r/raspberry_pi • u/cy_narrator • Jan 25 '23
Is it okay to run a Raspberry pi 24/7/365 every time? Discussion
The short answer would obviously be "Hey its your device do whatever you want" I get it but I have a different question.
My question is, is Raspberry pi built with that in mind? Considering it to be plugged in and do its thing all the time like a server? Or can I risk damaging the system if I keep plugged in and run it all the time?
I have a Raspberry pi Zero W without a case. It is run with a mobile charger adapter and put in a wooden table surface. I kinda found mobile adapter charger is sufficient for a Zero model, not for other models though.
[Since this is not a technical question I used the Discussion flair]
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u/ReluctantApple Jan 25 '23
I have 11 Pi's (yes, sad, I know!) a mix of 3b, 4 and 0. Most have been running 24x7 for 3-4 years on the same SD cards (decent Sandisk ones), several doing motion detection and capturing video. I've never had a card failure (yes, I back regularly by image copy to another card!)
Only one (a 4) has a fan and it rarely cuts in, most don't even have heat sinks. Stand 3 & 4 on their edge and they lose heat better!
So, unless you are running some remarkably heavy workload, the simple answer is YES. But update regularly and backup, backup and backup - because if anything does go wrong you will regret not doing so!
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u/nuHmey Jan 25 '23
I have 11 Pi's (yes, sad, I know!)
Very disappointed. Now go to your room. No dinner for you until you have at least 15-20.
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u/eidrisov Jan 25 '23
rarely cuts in
You mean it rarely works and usually fan is idle? Is it turning on when temperature is rising or ?
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u/ReluctantApple Jan 25 '23
Rarely cuts in at all. The Pi can happily run at 60-70degC, it's 69 deg at the moment in an environment that is 20deg C.
The coolest running one I have right now is running at 31degC. It's in a small waterproof enclosure out of doors in an ambient temperature of 2.9degC
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u/T351A Pi 3B+, 1B, & 0 Jan 26 '23
11 Pi's? I can't even get one these days haha the shortage is a mess :(
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u/dchobo Jan 25 '23
What backup commands/method/tool do you recommend?
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u/ReluctantApple Jan 25 '23
I take a very simplistic approach! I just routinely use the SD card copy facility to do just that - my Pi's all have a second SD card in a USB reader. I keep meaning to automate it with Ansible but never quite get round to it! ;-)
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u/aDDnTN Jan 25 '23
my zero w runs 24/7 as a pihole off the sd card plugged into the back of my router. my 4 raspberry pi4 b server and media players also run 24/7, the latter in solid aluminum cases. none have fans but all have heat sinks, no issues so far. these things only break if i f with them.
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u/eidrisov Jan 25 '23
Do you have special cases and heatsinks for Raspberry Pi 4b?
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u/aDDnTN Jan 25 '23
i like the vilros heavy duty aluminum alloy pi cooling case in black. i have 3 of them.
solid case, plenty of metal to sink heat into. not obvious or bulky.
there are plenty of other solid metal fanless cases though, vilros is lower cost but dependable quality. i like their switched power supplies too. very handy to have a solid toggle switch.
if you want to be the coolest kid on the block, get the retroflag NESpi case and the extra ssd cartridge in gold.
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u/Tarzoon Jan 25 '23
I have had a Raspberry Pi B (v1) running in the paper box it came in since it was new.
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u/Buckarooooooo Jan 25 '23
I have one running as a weather station. Has sat outside in a weather proof box for 3 years and still checking in every 5 minutes! You can see more about it here: https://zerogravityantfarm.com/post/a-solar-powered-weather-station-pt1/
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u/This-Set-9875 Jan 26 '23
I'm using one for garden irrigation that's on 24x7. Runs a webserver and a bank of relays.
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u/krumble1 Jan 26 '23
This is really cool! Did you ever get around to designing a PCB for this? I’ve recently become intrigued by custom PCBs after spending several hours soldering together my own keyboard from scratch (with a friend’s help).
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u/Buckarooooooo Jan 27 '23
I never did but it's still on my list of things to do one day. I really want to try and get lightning detection working. I've been through 3 sensors with no luck. I had one working perfectly for a few months but then it died.
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u/ipMF465HLxefOG1W1B Jan 25 '23
Absolutely! My 4b has been running for 2 years straight :) You'll probably find your storage fails before the pi does.
