I’ve got a Pi5 installed in the Argon ONE V3 case and it all works really well. Where I want to mount the case means that I can’t easily reach the power switch on the case. Is there way to extend the functionality of the case power switch to a remote switch? It needs to be about 1m away from the Pi.
Has anyone done this, or have any suggestion that I could try?
Thanks
Maybe the the always-on feature in combination with external power switch/radio-controlled socket or the IR remote control is an option for you?
Hi, valid suggestions for controlling the power to the Pi, but I’m trying to use the functionality of a clean shutdown or reboot of the OS on the Pi, rather than just powering it off. I like the options the power switch gives you in the ONE v3 for clean shutdown, reboot or hard reset. I want to replicate that, but with a switch 1m away from the case.
Usually a modern operating system with user interaction does have an option to:
- Clean shutdown
- Reboot
via GUI or console and should be the prefered way.
Explanation:
“Hard reset” is equal to unplug the power supply, from the view of the RPi - so never a clean shutdown.
The MCU(RP2040) inside of the Argon ONE V3 case is the bridge between the power button of the case and the RPi5. Additionally the MCU interprets the incoming IR signal of the “power” button of the IR remote control.
So power off via remote control or power button press at the case triggers the same event in the MCU. After that the MCU signals that event via GPIO to the RPi5.
The only missing feature for IR remote control usage without a power off menu is reboot. But you should know:
- Reboot
- Graceful Shutdown
- Fan control
are only actions of the argononed service. For that script it makes no difference if the event was initiated by IR remote control, power button at the back of the case or via operating system. So, if your use case supports a ordently shutdown menu via user interface of the operatng system, you should be able to reboot or shutdown properly without the need to have the power button of the back side of the case.
This is the reason why I referred to an IR remote control or an external power switch.
If you have the Argon ONE V3 case installed in an arcade case or something similar and the operating system you have chosen does not have a proper power off menu, then I see 2 other options:
- grab a soldering iron and connect an self made external switch to the same soldering points like the power button of the case
- connect a external power button to a free GPIO pin and write a own service to observe these additional pins to react on this power button signals. Alternatively, the new available pads (J2) of the RPi5 may be the ideal starting point for the switch-on process.
It’s up to your creativity to make that wiring robust and looking beautiful. 
If you chose a distribution other than Raspberry Pi OS, it’s possible that you are generally forced to make your own service scripts, because some OS are very customized and restricted, so your wish to move the power button 1m away will be the least of your problems.