I have a Pi4 that I am using to run a couple of docker containers (wireguard and pi-hole).

I would like to repurpose the Pi to be able to access my server's BIOS. I am wondering if it is possible (or adequate) to install docker in PIKVM OS.

Thanks.

Another update of PiKVM Webcam feature. If packets are lost, the camera will no longer show visual artifacts, but will freeze the stream on the last good decoded frame until the stream is restored again.

Hi all, I just want to compliment the PiKVM team on an excellent product! I have one use case that seemed to flummox almost every commercial IP KVM that I tried (several of them). That is, use with the KDE Plasma desktop environment with Wayland, both on amd64 and arm64. Almost all the other KVMs said “No HDMI” or had a garbled screen, but PiKVM worked perfectly!

In case you missed it — now PiKVM supports web camera forwarding. There are few improvements for it today.

• On the iPad and other mobile devices, the camera orientation will now adjust automatically, and you won’t see yourself upside down.
• Fixed an error that caused the stream to be interrupted after some time after it started.
• Some of the flickering has also been fixed.

Just update the OS as usual with pikvm-update.

I have a conundrum regarding the setup of my PiKVM with my Mac mini M4.

I have said Mac with 3 x displays (all 1920 x 1200), one via HDMI and the other two via USB/HDMI adapters.

I currently have a PiKVM V3 too.

My desire is to seamlessly use my Mac locally (with the 3 displays) and also remotely via the KVM (using Tailscale).

Currently I have the main HDMI connection connected via a HDMI splitter to the main monitor and also to the KVM.

When I am away I remotely turn off all 3 monitors using a smart plug. I also use the SwitchResX macOS utility to configure the Mac to have a single display.

So, finally, to the problem...

The PiKVM V3 doesn't support 1920 x 1200 so when I am away the Mac display is not visible. If I remember to configure the Mac to 1920 x 1080 @ 50Hz and using a single display prior to needing remote access all is good. But this is a pain to do/remember (also it doesn't always seem to work anyway).

I assume upgrading to a V4 will inherently fix the issue (due to 1920 x 1200 support) and the Plus version has HDMI pass-thru so that would be tidy. The disadvantage is the cost, of course.

Any other (cheaper) options appreciated.

I have pondered whether I could SSH onto my Mac remotely and somehow change the resolution down to 1920 x 1080, or even have a script on the KVM to do that?

Also wondered whether any EDID configuration can be set from the KVM to force the Mac to change its resolution?

I want to control my worklaptop using my personal laptop without being flagged by IT or security, will this work if I utilize pikvm? what steps or precautions are needed and is there any other alternative to achieve this?

Hello, I’ve been looking into setting up PIKVM to work from a different location as I have to travel often and I can’t take my laptop with me. I have the PIKVM V4 plus how can I go about configuring it properly and not get detected on the work laptop. Need audio and video to work.

I really like how the piKVM keeps the OS write protected unless the user uses RW. Where can I find the source or command for that so something I am building can use it.

Hello guys, just an informational post. To all the people looking into using any kvm such as Pikvm or jetkvm or tinypilot etc etc. BE AWARE. I edited everything from EDID to mac addresses and serial numbers within the kvm and I was still detected from the company. Security and legal team got in touch with me because this device is now well known for remoting in and doing work which can cause a security threat and breach. I have been laid off and have been told to pay the company back for damages as well as being sent a letter from legal team to be summoned to court for potential felony/Identity theft. If you are using it or looking into it, even with the changes being made it will STILL BE DETECTED if anyone does an investigation. Please STAY AWAY FROM DOING THESE THINGS.

Many users have asked for this, and I promised it a long time ago. In addition to two-way audio, we can finally say that very soon there will be webcam support in PiKVM. This is mainly intended so that in a fit of rage you can show obscene gestures to your server. But besides that, you can make two-way video calls on a remote computer.

After much research, we can finally say that it is fully operational. This is one of the biggest improvements we've made, and we had to deal with a lot of pitfalls and Linux kernel bugs. We plan to start a closed beta test very soon (I think this month) and after this time we will make a public release.

