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I read it but I have no idea what it meant. I am very interested in getting a Pi4, so can some of you more knowledgeable folks help me understand what this mea

I read it but I have no idea what it meant. I am very interested in getting a Pi4, so can some of you more knowledgeable folks help me understand what this means?

wereHamster 7y ago
The Pi4 does not work with all USB-C chargers. You may be lucky and it will work, or you may be unlucky and it will not work and you will have to buy another USB-C charger (which again may not work). The reason is that the developers of the Pi4 made a mistake while designing the electronic circuit. They tried to design it themselves instead of copying it from the specification.
- JshWright 7y ago
  The other reason for is that the developers of the USB-C specifications left us with a terrible confusing mess where visually identical cables have different capabilities and behaviors.
  - derefr 7y ago
    If it’s confusing, just don’t use it. They could have stuck with a micro-B charger, or a custom charger, and no one would have questioned it. Instead, they decided they were confident enough in their understanding of USB-C to implement it on their device. And they were wrong.
    - JshWright 7y ago
      I said the "other" reason. I am not absolving the RPi team here... The fact that they shipped this reveals significant gaps in their engineering and QA processes. That doesn't change the fact that USB-C is a mess, and that mess contributed to this failure.
    - TremendousJudge 7y ago
      >They could have stuck with a micro-B charger Somebody here said they were running into the maximum rated current for the port >or a custom charger Literally everyone would have complained
      - tracker1 7y ago
        I don't think anyone would complain much if they supported a popular barrel connector with a popular power draw. As it stands, I'll only ever use a Pi with a charger sold as working with it after all the 3B+ issues I had (7 chargers, none worked without a warning on screen).
- seaborn63 7y ago
  This is exactly what I wanted. Thank you kindly
- mbilker 7y ago
  The article states it is an issue with an eMarked cable, not the charger. With a different cable, the Pi 4 started up with the same chargers as it was no longer detecting the Pi as an analog audio accessory. The issue still lies with the Pi 4 for not having two CC resistors.
  - ddingus 7y ago
    Can this be fixed with a dongle?
progval 7y ago
There are multiple types of USB C cables/devices. Raspberry Pi advertizes itself as the wrong kind of device, so it will only get power from a cable/charger that ignores that information.
- cesarb 7y ago
  It's more subtle than that: the RPi4 will advertise itself as the wrong kind of device only when the cable advertises itself as a marked cable.
thedanbob 7y ago
Due to a design flaw, the raspberry pi 4 won't receive power if you connect it to a USB-C cable that supports advanced features. If you use the official charger (or most USB-C chargers that come with their own cable, I'm guessing) you should be fine.
- seaborn63 7y ago
  Ah nice,thanks for the info
baq 7y ago
to be 100% sure it works - get the official charger.
- OrangeMango 7y ago
  But then it's a $50, $60, $70 computer. (This has always been my complaint anyway. The Pi Zero works great with any of the USB chargers you already own too many of, but the rest of the Pi line needs higher-spec chargers that most people need to buy as an add-on)
  - baq 7y ago
    most people don't have a 3A charger which the RPi 4 requires (per manual) if you're planning on hooking up peripherals.
  - ocdtrekkie 7y ago
    As a $50, $60, $70 computer, it's still an incredibly cheap computer.
  - owenversteeg 7y ago
    I completely agree, I'm not sure why you're getting downvoted. The price is extremely important, and I don't care who says it's not. If it's a $35 computer, sure, buy a couple, play around with them, it's OK if one gets damaged/stolen/whatever. If it's $35, sure, the school can buy them for the kids. If it's $35, you can gift one to your nieces and nephews who are interested. But it's not $35. You need an SD card and power at an absolute minimum (+$15), and then some way to connect to a screen and a keyboard (if just for a minute, to set up SSH and to fix it when it breaks.) That's why I like the Pi Zero W. $10, and then $5 for a microSD card, and you can run it off of a laptop (or a powerbank, or an old phone charger, or a USB port.) It's beautiful. That leaves you with plenty of room to buy stuff like the PiOLED tiny display for $15, or a radio bonnet, or what have you.
    - OrangeMango 7y ago
      The price is very important, but so is the act of minimizing electronic waste. I've personally collected so many gadgets and their associated accessories that I don't know what to do with them. It is a fair criticism to say that I am going too far, but I want to reuse the things I already have. I don't want to continue buying single-use things that will eventually be waste. It's not that I won't ever do it, but I now think very carefully about it before buying more electronic toys.

