Best Way to Shutdown and Start Up? (without additional hardware or coding)

Help and Support
#1

(I did not find a previous post that didn’t require coding or an external hardware add)

-What is the safest procedure to shut down Volumio, and my RPi? In which order and after which noticeable events?

-What is the safest procedure to startup Volumio, and my RPi?

I AM ASKING because when I Shutdown>Power off Volumio, I get the spinning balls that never stop, and no alert that tells me shutdown is complete. Later on, I can’t find the device. Not with my iOS Volumio app, not with Volumio.local or with the IP address.

Any help is appreciated.

Frank

My Setup:

-Allo DigiOne Player (RPi 4 with 2GB RAM) with Volumio pre-installed. Brand new.
-Connected to my WIFI (50+mbps speed)
-Assigned a permanent IP address

#2

That’s normal behaviour for any RPI browser app. The unit has successfully shutdown. It can be misleading because the the power led will remain on.

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#3

Thanks for responding!

So the never-stopping spinning balls are the indication of a successful shutdown. OK. I get it.

But why is the app or browser IP address not able to find the device afterwards?

Also, when I go to the Settings button on the iOS app start page to view the IP address, it shows “error” after attempting “connecting” for a while.

What is the solution?

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#4

If something is down it’s like a shutdown computer if it’s not on it can’t find it.

#5

Thanks for responding.

This begs the question: HOW do I close Volumio AND have the ability to restart Volumio when I want?

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#6

The shut down commands turns off the RPI but not the power source to the unit, which is why the light stays on. That’s just the way the system is set up. You have to toggle power to make it start up again, i.e. turn the power supply off and on again. The simplest way I found to do it without messing with the RPI board assemble itself is to plug the USB power supply to an outlet which can be toggled with my phone.

I know that you asked for a solution without additional hardware but other than a hardwired power switch the only option is something like this unit and it works great. Unfortunately Amazon doesn’t carry it any more, but this one seems to have the same features. I shutdown from the web interface and then turn off the unit every night.

HTH

#7

Thanks for responding! I must have another problem then, because I did set up a hardwired power switch. Here’s what I did:

  • I flashed another new SD card with Volumio
  • I powered down the DigiOne using the hardwired power switch
  • I inserted the new SD card
  • I powered up the DigiOne using the hardwired power switch
  • Waited 10 minutes
  • Tried to access volumio.local on a browser, AND via the iOS app
  • No response on either

The only things I haven’t previously mentioned: I have a Nirvana power supply for the DigiOne, and the DigiOne is connected via BNC to a Schiit Modi 3 DAC. I also have a USB thumb drive connected to the DigiOne USB 3.0 port.

I was able to startup Volumio when I got the DigiOne. The problem started when I shutdown the Volumio and couldn’t get back in!

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#8

OK, your setup is more complicated than a basic RPI box driving an audio output (which is what I have), so my simple solution will not do. Question is what is the power source to the Raspberry board, i.e. what is connected to the USB power input port? That’s the circuit to be toggled for the pi to restart.

Some diagnostic steps:

  • You could use an iOS app like Network Analyzer and scan for your Volumio box. The free version will let you scan your network, and If it is up, it should show up in the scan.
  • You could also connect a monitor to the HDMI port to follow the startup process. When it powers up it should say “WebUI available at volumio.local (127.0.0.1)”, and after it has started up properly and connected to the network, it should say something like “WebUI available at volumio.local (192.168.1.xxx)”, and give you the same IP address that you would see on the Network Analyzer.

Sorry I can/t help more, as I am not sure how your system is hooked up.

#9

Again, thanks for your help!

The USB-C power input port on the RPi 4 has a USB-C dongle inserted into it. That dongle connects to the cable running to the power supply brick. (There’s a dongle because Allo sends several dongles that work with various versions of the RPi).

I did manage to get Volumio started up again after a disconnected the dongle. But it took 3 or 4 tries to do so. Now that Volumio is back up, I feel paranoid to shut it down again!!

I am on the latest version of Volumio. Wondering if I should do a factory reset?

#10

OK, so the dongle that connects to the cable running to the power supply brick is the one powering the Rpi and that is the one that needs to be toggled to restart, as the WebUI shutdown cannot control the external power brick.

Here’s the proper sequence to shut down and restart Volumio:

  • Shutdown from the WebUI

  • Unplug/disconnect the dongle to the power supply (or unplug the power supply, which is what the unit I mentioned earlier does). The red light on the Rpi goes off and the unit is now powered down.

  • To restart it plug the power brick (or the dongle) back. This causes the red light to come back on and you should see flashing green lights indicating SD card activity as it goes through the boot process while Volumio starts up.

  • Once it all settles down, the WebUI should be available on any browser.

One point though, you say that it took three or four tries to get it started. Does that mean you unplugged and plugged the power back a few times without doing a “proper shutdown”? That could potentially corrupt the SD card image, in which case a re-flash of the card would be indicated.

#11

Thank you again, Mr. HeadGeek! :slightly_smiling_face: Much appreciated!

Regarding your question: I may indeed have unplugged without a proper shutdown. Next time I will monitor my actions more carefully.

For now, I will keep Volumio up and running, and look for any other issues that may arise. Then later this week I will do the proper sequence you suggest to see what happens. I’ll report back so we can, hopefully, tag this as a solution.

One final question: would a factory reset from within Volumio be as good as a reflash of the SD card?

#12

I don’t think a factory reset from within Volumio is same as a reflash. From what I understand, all it does is reset all settings to default values, as opposed to a reflash, which puts a brand new image on the card.

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#13

Thanks. I’ll report back soon.

#14

My brother has a Node. Has anyone at Volumio used one? I think BlueOS is a goal far beyond Volumio’s capabilities, but I think BlueOS/NAD did a great job showing how great the user experience could be. Maybe they did a lot more user testing, don’t know, but I think that’s the kind of system people are looking for even if it’s a diy and far cheaper.

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#15

My RPi is on the same smart power board as my HiFi, I power-down from the app on my phone, there is a very slight risk that chopping the power may cause corruption, but that has not happened during the past couple of years, and I keep a backup of the SD card on my NAS should that ever happen.

#16

Just leave it on all the time…

The shutdown/reboot using the app/website function works as mentioned even though the pi stays powered on.

I think they are designed to stay on and inexpensive devices so not really worried. The SSD connected to it also never gets hot.

Think I have to reboot it occasionally if it doesn’t start playing.

#17

Thanks everyone! Same problem on my last shutdown attempt.

So I erased and reflashed the SD card. I may just leave it powered on, but I will try HeadGeeks shutdown/restart procedure again at some point with the new card.

#18

Is the DAC a Modi 3 or Modi 3+

#19

Modi 3E.

#20

For got about the 3E. Maybe you could simplify things by removing the Allo HAT and going direct from a USB2 port to the DAC. That would allow you to use a standard PSU.