How do I modify my Raspberry Pi to be powered over PoE?

Question

Is it possible to modify the Pi, so that it can receive it's power via Power over Ethernet (PoE)?

I would like to be able to power my unit via the ethernet cable, so that I don't have to worry about running power cords around the place.

Answer 1

As previously discussed RPi does not support PoE. And yes you could use a PoE module to hookup power to GPIO. But if you're not up for hardware hacking you could just get a Ethernet/USB power splitter off the shelf.

For up-to-date product list Google is your friend. Searches to use include:

• power over ethernet splitter 5V
• power over ethernet micro usb

Sample products include:

1. http://www.cjemicros.co.uk/micros/individual/newprodpages/prodinfo.php?prodcode=TPL-POE+ADAPT
2. http://www.dabs.com/products/axis-poe-active-splitter-5v-af-5008-001-4GQM.html
3. http://hardware.deals/buy/raspberry-pi-802-3af-poe-splitter-adapter

N.B: All second one will need 2.1mm to micro-USB adapter as well.

Answer 2

The Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ (March 2018 blog announcement) and later devices support PoE with an official PoE HAT.

Unlike after market PoE HATs for models before the 3B+, the new PoE HAT uses the on-board Ethernet port, so you won't need you to plug your Ethernet cable into the HAT and then link the HAT back to the Raspberry Pi Ethernet port with another cable.

The PoE HAT does require a new 4-pin connector on the 3B+ board however, circled here:

Although I could find no circuit diagram including the new Ethernet connector, the mechanical specifications for the Raspberry Pi 3B+ and PoE HATs have been published, and there is also a product page for the PoE HAT at CPC and also at farnell:

As suggested in the mechanical spec, the hole and cut-out to allow camera and display cable access.

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Note that there were some issues with the PoE HAT on some 3B+ units.

Depending on the source of a critical component on the 3B+, the PoE HAT may only be able to supply 200mA (1W) of power to the USB ports. Thus a keyboard or mouse might be fine, but anything more power hungry would fail. If this problem affects you, I would suggest that you ask for your Raspberry Pi 3B+ to be replaced under warranty with an unaffected 3B+.

^{EEVblog #1122 investigated this, and provides some great close up views. It's disturbing how hot it gets though.}

Additional information provided by Peter Green, edited into this answer to keep the Pi3 B+ information together.

I have tested the POE connector with a multimeter, as I expected each pin on the POE header corresponds to a pair on the Ethernet connector. I include a picture below of the pin mapping I have determined.

In addition to the Raspberry pi foundation's HAT there seems to be an unofficial Pi3 POE hat made by ivmech in Turkey: PoE HAT for Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+

Answer 3

Yes, it would be possible. You would need to modify the board with a PoE module:

Which you could hook up to the main power lines, or to the power line on the GPIO, which can be examined in this question.

Answer 4

I will answer with the assumption that you want to have a solution that interfaces directly with the Raspberry Pi's ethernet connector.

First of all, the RPI uses a magjack, not merely an RJ-45 connector. The best I can tell from the B board, they use an EDAC A63-113-300P131 magjack.

The manufacturer's schematic is below, followed by the connector symbol from RPI-B schematic, and the pinout. They agree, although the manufacturer and RPI folks number the pins differently.

A compliant PoE solution needs access both to the primary winding center taps, and to RJ45 pins 4, 5, 7 and 8. Those are (of course!) not available outside the magjack in use.

One hacky solution is to desolder the magjack, remove the 75 Ohm resistors, and bring out the center taps and the pins 4,5,7 and 8. There's at least one person who did just that, and wired it to the PEM1205 PoE module.

A less hacky solution would be to find a PoE magjack with the same mechanical outline and pinout, and solder it in place of the original magjack. PoE magjacks can have built-in rectifiers, requiring only 2 pins to pass the power to the PoE supply - thus requiring only 8 pins total (6 for data, 2 for power). Such 8 pin magjacks do in fact exist.

