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Raspberry Pi 5 Power Requirements
The latest in the Pi family, the Raspberry Pi 5 brings considerably higher power requirements compared to previous models, and for good reason. The 2.4GHz BCM2712 Quad-Core SoC is a lot more powerful than its predecessors and needs more juice to keep things running smoothly. Knowing how to power the Raspberry Pi 5 is important to ensure the smooth running of your little device, so let’s go over what options are available to you!
At idle, you can expect the Pi 5 to draw around 4-5W, but this can spike up to 12W under full load when you’re really pushing it. That’s why Raspberry Pi has made it clear that you need a power supply capable of delivering 5V at 5A (25W). This isn’t just a recommendation – if you provide less power, the USB ports will be current-limited to 600mA which isn’t enough for many USB devices or to boot from USB.
Whilst this might seem excessive compared to the Pi 4’s more modest power requirements, it’s necessary to ensure stable operation across all the Pi 5’s enhanced capabilities. The PCIe port, faster USB ports, and improved CPU performance all contribute to the increased power demands. When you factor in power-hungry peripherals like SSDs or HATs, having that extra headroom becomes essential rather than just nice to have.
Powering the Raspberry Pi 5 with USB-C
Starting with the option that will likely be the most common, a USB-C power supply. Raspberry Pi sells its official 5.1V5A 27W USB-C PSU which is made specifically for the Raspberry Pi 5 (well, and the Pi 500, CM5, etc) which has a “requirement” of 5A so as to not limit the USB ports current to 600mA by default.
Alternatives do exist, and my personal favourite is the Argon40 PWR GaN as it’s smaller than the official one whilst still offering the full 5A that the Pi 5 craves.
Power over Ethernet (PoE) on the Raspberry Pi 5
I started with what would be the most common method of powering the Pi 5 but now we’re onto my preferred option, Power over Ethernet (PoE).
Whilst Raspberry Pi has mentioned an official PoE is on the way, it’s been on the way since the Pi 5 was announced back in 2023. Having worked with the guys at Pineboards whilst they were developing theirs, I can see why it would take some time, especially if Raspberry Pi wants to have it the size of their prototypes!
Mentioning Pineboards was a bit of foreshadowing, as my preferred PoE HAT is actually their HatDrive! PoE+ as it combines an M.2 NVMe connection with full 5V5A PoE capabilities. Yup, you heard that right, there’s full 5A available on the Pineboards HAT thanks to an overlay that they developed that’s detected automatically on boot. A lot of the cheaper alternatives will max out at 4.5A which is still likely to be fine in terms of current, but the Pi will limit the USB current by default unless you modify your config.
The great thing with PoE is that it combines both data and power over your RJ45 cable, meaning you’re able to get network connectivity and power over a single cable.
Going down this route will be more expensive than the USB-C power supply, but if you already have a PoE switch with a spare port, it could be a fun way to keep cable clutter down.
Powering via GPIO Pins
Finally, we have an option that I’m not really going to recommend unless you know what you’re doing, and that’s feeding straight 5V to the GPIO pins on the Raspberry Pi itself.
This comes with a variety of risks, which is why I wouldn’t recommend this unless you’ve made sure you have everything to prevent backpowering, and your cables are sufficiently gauged to carry the current requirements. Usually, the cables you get in maker kits will only be rated for around 1-1.5A which won’t be sufficient, and the Dupont connectors won’t be the greatest.
You’ll also need to let the Pi know that you want more than the 600mA over USB that it will be limited to as it obviously won’t be making the USB-PD negotiation on power up. This can be achieved with usb_max_current_enable=1 in your config.txt file. Though again, only enable this if you know what you’re doing and your wiring is up to the job.
If you know what you’re doing, this can be a great way to power a Pi in specific situations but if you don’t and you accidentally send more than 5V to the pin, you’re going to have a very upset board that will likely not boot again after being fried so please do your research before attempting this method.
Common Power-Related Issues and Troubleshooting
The Rainbow Square/Lightning Bolt
When your Pi 5 shows a rainbow-colored square in the top-right corner of your display, it’s telling you that it’s not getting enough power. Unlike previous Pi models with their lightning bolt icon, the Pi 5 uses this square to indicate power issues. If you’re seeing this, your power supply isn’t delivering enough current and your Pi will likely be throttling performance to compensate, if it boots at all.
Under-Voltage Warnings
If you check your system logs with dmesg | grep "voltage", you might see under-voltage warnings. These aren’t just annoying log entries – they indicate your Pi is struggling to maintain stable operation. I’ve seen this most commonly when using lower-rated power supplies or poor-quality USB-C cables that can’t handle the current.
USB Device Issues
One of the first signs of power problems is USB devices misbehaving. The Pi 5 will limit USB ports to 600mA when it doesn’t have enough power available. This means your USB SSD might randomly disconnect (if it’s detected at all) or something like a USB Wi-Fi adapter might become unreliable. Your mileage may vary, and sure, it may work but don’t come back to the comments if you’re seeing weird behaviour
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use my Raspberry Pi 4 power supply?
While the Pi 4’s power supply will physically connect, it’s only rated for 5V 3A which isn’t fully up to spec for the Pi 5. Your USB ports will be limited to 600mA and depending on the peripherals, HATs, and other devices connected, you may see stability issues under load. I’d strongly recommend using a proper 5V 5A supply instead for anything long-term.
Will a lower-rated USB-C power supply work?
Similar to the above, the answer is yes, technically. The Pi 5 will boot and run with a lower-rated supply, but you may be limiting its capabilities.
How do I know if my power supply is adequate?
Beyond watching for the rainbow square, you can monitor voltage levels in real-time with:
sudo vcgencmd pmic_read_adc
If you’re seeing values consistently below 4.8V on the EXT5V_V line, your power supply isn’t keeping up.
Is it safe to power through both USB-C and GPIO simultaneously?
The Pi 5 doesn’t have protection circuitry for this scenario and you risk damaging your board. Stick to one power source at a time unless you really know what you’re doing.
Why does my Pi 5 need so much more power than previous models?
As I touched on in the intro, the 2.4GHz BCM2712 SoC in the Pi 5 is considerably more powerful than previous models, and that comes at the cost of a higher power draw. Add in PCIe capabilities, faster USB ports, and the potential for power-hungry HATs, and that 5V 5A requirement starts to make a lot more sense.
Can I use a phone charger to power my Pi 5?
Unless it’s a very beefy USB-C PD charger rated for 5V 5A, I wouldn’t recommend it. Most phone chargers will only go up to 2-3A at 5V which is enough for 10-15W assuming perfect scenarios, which isn’t enough to run the Pi 5 under full load with many peripherals or additional storage. You’ll almost certainly be fine, but for long-term heavy usage, you may run into stability issues and limited USB functionality.
