So i got my RPi2 and installed the new version of Rasplex on it, its fast and smooth and almost everything working as it should be however I have noticed that at random while playing media i get a little rainbow square in the upper right corner, it fades in and out once or twice and then goes away again.
Is this an indication of something wrong? I am not sure what to make of it, but it seems weird.
Added a picture to show it:
So i got my RPi2 and installed the new version of Rasplex on it, its fast and smooth and almost everything working as it should be however I have noticed that at random while playing media i get a little rainbow square in the upper right corner, it fades in and out once or twice and then goes away again.
Is this an indication of something wrong?
Yes, it's telling you that your power supply is not good enough, try another power supply with at least 2A output.
Regards
Hmm thats weird, its the one i got with my B+ bundle, i guess the new RPi2 requires more, but thanks!
Ah temp solved it, if i remove the Wifi dongle and just run it via ethernet it works, guess the old PSU isnt powerful enough to power the Wifi dongle aswell.
Could also be a worn / cheap USB cable, as it was in my case earlier this week.
Ah temp solved it, if i remove the Wifi dongle and just run it via ethernet it works, guess the old PSU isnt powerful enough to power the Wifi dongle aswell.
Could also be a worn / cheap USB cable, as it was in my case earlier this week.
Hi,
I am using a 2.1a IPad charger and i still get the coloured square, do you think i will need to remove wifi dongle and use cat 5, if this issue persists ???
Check your cable, long cables or low quality ones can cause issues too.
Same issue persisted with every off my 2A chargers and usb cables. Maybe because i use a Remote PiBoard, can't really tell.
Solved it in the end with a cheap 3A charger:
Same issue persisted with every off my 2A chargers and usb cables. Maybe because i use a Remote PiBoard, can't really tell.
Solved it in the end with a cheap 3A charger:
There are various reports in various Raspberry Pi forums that cheap 2A chargers aren't what they say they are, especially ones made in China, stick with ones from recognised Raspberry Pi resellers. I have a RemotePi board, that is not the problem, I use it with a 2A charger from ModMyPi http://www.modmypi.com/raspberry-pi/accessories/power-supplies/5v-2a-ultra-hq-usb-power-supply-and-cable-uk
Regards
The 2A chargers weren’t cheap ones but the ones from my Nexus 7 and iPad, only the 3A one is. But it does the trick.
Found this topic through a Google for the rainbow square issue with my new RPi2. It totally makes sense - I was using mine with the USB port on my wireless router. Yup. I switched to the USB port on my TiVo, and it worked more reliably - probably better-filtered power.
But the reason this happens, drawing the diagnosis out further, is because the load that the Raspberry Pi places on the USB cable varies very significantly as you use it, as the CPU scales up and down, activates and deactivates cores of the CPU and requests data from peripherals, etc. You might notice that most of the things you plug into a USB port will charge a battery :) So the load on the USB port with most devices is fairly static most of the time, and they have a battery to back them up. A smartphone, for example, will draw power from the battery when USB doesn't provide enough power to drive the device while you use it.
So for the Pi, being able to handle bursts of power is necessary - unlike most other devices. The wiring used in most USB cables is absolutely terrible, going along the lines of 22AWG or even 24AWG wire, which drops quite a bit of voltage as it travels through the cable. Add in the fact that regulated power supplies (especially USB ports) typically regulate at 5.0 volts, by the time it gets to the other end of the cable, it drops down to 4.5V or lower, depending on the load. The Pi probably has a sensing circuit that triggers that rainbow square, and pauses the CPU to prevent a brownout, when it detects a sag below a certain level.
To prevent that, there are a few things I'd recommend. These aren't sponsored recommendations (hence I'm not including links), but merely the products I've used in the past for USB power troubleshooting. On Amazon, a company called "PortaPow" makes a specialized line of USB cables and USB power monitors. One of them is a "fast charge cable" that dedicates all its lines (2x 22AWG or 20AWG!) to power, with no USB data connection, dramatically reducing the voltage drop along the USB cable. Another is a USB current/voltage monitor, which you can use to see the voltage on the line, and the current that the Pi is drawing at the moment. You'll probably find that the Pi uses nowhere near 2A, but rather that the voltage drops along the USB cable (unfortunately the current monitor only senses at the USB "A" port, not the MicroUSB end - so you only see the voltage going into the cable).
Hope this helps a few people get rid of the rainbow squares :)
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