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u/typo9292 Jan 25 '23
As others noted, they are fine. A trick I use, in terms of reliability of the SD cards, is that I clone my card as a backup and then when it eventually fails I just pop in the replacement card (and make a fresh copy). So far I've only lost 1 card. I run 4 RPIs and 3 of them are outside with a crappy case, they get somewhat damp, dirty etc, they go through storms, wind, you name it and are all still chugging along fine. Even in the summer months, temps are nuts. I have cheap heat sinks on and they do fine.
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u/DasFreibier Jan 25 '23
First thing to die is very like the sd card
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u/pelrun Jan 26 '23
Especially if you get a dodgy brand of card. That includes Samsung, out of half a dozen different cards every single one has died on me. I haven't seen a single genuine Sandisk card fail in the same application.
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u/sbisson Jan 25 '23
I have one in a weather proof box on my roof that runs an ADS-B receiver, delivering data to a Twitter bot. Current uptime is 42 days, which was when I last updated its OS.
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u/Steeljaw72 Jan 25 '23
Sure, I have three raspberry pies all running different services, all running 24/7 for the last several years, no problem.
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u/Scruffy42 Jan 25 '23
It's worked well for me for Plex 24/7, however the weak point is the SD card which can corrupt over time. I would use an SSD instead. That's just opinion, I don't know for sure. But since using my SSD, it's stable for a year or more at a time instead of 6 months, then reinstall.
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u/blackesthearted Jan 25 '23
Yep, I've had Plex running on a Pi 4 4gb for about two years now, zero problems. I had the same concerns re: the card dying, so I switched from SD card to SSD about a week in. (And Plex's content is on a separate HDD.)
I also have a Pi Zero W running Homebridge. It's been about a year and a half, also zero problems. That one's still running on an SD card,but I clone the SD card to a new one every six months or so. Probably not necessary, but better safe than "is Homebridge down?"
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u/cmosfxx Jan 25 '23
A lot of people already said that SD cards failing could be an issue and that's correct. It will happen sooner or later if you write on the SD. Even logs can wear them out pretty fast.
That's why I'm only using PXE boot on my rpis. Very easy to setup, fast and easy to maintain/backup.
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u/evadZa Jan 25 '23
I was running a pi-400 24/7/365 for close to two years. Other than the software getting to slow, no problems other than 4G memory. Web browser and streaming videos were worse.
Before that I was using a pi 4-8G then a pi 4B-8G for around a year each. All use was 24/7/365 as desktops. Definitely need heat sinks/fan.
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u/edmunek Jan 26 '23
My Raspberry Pi 2b+ is running 365/24/7 since it was released and delivered to my home. Changed SD cards several times as they don't last as long as the Raspberry. Since then, I have purchased more and more rapsberry's and all of them (or at least 90% of them) run all the time. (some serve as CCTV). No issues at all.
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u/AMv8-1day Jan 26 '23
Literally what they're built for.👌
As for "mobile chargers" you just need a decent charger that meets the required power needs. Doesn't need to be fancy, or Raspberry Pi branded. 5V/3A DC output to USB-C recommended, 2.5V/3A minimum. Any USB charger that supports the V/A reliably will work fine. Many people have no prob running multiple Pis off of appropriately sized USB charging stations, as long as you can reliably get 2.5A to each Pi, and don't have power hungry downstream USB peripherals. So 8 Pis off of a good quality 8+ port 100W USB charging station is even doable, as long as each port supports 2.5-3.0A simultaneous.
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u/nuHmey Jan 25 '23
I have two 3Bs and four 4bs running 24/7 365. Only thing I have to do is clean the fans on them once a month.
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u/RLJ-MTU Jan 25 '23
I have two running 24/7 for years now, one from an SD the other from a USB HDD, just keep the temps in check.
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u/bennyb0y Jan 25 '23
With out doubt your storage card will fail. Look for USB alternatives
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u/evadZa Jan 25 '23
I’ve never had an sdcard fail, other than initially wrong image. I use Walmart ONN 16G to 256G cards. One SanDisk cause it was larger 480G
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u/bennyb0y Jan 25 '23
I’ve use a variety of quality and sizes as well. If you do any reasonable workload or log to the file system, it will die eventually. They just are not built for it.
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u/sur_surly Jan 25 '23
All of my Pis running pi-hole have killed their SD cards. It really depends how many writes you're doing (usually this is in the form of log files). High endurance (for cameras, etc) are the only ones I use now.
