Hyperpixel 4 Rotation

Support
1

Hi All,

Hopefully someone can help me here. I am not a PI or Linux expert, I just dabble and use them for small projects when I need to. I wanted to create an Octoprint server for my 3D printer and a PI seems the way to go. I purchased a PI4 4meg and Hyperpixel4 rectangle touchscreen.

I used the current Octopi image then installed the drivers as per the instructions using curl. Then I installed Octodash.

Everything works fine except the display is in portrait mode and I need it in landscape mode. I followed many instructions on the web (including the manufacturer ones) to rotate the display but nothing seems to work. I have re-imaged this now probably 30 times as I have tried different instructions.

I can rotate the display fine but the touchscreen doesn’t follow so the touch pointer is reversed. No matter what I do, I cannot rotate the touch. I see there are loads of articles on the web regarding this issue including a few on here but there doesn’t seem to be any definite solution. I have also tried this on a PI3b as well and the same problem exists.

I then went and tried the project with a standard 3.5 inch generic resistive screen which worked perfectly but I really want to use this 4inch capacitive touch screen. I also tried the official raspberry PI 7inch screen which also works perfectly but is too big for my project. So the issue is directly related to the Hyperpixel4 screen.

The instructions state to use the command hyperpixel4-rotate to rotate the screen, but that just gives errors such as cannot find xinput and cannot import module screenlayout. I have tried the many articles relating to changing /boot/config.txt but they still only rotate the display and not the touchscreen.

Does anyone know how to get this screen working with the Octopi image. It has proved a nightmare so far and I have been on this issue constantly for 4 days now with no success.

Failing that, can someone recommend a different 4inch 800x400ish capacitive touchscreen that actually works properly. This has been the biggest challenge I have had on a PI project and judging by the web, I am not alone.

What would be nice is if someone had a step by step guide on installing the drivers for the screen on an Octopi image and it working fully in landscape mode. I don’t really care whether the power socket is at the top or bottom just landscape mode where the touchscreen co-ordinates are correct.

Many thanks in advance for any assistance.

2

I don’t know about that screen, but on my Pi Foundation touch screen
display_rotate only rotated the image and didn’t rotate the touch while
lcd_rotate did both and touch was usable.

3

Many thanks.

I tried lcd_rotate but that seems to be completely ignored by the Hyperpixel4 driver as it changes nothing. Display_lcd_rotate works but again, only rotates the display and not the actual touchscreen. display_rotate also works but once again, only for the actual display.

I am getting a feeling that this display is heading for the bin. Judging by everything I have read it is beginning to seem it is not fit for purpose. It’s a shame as the display itself and build quality are great but it simply seems it just doesn’t work on the touchscreen side of it unless you want to use it as it’s out the box portrait configuration. For me, I have never had to do a project required portrait, always landscape. This rotation issue should really be mentioned on the website before you buy it as I would not have purchased this if I had known about this issue in advanced. And I know I am not alone as if you type Hyperpixel4 in to google, it’s thread after thread of people trying to rotate this display. I wish I had done that before parting with £40. I never thought to do that as I had never had an issue like this on a display before.

4

There is a thread here somewhere where they got it to work. I’ll see if I can find it.

I’m pretty sure @jand figured it out.

5

Absolutely nothing seems to work with this display where touch is concerned. Another day wasted on re-installs, installing things in a different order etc. But exactly the same result. I have tried every article and forum post I have found.

Whether it is the fact that I am only using Buster lite (as that is what comes with the Octopi image), I don’t know. But what I do know is that the majority of people that I have made contact with about this issue on the web, never got it working properly.

I cannot really waste anymore time on this so decided to admit defeat and just put this down as a bad buy. It can just sit in my parts bin until I have a project that just requires a display without touch. I certainly won’t be buying any more of them. The display itself is excellent but the touchscreen is pure junk.

I kind of feel mis-sold as even the image on the Pimoroni website shows the display in landscape mode and no mention that touch rotation could be challenging. Ordinarily, I would put it down to my lack of knowledge but have found an awful lot of people more experienced than me that have had the same problems and other issues as well.

Anyway, I have ordered a different 4.3inch capacitive IPS display that has a proven record of working properly out of the box. I did my research this time.

Pimoroni, please update your sales blurb on these screens to make clear that this is really a portrait only screen when using touch. Either that or publish a clear guide on how these should be rotated.

6

I forgot to say thank you to the people that replied.