What should I use to power my Raspberry Pi?

Question

I was recently given a Raspberry Pi model B and i wanted to know if it is safe to power it with Samsung Galaxy S4 wall adapter. On the back of the adapter it says it outputs 5V and 2A. I read somewhere that I should power it with 700 - 1200 mA and 5V. Will this adapter be okay to use?

Problemchild · Accepted Answer

Mason, the current rating relates to the maximum working load the Supply will give.

This is NOT the current it will give regardless of what the device wants. Basically if your device requires 500-700ma then great it will get it 1A then again no problem all the way to a maximum of 2A.

I use my Note3 Charger on my Pi quite often and have no problems. The supply is well built and also not been strained by the Pi so should be very reliable.

John

shabaz · Answer

I too have used exactly the same adapter, with the supplied white cable which is of a good quality I think. It works totally fine.

Robert Peter Oakes · Answer

I agree with John on the adapter, It is the cable you need to ensure is a good one, if you start experiencing weird behavior from the PI then suspect the cable first, try a different cable first if you have one rather then suspect the wall wart.

this could become more apparent if you add keyboard, mouse and WIFI dongle right to the PI