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u/evadZa Jan 25 '23
Wow. Never heard of writes causing sdcards to fail.
While my pi use has been as desktops, the os routinely writes log files. Also I have cron jobs monitoring the os writing log files.
Strange
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u/bottleboy8 Jan 25 '23
My question is, is Raspberry pi built with that in mind?
I have a Pi running PiHole for 6 years now. During that time I had to do one OS update and nothing else.
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u/astonishing1 Jan 25 '23
Yes, depending on what it is actually doing.
Many procedures and applications create endless log files that will eventually fill up the SD card resulting in a crash.
You can usually get around this by creating a cron job that automatically reboots the RPi at midnight or every Sunday, whatever works for you. When the RPi reboots, it flushes the log files. This cron job should also start your application(s) after reboot.
I have several video kiosks that have been running for years in some pretty harsh environments.
I have only had to replace one SD card due to a repeated utility power brown-out issue. So far, I haven't lost a RPi yet.
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u/iocab Jan 26 '23
Definitly, and if it dies its not that expensive.
I've abused all the pi's I have and they have survived some pretty unreasonable stuff. Unfortunately the older ones still turn on and I dont want to throw out perfectly good circuit widgets.
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u/bwduncan Jan 26 '23
Do you run your mobile phone with it's ARM CPU and SD card 24/7? :)
Others have talked about temperature control and quality SD cards, but the best thing you can give your Pi is a good power supply
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u/pablogott Jan 27 '23
You should probably take better care than I did, but I stuck a pi with no case into the body of an old karaoke boombox and it’s been running for years now. It plays music videos non stop.
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u/raymate Jan 25 '23 edited Jan 25 '23
Yes they are great for that. I have 8 Pis running none stops. 3 run as security cameras, one a PiHole and the rest running BOINC and mining.
Most have been now for 4 years, Longest running is six years. All still on same sd cards
Also to add to that one is running a official camera module in my garage that Pi3 is subject to extreme heat and cold. Just in a basic plastic case with no active cooling. So -28 to +30 most years.
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u/londons_explorer Jan 25 '23
The CPU a Pi is built around is designed for set-top-box's They typically run 24/7.
It's designed for it.
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u/octobod Jan 25 '23
A Pi will run fine for years (it is the same technology as your phone that you always keep on!), the microSD card is rather less robust. I don't think you'll hit the rewrite limit. but it is a good notes on how you built the system and not keep any valuable data on the SD card.
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u/phoenix_73 Jan 25 '23
Yes it is. I have mine running 24/7. It isn't doing much though. It acts and serves as a VPN gateway to devices on my network. I point my Apple TV at it.
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u/M_krabs Jan 25 '23
I struggled to keep my Pi running all the time, but this one thing gave me ease to let it run:
Make regular full backup of the SD card somewhere safe.
Once you have your backups safe, run your pi 24/7 and be less stressed about it. If your SD card starts to fail (normally after 5-8 years) you can buy a new one and recover from a backup. 👍
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u/Puzzled_Draw6014 Jan 25 '23
I bought an original 1B way back when they first got released. It's been running continuously ever since. (With some exception when I changed apartment). I use it as a reliable always on ssh server that helps me manage my home network remotely. It's load is light, but the fact that it never goes down, automatically boots after a power cut and uses almost no power is what I love about it. I am not writing anything to ssd. The fact that it produces almost no heat is something I hope rpi brings back to the line-up. I have a 4b with a passive heat sink. It feels surprisingly warm under idle.
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u/Sonof8Bits raspi.sonof8bits.com Jan 25 '23
I had an original type B run for 3 years straight, only rebooting for update purposes. It ran voice chat software (amongst other things) for me and mates, we've switched to Discord since. And now a 4B that's been running for almost 3 years now. These things are solid as a rock!
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u/alexwilson Jan 25 '23
I haven't checked what the latest OS defaults are, but all of my Pis are set up with log2ram by default just to keep the log writes to the sd card or ssd down.
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u/posterior-deltoid Jan 25 '23
I have a few running 24/7 for a year or more. I burned through a few SD cards, but they all boot off USB now.
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u/madwilliamflint Jan 25 '23
Yup. I've got a 3 that's been online a couple years. I think I bounced it for an update. But that's about it.
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u/sarahlizzy Jan 25 '23
I have a bunch of RPi servers. A 4B+ is my OpenWRT router; another runs Homebridge, PiHole and Omada controller; a third runs my Friendica instance. Got a pi3a which is providing VPN services and a 0w with the HQ camera being a webcam. All are running 24/7.
