Customer:
I received my order, but the battery dimensions are incorrect - it’s too thick to fit into the 3D printed case. According to the specs it should be 4.8mm thick. Is this the correct battery?
Also, the Inkplate 6 boot loops when powered only with battery. Shouldn’t it work with 3.7V supplied?
Originally submitted via the contact form on soldered.com on 12 August 2020. Migrated to the forum for community visibility.
Soldered Support:
The Inkplate 6 should work with battery power. Try charging the battery first before using it on the Inkplate. You can use the Inkplate to charge it by placing the switch to OFF position and plugging in the USB cable.
Customer:
I charged it overnight, but it still didn’t work. Can you suggest a working battery for Inkplate 6?
Soldered Support:
What sketch is running on your Inkplate? Does it include WiFi or Bluetooth connectivity?
18650 batteries work - such as the 18650 battery with JST connector (2900mAh Samsung INR18650-29E) - but they are large and don’t fit the enclosure. We have a new batch of batteries arriving soon, and I’ll check those as soon as they arrive.
Customer:
Yes, it’s using WiFi - it’s just the weather example from the GitHub repository.
Soldered Support:
Try testing the display with just basic refresh, without WiFi, because if the battery cannot supply high enough current peaks, the board will reset. A high peak current battery is needed.
New batteries have arrived - the li-ion battery 1200mAh is a perfect fit for Inkplate. Can we send one to you so you can test?
Customer:
I tested a small example reading from SD card and displaying an image - this works flawlessly as expected. It looks like WiFi is draining too much energy from the battery.
Soldered Support:
That makes sense - the battery is not capable of supplying enough power to have screen updating and WiFi working at the same time. Please test the new battery when it arrives and let us know if that resolves the issue.