Unfortunately, all the magjacks that DigiKey currently stocks - those by Bel Fuse, TRP, Wurth and Pulse, have wrong pinouts. Some would mechanically fit, perhaps with a pin or two cut, but the pinout is all wrong.

The only solutions I can think of, that would still retain the small form-factor of RPI, and its 3D bounding box, would be to unsolder the original magjack and:

1. Add a small interposer board between a different magjack and the RPI. The board would sit directly between the magjack and the RPI, moving the magjack about 0.07 inches higher. It would expose the 5 pins needed for PoE operation (shield, center taps, 4+5, 7+8), or the 3 pins if a rectifier magjack is used. Cons:

   • The RPI's case needs to be modified to accommodate the elevated magjack.

   • The connector's pins have to be trimmed before being soldered into the interposer board, since the board must sit flush with the RPI board.

   • If the PoE board is to be soldered directly into the interposer, the interposer will hang outside of the RPI's outline.

2. Add an adapter board with tall pins that go behind the new magjack, with the magjack soldered upside down and moved out. Pros:

   • The cases don't need to be modded - the magjack will fit through existing case hole.

   • The adapter board can accommodate the PoE board itself.

   Cons:

   • The magjack will stick out by ~0.2 inches. The extra space behind it is needed for the pins that go between the RPI's magjack signal pads and the adapter board.

   • The 0.5 inch long interposer pins are inserted into the ethernet data pairs. This presents an impedance mismatch and may not make the solution 802.3 spec compliant.

The PoE boards are available in multiple output voltages. You can use a 5V board and feed its output directly into P1 connector's pins 2 and 4. If you push more than 5V into those pins, you'll destroy the PI, so be careful if you wish to implement one of the suggestions.

Answer 5

If you want a Raspberry Pi PoE solution that conforms to IEEE 802.3af Standard (PoE), then try the Xtronix Raspberry Pi interface. It is not cheap, but it allows the Pi to be powered via the ethernet cable from a standard PoE hub/switch. The IEEE 802.3af PoE standard defines how devices can be powered over the CAT 5 Ethernet cable.One of the issues the standard addresses is that of safety. A hub/switch that meets the standard allows Poe and non-Poe devices to be mixed safely in the network.

You can buy these via eBay.

Answer 6

There is an PoE-Modul for the Arduino named "Ag9120-S":

• http://store.arduino.cc/eu/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=11_15&products_id=148
• http://www.elmicro.com/files/arduino/poe-datasheet.pdf

With this, you have to modify the Wiring at the Network-Connector

Answer 7

If you want to power your Pi via PoE, in addition to the PoE Hat answer by Mark Booth, you could use a PoE Splitter which means NO modifications are required to the Pi itself. Indeed, using a splitter means leaving the Pi free for a different hat unrelated to powering it. Also, the PoE Splitter is independent of the Pi and should work with any model of Pi. It just diverts power from the switch to a MicroUSB lead on the device and supplies it to the Pi's female MicroUSB port.

Answer 8

The Raspberry Pi 3B+ does not work with PoE wirings where two pairs are used for 10/100BaseT and two pairs are used for power. It needs all 8 wires connected.

However, if you have a proper 802.3af injector you can retrieve the injected power via the pins on the PoE connector.

I used a MikroTik GB PoE Adapter with a 24V supply, standard polarity (jacket-,core+). In my case minus came out to the pin next to the 'pen' marking and plus on the pin next to the 'run' marking (left front and right front respectively):

I connected these to a stepdown DC-DC converter (search for HW-636 on ebay).

Answer 9

Tycon has a product that converts POE to a 5V 3A USB source.

I am using it currently in a deployment and so far it has worked as advertised. I am using it with max_usb_current=1 to power a TL-WN722N and it has been working great.

Answer 10

There is a roll-your-own solution posted on Instructables here http://www.instructables.com/id/PiPoE-powering-a-Raspberry-Pi-over-Ethernet/

The essence seems to be that you only need 4 of the 8 wires in an RJ45 cable for internet. You can then use the others for power. With this solution it seems you need to manually branch out the wires for power into a voltage regulator chip at the Pi end and use a small POE splitter device at the power/network end.