Made in PRC

[johny]

Since our first batch of Pi 2 B units arrived, we've been arguing debating pondering getting more and more curious over the text on the pcb which says "Made in PRC", rather than the usual "Made in UK". Based on all the information I've seen from the foundation, all the units are manufactured in the UK these days, except for the red boards for the Chinese market. Yet these new (green) 2Bs say "Made in PRC". Is it just the pcb, and the board was then assembled in the UK? Or was the whole thing made in China? Curious minds are curious!

In case it's relevant, these units were purchased through Element 14 in Australia.

[plugwash]

It wouldn't surprise me if they have started using other factories to meet demand.

[Nightwing2012]

Think its probable all from China. As in People's Republic of China. Got mine from their U.S. section.

[AndyD]

Geographically it would make sense that we (in Australia) would get Raspberry Pis manufactured in China.

What is the value of Revision: in /proc/cpuinfo? My understanding from posts in The Raspberry Pi 2 Q&A thread is that:

Revision: ... a01041 (Manufactured by Sony in the UK)
Revision: ... a21041 (Manufactured by Embest in China)

If you bought it from Element 14, I would assume that the Pi 2s you bought would be manufactured by Embest.

[AndyPi]

Isnt this the wrong way round. Original post has

SRRR MMMM PPPP TTTT TTTT VVVV

S scheme (0=old, 1=new)
R RAM (0=256, 1=512, 2=1024)
M manufacturer (0='SONY',1='EGOMAN',2='EMBEST',3='UNKNOWN',4='EMBEST')
P processor (0=2835, 1=2836)
T type (0='A', 1='B', 2='A+', 3='B+', 4='Pi 2 B', 5='Alpha', 6='Compute Module')
V revision (0-15)

1010 0010 0001 0000 0100 0001
SRRR MMMM PPPP TTTT TTTT VVVV

S=1 new scheme
R=2 1024 MB
M=2 EMBEST
P=1 2836
T=4 Pi 2 B
V=1 1

so
a01041 Sony
a21041 Embest

[jamesh]

As far as I know, the are ALL assembled in the UK - not sure that the Chinese ones (red boards for China only)have started manufacture yet. But will try and find out more.

[jamesh]

OK, more information.

You won't see PRC labelled Pi2 in Europe, but in times of extreme need (i.e. high demand straight after the launch)!, some that go the the USA may have been made in China. It's simply to increase production capacity, and is very unusual. But can happen. There should be no difference in quality between the devices.

[ktb]

My Pi2B from Newark/Element14 says Made in PRC. I'm in the USA and placed my order early on 2/2. Overall, it's working well.

BTW, it's Revision 3a41041

[jamesh]

My Pi2B from Newark/Element14 says Made in PRC. I'm in the USA and placed my order early on 2/2. Overall, it's working well.

Cool, there should be no difference.

[AndyD]

Isnt this the wrong way round. Original post has
...
so
a01041 Sony
a21041 Embest

Yes, (fixed that)

[johny]

Thanks for satisfying our curiosity!

[Bruny]

from #comment-1212791 we see it's not only curiosity

[piguyonlyuk]

Chinese hackers say there is a difference.
We are unable to use Raspberry PI 2 now until there is a sure way to get just the UK made ones. So far all the ones we ordered here in Canada have been China.
Please fix this, this was a huge selling factor of the Pi.

[ame]

Chinese hackers say there is a difference.

Link?

We are unable to use Raspberry PI 2 now until there is a sure way to get just the UK made ones.

Why on earth not?

So far all the ones we ordered here in Canada have been China.
Please fix this, this was a huge selling factor of the Pi.

I bought my Pi2B in Korea. It was made in China.

[ktb]

Chinese hackers say there is a difference.

Link?

Yeah, tell us more.

[piguyonlyuk]

> Yeah, tell us more.

While the people are friends. (I am a very much a friend.) The governments are not - very unfortunately!
Not saying don't make them there. However, for many customers, there is the absolute need to be able to choose the origin.

[johny]

May I suggest one of these instead then?

“Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.” ― Carl Sagan.

[piguyonlyuk]

Say what you want, but the point is that the Raspberry Pi foundation is giving up a competitive advantage as seen by many - even by them as evidenced by this page: https://www.raspberrypi.org/made-in-the-uk/

[ame]

> Yeah, tell us more.

While the people are friends. (I am a very much a friend.) The governments are not - very unfortunately!
Not saying don't make them there. However, for many customers, there is the absolute need to be able to choose the origin.

You said "Chinese hackers say there is a difference."

Why did you say this? Do you have evidence of Chinese hackers saying this? Please provide a link.

You also said "We are unable to use Raspberry PI 2 now until there is a sure way to get just the UK made ones."

Why are you unable to use the Raspberry Pi 2?

[rpdom]

Say what you want, but the point is that the Raspberry Pi foundation is giving up a competitive advantage as seen by many - even by them as evidenced by this page: https://www.raspberrypi.org/made-in-the-uk/

Really?

Most people don't seem to be bothered. The Pi is designed in the UK. It doesn't matter that much where it is made, the manufacturers still have to adhere to the design and quality control levels. My first Pi was one of the early Made In China ones and I haven't had any problems with it. We prefer it to be made in the UK as it provides employment for people here, but they can't cope with the current demand so other sources were needed.

[hk1963]

> Yeah, tell us more.

While the people are friends. (I am a very much a friend.) The governments are not - very unfortunately!
Not saying don't make them there. However, for many customers, there is the absolute need to be able to choose the origin.

You imply there may be a backdoor into Chinese manufactured Pis?

[jamesh]

There is no backdoor on Chinese made Pi's. They are the same as the UK made ones.

There is no reason to demand UK made ones over Chinese ones.

When demand reduces for the Pi2, all will be made in the UK, but at present, the demand is still so high that the UK factory cannot make enough, and the Chinese made ones are filling the gap.

[piguyonlyuk]

Additionally, for the sake of the Chinese people, and all of humanity, I refuse to buy anything from countries with such lax environmental standards, and that utilize slave labor. Slave labor is immoral. Myself, and many I know, happily pay multiple times the price to source things from countries with proper minimum wage laws. So as you can see, there are a least 3 reasons to demand UK made Pis.

[ame]

Additionally, for the sake of the Chinese people, and all of humanity, I refuse to buy anything from countries with such lax environmental standards, and that utilize slave labor. Slave labor is immoral. Myself, and many I know, happily pay multiple times the price to source things from countries with proper minimum wage laws. So as you can see, there are a least 3 reasons to demand UK made Pis.

Do you have any evidence that Pis in China are made using slave labour?

And why do "Chinese hackers say there is a difference"? You still have not explained that.

[bobstro]

Additionally, for the sake of the Chinese people, and all of humanity, I refuse to buy anything from countries with such lax environmental standards, and that utilize slave labor. Slave labor is immoral. Myself, and many I know, happily pay multiple times the price to source things from countries with proper minimum wage laws. So as you can see, there are a least 3 reasons to demand UK made Pis.

How far does that extend? Are you truly buying modern electronic components that are built exclusively from parts that you know are not produced under such conditions? It's a noble enough stance, but tough to adhere to in the real world. If you're buying "non-Chinese" products that are filled with Chinese-made components, are you really making any sort of difference?