Entire Particle Boron platform currently INOPERABLE due to solar/PMIC/power/battery issues

Hey everyone. Just wanted to give an update that we have a PR which will be included in the next DeviceOS release that changes and adds a few things:

  1. We’ve reverted the changes to the default PMIC settings we use when powered by VIN. These are now again 3.88V min, 900mA max for the PMIC to enter DPM mode and reduce current consumption.
  2. When powered by USB host or USB-compliant adapter, the current limit is automatically negotiated with the other side and voltage input limit is still set to 3.88V.
  3. Another addition is a higher level power configuration API allowing to notify the system about the expected PSU parameters. These settings are persisted and work correctly even without the application running (e.g. while the device is in safe mode). See ‘Example App’ section for the example usage.
  4. The PR also adds a couple of methods to query current power source, battery state and state of charge more easily. See ‘Example App’ section as well.

In general, if your power source cannot go below 5V and can supply maximum 1A of current, all that is required is the following code block which will store these settings in the persistent storage:

    SystemPowerConfiguration conf;
    conf.powerSourceMaxCurrent(1000).powerSourceMinVoltage(5000);
    System.setPowerConfiguration(conf);

This can be run in STARTUP() block as well. There is no harm in keeping it in the application forever, as the settings will only be overwritten if there are any changes to the already stored configuration.

As this is a feature that for now only exists in the form of the PR, one for now may use Workbench deviceOS@source feature to build out of ch42646/power-management branch.

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