USB port power off

[Gramps3165]

I use an external DAC as a digital bridge connected to my Ultras USB port. The DAC stays on all the time as it’s being fed power from the USB port.
Is it possible to add a feature to cut the power output from the USB port?

Thanks in advance

 

[Dani]

Instead of investing (wasting) a lot of resources in the useless VU-Meter, it would be better to finally de-energize the USB when the Ultra is off, or in standby - this way the DAC would also turn off automatically.

 

[Mr Ee]

Instead of investing (wasting) a lot of resources in the useless VU-Meter, it would be better to finally de-energize the USB when the Ultra is off, or in standby - this way the DAC would also turn off automatically.

And yet those who don't use a usb dac might have a different opinion.
Me, "I Want It All". Time for some Queen.

 

[harkpabst]

The original request, far less offensively written, explicitly asked to add this as a feature, which I understand as a switchable option.

That would be OK with me, but I certainly don't need this, so it would be "useless" and a "waste of resources" for me.

 

[Dani]

Please explain to me why the others don't want that. What is the point of keeping the USB port active if the Ultra itself is switched off?
"switchable" would be perfect.

 

[harkpabst]

I don't think that I have to justify to you why the current implementation makes sense, but here's a short hint: The WiiM Ultra, WiiM Amp and WiiM Amp Pro implement a fully featured media server that is exposed over the network. When I have a USB storage device attached, the WiiM might appear to be in "standby" or "off" (and in fact, it might be in a lower power state), but other endpoints in my network may be accessing the music hosted by said media server.

 

[Dani]

Thanks for the explanation, by the way, I didn't mean to come across as aggressive. In my use case, this implementation makes no sense, as I have all media files on a Roon server - in your case, of course, it looks different. That's why I think there should be a switchable option. Perhaps even the option, or a combination with power off/standby, that when an output, e.g. coax, is selected, the USB port switches off.

 

[mmccormick163]

The option to turn off USB power with the unit would be very helpful. I want to control a USB cooling fan for my media cabinet via the unit. Fan on when the unit.is on and off when in standby.

 

[cristoo]

This is, at least for me, highly anticipated feature to have options for usb port power management. It should be easy to implement but yet, Wiim is unable or unwilling to do it.

 

[F1 Fan]

Agreed, doesn’t really make sense to keep the power on, on the USB port whilst the Wiim off / standby. @WiiM Support ..

 

[anonyless]

Agreed, doesn’t really make sense to keep the power on, on the USB port whilst the Wiim off / standby. @WiiM Support ..

it does make sense to keep the USB power on, as the majority of WiiM users , use the USB port with a storage device:
you can't power on/off instantly a storage device without properly unmounting its file system (you obviously can in practice - but that would cause corrupted files system).
this is to my best understanding and makes a lot of sense.
having said that, a dedicated "USB power on standby" option in WHA , would solve this issue.
i raised a request for that a couple of months ago myself, but i seriously doubt it's in any priority.

 

[cc_rider]

This is, at least for me, highly anticipated feature to have options for usb port power management. It should be easy to implement but yet, Wiim is unable or unwilling to do it.

Not easy if the power to it is hard wired. We don’t know if it’s capable of being software controlled in the current hardware.

 

[Mr Ee]

Agreed, doesn’t really make sense to keep the power on, on the USB port whilst the Wiim off / standby. @WiiM Support ..

Unless you want the ultra to continue to host the attached usb drive as a media source for other wiims to use while the ultra is 'off'.

 

[F1 Fan]

Unless you want the ultra to continue to host the attached usb drive as a media source for other wiims to use while the ultra is 'off'.

But no good when you have an external DAC connected to the Ultra (via USB) and the external DAC relies no power being sent to it to shutdown when the Ultra is in Standby mode .. To get around this, I have used Coaxial but its a shame..

 

[harkpabst]

At least it should be clear now that these are conflicting targets (and we don't know if WiiM could make this behaviour optional or not).

 

[klaus99]

I think it's great, that the WiiM continues to supply power to the USB port in standby mode. I use this to power the SMSL PO100 2024, because otherwise it would drain the iPad's battery overnight.

 

[hgo58]

For those that need constant power or more power on the USB, you can just add a powered USB hub.

 

[klaus99]

For those that need constant power or more power on the USB, you can just add a powered USB hub.

USB Port Power Specifications on Your WiiM Ultra
Voltage Range: 5V
Current Capacity: 1.5A

That is completely enough.