RJ45 with integrated LEDs
• Auto-negotiation - Automatic speed and duplex detection
• Throughput - Typically achieves 900+ Mbps with optimized drivers
• Power over Ethernet - Not supported (requires separate PoE HAT)
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• LEDs - Link/activity indication (green = link, amber = activity)

WiFi and Bluetooth

Original Banana Pi does not include WiFi or Bluetooth. For wireless connectivity:

• Use USB WiFi adapters (check Linux driver compatibility)
• Consider Banana Pro with integrated WiFi/Bluetooth

USB ports and connectivity

USB 2.0 ports

• Host ports - 2× USB 2.0 Type-A ports
• Bandwidth - 480 Mbps shared between both ports
• Power per port - Limited by board power supply; typically 100-140mA per port
• Powered hubs recommended - For high-power USB devices (external drives, WiFi adapters with high TX power)
• Common uses - Keyboards, mice, USB storage, WiFi adapters, serial adapters

MicroUSB OTG port

• Primary function - Power input (5V)
• OTG capability - USB On-The-Go supported but not commonly used
• Power requirements - 5V 2A minimum input

GPIO and expansion headers

40-pin GPIO header (CON2)

• Compatible with - Many Raspberry Pi HATs and GPIO accessories
• GPIO pins - 28 general-purpose I/O pins
• Voltage - 3.3V logic level (NOT 5V tolerant)
• Maximum current - ~8mA source/sink per pin (50mA absolute maximum)
• Special functions - I2C, SPI, UART, PWM available on specific pins
• Power pins - 3.3V and 5V power available (limited current)
• Library support - WiringPi provides compatibility layer

Serial console header (CON3)

• Pin count - 3-pin header
• Signal level - 3.3V TTL UART
• Default baud - 115200 bps, 8N1
• Usage - Debugging boot issues, recovery access
• Required adapter - 3.3V USB-to-TTL serial adapter (FTDI, CP2102)

Video and audio outputs

HDMI

• Connector - Full-size HDMI Type-A
• Maximum resolution - 1920×1080p (1080p) @ 60Hz
• Audio - Digital audio over HDMI supported
• CEC support - Limited; varies by kernel version
• Multiple displays - Single output only

Composite video

• Connector - 3.5mm TRRS jack (shared with audio)
• Standard - CVBS composite video output
• Resolution - 480i/576i standard definition
• Usage - Legacy displays, older TVs

Audio

• Output - 3.5mm TRRS jack (stereo analog)
• Digital audio - Available via HDMI
• Microphone input - Not available on Banana Pi (see Banana Pro)

Power requirements and thermal

Power input

• Voltage - 5V DC via microUSB
• Minimum current - 2A (10W) for board only
• Recommended - 2.5A (12.5W) with USB peripherals
• SATA power - Add 2-8W for 2.5\" drive, more for 3.5\" drives
• Voltage tolerance - ±5% (4.75V - 5.25V)
• Quality matters - Cheap supplies cause random crashes, corruption

Power consumption

• Idle - ~2-3W (400-600mA @ 5V)
• Light load - ~3-4W (600-800mA @ 5V)
• Heavy load - ~5-6W (1000-1200mA @ 5V)
• Peak - ~7-8W with USB devices and network activity

Thermal management

• No active cooling - Passive heat dissipation only
• Operating temperature - 0°C to 70°C ambient
• Thermal throttling - CPU reduces frequency if temperature exceeds ~85°C
• Heatsink - Optional but recommended for sustained high CPU usage
• Case ventilation - Ensure adequate airflow if enclosed

Boot process and storage behavior

Boot sequence

1. ROM bootloader - Reads boot0/SPL from microSD first 8KB
2. U-Boot (boot1) - Loads U-Boot from microSD
3. Kernel loading - U-Boot loads kernel and device tree from boot partition
4. Root filesystem mount - Kernel mounts root from microSD or SATA (if configured)
5. Init system - systemd or init starts services

Storage best practices

• Use quality microSD cards - SanDisk, Samsung, Kingston Class 10+
• Avoid cheap cards - Counterfeit/low-quality cards cause silent corruption
• Safe ejection - Always unmount before removing storage
• Regular backups - microSD cards have limited write endurance
• Filesystem choice - ext4 recommended for Linux; F2FS for better microSD longevity

Verification commands

Confirm device tree loaded

dmesg --color=never | grep -i -E \"of:|device tree\" | head -n 40\n# Should show \"OF: fdt: Machine model: Banana Pi\" or similar\n

