Upgrade a Passive HDMI Switch with 5V Power

I have many things connected to my single computer monitor via HDMI. I use a HDMI switch so I don’t have to unplug and replug cables all the time. But my cheap $6 HDMI switch is an unpowered passive switch, so it has problems working when the video source does not provide enough power to the switch.

For example, when my Mac Mini is plugged in, the 5V pin only supplies about 3 volts. Inside of the switch is a set of diodes and a AMS1117 voltage regulator that is supposed to output 3.3V using 5V, but instead it is only outputting about 2V. This made the LEDs in the switch flicker and blink (which seemed like a symptom of a bad power supply) and switch refused to function (no video output). My solution was to add a USB micro connector so I can add an external 5V power supply.

hdmiswitchpwrupgrade_1
After adding the power supply, the switch is able to function properly with a steady supply of power.

This is the original switch, it cost $6
hdmiswitchpwrupgrade_2

I opened it up to see how it is getting power. HDMI cables all have a 5V signal, that 5V signal goes into a diode (for reverse polarity protection) and then to a single AMS1117 voltage regulator with a 3.3V fixed output.
hdmiswitchpwrupgrade_3

All I did was make a hole in the casing using a file first…
hdmiswitchpwrupgrade_4

Glue a USB connector in place, and solder some wires from the connector to the voltage regulator’s input and ground.
hdmiswitchpwrupgrade_5

34 thoughts on “Upgrade a Passive HDMI Switch with 5V Power

  1. harry

    I have a 75 foot fiber optic rainbowfish hdmi cable but my onkyo receiver does not provide the 5v to the TX end of my cable to initialize the signal conversion process. Basically . Need a hdmi connecter with extra 5v usb port. Cable gets 16gb/s data rate and 32 bit color. Is there a way to accomplish goal while maintaining passthrough transmission? And if u can make the part…. I would pay up to…….100 bucks lets say.
    The original part is no longer available.

    Reply
    1. Admin Post author

      You should just supply the 5V near the device instead.

      Look for one of those HDMI adapters with a barrel jack, which could help.

      Reply
  2. Neil

    Thank you so much for sharing this.

    I had just bought a hdmi switch for a PS3 and a PS4. I noticed It wouldn’t work properly when just the PS4 was on so wonder if it was a problem with the voltage from the PS4 hdmi.

    My switch seemed very similar to yours though the layout of the components was quite different. I found the voltage regulator was the same part number though so decided to give this a shot.

    Works a treat and saved me from buying another more expensive switch and a power supply on top too.

    Thanks!

    Reply
    1. Admin Post author

      I did notice my PS4 had a problem with the HDMI switch. Before doing this hack, the PS4 would cause the LED to blink. I think the problem is that the PS4 doesn’t enable HDMI long enough for the switch to activate and pass along information from the display, so the PS4 thinks the HDMI requires a reset, hence why the power blinks.

      I am glad to hear it helps.

      Reply
  3. Pablo PHG

    I have the same problem when connecting my PS4, though my laptop and PS3 work just fine. My switch looks exactly the same as yours, I will give it a try and follow your steps. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  4. Pablo PHG

    Update. Well, I soldered a barrel jack to the HDMI switch and connected a USB cable from it to one of the USB ports on the PS4, so the additional power just works when I am using the PS4 (I usually shut it down completely), which is the only device that didn’t work properly with the switch. It works really well. Again, thanks for the idea.

    Reply
    1. Francisco

      I just found and read this blog, this is a great idea, I have a belkin 4 way swtich and also only the PS4 was having problems… I waited until the HDCP off option came online… but as it turns out, its a problem with the voltage of the PS4’s HDMI.
      Reading the comments I just remembered I had one of those USB – barrel jack cables around the house, the belkin switch had already factory installed a 5V input, it works great, aside the aesthetic of having the USB cable connected on the fron of the PS4.
      However I had to “rotate” the barrel jack in order for it to provide constant voltage, Im assuming it is really cheap, maybe I can fabricate another cable as I have not seen any more of this USB-barreljack cables around… anyway What do you guys think? or just leave it like that… it will hold… hahaha !!
      Thanks for the ideas !!

      Reply
  5. Niclas

    Hi Frank!
    I experienced the same problem as you, low voltage.
    Is it possible to cut the input lines (5V & GND) from the HDMI power lines and fully dedicate USB as power input source instead?

    Reply
    1. Admin Post author

      I might be wrong but it might still use the 5V lines from each HDMI input as a way of actually detecting the cable, depending on where you cut the input 5V, you might break it. Plus, I would rather keep the modification minimally invasive.

      Reply
  6. Dino

    Hey!

    How are you able to add the USB 5V on top of whatever is already going into the regulator without running into problems? The USB GND and the HDMI GND might be different?

    I have an unpowered VGA HDMI adapter that needs more power, but I am hesitant to just add in 5V to the regulator.

    Dino

    Reply
    1. Admin Post author

      If there are no existing reference connecting the HDMI and USB devices already, then the GND of both can be connected together and become one 0V reference. Assuming that your HDMI stuff and USB stuff are in the same house, this shouldn’t be a problem.

      Reply
  7. Serge

    Have same switch and same problem – PS4 working couple of minutes, then screen and switch LED starts blinking.
    Could you, please, specify, where is GND and SIGNAL on this regulator and where they should be soldered inside USB jack or USB plug.
    Of course, this info easily can be obtained using Google, but it is better to compare and double check.
    Also, there is cheap 5 port switch with IR control and 5V DC input (3 port with DC also available).
    Probably, there is same regulator, and if someone doesn’t have DC power supply, then it is possible to deliver USB power instead.
    Thanks.

