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Will the NOOBS Micro SD Card Work in the Pi 400?

NOOBS microSD cards work with the Raspberry Pi 400. Learn about NOOBS compatibility and modern alternatives.

NOOBSMicroSDBy Vilros

The short answer

Yes, the Raspberry Pi 400 will run smoothly with any Micro SD card with NOOBS that we offer.

What is NOOBS?

NOOBS (New Out Of Box Software) is a simple installer for Raspberry Pi operating systems. When you boot a Raspberry Pi with a NOOBS card for the first time, it presents a menu of OS options to install.

Features:

  • Beginner-friendly OS installer
  • Includes Raspberry Pi OS and optionally other operating systems (LibreELEC, RetroPie, etc.)
  • No need to flash an OS image - just copy NOOBS files to a formatted microSD card
  • Recovery mode for reinstalling or switching operating systems

Note: NOOBS has been officially discontinued as of March 2021. The Raspberry Pi Foundation now recommends using Raspberry Pi Imager instead.

Pi 400 compatibility

The Raspberry Pi 400 is fully compatible with NOOBS microSD cards. If you purchased a NOOBS card from Vilros or another supplier, it will work just like on any other Raspberry Pi model.

First boot:

  1. Insert the NOOBS microSD card into the Pi 400's microSD slot (on the underside of the keyboard, near the USB ports)
  2. Connect a monitor via micro-HDMI, mouse, and power
  3. The Pi 400 will boot into the NOOBS installer
  4. Select "Raspberry Pi OS" (or another OS) and click "Install"
  5. Wait for installation to complete (this may take 10-20 minutes)
  6. After installation, the Pi 400 will reboot into Raspberry Pi OS

Raspberry Pi Imager

While NOOBS cards work with Pi 400, the modern and officially recommended method is Raspberry Pi Imager:

Advantages over NOOBS:

  • Faster installation (no two-step install process)
  • More OS options available
  • Automatically downloads the latest OS version
  • Built-in customization (WiFi, hostname, SSH, user accounts)
  • Actively maintained and supported

How to use Raspberry Pi Imager:

  1. Download Raspberry Pi Imager on your computer
  2. Insert a blank microSD card (8GB minimum, 16GB+ recommended)
  3. Launch Imager, select "Raspberry Pi OS," choose your microSD card, and write
  4. Insert the card into your Pi 400 and boot

For beginners: Raspberry Pi Imager is actually easier than NOOBS because it's a single-step process and provides a ready-to-use OS immediately upon first boot.

For detailed setup, see our work from home with Raspberry Pi 400 guide and getting started with Raspberry Pi tutorial.