Check CPU information

cat /proc/cpuinfo\n# Look for: Processor=ARM Cortex-A7, Hardware=sun7i\n\nlscpu\n# Shows architecture, CPU cores, frequency\n

Verify memory

free -h\n# Should show approximately 1GB total (slightly less due to GPU reservation)\n\ncat /proc/meminfo | grep MemTotal\n

Check storage devices

lsblk -o NAME,SIZE,TYPE,FSTYPE,MOUNTPOINT\n# Shows microSD (mmcblk0) and SATA drive (sda) if attached\n\ndf -h\n# Display mounted filesystems and usage\n

Network interface status

ip link show eth0\n# Check link state (UP/DOWN)\n\nethtool eth0\n# Shows speed, duplex, link detection\n\nip addr show eth0\n# Display IP address configuration\n

USB device enumeration

lsusb\n# Lists all connected USB devices\n\ndmesg | grep usb | tail -n 30\n# Recent USB connection messages\n

Temperature monitoring

cat /sys/class/thermal/thermal_zone0/temp\n# Returns temperature in millidegrees Celsius (50000 = 50°C)\n\n# Convert to human-readable:\necho \"scale=1; $(cat /sys/class/thermal/thermal_zone0/temp) / 1000\" | bc\n

GPIO information

# List available GPIO pins\nls /sys/class/gpio/\n\n# Check GPIO library installation\ngpio -v  # WiringPi version\ngpio readall  # Show all pin states\n

Performance expectations

CPU performance

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• Single-threaded - Adequate for shell scripts, system services, light web serving
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• Multi-threaded - Two cores handle parallel tasks moderately well
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• Compilation - Slow compared to modern systems; use distcc for large projects
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• Benchmarks - ~1400-1600 DMIPS (Dhrystone MIPS) combined
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Storage performance

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• MicroSD sequential read - 20-40 MB/s (card-dependent)
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• MicroSD sequential write - 10-20 MB/s (card-dependent)
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• SATA sequential read - 100-150 MB/s with SSD, 80-100 MB/s with HDD
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• SATA sequential write - 100-140 MB/s with SSD, 80-100 MB/s with HDD
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• Random I/O - Limited by interface and CPU; SATA SSD significantly faster than microSD
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Network performance

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• Ethernet throughput - 900+ Mbps with iperf3 (near wire-speed)
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• Samba/NFS - 50-90 MB/s typical (CPU becomes bottleneck)
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• Latency - Sub-millisecond LAN latency
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Known limitations and workarounds

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RAM constraints

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• 1GB total - Modern web browsers and desktop environments consume most available RAM
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• Workaround - Use lightweight applications, configure adequate swap, prefer headless operation
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USB bandwidth

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• Shared 480 Mbps - All USB ports share single USB 2.0 bus
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• Workaround - Use Gigabit Ethernet for high-bandwidth tasks; avoid multiple USB storage devices simultaneously
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No real-time capabilities

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• Linux kernel - Standard kernel not suitable for hard real-time applications
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• Workaround - Use external microcontrollers (Arduino, ESP32) for timing-critical tasks
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Frequently asked questions

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What's the maximum SATA drive size?

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No theoretical limit from board; limited by Linux kernel and filesystem support. Drives up to 8TB confirmed working.

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Can I power Banana Pi from GPIO pins?

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Technically possible via 5V GPIO pins but bypasses protection circuitry. Not recommended; use microUSB power input.

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Why is my Gigabit Ethernet only connecting at 100 Mbps?

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Check: Ethernet cable quality (Cat5e minimum), switch port capabilities, cable length, driver issues (update kernel).

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How much swap space should I configure?

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With 1GB RAM: Configure 1-2GB swap on SATA drive if available, or 512MB-1GB on microSD (reduces card lifespan).

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Can I use 5V GPIO pins to power USB devices?

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No, GPIO pins provide minimal current (~50mA max). Use powered USB hub for USB devices requiring significant power.

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Is the GPIO header 5V tolerant?

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No! GPIO pins are 3.3V and NOT 5V tolerant. Applying 5V damages the processor. Use level shifters for 5V devices.

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Why does the board crash randomly?

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Most common causes: Inadequate/poor quality power supply, overheating, failing microSD card, insufficient cooling under sustained load.

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External reference

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• Linux device tree usage model (docs.kernel.org)
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• Allwinner A20 documentation (linux-sunxi.org)
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Related guides

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• Banana Pi overview - General introduction and use cases
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• Banana Pi resources - Downloads and OS images
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• Boot and storage notes for SBCs - Storage troubleshooting
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• LeMaker Wiki - Community documentation
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Author: LeMaker Documentation Team
\n Last updated: 2026-01-10