Waveshare PoE HAT(F) is an 802.3af/at-compliant 24W Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) HAT+ board designed for the Raspberry Pi 5 that also cools the SBC with its embedded fan, a heatsink, and two thermal pads.
The Chinese company has beaten Raspberry Pi to it as the UK company is working on releasing the L-shaped 25W “PoE+ HAT(+) for Raspberry Pi 5” a little later. The existing official Raspberry Pi PoE+ HAT delivers up to 25.5 Watts which would be enough to power the Pi 5, but since the PoE header has been moved to another location, it’s not compatible anymore, so new solutions are needed such as the Waveshare PoE HAT(F).
Waveshare PoE HAT(F) specifications:
- Supported SBC – Raspberry Pi 5 only
- Connected via 40-pin Raspberry Pi GPIO header and 4-pin PoE header
- PoE (Power Over Ethernet)
- IEEE 802.3af/at-compliant
- Input voltage – 37V-57V DC input
- Output
- 2-pin header – 12V/2A max
- GPIO header – 5V/4.5A max
- Fully isolated switched-mode power supply (SMPS).
- MP8759GD buck chip
- Cooling – Cooling fan, metal heatsink, and thermal pads for heat dissipation.
- Dimensions – 70 x 56.5 mm
Installation should be straightforward. First, install the thermal pads on top of the Broadcom BCM2712 SoC and memory chip, then place the metal heatsink on top secured with spring-loaded push pins, and finally insert the HAT+ on top like you would for any other Raspberry Pi HAT. More technical details may be found in the wiki.
Now you simply need to connect the Raspberry Pi 5’s Ethernet jack to an 802at-compliant router or switch to get both power and network connectivity.
The Waveshare PoE Hat(F) is currently sold on Aliexpress for $27.26 including shipping and Amazon US for $29.99. You’ll also find it for sale on the company’s online store for $21.99 plus shipping.
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
Support CNX Software! Donate via cryptocurrencies, become a Patron on Patreon, or purchase goods on Amazon or Aliexpress
There are also available better SSD HATs or SSD addon boards on Aliexpress which offer better heat dissipation then from Pimironi. I bought one which is actually also cheaper
A lot of the boards I’ve seen on Ali seem to include non-impedance-matched FFC cables (the white variety, with the traces all the same), and they *can* work sometimes, but they also run into issues with higher speeds, and really struggle with Gen 3 speeds. At least, in my experience.
Hopefully more cables can be bought separately so you could mix and match—but there again, if the HAT isn’t up to the new ‘HAT+’ standard, you have to be careful to use cables that are compatible (with the pin layout correct from Pi to board).
I haven’t had a chance to test all the variants, but I do have about 8 on hand now and will be testing them this month. 52Pi, Waveshare, Pimoroni, Pineberry Pi, etc.