Raspberry Pi

How to Avoid Low Voltage Warning on Raspberry Pi

Raspberry Pi is a pretty useful device that operates under a certain voltage and if enough voltage isn’t provided to the device, it may not boot up properly. Even if it boots up, it will warn you about voltage issues every time. If proper precautions aren’t followed to avoid the low voltage warning, then it might not be a good sign for your Raspberry Pi device, as this will reduce its lifetime.

If you want to avoid low voltage warning on your Raspberry Pi device, you should follow this article that provides you with the guidelines to overcome this issue.

How to Avoid Low Voltage Warning on Raspberry Pi

There are several ways to avoid low voltage warning on Raspberry Pi, however before going into the details of these methods, first check whether your Raspberry Pi is under voltage.

Normally, you will see a warning message on your desktop about low voltage as shown in the image below:

In case, if it’s not showing up, you can use the following command to check the under-voltage information.

$ vcgencmd get_throttled

The above output tells that your device currently has a low voltage event that throttled your Raspberry Pi device.

You can use the command “dmesg” in the terminal to check the undervoltage information on your Raspberry Pi device.

$ dmesg

If you see the similar outputs as shown in the above images, then you have an issue with your power supply.

Avoid Low Voltage Warning on Raspberry Pi

After detecting the under-voltage information on Raspberry Pi, you should now follow the ways to avoid warning on Raspberry Pi.

1: Replace your Raspberry Pi Power Supply

The Raspberry Pi device operates efficiently on a power supply that satisfies the power requirement of 5V and 2.5A. If you are using a power supply that doesn’t meet the criteria, you should immediately replace it to avoid a low voltage warning on Raspberry Pi. It’s better to go with the official Raspberry Pi power supply for guaranteed compatibility. You have to deal with poor voltage regulation if you plan to go with another cheap power supply option and it may affect your device.

2: Cable May Cause problem

Sometimes, your cable might have a problem that doesn’t supply enough power to your Raspberry Pi device. It doesn’t matter how good your adapter is; if your cable is of poor quality, you can run into a low voltage warning error. For an efficient power supply, both the adapter and cable must be good quality.

3: Main Socket May Cause Problem

If you have purchased the compatible power supply for your Raspberry Pi and still experiencing low voltage error. In that case, there might be the case that your socket is preventing the exact power supply from reaching your device. If that is the case, you will need to replace your socket to avoid a low voltage warning on Raspberry Pi.

Disable Low Voltage Warning

You can also avoid the Low Voltage Warning on Raspberry Pi through the boot configuration file. However, this method is not recommended because it might cause issues to your device. If low voltage warnings are becoming annoying then adopt this method; use the following command to open the configuration file on the Raspberry Pi terminal:

$ sudo nano /boot/config.txt

Then add the following line to tell the device to stop giving you warning about low voltage:

avoid_warnings=1

Save the file using “CTRL+X”, add “Y” and press enter.

You will also be required to remove the “battery monitor” plugin as this is responsible for showing you the notification on your desktop. Use the following command to remove this plugin from your device:

$ sudo apt remove lxplug-ptbatt

Once the removal is successful, reboot your device to apply the changes.

Conclusion

A low voltage warning on Raspberry Pi isn’t a good sign for your device as it may cause your device to heat up. The main reason behind this warning is the use of incompatible power supply, an issue in the power cable, or the fault in the main switch. To avoid low voltage warnings, you should only use a compatible power supply for your device. There is also a method to avoid low voltage warning if it is becoming a disturbance, but that’s not recommended as it might damage your device.

About the author

Awais Khan

I'm an Engineer and an academic researcher by profession. My interest for Raspberry Pi, embedded systems and blogging has brought me here to share my knowledge with others.