Power bank shutting down
Chad Walter
Seeed Studio Xiao (nRF52840) boards are incredibly efficient, which is actually the problem here. When that board is just idling or transmitting, it often draws as little as 5mA to 15mA. Most 10k power banks have a "cut-off" threshold of around 50mA to 100mA, so the battery thinks the "phone" is fully charged and goes to sleep.
Since you're working on a Meshtastic node, here are the best ways to keep that Seeed board alive:
1. Enable "Small Current" Mode (The Easiest Fix)Since you're using a standard 10k power bank, check if it has a low-power mode.
The Trick: On many popular brands like Anker or Ugreen, double-pressing the power button (or holding it for 3 seconds) will change the LED light pattern (usually a green light or a "chase" sequence). This disables the auto-off timer for about 2 hours.
If you are just testing the node at your desk, plug your phone into the second port of the power bank. The phone's high draw will keep the battery's internal "brain" awake, allowing the Seeed board to sip power from the other port indefinitely.
3. Hardware "Keep-Alive" (The Permanent Fix)If you're planning to put this node in a weatherproof box or use it as a mobile relay, you have two real options:
USB Stay-Alive Load: You can buy a tiny USB "dummy load" or "Keep Alive" board for about $5. It pulses a 100mA draw every few seconds—just enough to trick the battery without draining it too fast.
Switch to LiPo: Since the Seeed 1110 has a built-in battery charging circuit (the tiny gold pads on the bottom or the JST connector on some versions), it’s much more efficient to plug a 3.7V LiPo battery directly into the board. This skips the USB conversion loss and prevents the "auto-off" issue entirely.
If the board stays on just long enough to boot, you can try setting the is_low_power flag in the Meshtastic power settings to false and ensuring the screen_timeout is short. However, this usually won't stop a power bank from shutting down; the hardware draw is just too low.