Setting Up a 3.5-inch ILI9486 Touchscreen LCD on Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W – Full Working Guide

TECH LOGICS – Part 2

Welcome back! In this complete, no-BS guide we’re turning your Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W into a gorgeous little portable display using the super-popular 3.5-inch 480×320 ILI9486 touchscreen (the cheap one from AliExpress/eBay that everyone uses).

By the end you’ll have:

• A perfectly working touchscreen display
• A beautiful colorful text demo
• Everything auto-starting on boot (next tutorial)

Let’s go!

What You Need

• Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W
• MicroSD card with Raspberry Pi OS Lite (Bookworm recommended)
• 3.5-inch ILI9486 TFT LCD (480×320, SPI, GPIO-connected)
• SSH access (already set up in Part 1)
• Decent 5V power supply

Step 1: Hardware Assembly

1. Power off your Pi completely
2. Line up the display with the 40-pin GPIO header (Pin 1 → Pin 1)
3. Gently push it straight down until fully seated
4. Plug power back in → white backlight should turn on immediately

Step 2: Update Your Pi (SSH)

Connect via SSH (ssh admin@192.168.1.33 – change IP to yours)

Bash

sudo apt update
sudo apt full-upgrade -y
sudo reboot

Log back in after reboot.

Step 3: Install the Correct ILI9486 Driver (One Block – Just Paste!)

Bash

cd ~
sudo rm -rf LCD-show
git clone https://github.com/goodtft/LCD-show.git
cd LCD-show
chmod +x LCD35-show
sudo ./LCD35-show

The Pi will reboot automatically. When it comes back (~60 seconds), you should see the Raspberry Pi desktop or a black screen on your new LCD – success!

Step 4: Verify Framebuffer & Permissions

Bash

ls -l /dev/fb*

You should see both /dev/fb0 and /dev/fb1 Give your user permission to write to the LCD:

Bash

sudo usermod -a -G video admin

Step 5: Install Pygame

Bash

sudo apt install -y python3-pip
pip3 install --user pygame==2.6.1

Step 6: Clean Boot (No Splash, No Text)

Bash

sudo raspi-config

→ 1 System Options → S1 Splash Screen → Choose No → Finish → Reboot when asked

Step 7: Create the Beautiful Colorful Text Demo

Bash

nano ~/lcd_demo.py

Paste this entire script (copy it from below – also in the description):

Python

#!/usr/bin/env python3
import os
import pygame
import struct

os.environ['SDL_VIDEODRIVER'] = 'dummy'
os.environ['PYGAME_HIDE_SUPPORT_PROMPT'] = '1'

pygame.init()
screen = pygame.Surface((480, 320))
screen.fill((0, 0, 60))                              # dark blue background

# Fonts
f80 = pygame.font.SysFont('freesansbold', 80)
f60 = pygame.font.SysFont('freesansbold', 60)
f50 = pygame.font.SysFont('freesansbold', 50)
f40 = pygame.font.SysFont('freesansbold', 40)
f30 = pygame.font.SysFont('freesansbold', 30)

# Colors
YELLOW  = (255, 255, 0)
CYAN    = (0, 255, 255)
MAGENTA = (255, 0, 255)
GREEN   = (0, 255, 0)
RED     = (255, 0, 0)
ORANGE  = (255, 160, 0)
WHITE   = (255, 255, 255)

def put(text, font, color, y_center):
    s = font.render(text, True, color)
    r = s.get_rect(center=(240, y_center))
    screen.blit(s, r)

put("LCD TEST",      f80, YELLOW,  55)
put("Pi Zero 2 W",   f60, CYAN,    120)
put("3.5 inch TFT",  f50, MAGENTA, 175)
put("Different",     f40, GREEN,   220)
put("Fonts & Colors",f40, ORANGE,  260)
put("Working 100%",  f30, WHITE,   305)

# Convert and write to /dev/fb1 (exactly like your working clock)
fb = open('/dev/fb1', 'wb')
def rgb565(r, g, b):
    return ((r & 0xF8) << 8) | ((g & 0xFC) << 3) | (b >> 3)

pixels = pygame.image.tostring(screen, 'RGB')
buffer = bytearray(480 * 320 * 2)
i = 0
for p in range(0, len(pixels), 3):
    c = rgb565(pixels[p], pixels[p+1], pixels[p+2])
    buffer[i:i+2] = struct.pack('<H', c)
    i += 2

fb.seek(0)
fb.write(buffer)
fb.flush()
fb.close()

# Keep script running (so it stays on screen after boot)
try:
    while True:
        pygame.time.wait(10000)
except KeyboardInterrupt:
    pass

Save: Ctrl + O → Enter → Ctrl + X

Step 8: Run It!

Bash

chmod +x ~/lcd_demo.py
python3 ~/lcd_demo.py

BOOM! Your 3.5-inch screen is now showing bright, colorful text in different fonts and sizes – 100% proof everything works perfectly!

(Press Ctrl + C to stop)

What’s Next?

Part 3 → Auto-start this (or any script) on boot Part 4 → Live clock, network monitor, YouTube subs counter, stock ticker…

Smash that LIKE button if this worked for you, drop a comment saying “It works!” and subscribe with the bell on – we’re just getting started!

See you in the next one! TECH LOGICS – Real projects. Real results. No fluff.