Skip to main content
Raspberry Pi

You are not logged in. Your edit will be placed in a queue until it is peer reviewed.

We welcome edits that make the post easier to understand and more valuable for readers. Because community members review edits, please try to make the post substantially better than how you found it, for example, by fixing grammar or adding additional resources and hyperlinks.

3
  • Despite the qualification in the bounty this is the correct answer. Radios use power primarily when transmitting, and it won't be transmitting anything if it is not in use. There is no reason to believe that the "power can be cut", since this would involve additional circuitry with very little purpose -- if every such corner case feature were included with the Pi, it would be a $150 credit card size computer plagued with more components to fail (and half the other additional corner case features would probably increase the amount of power required). Commented Aug 10, 2016 at 19:20
  • @goldilocks - how does one acquire statistics for the interface with the drivers blacklisted? The TX and RX statistics are part of the reason I know the interface is not powered down. I'd also be surprised if the circuitry was not in-place already. I'm guessing its a matter of apply and removing power at certain pins. What I'm not clear on: does the closed source driver allow the control we need? Commented Aug 15, 2016 at 22:33
  • 1
    The chip that provides wireless communication does have a low power mode. It has internal regulators that can be set (no sure how). Here is the section of the doc that may help? I assume this is what you are looking for in the drivers? The BCM43438 allows for an extremely low power-consumption mode by completely shutting down the CBUCK, CLDO, and LNLDO regulators. When in this state, LPLDO1 provides the BCM43438 with all required voltage, further reducing leakage currents. link to data sheet: cypress.com/file/298076/download Commented Aug 16, 2016 at 20:15