Will a raspbian sd card for the 3b+ work on the 3?

[Cayden_oop]

Hey, I am buying a pi for the first time for a school project and after the project for personal use. I am buying the canakit Raspberry Pi 3 kit. I planned initially on getting the 3b+ however I realized it would not ship in time and I got the 3 kit without realizing it wasn't a 3b+. This isn't a big deal for me. The only issue for me is that I bought a LoveRPI raspbian 32gb MicroSD card for the 3b+. Will raspbian for the 3b+ work on the 3b? I do not have a way to edit/access a MicroSD card in my home and Don't want to spend more money on an adapter if I don't have to. Thanks

[FTrevorGowen]

Hey, I am buying a pi for the first time for a school project and after the project for personal use. I am buying the canakit Raspberry Pi 3 kit. I planned initially on getting the 3b+ however I realized it would not ship in time and I got the 3 kit without realizing it wasn't a 3b+. This isn't a big deal for me. The only issue for me is that I bought a LoveRPI raspbian 32gb MicroSD card for the 3b+. Will raspbian for the 3b+ work on the 3b? I do not have a way to edit/access a MicroSD card in my home and Don't want to spend more money on an adapter if I don't have to. Thanks

Not sure what a "LoveRPI raspbian 32gb MicroSD card" would actually have on it - can you post a link may be? My guess is that it might be based around the NOOBS installer, but possibly with other O.S.'s than a version of Raspbian. If the card is supplied with the kit (it's unclear from your post whether that's the case or if it's a "separate" purchase) then it should be Rasbian Buster and that's compatible with all Pi's. Worst case scenario - you may have to download a new image and overwrite that on the uSDHC card - more info. here: https://www.raspberrypi.org/downloads/ (follow the NOOBS or Raspbian "picture" links).
Trev.

[drgeoff]

Don't want to spend more money on an adapter if I don't have to.

I don't know where you are but £1 will buy a serviceable USB card reader from a high street retailer with many shops throughout the UK. I expect a similar situation applies in many other countries.

[HawaiianPi]

Yes, a card for a Raspberry Pi 3B+ should work in a 3B.

Newer versions of Raspbian and NOOBS are backwards compatible with older models. Since the 3B+ is a newer model, any Raspbian or NOOBS card for the 3B+ should work in a 3B.

That being said, you'll need a micro SD card reader at some point. Considering how much pre-loaded cards cost, it will actually save you money in the long run. Assuming you don't already have one (most laptops have SD card slots, and most micro SD cards include an SD adapter).