Customer:
Does the Inkplate 6PLUS come with a LiPo battery in addition to the coin battery for the RTC? If not, what type of battery do I need to provide for it to work without USB Type-C power?
Originally submitted via email support on 11 April 2022. Migrated to the forum for community visibility.
Soldered Support:
Inkplate 6PLUS is not shipped with a battery due to shipping restrictions. To use it with a battery, you need one with a capacity greater than 1000mAh. We use Inkplate with a 1200mAh battery and it works great. Higher capacity batteries work much longer before needing a charge.
For the RTC, you can use a small coin cell battery CR2032, but you do not need it if you have a Li-ion battery because the RTC is powered from it.
When using the battery, check polarity before connecting it to Inkplate. Sometimes batteries have different polarity than Inkplate needs, and connecting with wrong polarity can damage the board.
Customer:
Does the board have a connector for the Li-ion battery? Usually these connectors prevent connection with wrong polarity. How long does a 1200mAh battery last between two charges? What scenario did you test for this?
Soldered Support:
Yes, Inkplate 6PLUS has a connector for the battery. However, some batteries have switched wires and the connector cannot prevent this, so you must be careful about polarity.
We did not test how long Inkplate can work on the battery because it depends on your code and how you use it (refresh time, WiFi usage, whether you use the front light all the time, and so on). When you write your code, you can measure consumption and then calculate how long Inkplate can work on a 1200mAh battery.