I read it but I have no idea what it meant. I am very interested in getting a Pi4, so can some of you more knowledgeable folks help me understand what this means?

wereHamster 7y ago

The Pi4 does not work with all USB-C chargers. You may be lucky and it will work, or you may be unlucky and it will not work and you will have to buy another USB-C charger (which again may not work). The reason is that the developers of the Pi4 made a mistake while designing the electronic circuit. They tried to design it themselves instead of copying it from the specification.

JshWright 7y ago
The other reason for is that the developers of the USB-C specifications left us with a terrible confusing mess where visually identical cables have different capabilities and behaviors.
- derefr 7y ago
  If it’s confusing, just don’t use it. They could have stuck with a micro-B charger, or a custom charger, and no one would have questioned it. Instead, they decided they were confident enough in their understanding of USB-C to implement it on their device. And they were wrong.
  - JshWright 7y ago
    I said the "other" reason. I am not absolving the RPi team here... The fact that they shipped this reveals significant gaps in their engineering and QA processes. That doesn't change the fact that USB-C is a mess, and that mess contributed to this failure.
  - TremendousJudge 7y ago
    >They could have stuck with a micro-B charger Somebody here said they were running into the maximum rated current for the port >or a custom charger Literally everyone would have complained
    - tracker1 7y ago
      I don't think anyone would complain much if they supported a popular barrel connector with a popular power draw. As it stands, I'll only ever use a Pi with a charger sold as working with it after all the 3B+ issues I had (7 chargers, none worked without a warning on screen).
seaborn63 7y ago
This is exactly what I wanted. Thank you kindly
mbilker 7y ago
The article states it is an issue with an eMarked cable, not the charger. With a different cable, the Pi 4 started up with the same chargers as it was no longer detecting the Pi as an analog audio accessory. The issue still lies with the Pi 4 for not having two CC resistors.
- ddingus 7y ago
  Can this be fixed with a dongle?

progval 7y ago

There are multiple types of USB C cables/devices. Raspberry Pi advertizes itself as the wrong kind of device, so it will only get power from a cable/charger that ignores that information.

cesarb 7y ago
It's more subtle than that: the RPi4 will advertise itself as the wrong kind of device only when the cable advertises itself as a marked cable.

thedanbob 7y ago

Due to a design flaw, the raspberry pi 4 won't receive power if you connect it to a USB-C cable that supports advanced features. If you use the official charger (or most USB-C chargers that come with their own cable, I'm guessing) you should be fine.

seaborn63 7y ago
Ah nice,thanks for the info

baq 7y ago

to be 100% sure it works - get the official charger.

OrangeMango 7y ago
But then it's a $50, $60, $70 computer. (This has always been my complaint anyway. The Pi Zero works great with any of the USB chargers you already own too many of, but the rest of the Pi line needs higher-spec chargers that most people need to buy as an add-on)
- baq 7y ago
  most people don't have a 3A charger which the RPi 4 requires (per manual) if you're planning on hooking up peripherals.
- ocdtrekkie 7y ago
  As a $50, $60, $70 computer, it's still an incredibly cheap computer.
- owenversteeg 7y ago
  I completely agree, I'm not sure why you're getting downvoted. The price is extremely important, and I don't care who says it's not. If it's a $35 computer, sure, buy a couple, play around with them, it's OK if one gets damaged/stolen/whatever. If it's $35, sure, the school can buy them for the kids. If it's $35, you can gift one to your nieces and nephews who are interested. But it's not $35. You need an SD card and power at an absolute minimum (+$15), and then some way to connect to a screen and a keyboard (if just for a minute, to set up SSH and to fix it when it breaks.) That's why I like the Pi Zero W. $10, and then $5 for a microSD card, and you can run it off of a laptop (or a powerbank, or an old phone charger, or a USB port.) It's beautiful. That leaves you with plenty of room to buy stuff like the PiOLED tiny display for $15, or a radio bonnet, or what have you.
  - OrangeMango 7y ago
    The price is very important, but so is the act of minimizing electronic waste. I've personally collected so many gadgets and their associated accessories that I don't know what to do with them. It is a fair criticism to say that I am going too far, but I want to reuse the things I already have. I don't want to continue buying single-use things that will eventually be waste. It's not that I won't ever do it, but I now think very carefully about it before buying more electronic toys.