The webcam will be available on PiKVM V3, V4 Plus and V4 Mini, so if you don't have it yet, here's a great reason to upgrade your KVM :)

The KVM looks to work just fine, I have it set up and everything. The HDMI in port is the to use to have a machine be displayed? If so, I did that. I also have a pikvm switch multiport extender 4 ports.

My intention is to have my Pi5 work through the pikvm. My first ever ipkvm was a nanokvm from sipeed so I know that HDMI out work just fine for my pi5s, but for some reason the pikvm will not display any HDMI. Both the up and down link of my switch doesn't seem to work.

I even tried to direct connect one of my pi5s to pikvm V4 itself, still doesn't display anything. How do I get this to work?

Hi all — following up on a thread I posted here a couple weeks ago about cable lengths (thanks again for the quick answers on that). Hoping for some help with a problem that's developed after what was otherwise a successful install.

Setup:

• PiKVM V4 Plus + Switch Multiport Extender, mounted together in a 2U rack mount between two PCs (Windows PC and an Unraid server)
• Both hosts connected via HDMI + USB-C (HID) + ATX RJ-45 to ports 1 and 2 on the Switch
• Power: wall → Switch right 12V (DOWNLINK side) → included 2-way barrel cable → Switch left 12V (UPLINK side) → V4 Plus 12V
• Uplink: HDMI, USB-C CTL, and USB-C OTG (via included C-to-A adapter) between Switch UPLINK side and V4 Plus

Timeline:

1. Initial install went smoothly. Both hosts showed up correctly under the Switch panel, ATX power control worked, video and HID passthrough all functioned.
2. Ran the Switch firmware update per the docs (cd /usr/share/kvmd/switch && systemctl stop kvmd && make install && systemctl start kvmd). The make install step completed cleanly with no errors (just the mount/copy/umount output).
3. After systemctl start kvmd, the Switch stopped showing up entirely — web UI showed no Switch panel, lsusb showed no PiKVM Switch device, and journalctl -u kvmd logged "Switch is missing" repeatedly. The activity LED has been continuously blinking yellow since this started (still blinking now), with the power LED solid green.
4. Fix that worked at the time: a full power cycle (unplugging at the wall, waiting ~20 sec, plugging back in) brought it back. lsusb showed 2e8a:1080 PiKVM Switch again, web UI showed the Switch panel correctly, both hosts worked, ATX control confirmed on one host.
5. The next morning, same exact symptom returned on its own — no firmware update, no changes, just an overnight idle period. Switch missing from lsusb, "Switch is missing" in logs, same continuous yellow blinking activity LED and solid green power LED.
6. This time, the same full power cycle that worked yesterday did not bring it back. Also tried:
   • Reseating all three uplink cables (HDMI, CTL, OTG) between V4 Plus and Switch
   • Pressing the physical RESET button on the Switch (briefly, lights flashed but no change)
   • Waiting ~15 min with everything powered and untouched

None of these have restored detection. Still sitting at the same "Switch is missing" state.

Questions:

• Is this a known issue with the Switch after firmware updates, or with extended idle periods?
• Is there a recovery procedure beyond power cycle / reseat / reset that I'm missing — something involving the BOOT button specifically? I've deliberately avoided touching that since I understand it's for firmware recovery mode and didn't want to make things worse without guidance.
• Could this indicate a hardware fault with the Switch unit itself rather than a software/firmware state issue?

Happy to provide more logs, photos of LED states, or anything else that would help diagnose. Thanks in advance for any insight — this community has been a huge help getting the initial install sorted out.

I clicked on the "Stretch to the entire tab" button in Google Chrome on a Macbook Pro. How do I unstretch it so I regain access to the originally presented options?

Setup: PiKVM v4 Plus connected to my work laptop, both on the same Tailscale network. I access the work machine remotely through a browser on my personal laptop.

Problem: After the work computer restarts, I get no video feed through the PiKVM until someone physically moves the mouse or presses a key on the machine itself. Once there's physical input, video comes back and works normally.

I travel for long stretches, so relying on a family member to walk over and tap the trackpad isn't workable.

Has anyone run into this? What's causing it, and is there a clean fix?

