Removing that annoying voltage warning on a Raspberry Pi

Raspberry Pi is a pretty useful device, small, compact, cheap and relatively powerful.. however there is one major annoyance .. once you have pushed it too far you get the dreaded “Low voltage warning Please check your power supply” notification every few minutes while the machine is running…

Here is our guide to turning it off.

but before we explain that… what does “Low voltage warning Please check your power supply” mean?

Simply put, the Raspberry Pi is not getting enough power (or is starting to fail). The lack of power means the CPU and other components can both underperform or perform erratically.

Methods to Avoid Low Voltage Warning on Raspberry Pi

1: Change your Raspberry Pi’s Power Supply

The Raspberry Pi device operates efficiently with a power supply that satisfies the power requirement of 5V and 2.5A. If you are using a power supply that doesn’t meet the criteria, you should immediately replace it to avoid a low voltage warning on Raspberry Pi. Consider using the official Raspberry Pi power supply for guaranteed compatibility. Cheap power supplies can have poor voltage regulation and it may affect your device.

2: Try a different Power Cable

Sometimes, your cable might not have the capacity to transfer the power from your power supply to the Raspberry Pi. Always use a good quality cable.

How to remove the Low Voltage Warning

You can sometimes avoid the Low Voltage Warning on Raspberry Pi through the boot configuration file. However, this method is not recommended. If low voltage warnings are becoming annoying then try this option.

Enter the following command to open the configuration file on the Raspberry Pi terminal:

$ sudo nano /boot/config.txt

Then add the following line to tell the device to stop giving you warning about low voltage:

avoid_warnings=1

Save the file using “CTRL+X”, add “Y” and press enter.

You will also need to remove the “battery monitor” plugin which is shows the notification on your desktop. Use the following command to remove this plugin from your device:

$ sudo apt remove lxplug-ptbatt

reboot your device and you should no longer see these messages.

How to video:

Conclusion

A low voltage warning on Raspberry Pi isn’t a good sign for your device as it may cause your device to heat up. The main reason behind this warning is the use of incompatible power supply, an issue in the power cable, or possible hardware fault. If the above has been tested and the notification has become annoying you can remove it by modifying the boot config.txt file and removing the “battery monitor” plugin (though this may result in your device becoming damaged).

About the author:

Emily is interested in technology and how it can be used to solve problems.

haxmor.com helps business and consumers solve problems using technology in clever and novel ways. webstack by haxmor.com is a complete website design build and management solution for small business.