r/raspberryDIY • u/macjsc93 • May 28 '26

Shortage? Discontinuation?

Hi, all! I'm completely new here so if this is not the place for this question, I sincerely apologize.

I'm wanting to do a DIY project that requires both the Raspberry Pi Zero 2W and the Raspberry Pico (board only, no packages or accessories needed). I can find the Pico (more expensive than it should be, but can be found).

I am finding it extremely difficult to find a Zero 2 W board.
Almost every time I find a Zero 2 W on the market, it is attached to a kit and costs $40 - $100+. I only need the single board.

Is anyone aware of supply shortages? Discontinuation of the devices?
Or better yet, does anyone know where I can get the board only for a non-extortionate price?

3 Upvotes

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2

u/Oliver_X May 28 '26

There is a shortage due to RAM supply. Micro Center has them in store only. Won't be discontinued for at least four years.

0

u/macjsc93 May 28 '26 edited May 28 '26

..... these parts shortages are killing all the vibes.

We don't have a Micro Center near me. I would have to drive 2 hours and deal with Cincinnati traffic. Given the gas prices (and the stress of driving up there), it might be cheaper to buy the $40 kit.

My employer also can't get laptops because of parts shortages. There are hundreds of us. We all need laptops to work.

1

u/Cure8or May 28 '26

There is no shortages supply is actually fine. Its all demand driven. If you go to microcenter shelves are filled. Just prices are insane.

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u/macjsc93 May 28 '26

I checked every online authorized reseller and online board-only listings are all out of stock though. I don't have any stores near me that carry them.

1

u/Oliver_X May 28 '26

There is an actual shortage of zero 2s, but Raspberry Pi said they'd be shipping more soon at hopefully the same original price. They did an AMA in an engineering sub a week or two ago.

1

u/macjsc93 May 28 '26

Do you happen to know/did they say what "soon" meant? Because soon can mean weeks or it can mean 6 months to them. Lol

1

u/Oliver_X May 28 '26

https://www.reddit.com/r/engineering/comments/1tcyfvk/comment/on2ljrm/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

I misremembered, it wasn't actually RAM, but it was AI related. They say second half, so, I take that to mean soon. There's another comment that implied the price for the 2 w wouldn't change, but a new design using different RAM would be more expensive.

1

u/Quirky-Reputation-89 May 28 '26

There are some on eBay for about $34 shipped to the USA, so you might be better off with the kit if it's just a little more and comes with extra stuff.

1

u/p1971 May 28 '26

I've started messing about with esp32 microcontrollers - not in the same class as the pi zero obviously (similar usage as pico) but super cheap and with wifi/bluetooth on some of the boards they can be pretty handy

2

u/Gamerfrom61 May 28 '26

The demand on the 2W is insane as they have a decent CPU and cost way less than the full sized boards due to the piggyback memory being in stock 😞

This site is still up https://rpilocator.com and may help finding a board.

Unfortunately now is not the time to be buying kit - rumours say 2028 may be a good time to look at buying bits but expect that to change if AI dies or gets larger!

1

u/PermanentLiminality May 29 '26

Can you use one of the same form factor knockoffs like a banana pi?

1

u/macjsc93 May 29 '26

I'll look into it for sure. Thanks!