RetroPie forum home
    • Recent
    • Tags
    • Popular
    • Home
    • Docs
    • Register
    • Login
    Please do not post a support request without first reading and following the advice in https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/3/read-this-first

    Under voltage on the Pi3

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Help and Support
    26 Posts 9 Posters 43.2k Views
    Loading More Posts
    • Oldest to Newest
    • Newest to Oldest
    • Most Votes
    Reply
    • Reply as topic
    Log in to reply
    This topic has been deleted. Only users with topic management privileges can see it.
    • darthpaulD
      darthpaul @Riverstorm
      last edited by

      If I'm still getting the under voltage square after using the new power supply, than I will try the avoid_warnings=2 and see what happens.

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • Z
        zupi
        last edited by

        Bear in mind that in pi3 at least, the red led should stay always on when the unit is powered. If under voltage takes place then the red led goes off even with avoid_warnings=1, don't know about =2.

        Additionally I am quite confident that, an avoid_warnings=1 is purely cosmetic as Riverstorm pointed out before. I used it in a cousins setup and an old mame game was struggling because of poor voltage by an asus charger with constant red led blinking.

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • Z
          zupi @RetroResolution
          last edited by

          @RetroResolution thanks! You have some really enlightening articles there.;)

          R 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
          • G
            GrethTom
            last edited by

            I'm getting the under voltage box at times on Pi 3 with the official power adaptor. Should I be concerned?

            dankcushionsD 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • dankcushionsD
              dankcushions Global Moderator @GrethTom
              last edited by

              @GrethTom yeah. what have you got plugged in to it?

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • G
                GrethTom
                last edited by

                I've got a Xbox 360 Wireless adaptor along with a Wireless keyboard adaptor. I still have Wifi and Bluetooth on as default. Is there much/any saving with turning those two off?

                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • dankcushionsD
                  dankcushions Global Moderator
                  last edited by

                  doesn't seem like it should kill the power unless the xbox thing is a beast! yeah, you could turn those onboard things off and i guess that should improve things. presume you're using the newer 2.5A official raspberry pi 3 plug, right?

                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • G
                    GrethTom
                    last edited by

                    I bought it at the same time a getting thePi 3 in March from thePiHut. Assume it is the latest one but how do I check?

                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • Z
                      zupi
                      last edited by

                      According to this...
                      https://shop.pimoroni.com/products/raspberry-pi-universal-power-supply

                      White should be 2.0 amp and black should be 2.5 amp.

                      G 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • RiverstormR
                        Riverstorm
                        last edited by

                        I don't know if this will help or not but here's a post I could find on the forums by someone named dom his label is "Raspberry Pi Engineer & Forum Moderator". There's roughly 5 pages of Q&A with it. Maybe we can get a more clear answer to how it works because I am a bit confused now too. It looks like the magic line is 4.65v.

                        Under Voltage Warnings

                        The B+ has an under voltage detect trigger which results in the power led going off when voltage drops below about 4.65V.
                        The signal is also available on a gpio line (GPIO35).
                        
                        Latest firmware update will display a warning symbol in top right of display when this is detected.
                        It will also disable turbo mode while the warning is displayed to try to reduce the chances of crashing.
                        
                        I've also added a warning symbol to the existing over-temperature condition (> 85'C), which also disabled turbo mode.
                        
                        Currently the symbols are:
                        Red square: over-temperature
                        Rainbow square: under-voltage
                        
                        As usual you can override the behaviour in config.txt if you understand the risks:
                        avoid_warnings=1 removes the warning overlay.
                        avoid_warnings=2 additionally allows turbo when low-voltage is present.
                        
                        For testing you can make the temperature warning trigger more easily with "temp_limit=50".
                        You can probably trigger the under-voltage check by using an insufficient power supply (perhaps USB socket from PC), or a dodgy micro-usb cable from ebay.
                        
                        Run rpi-update and report back if it behaves as expected.
                        You will need a B+ to test the under-voltage state. The over-temperature should work on any Pi.
                        
                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                        • G
                          GrethTom @zupi
                          last edited by

                          @zupi said in Under voltage on the Pi3:

                          According to this...
                          https://shop.pimoroni.com/products/raspberry-pi-universal-power-supply

                          White should be 2.0 amp and black should be 2.5 amp.

                          Blast! I have the white one! Need to make another purchase :(

                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • Z
                            zupi
                            last edited by

                            I am not sure if this needed. I have the white as well, resellers put them as compatible to flush stocks I guess, and don't have any warnings unless I connect a usb powered 2.5 inch external hard, and only for a second.
                            I usually have 1 usb wireless keyboard and 1 or 2 usb sticks without problem. Definitely in dark about your situation. :/

                            G 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • G
                              GrethTom @zupi
                              last edited by

                              @zupi Thanks for the info. Looking at The Pi Hut it does list my power unit as 2.5v. Will have a play with Wifi and Bluetooth settings. Have a feeling my Wireless keyboard dongle could be the cause but would struggle to replace it as it does a good job.

                              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                              • R
                                RetroResolution @zupi
                                last edited by

                                @zupi cheers, glad they're helpful!

                                If a post has helped you, please encourage the author by up-voting via the ^ icon located in the bottom-right corner.

                                RetroResolution.com - Adventures in retro gaming on original hardware and via emulation with RetroPie on the Raspberry Pi.

                                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                • darthpaulD
                                  darthpaul
                                  last edited by

                                  Well, this is my final solution. I am enclosing my Pi in a Gamecube console and am using the original Gamecube power supply which is rated at 12v 3.2 amps. I am lowering the voltage with an adjustable voltage regulator and set the output voltage to 5.25v, so far so good.

                                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                                  • L
                                    Lukasz Wiackow
                                    last edited by

                                    Power supply is very important. The current 2,5A is not only one parameter you need to guarantee. You need also this two parameters:

                                    • linear adjustment +/-2%,
                                    • load regulation +/- 5%,
                                      Unfortunately I had to research this detailed information because it wasn't attached to my raspberry pi 3.
                                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                    • First post
                                      Last post

                                    Contributions to the project are always appreciated, so if you would like to support us with a donation you can do so here.

                                    Hosting provided by Mythic-Beasts. See the Hosting Information page for more information.