Customer:
I’m using the Inkplate 6 for a project that displays room bookings via Google Calendar. I’ve measured the following power consumption values:
• With the frontlight turned on and the device actively running: around 191 mA
• In deep sleep mode (while logging to the SD card): around 5 mA
Are these values typical for the Inkplate 6, especially the ~5 mA in deep sleep? I suspect that logging to the SD card might prevent the device from entering full low-power mode. Any recommendations for optimizing the power consumption would be appreciated.
Originally submitted via email support on 16 October 2025. Migrated to the forum for community visibility.
Soldered Support:
If you have the Inkplate 6 FLICK (the model with frontlight), you should be able to get down to 21 micro amps in sleep. You can turn off the LED power indicator switch on the back, which will totally turn off that LED and enable deep sleep to be better.
Also, use display.sdCardSleep() before calling esp_deep_sleep_start to turn off power to the SD card and further reduce the sleep current.
One thing to clarify: how are you in deep sleep and logging to the microSD card at the same time? In deep sleep all functionality is off and the micro SD card can be powered off totally.
How are you measuring this current? If it’s via USB, the CH340 serial bridge chip will always be turned on from USB power, which is expected. For a true deep sleep current measurement you should connect the li-ion battery and insert an ampermeter on the + line to see how many amps it draws. This is probably why the value is so high.
Try these improvements and let me know if it improves your battery life.
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