Raspberry Pi POE + Installation

This video covers installation of a Raspberry Pi POE+ HAT to a Raspberry Pi 4b+ single board computer.

During production of this video, the Raspberry Pi 5 was released.

There are a great deal of hardware changes on the 5 that may be covered in the future (including placement of the POE connectors) that material may be covered in a future video.

Single board computers can produce a great deal of cables connected to these tiny devices.

Since they have been introduced in the home for the last three years, placing them in a clustered configuration compounds the problem with cable clutter.

This video shows how to take a special network switch that provides data and power to these devices eliminating the power cords that can provide power to operate the computer as well as the accessories plugged into it.

Since this video was released

While the POE switch (used in the video) may have been capable of supporting POE+ devices (based on software/firmware upgrades by Netgear) this particular router did supply the necessary wattage for this application and was replaced with a better managed switch (intended for POE + purposes from Netgear).

In November 2023, the switch was replaced with the model GS350EP. This is a POE + managed switch that delivers up to 30 watts per port (the one in the video only provided 11.4 watts (compatible for POE purposes)).

When everything was connected to the new switch, a red LED light appeared on the POE HAT that was connected to the switch. Raspberry Pi didn’t disclose this in the documentation, but this light does provide an indication that adequate power is being provided to the device at 24.5 watts.

In most cases with these additions to the single board computers, many of the manufacturers are providing a way of troubleshooting it’s connection to the computer to the board by providing a light to make the user aware that it is working.

The transcript to this video will be updated to reflect these changes.

This project is only intended for Raspberry PI 3 and 4 devices. The Raspberry Pi 5 does have a POE HAT available but it is a different model than the one covered on this video.

Information on Raspberry Pi 5 devices will be covered in 2024 (when one is available).

This configuration can get warm. Make sure it is staying cool.

Products Used:

POE Switch using 802.5at

Raspberry Pi 4b+

Cat 5e cables

A POE switch isn't something you are going to find at a traditional electronic or a department store but you will find them at a home improvement store, Amazon, or EBay.

Make sure you do some research by getting the manual to the device before you consider doing this.

Netgear covers manuals on all their products on the website netgear.com.

Transcript