How Does PowerBlock start the Pi?

bshiffTO

Does PowerBlock start the Pi by simply pumping power into it, or does it short pins 5 and 6 on the GPIO?

I have a Raspberry Pi 400 and am attempting to wire a button into it to halt and start up my Pi, but have not been successful, so I'm wondering if PowerBlock will work for me.

I have successfully been able to halt the Pi by modifying /boot/config.txt, putting in "dtoverlay=gpio-shutdown,gpio_pin=3" and then shorting pins 5 and 6 on the GPIO. Unfortunately, I am unable to get my Pi to wake back up again when I short GPIO pins 5 and 6. I've tried a few things with the bootloader but haven't had any success.

If PowerBlock uses a different method to start the Pi, then I'll give it a try....

ExarKunIv

@bshiffto not sure if this will help you/ what you are looking for.
but i use this to do a safe shutdown and then turn back on.

i have been using it for awhile now and have never had a problem

petrockblog

Of course, I would be happy about any PowerBlock order :-) But The Pi 400 already comes with a power button solution that works out-of-the-box: https://support.thepihut.com/hc/en-us/articles/360015199118-How-to-use-the-Raspberry-Pi-400-Power-Key

petrockblog

The PowerBlock provides power to the GPIO pins 2 and 4 switched via a power switch IC.
The Pi 400, though, cannot be powered via it's GPIO pins, see https://www.hackster.io/news/raspberry-pi-400-design-change-puts-an-end-to-battery-power-gpio-add-on-boards-770826a23ed9.

bshiffTO

Thanks for your response - very helpful.

I'm a stubborn SOB...do you think it would be possible to connect this (https://www.digikey.ca/en/products/detail/sparkfun-electronics/BOB-15100/9770720) to the PowerBlock to send power from the PowerBlock via USB-C to the Pi 400? I could then connect the relevant pins from PowerBlock to the Pi 400 (pins 5 and 6, I assume) and pins 2 and 4 to the BOB-15100 (USB-C adapter I linked to).

Alternatively, I may just have to purchase a regular Pi 4...

I want the external power button as I'm planning to put the Pi within a custom-built arcade. I bought the Pi 400 thinking this would be easier (with the built-in keyboard)....but I'm beginning to see that maybe that's not the case.