How to turn Orange Pi Zero 2W into a Web Signage Display
2026-02-09 18:34 (5 hours ago)
ytyng
Introduction
The Orange Pi Zero 2W is a compact single-board computer with an Allwinner H618 SoC. It has HDMI output and runs Linux, making it suitable as a web signage (digital signage) terminal.
This article covers two goals:
- Auto-starting Chromium in kiosk mode to display a web page fullscreen on power-up
- Using GPIO-connected tactile switches for physical button control of display power and browser reload
Part 1: Web Signage with Chromium Kiosk Mode
Prerequisites
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y xserver-xorg xinit chromium x11-xserver-utils xdotool fonts-noto-cjkkiosk.sh — Chromium Startup Script
#!/bin/bash
export DISPLAY=:0
xhost +local:
# Rotate display (for vertical monitors used horizontally)
xrandr --output HDMI-1 --rotate left
# Disable screen blanking
xset s off -dpms s noblank
sleep 2
# Launch Chromium as non-root user
# dbus-run-session: creates a temporary D-Bus session (not available at boot)
# --disable-gpu: Mali G31 GPU fails Chromium initialization
sudo -u orangepi \
DISPLAY=:0 \
HOME=/home/orangepi \
dbus-run-session \
chromium --kiosk --noerrdialogs --disable-infobars \
--disable-session-crashed-bubble \
--disable-gpu \
--start-fullscreen \
--window-size=1920,480 \
--window-position=0,0 \
"https://your-dashboard-url.example.com/"kiosk.service — systemd Service
[Unit]
Description=Kiosk Browser
After=multi-user.target systemd-user-sessions.service
Conflicts=getty@tty1.service
StartLimitIntervalSec=0
[Service]
Type=idle
User=root
Environment=DISPLAY=:0
ExecStartPre=/bin/udevadm settle --timeout=30
ExecStartPre=/bin/bash -c 'for i in $(seq 1 30); do for f in /sys/class/drm/card*-HDMI-A-*/status; do [ -f "$f" ] && grep -q "^connected$" "$f" && exit 0; done; sleep 2; done; echo "HDMI not detected"; exit 1'
ExecStart=/usr/bin/startx /home/orangepi/kiosk.sh -- :0 vt1
Restart=on-failure
RestartSec=10
[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.targetKey settings:
Conflicts=getty@tty1.service— Prevents getty from stealing VT1 from X serverStartLimitIntervalSec=0— Unlimited restart attemptsudevadm settle— Waits for hardware initialization- HDMI connection polling — Waits up to 60 seconds for display connection
Part 2: GPIO Physical Buttons
Hardware Wiring
H618 GPIO operates at 3.3V with built-in pull-up resistors. Connect tactile switches between GPIO pins and GND (Active LOW). No external resistors needed.
GPIO pin ---[tactile switch]--- GNDLinux GPIO numbers are calculated as: (port_number × 32) + pin_number
| Button | Pin | GPIO# | Function |
|---|---|---|---|
| Left | PI3 | 259 | Display ON/OFF |
| Center | PI16 | 272 | Browser reload (Shift+F5) |
| Right | PI4 | 260 | Unassigned |
switch_daemon.py — GPIO Button Daemon
Uses gpiomon (libgpiod) for kernel interrupt-based monitoring with near-zero CPU usage.
See the Japanese version for the full source code with detailed comments.
switch-daemon.service
[Unit]
Description=GPIO Switch Daemon
After=multi-user.target systemd-user-sessions.service
[Service]
Type=simple
User=root
Environment=DISPLAY=:0
Environment=XAUTHORITY=/home/orangepi/.Xauthority
ExecStartPre=/bin/udevadm settle --timeout=30
ExecStart=/usr/bin/python3 /home/orangepi/switch-server/switch_daemon.py
Restart=always
RestartSec=5
[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.targetTroubleshooting
- Screen flashes then shows terminal: Add
Conflicts=getty@tty1.service - D-Bus errors: Add
dbus-run-sessionbefore chromium command - GPU errors: Add
--disable-gpuflag to Chromium - Buttons not responding: Ensure
udevadm settlein ExecStartPre
The author runs the application development company Cyberneura.
We look forward to discussing your development needs.
We look forward to discussing your development needs.