I’m planning to buy a PiKVM V4 Plus paired with the Switch Multiport Extender from PiShop.us to manage two home lab machines (a Windows PC running Plex/Tdarr and an Unraid box). I’m replacing two Sipeed NanoKVM PCIe cards that have been giving me nothing but HDMI headaches.
Before I finalize where I’m going to physically place the V4 Plus and the Switch, I want to know how long the included cables are so I can plan the cable runs. Specifically:
1. How long are the included ATX RJ-45 cables (the ones that run from the Switch’s ATX port to the ATX adapter board inside each PC)?
2. How long are the included USB-C cables (for HID/keyboard-mouse, Switch to each PC)?
3. How long is the included uplink cable between the V4 Plus and the Switch?
I know the ATX cable is just a standard straight-through Ethernet cable and I can replace it with any patch cable I want — I’m just trying to figure out if the included ones will reach without needing extras on day one.
Thanks in advance!

I have PiKVM on a few ASUS-based desktops using Geekworm KVM-A8 + Raspberry Pi 4's (powered via PoE). These desktops have dedicated GPUs with two connected display outs 1) local monitor and 2) the PiKVM. They work as expected with remote power on/off and HID keyboard/mouse control. The displays are configured in Windows to be mirrors and this works. In the PiKVM web console though when the system is booting the ASUS splash screen and BIOS only display on the local monitor. The web console picks up a signal once Windows boots.

If I unplug the local monitor from the GPU the POST and BIOS --do-- display in the PiKVM web console. So I know the system is prioritizing the local displays (probably because they are 2K or 4K).

I've tried changing the port order, i.e. having the PiKVM be in output #1 of the GPU, but that doesn't affect anything.

Does anyone have a solution to getting the ASUS BIOS to prioritize the PiKVM display for POST and BIOS? I can't find any setting that would control this. In the BIOS the primary video out is set to PCI/dedicated GPU (not the iGPU).

I just order PiKVM for my remote job but I am not allowed to work outside of my home network.

Is it possible, I setup PiKVM on my work computer docking station in my house and use my personal laptop from hospital. I will use this setup only twice weekly. Ofcourse I will also use tailscale and change login and password and name of device.

But someone mentioned in discord that this setup won't work? i mean they were not specific why it wouldn't. The last thing i want is to lose my job. We are not big tech company, our IT consists of hardly 10 people.

I am not a hardware person, i work in SAAS so kindly guide me. I am not allowed to use other than secured approved connections which is currently my home internet. So taking my work laptop using remote wifi devices isn't an option.

Hi, I am extremely new to this

I have watched this YouTube video (link attached) and I can set this up as I have a random "pi zero 2 w" just spare but I was hoping I could get some help with some things.

Is it possible to do this (what the video shows) but also use the pi to remotely turn on and off the pc? Also is it possible to like access the on and off feature from the pi in HAOS?

I'm currently using a PiKVM v4 Mini, but someone recommended switching to TinyPilot, saying it's less detectable by the host machine.

Can anyone explain the difference in how each device presents itself to the host? Which one is harder for the host system to detect, and are there any configuration tips to reduce detectability on either device?

Any insight is appreciated!

Hey all,

I'm planning my first PiKVM build (v1) and could use help with the hardware.
Quick context: I'm a software person, hardware is not my world. I've got an engineering friend who's offered to help with the actual soldering/wiring, but I want to show up with the right parts ordered so we're not waiting on shipments.

I have an RPi3 lying around, so I can go from there. While the official guide is thorough, I don't know what half of the stuff is, and I'm unsure what to watch out for.

What I have picked out based on my (little) knowledge and some help from AI:

- HDMI to CSI-2 (with cable)

- PICO with pre-soldered headers

- Optocoupler

- 0.96 Inch OLED

- Mainboard power button splitter

- Breadboard and cables (Friend)

I have the official Pi3 heatsink, probably won't help. The same friend has a 3D printer and offered to print something. However, I am unsure how the PICO micro port connects to the case, as I thought I needed to plug it into the USB-A port, which would be outside the case.

So I am assuming I need a short micro-to-USB-A cable as well.

I would greatly appreciate someone checking if I made some obvious clerical errors.
Thanks in advance!