Hello, I recently had to replace my pi 3B+ power supply due to failure and looking at the numerous replacement power supplies [I ended up going with an official pi power supply as they were on offer when I needed a replacement]
I was wondering about the many power supplies that have an ‘off/on’ switch in the power lead. Given that all the advice about safe shutdowns on a pi mention you should safely shut a pi down via a terminal command before removing power to avoid possible SD card corruption surely the type of power supply that has a power switch in line isn’t really a good thing to use on a pi as it is no different to just pulling the plug? Just wondering why they are sold as power supplies suitable for a pi?
My pi is actually remote to me up in a loft space and I shut it down via putty using the terminal.
I actually ended up repairing my old power supply, as I thought I would open it up to check what had failed. I found that one of the capacitors had failed, easily spotted by the massive bulge in the top. I replaced both capacitors in the power supply and now that power supply is in use on something else
The switch doesnt make sense at all.
It is always better to shutdown the device first and then disconnect it from power instead of cutting it directly.
The switch only prevents you from unplugging and plugging the unit.
The one advantage I see with the switch is it reduces wear and tear on your power port. I use one on RPi’s that I shutdown often.
With the Pi4 purchase for feeding purposes I opted for an inline attachable power supply switch soon abandoned as the unit is on 24/7. The switch now sits with a Pi400 and Raspberry OS for guest use. Yes, turn on the computer with the power switch, shut down via GUI or CL, then turn off the PS switch. Repeat.
Thanks for the replies, I suppose the other thing to point out here, is that I looking at this from the perspective of my location [UK] where virtually every household power socket outlet has a power on/off switch on it anyway, so there isn’t really ever a great need for an in-line switch [unless of course the power socket is located in a hard to access place]
Thanks for the confirmation of the shut down procedure which I always follow prior to removing power.
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