<![CDATA[Core Ink: recognize if USB or battery powered]]>Hello,

I bought the Core Ink for quick prototyping. I am very satisfied with the quality and the possibilities. What I'm missing: How can I tell if the device is USB or battery powered?
My firmware should provide an access point with a web interface, but only if the device is not running on battery power.

Current idea: I could use the battery voltage trend to determine whether the battery is charging or discharging. For this I have to check how accurate the internal measurement is. In any case, this implementation would be very cumbersome.

Maybe there are simpler options?

]]>https://community.m5stack.com/topic/5574/core-ink-recognize-if-usb-or-battery-poweredRSS for NodeWed, 29 Apr 2026 01:05:54 GMTMon, 14 Aug 2023 15:39:22 GMT60<![CDATA[Reply to Core Ink: recognize if USB or battery powered on Thu, 17 Aug 2023 01:05:07 GMT]]>@davincino Thanks for posting your findings.

]]>https://community.m5stack.com/post/21967https://community.m5stack.com/post/21967Thu, 17 Aug 2023 01:05:07 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Core Ink: recognize if USB or battery powered on Wed, 16 Aug 2023 15:46:05 GMT]]>I checked again electronic circuit:
It is possible to take some measurements on HAT interface's pin "5VIN". Measured voltages:

If powered by USB:
~4.7V

Powered by battery and switched off:
~0.7V

Powered by battery and switched on:
~2.4V

Using voltage divider with two same resistors, we get usable logic values for HIGH and LOW ( ~2.3V and ~1.2V). The measured values are not inside garanteed logic range but as a workaround: it works well.

Maybe it helps someone else...

]]>https://community.m5stack.com/post/21961https://community.m5stack.com/post/21961Wed, 16 Aug 2023 15:46:05 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Core Ink: recognize if USB or battery powered on Tue, 15 Aug 2023 07:54:15 GMT]]>@ajb2k3
Thanks for the hint. Found a 3 years old thread. It is not possible to detect if it is powered from USB or battery...

]]>https://community.m5stack.com/post/21934https://community.m5stack.com/post/21934Tue, 15 Aug 2023 07:54:15 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Core Ink: recognize if USB or battery powered on Tue, 15 Aug 2023 04:59:19 GMT]]>Please search the forum as this has been discussed and possible solutions created by users.

]]>https://community.m5stack.com/post/21930https://community.m5stack.com/post/21930Tue, 15 Aug 2023 04:59:19 GMT