Raspberry PI 5 OS version?

Thanks, but I'm not asking for recommendations or opinions about which OS I *should* run. 

I'm asking a factual question:

**What OS version was actually flashed onto the microSD card included in this specific Multicomp Pro Raspberry Pi 5 starter kit sold by Element 14?**

I'm looking for a stable, PI-optimized baseline - not the "latest". 

If you have the kit, please share the version your card was shipped with. If you don't have the kit, that's okay but you're not actually answering my question. 

Thanks, but I'm not asking for recommendations or opinions about which OS I *should* run. 

I'm asking a factual question:

**What OS version was actually flashed onto the microSD card included in this specific Multicomp Pro Raspberry Pi 5 starter kit sold by Element 14?**

I'm looking for a stable, PI-optimized baseline - not the "latest". 

If you have the kit, please share the version your card was shipped with. If you don't have the kit, that's okay but you're not actually answering my question. 

Regarding:

"I'm looking for a stable, PI-optimized baseline - not the "latest". "

It's an unrealistic assumption that the supplied release may be more stable. Here's how I know: If you're in any doubt, check the release notes, and you'll see that the current latest release (about six weeks old now) fixes a number of bugs, and was introduced less than two weeks before the prior version, so even without me digging deeper, I can see that if anything, the assumption is that it's indeed an important update compared to the one immediately prior to it.

Since only you know your use case(s), you'd need to, at a minimum, review the release notes if you're considering running an older release. All releases will have bugs; you can only know if it may be stable for your use case by looking to see what issues have been reported and whether you can work around them.

For what it's worth, I have a brand new Pi 5, and it will receive that latest release unless I read otherwise, i.e. if any adverse news comes to light concerning that release. 

Thanks for taking the time to reply. My question is specifically about the stability of the pre‑installed Pi 5 image, so your answer doesn’t really address what I’m trying to find out. I’m looking for input from people who’ve actually used that baseline. 

You have valid points but it's just not what I'm asking for. Again, thanks. 

Let's hope someone in the community can provide an answer, it sounds like it has some importance.

What you are asking for on the surface appears simple but in actual fact it has a number of nuances that alter the answer.

I'm going to assume (i.e. haven't worked a Pi production line) that the baseline release for a runs depends on when the run began. The Pi O/S is in steady state of change. The first Pi 5's of the production line would not have the release that is on new Pi 5's. It would have changed.

Two of the terms come to mind as nuance changing. Stable and baseline. Define stable and define baseline? 

Running a Pi out of the box without performing an apt update/apt upgrade would be fool hardy. The upgrade alters the O/S. What is baseline and what is stable. Is it before or after the upgrade.

I've pulled an OS the day of its release and have a run apt upgrade. Some stuff changed. Hey wait, I thought the baseline was stable? 

Can you help us understand why the fixation on the O/S out of the box? Is there a kernel you are looking for or a specific release of a software package tied to a release?

Thanks for the thoughtful write‑up. I think we may be talking past each other a bit.

I’m not trying to define “stable” in the abstract or debate whether apt‑upgrade is good practice. I’m trying to identify the specific Raspberry Pi OS image that Multicomp Pro pre‑flashed onto the SD card in this starter kit, because that’s the environment the Pi 5 hardware was validated against at packaging time.

Different OS releases have shown different behaviors on Pi 5 hardware (kernel, firmware, Wayland/X11 defaults, etc.), so knowing the exact shipped version helps me establish a deterministic baseline before making changes.

If anyone has this same kit and can check the pre‑installed image version—or has insight into which release Multicomp Pro was flashing during that production window—that’s the piece of information I’m trying to pin down.

I think you are perhaps expecting a bit more from the Pi than it is intended or priced to deliver. 

If you want a known software release pinned down to the last byte and actually validated against the hardware at the time of shipping then you are not in low cost, off the shelf Linux territory. There are people who can offer this service but it will cost you a lot of money.

Your only hope with the Pi is to ask the people you bought it from.

MK

Pi OS runs on Pi hardware. It is not like Ubuntu OS will on all computer hardware.

I have attempted to install a specific Pi OS release on a Pi5 (it is faster) and then move the SD card to a Pi3B+ to discover it won't work. If I take that same OS release and install directly on the Pi3B+ hardware it works. The OS installs to the hardware and runs.

Let's say for discussion there was a piece of paper with the package that said

as the OS on the card. You would not run the OS without a update/upgrade. It may be that release but it is definitely not the software in that release.

Are you trying to determine what release Trixie, Bookworm, Bullseye, Buster or Stretch was provided initially provided? 

Trixie (Based on Debian 13, released in Aug 2025)
Bookworm (Based on Debian 12, released Oct 2023)
Bullseye (Based on Debian 11, released Aug 2021)
Buster (Based on Debian 10, released July 2019)
Stretch (Based on Debian 9, released June 2017)

I have tried to install Stretch on new hardware ie. Pi4 and had it failed. Stands to reason if the OS was available before the hardware was made.

I have had to freeze release upgrades on specific Pi installs only because software available in the Stretch release is deprecated in the Bullseye release. The application was written to use that specific software. Upgrading to another release removes the software.

Are you thinking I need to have a specific application available or a specific version of say Python. It can't change for the life of the install. 

Break...Break

I see by your profile points you are new to our community. Welcome. E14 is associated with Farrell and Newark but is in no way a support resource. Occasionally people ask product questions here and the admin will intercept them because this is not a support sight.

You are playing in a sandbox where there is much experience. The question why would you.... comes up often. Some of that experience will tell you, the answer is immaterial in the end. Been there with T-shirts to prove it.