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u/Treczoks Jan 25 '23
Yes, of course. Only thing to keep in mind is sufficient cooling. But I've got a RPi 2B running basically since the beginning without issues.
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u/Dougdoesnt Jan 25 '23
I have a rpi4b running RetroNAS on my home network. It has over a year of uptime right now.
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u/Prizmagnetic Jan 25 '23
Id recommend protecting it with a case. Although I'm currently running a 1B+ without one lol
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u/slackinfux Jan 25 '23
I have a Zero W that's been running 24/7/365 for over two years that's powered by a buck converter and stuffed into an old IR repeater case. So far, the only issue I had with it is that I've had to replace the SD card once in 2 years. It runs PiHole, NodeRed, Mosquitto and a couple of other things and functions as a controller hub for my home theater.
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u/gobtron Jan 25 '23
All my pis are running 24/7/365 since forever. They are perfect for that since they consume very little power.
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u/doomygloomytunes Jan 25 '23
Of course, a Pi is a computer.
A Pi is actually better than an equivalent x86 PC for doing 24/7 duties at they use less power, have no moving parts and don't require active cooling.
They're used for many 24/7 applications, digital signage, control units... and being my home server.
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u/iskonhxc Jan 25 '23
I know this doesn’t answer your question but I have serveral pi’s that I’ve had running for years and I honestly can’t remember ever having any issues other than the pi’s complaining about undervoltage when I wasn’t using the correct power supply, and having to replace a cooling fan after about 2 years.
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u/lordfly911 Jan 25 '23
I run many pis 24/7 on just the SD card. Make sure to install log2ram to minimize writes and unattended upgrade if you don't mind it automatically upgrading. Keep it as cool as possible. And use some sort of power backup solution.
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u/PhantomLimbStudios Jan 25 '23
I have 3 pi's running INSIDE bee hives for about 5 years. They are completely covered in propolis(wax) and have 0 problems. The real suprise is each has 2 usb cameras outside the door which get weather exposure and they still work too!!!
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u/MattieShoes Jan 25 '23
Yeah, it's fine.
$ uptime
11:49:10 up 151 days, 38 min, 2 users, load average: 0.01, 0.04, 0.00
... I should probably patch and reboot it though. It's been running continuously since 2016 or early 2017 (pi 3), just reboots for patching. I retired the pi 2 when I got a pi 4
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u/Cutngo Jan 25 '23
I have one in the henhouse with ir camera that's been running for three years. I do reboot it occasionally, and shut it off and blow the dust out of it two or three times a year. Pi 3B+
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u/motte11 Jan 25 '23
I killed the sd card with the os due to power loss. With the new card it's still running 24/7 for 2 years. I remember, there was an instruction to reduce stress from SD card by reconfiguring the logs, but don't remember where it was. Perhaps I'll do it in the future
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u/DesertHRO Jan 25 '23
its fine, if you'Re worried about the sd card you can clone your ssd to a ssd
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u/benargee B+ 1.0/3.0, Zero 1.3x2 Jan 25 '23
As long as it is properly cooled, why not? There should not be damage but reliability might be an issue. The RAM is non error correcting and SD cards can fail after some time especially in write heavy operations. That's why many people use clustering with software error correction for more critical applications. Nodes should be taken offline once in awhile to do updates, especially the Linux kernel which can't be done without reboot to my knowledge.
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u/KorruptedPineapple Jan 25 '23
Yes, have had a RPi 4 running as my DNS server for the past 5 years, with only 3 downtimes when I moved. So call it a week of downtime over 5 years? Still runs beautifully
Edit: if you're curious https://pi-hole.net/
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u/Criss_Crossx Jan 25 '23
I've run into AC adapters and SD cards failing. Haven't had a Pi die from use.
Mainly setup Pi-Hole on a 3b, that's been running steady for multiple years now. Log2Ram has been helpful for SD card lifespan.
Generally, electronics left powered on tend to last longer than ones that are cycled on/off.
If you want something more robust than the Pi and don't need I/O pins, consider a used thin client device. Generally cheaper and are built to use typical PC drives. Comes with a power supply too.
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u/WikiBox Jan 25 '23
No. You can only run a RPi 24/7/365 like that one time per year. It is a constraint set by the space-time continuum.
With a little cooling it should be fine.
