DGTPi automatic update

[Tim Sharpe]

Hi

I'm struggling to find the relevant thread but I have recently acquired a DGTPi and have managed to connect it to my wifi network.

I'm assuming that my version of picochess is current (v4) - when pressing the centre button on boot up (when the picochess version is displayed) I receive a 'no function' message (I'm assuming this means no later version is available).

Although it is referenced in some posts I've stumbled across, I cannot find out how to configure automatic updates.

Any help would be appreciated.

Kind regards

Tim

[Randy Reade]

Hi Tim, 

Unless you acquired the DGTPi from someone else I doubt it would have an updated PicoChess on the SD card. Have a look around the forum to read some posts to see what's currently happening in the community. You can create your own v4 installation from scratch by flashing the SD card with the latest Raspberry Pi OS (I'd recommend the Lite version) and then following the instructions on Johan's GitHub site. You can also install my latest v4 Lite image and be up and running immediately. Just be aware that it is (currently) based on DietPi, not RPiOS. But, as an end user it will function fine. I'm not sure of your Linux knowledge so forgive me if that's too obvious.

Randy

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[Tim Sharpe]

Hi Randy

Thanks for your prompt response.

The DGTPi was bought new - I flashed the latest PicoChess image to a 32gb microSD using Win32DiskImager, replacing the original 8gb card that carried version 0.9l.

I think the version I'm running is your v4 Lite version, which works great! I followed the instructions in the bundled readme file to connect to my wifi network.

Absolutely new to all this so I have zero Linux knowledge but was wondering whether it's possible for the DGTPi to automatically update via wifi, as opposed to having to remove the microSD and flash an updated image every time a new version is released. If it is possible, how do I go about setting this up?

Forgive my ignorance and thanks for your help.

Tim

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[Randy Reade]

Hi Tim,

Yes. You can use the system/power menu to restart and update PicoChess. I'm not at my system right now so can't give the exact commands but when you select the update function be prepared to wait quite a while on the DGTPi (Pi3b) until PicoChess restarts. Just be patient. And it's best to run it a second time in case the updater itself has been updated. 

Good luck.

Randy

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[Johan Sjöblom]

Yes, as Randy I am not looking at the system now, but based on my memory:

- system, information view should have information on your version, and with more details like how many git commits behind you are, thats a details really, like minor fixes we commit to git between versions.

- if you go to the power menu there should be an option to reboot and update picochess, expect the next boot to take 10-15minutes. As Randy said, be patient. So yes, you can update via wifi.

- there is also an option to replace engines on next boot, but I dont recommend using that if you have a well working system. If you do use it, expect again next boot to take 10-15 minutes.

— Johan

[Tim Sharpe]

Hi Johan

Thanks for your message. 

I think I’ve sorted it. After selecting the update picochess option I receive an ‘abort game’ message before the Pi reboots. ‘DGT Pi’ appears on the display for about 10-15 mins before being replaced by the currently selected engine (‘StockfishNN’ in my case). I’m then ready to go. Easy! :) I’ve done the process twice, as recommended by Randy. 

Many thanks for your help. 

All the best

Tim

Sent from my iPhone

On 28 Mar 2026, at 10:52 PM, Johan Sjöblom <messi...@gmail.com> wrote:

Yes, as Randy I am not looking at the system now, but based on my memory:

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/picochess/821748df-db7c-4ae4-87a9-b4ac2e8fe48en%40googlegroups.com.