How to Switch Raspberry Pi from Wayland to X11

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Charles Varvayanis
Computer and Communication Systems

Since 1990
(209) 586-3782
charles@varvayanis.com

How to Switch Raspberry Pi from Wayland to X11

Raspberry Pi Step-by-step instructions for switching from Wayland to X11 or X11 to Wayland

These procedures apply to Raspberry Pi 5, 4 or 3 with Raspberry Pi OS (64-Bit), (32-Bit), (Legacy 64-Bit) or (Legacy 32-Bit).

General Notes

1. General: The procedures below are optimized for switching Remote Graphics Support, A.K.A. compositor, from Wayland to X11 or X11 to Wayland on a Raspberry Pi 5, 4 or 3 with Raspberry Pi OS (64-Bit), (32-Bit), (Legacy 64-Bit) or (Legacy 32-Bit).

2. Internet access during setup: Some of the steps below assume and require the Raspberry Pi is connected to a network with access to the Internet.

3. Raspberry Pi Connect: Raspberry Pi Connect Screen sharing requires Wayland (Remote Graphics Support, A.K.A. compositor), the default for Raspberry Pi OS bookworm (debian 12), trixie (debian 13) and above, therefore does not work with X11. Raspberry Pi Connect Remote shell does not use the compositor and will work with either Wayland or X11.

Notice about updates, upgrades and installations failing due to repository or network congestion or outages

Occasionally updates, upgrades and installations fail due to repository or network congestion or outages. Sometimes there is an appropriate message saying as such, sometimes a missing file is reported, and sometimes there is just a failure message without an explanation. When this occurs, simply run the command again. If that does not solve the issues immediately, try again later.

Raspberry Pi OS Documentation

https://www.raspberrypi.com/documentation/computers/os.html

Connect to the Raspberry Pi

Via Raspberry Pi Connect Remote shell or Raspberry Pi Connect Screen share

https://www.raspberrypi.com/software/connect

- or -

Via a Display, Keyboard and Mouse

- or -

Via SSH

Connect using the IP address or URL of the Raspberry Pi

Determine the Raspberry Pi IP Address:

Via Raspberry Pi Connect Remote shell or Raspberry Pi Connect Screen sharing, then open a Terminal window

https://www.raspberrypi.com/software/connect

sudo hostname -I

Connect directly to the Raspberry Pi via a Display, Keyboard and Mouse, then open a Terminal window

sudo hostname -I

Use an IP Scanner tool such as Advanced IP Scanner on a PC or alike to locate the IP Address assigned to the Raspberry Pi

https://www.advanced-ip-scanner.com

Use the SSH command in your OS to connect to the Raspberry Pi or on Windows systems use a third party tool such as PuTTY

https://www.raspberrypi.com/documentation/computers/remote-access.html#connect-to-an-ssh-server

https://putty.software

https://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/latest.html

https://www.putty.org

Note: The first time a connection is made, a security warning may be displayed | Yes

Switch from Wayland to X11 or X11 to Wayland

Update Raspberry Pi OS and Components

Download the latest package lists

sudo apt update -y

Download and install the updated packages listed in the package lists

sudo apt full-upgrade -y

Disable Wayland and switch to X11

Switch from X11 and enable Wayland

Remove packages that automatically installed and are no longer required

Occasionally excess update, upgrade and installation packages install automatically, but are no longer required. These can be removed automatically.

Automatically detect and remove packages no longer required

sudo apt autoremove -y

Charles Varvayanis
Sonora, CA 95370
e-mail: charles@varvayanis.com
Phone: (209) 586-3782
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www.varvayanis.com