Customer:
When the USB is plugged into a computer, it reloads the battery. What does the red LED indicate - is it showing that it is charging or that it is already charged? Can I recharge it with a smartphone charger, or is it too powerful? How do I unplug the Li-Ion battery if I need to replace it? I don’t see how to pinch the connector to release it. Also, what is the diameter of the screws that fit in the 4 corners?
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Originally submitted via the contact form on soldered.com on 8 June 2025. Migrated to the forum for community visibility.
Soldered Support:
Correct, Inkplate will charge the battery via USB power and it will charge automatically until it’s full. The red charge LED is on regardless of the battery charge state - it just indicates when it’s plugged in and is able to charge. You can monitor the state of the battery via the readBattery() function.
You can charge it with a power bank or a smartphone charger with no problem - these chargers output 5V by default on USB-C and will only output more if there is a power-delivery protocol message, but Inkplate doesn’t use this. We use Inkplate in our laptop docks which are USB-C and it works fine. Smartphone power bricks, computer USB ports, and portable USB-C power banks all work.
You can gently hold and nudge the battery connector side to side. Just be careful to not rip the wires out of it. If this does happen, it can be fixed by soldering.
The screws are M3 size.
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