September 29, 2023

PBX Science

PBX technology, IT information, DIY projects

PBX on Orange Pi Zero

PBX ultra-small size

PBX on Orange Pi Zero



PBX on Orange Pi Zero makes you to acquire an ultra small PBX.  Commercial PBX usually has big size to execute hundreds call exchange. For small business or home us, ARM-CPU device also performs well. 


Ultra Small SBC

Raspberry Pi Zero also has similar size as Orange Pi Zero , and its price is much cheap. Some stores offer just 5 dollars as promotion. However it doesn’t come with Ethernet port and USB port is micro USB, not regular one, so you have to buy extra two adapters:

  • USB2.0 to Ethernet
  • Micro USB to USB-A

Therefore, find another small size SBC with Ethernet port: Original Pi Zero


Orange Pi Zero

Orange Pi Zero comes with Allwinnder H2+ CPU,  256/512MB memory, Ethernet port and WIF. It’s not so powerful, but FreePBX can run on it smoothly.

PBX on Orange Pi Zero

Orange Pi Zero on Aliexpress.com

AliExpress.com Product – Orange Pi Zero H2 Development Board Quad Core With WiFi Antenna Tool Components Computer Office Integrated Mini For Raspberry Pi

 You can use regualr Android phone’s micro USB charger to power it. 

AliExpress.com Product – Orange Pi Zero Set 6:Orange Pi Zero 512MB+Expansion Board+Black Case development board beyond Raspberry Pi

System OS

The manufacturer provides many OS images for Orange Pi Zero, but almost of all need improvement. Alternatively, you can use images from armbian.com.  Tested and Recommended! 


Install procedure:

  1. Get a 16GB or 32GB micro SD
  2. Download Debian image file from armbian.com
  3. Write image file to one microSD card by balenaEtcher
  4. Insert SD card to Raspberry Pi and power on it.
  5. SSH by user: root with default password: 1234
  6. Follow the official tutorial for FreebPBX on Debian

Install FreePBX 15 on Debian 9.6


Free IP PBX solutions:

How to Build an Enterprise-class Phone System?
PBX on Raspberry Pi


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