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What types of power supplies can I utilize with my Raspberry Pi 2B? My understanding is that most recommend at least 5 V. Can I provide it with more volts than 5? Or would that destroy the device?

As for amperage, will any amount work? Can I provide it with too many amps? What is the generalized minimum? Can I provide it power in ways other than through the Micro-USB port?

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  • If you give your RPi more than 5.1V you will let the magic smoke escape and will have a very dead Pi. The 2B does not have any power delivery circuitry. Commented Sep 20, 2024 at 14:31

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Never provide over voltage (unless you want to fry the device)

Generically speaking, on some devices, there is an internal voltage regulator but that is really just to smooth out any irregularities in the PSU's output waveform - You might get away with supplying 6V, and the heatsink on the regulator might be about to dissipate the extra one volt, but don't count on it, or expect it to last forever.

However, the Pi 2B is powered via micro USB port, which has no such regulator, it expects a clean 5V. Likewise, if you power the Pi by applying 5V to the 5V GPIO pin, there is no regulator. In either of these two cases, if you supply more than 5V you are likely to fry something very quickly.

Loads of current

However, you supply as much current (i.e. as many amps) as you like - the device will just take what it needs. So, hyperbolically speaking, a 5 V 10 A (or even 100 A!) PSU would be fine. Indeed as you hang more and more devices off the USB ports, such as hard disks, more current will be needed anyway, although, highly unlikely the full 10 A.

There is the obvious caveat to having an oversized PSU, which is in the event of a failure, i.e. should you happen to suffer a short, then having an "over spec" PSU will mean that much more current (i.e. the maximum current rating) would be drawn by your device, than if you had a more modestly spec'd PSU. It should go without saying that high current can be dangerous.

FWIW, an idle Raspberry Pi 2B will consume around 160 mA. The recommended PSU for a 2B is 1.8 A (although, as stated above, a higher current rating is not an issue).

Even more current?

Note: The current that can be supplied (shared) across all of the USB ports is limited to 600 mA, although this can be upped to 1.2 A, in software, via:

max_usb_current=1

In a case such as this, then the recommended current rating, of the PSU, would need to be upped by 600 mA, to 1.8 A (0.6 + 1.2 A)

Additional reading

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  • Thank you so much for your response; Is there ever an instance that the Raspberry Pi would need 10 A? I was planning to utilize mine for some chip flashing but my power supply is 3 A and was considering that was may be overkill. Thank you so much for your help. Commented Sep 20, 2024 at 22:16
  • Unlikely, the 10 A was just an illustration of the fact that your can supply as much current as you want, but the Pi will just take what it needs. Commented Sep 21, 2024 at 6:25
  • I suggest you check CURRENT documentation before answering because the USB current limit has changed and you have added incorrect interpretation the TOTAL USB current is limited to 1.2A across all ports. Commented Sep 21, 2024 at 12:18
  • @Milliways - Ah, the default has changed from 600 to 1200 mA (Max power output). So the firmware now comes with max_usb_current=1 already set? Do you know when, or with which firmware version, that change occurred? Commented Sep 21, 2024 at 15:57
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All Pi models REQUIRE 5V +/- 5%

Raspberry Pi Ltd. has recommendations for various models which range from 700mA to 5A.

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