    Reply
    1. Admin Post author

      You really should rely on manufacture datasheets. Your model may vary and the regulator might be different. Check by part number.

      Reply
  8. Ian

    Just wanted to say thank you for taking the time to put this up. I had the exact same switch, and like others, this fixed my PS4 problem. Thanks again!

    Reply
  9. Manny

    Have the same exact switch could you specify which point is the ground and which is the power on the board and the usb plug

    Reply
    1. Admin Post author

      You really should rely on manufacture datasheets. Even if the switch looks the same, the part might be different. Check the part number first then find the datasheet for it, which will show what pin is what.

      Reply
  10. ljn

    I found the same problem that you did when connecting a single tablet to the HDMI switch, though it was OK when I connected two tablets to two of the HDMI inputs. I tried your suggested upgrade, but with a mini USB socket instead of micro. Unfortunately, I found it impossible to solder the supply wires to the USB socket without it falling to pieces.

    My solution was to buy a male-to-female HDMI adaptor with charger lead from China via ebay.co.uk. This item consists of a block carrying a straight-through standard HDMI connection (female to male) with the addition of a power lead out of the side (around 0.5m long) ending in a USB male connector. This item can then be plugged into one of the HDMI switch’s inputs and the USB conector plugged into a standard USB charger. You should be able to find this item by searching on ebay for ‘hdmi male female adaptor charger’. The price was only £1.59 (Great British Pounds) including postage, which is approximately $2.45. The same item is on ebay.com at the rather higher price of $7.99, but as far as I know US customers can log on to ebay.co.uk and buy from there, though I’m not sure if the postage would still be free.

    Reply
  11. Alex Chan

    Hi,
    I have the same device and same problem as yours. 🙂
    Glad I found this page. I plan to do the same mod as what you did but i’m sort of a newbie.
    Could you help to specify what is the usb connector details. I find that there is micro usb A , AB, B in the market. Also can pls highlight which pin in the usb is soldered to which pin in the hdmi swith.

    Many thanks.

    Reply
  12. ljn

    UPDATE TO MY REPLY OF 2015-04-29

    Today I tried searching for ‘hdmi male female adaptor charger’ on ebay.com as I suggested in April and found them new at $4.57 (including shipping) from China. This seems to me a much simpler solution than messing about fitting a USB socket to the switch!

    Reply
  13. Jason

    Firstly, thanks for the post OP. And also ljn for the adapter idea.

    For sake of wondering, does anyone know the voltage that the Thunderbolt port would output if I bought a simple “Thunderbolt to HDMI” adapter and ran that from my Mac mini to my HDMI switch?

    Reply
  14. Adriano

    This work perfectly for me on PS3/PS4 set too. Thanks a lot.
    But i wonder if wont be more easy if just cut a old HDMI cable and connect to a +5v USB and keep that on one port. Is like simulate a hdmi signal on one port.

    Reply
    1. ljn

      (In reply to Adriano, 2016-01-05) cutting an old HDMI cable and connecting it to a USB connector sounds easy in principle and should work fine. The practical difficulty would be working with the very fine wires used in these cables. Perhaps you could try it and let us know how you get on?

      Incidentally, when you say ‘This work perfectly for me on PS3/PS4 set too’, which solution are you referring to?

      Reply
  15. Oksanna

    Friend bought one to three HDMI switch, it has a micro-USB female socket on the side. Will suggest to him to use a normal male USB to male micro-USB cable, from his TV’s rear ‘utility’ USB socket to plug into the HDMI switch for the needed 5 volt boost. Should work until he wants to use that same TV rear USB socket to power a Chromecast, but assume he then could use the Chromecast’s supplied USB ‘wall-wart’/charger to power the HDMI switch. This (your) useful article is the only one on the web I could find discussing this issue, by the way.

    Reply
  16. gharbin

    Hi and first of all thanks for the idea.
    I Have exaxtly the same Switch and followed the steps to update with a 5v usb supply.

    Before there was absolutely no display on the tv but now the PS3 and PS4 interfaces are displayed for 1 or 2 seconds then HDMI seems to be reset.

    Assuming that the supply should be of 5V is there any constraint about the amperage, otherwise do you have any idea please ?

    Thanks

    Reply
  17. celio

    well, got myself in same situation, except that I don´t play videogames, bought a hdmi switch in order to use 2 devices in same monitor, and having that extra handy hdmi outlet in my desk. but some notebooks and desktop video cards are not properly powered, so some works, and others doesn´t.

    AMS1117 in my case had ~2.9v on 3.3v output, and 5v line from hdmi input was only 4v. To be more careful, added another diode before 5v input, 10uF 16v cap to smooth power input, and 2A fuse.. Now I´ve got EXACTLY 3.3v on AMS1117 output, and everything works.

    Maybe thread should advice at least the diode and fuse, in order to provide more safety. Who knows what kind of charger people reading this will use…

    Reply
  18. anon

    I had this exact same cheapo HDMI splitter from eBay a few years ago and it crapped out after like 3 months of use.

    Reply
  19. guillaume

    Perfect, I was having some issue connecting my android TV to my video projector (both cheap chinese made) and was thinking that I need to inject the power on the HDMI to have the projector “recognise” the TV box.Long story short, I ended up on your blog post, and lucky me I had the eaxt same splitter.
    It s working like a charm now

    Reply
  20. Ray

    Exellent!! Did it with really cheap triangle looking hdmi switch thats being sold now.
    Dont know how long it will last but saved me £20 buying the more ecpensive switch just for my ps4, everything else was fine.

    Reply

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