Install Ubuntu Mate in Raspberry PI using Mac and no Keyboard

Raspi-PGB001

Introduction

In this blog, I am going to explain how you can install your Raspberry PI using a mac and without any keyboards. Also, you need minimal technical knowledge to do so. You will need a mouse and a display device. So here it goes.

Step 1 – Download Ubuntu Mate

Get it from the following link. Then extract it to get the .img file.

https://ubuntu-mate.org/raspberry-pi/

Step 2 – Plug Micro SD card to your Mac

Connect your Micro USB card to the mac. If your mac is a new (fancy) one with only Thunderbolt ports you can buy a micro SD card adapter from Amazon for a couple of bucks.

Step 3 – Find the Device Identifier

Mac will auto-mount your micro sd card. Go to the Disk Utility, select your SD card. Note the disk identifier of your card. For my case, it is disk4. Then unmount your disk (do not Eject).

Screen Shot 2019-03-09 at 4.26.54 PM

Step 4 – Write Ubuntu Mate image to the SD card

Here is the command you should execute.

sudo dd bs=1m if=path_of_your_image.img of=identifier_of_your_disk conv=sync

For my case, here is the exact command I had to run.

sudo dd bs=1m if=~/downloads/ubuntu-mate-16.04.2-desktop-armhf-raspberry-pi.img of=/dev/disk4 conv=sync

This command takes some time to complete, so stay put.

Step 5 – Boot your Raspberry

Plugin the micro sd. You need to connect a mouse and display to it as well. Turn on the raspberry and boot it up.

Step 6 – Set up username/password without a Keyboard

When it boots up it will ask you to give a login and a password. But you can’t do it because you don’t have a keyboard. The trick is to copy any text from the window and paste it on the login and password text boxes. For this example, I used “computer” username and “computercomputer” as the password. Set it up, you are good to go.

Step 7 – Enable On Screen Keyboard

Go to Applications–> Universal Access –> Onboard

Hope this helps. Refer this blog to see how you can set up Ubuntu Mate after installation for programming.

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