PiTFT 3.5" resistive touch screen not functioning

I attached the PiTFT to my pi zero and burnt the image from Adafruit Easy Install as a control test for the screen. The screen loads Raspbian but doesn’t react to touch and is unable to connect to Wifi and Bluetooth. Help please?

hum, I assume you mean you are using a Pi Zero W and it can’t connect? that wouldn’t be surprising since I doubt the custom image provided by Adafruit was rebuilt recently. In fact the link above does not even note any compatibility with the Zero, let alone the Zero W.

As for the touchscreen, I’m not sure, it could too be related to the custom kernel not being suitable for the Pi Zero W.

… I would try with a Pi 2 or 3 (or B+) to ensure the screen function properly if you can. But failing that, besides contacting Adafruit, or getting your hand dirty trying to build a custom kernel it’s likely going to be a stumbling block.

Hi, well this is a little awkward… I asked @Gadgetoid / Phil on twitter
about the PiTFT compatibility with the Pi zero before i bought it. He said
it should work fine as it just needs to connect via the GPIO. And also this
was backed up on the Adafruit website. https://www.adafruit.com/product/2441
What should I do?

Thanks!

well - I can believe it would work on the Zero. The Zero W wifi chip requires kernel level changes that were released several months after the last image released by Adafruit.

So, yes, I don’t believe you’ll get the WiFi working with their custom kernel, unless they posted a newer image I cannot find. I’m sure one of us can reach out to Adafruit and find out what to expect in respect to the touchscreeen though.

It should work if you download the drivers from the latest image of Raspbian, using the command line. (https://learn.adafruit.com/running-opengl-based-games-and-emulators-on-adafruit-pitft-displays/pitft-setup) Similar to this guide here, keep in mind you will need an internet connection for this. Hope it helps!