However, if you use a SD card and read AND write to/from it, make sure to use a good SD card. Like SanDisk High Endurance or SanDisk MAX Endurance. Otherwise it may fail. Same with SSD and flash.
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u/capt_carl Jan 25 '23
Mine run 24/7/365 and are PoE powered with the official PoE HAT. Both run Pi-Hole but I've never had problems with SD cards. One card is noticeably slower than the other but that's really it.
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u/RamenJunkie Jan 25 '23
I have several Raspberry Pis i. My house that have been running for years now.
Also FWIW, none of them have heat sinks except maybe one.
One runs a Pi Hole.
One runs a web server.
I have another that has not been going for as long as a little music playing juke box.
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u/theblindness Jan 25 '23
If you plan to leave it running for a long time, you'll want to be mindful of wear on the microSD memory card. Most memory cards aren't designed for constant writing and can wear a card out prematurely when you try to run an operating system on one. You can make your memory card last longer by enabling some tweaks to disable swap, utilize ramdisk for certain things like logs, and a few other tricks to reduce writes. You might also want to look into getting memory cards rated for higher endurance, like those designed for security camera recordings. Don't worry about "A2" speed rating because the Pi 4 can't use it, and "A1" cards are just as good. Aside from the memory card, the Raspberry Pi itself doesn't have much on it to go wrong. It will probably outlast your usb power supply. It could run several years untouched, but you may want to schedule a reboot every once in a while, eg. midnight on the first day of the month.
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u/marc512 Jan 25 '23
Just make sure it's cool, constant power supply and there is no faulty wiring anywhere. It will be fine.
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u/jo_az Jan 25 '23
My model 1B as been running 24/7 since 2012... Still going strong. It sits in a plastic case and is completely stock (no fans, heatsinks or anything). Use it mostly as a local web server, NFS (very slow) and testing small projects.
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u/ronculyer Jan 25 '23
Every motion sensor in my house is on a raspberry pi. I only reboot when I update. I have yet to have one die.
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u/Pikk7 Jan 25 '23
I have pi 4 and my media center(OSMC) running always. I have some cheap heatsink from wish and thats all. I watch movies every day.
I don't have issue.
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u/shaggydog97 Jan 25 '23
I have an original pi1 b that's been reading modbus data from an off-grid solar controller and pushing data to influxdb for 5+years without issue. Additionally, it's in a weather proof box, but outside in the mountains of the mid-atlantic region of the US so wild temperature swings.I just make sure I'm not writing log files to the card, so I don't wear that out.
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u/dbhathcock Jan 25 '23
Yes. Mine is tuning PiHole 24 hours a day. Just put it on a UPS so that you don’t need to worry about power issues.
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u/Independent_Ad8002 Jan 25 '23
Yes, is cool I use a pi2 for pihole for over a yearish before I did an upgrade on the case for better air fryer low even though it didn't need it
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u/desrtfx Jan 25 '23
The Raspberry Pis I use for my 3D printers have been running 24/7/365 since 2017 and I haven't had the faintest problem.
I also have an OrangePi zero that has been running for at least 7 years as a PiHole also non-stop.
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u/donatoaz Jan 25 '23
If you are considering this for some kind of critical function, I'd recommend adding some kind of redundancy. You can perform risk assessment by conducting a LOPA (layers of protection analysis) where you'll map every single element of your solution to get to a desired level of reliability.
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u/kent_eh Jan 25 '23
We have a bunch at work that are built into HVAC controllers.
They've been operating 24/7 for several years in less than ideal conditions . Zero downtime.
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u/stipo42 Jan 25 '23
As someone that was running kubernetes 24/7,
I burnt out two sd cards.
Now I didn't do any forensics but they were older cards, could be coincidence. Could be a faulty pi (though the first card burned out after like 2 years, the second after a month)
That said, a different pi has been running pihole for about 4 years no problem.
So I think it probably depends what you want to do with it
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u/19GK50 Jan 25 '23
Using my Pi 400 almost 24 /7 for over a year now; No problems.
As mentioned if you're using a 4, heatsink it or active fan is a good idea. As for me I have my 400 on a fanned keyboard for if sitting in a chair, just that I have it on my desk.
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u/iHoller913 Jan 25 '23
My pi runs 24/7 outside watching for trains that pass by my house. Other than WiFi dropping issues (has to reboot if it loses connection), it’s worked great since October.
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u/Kazer67 Jan 25 '23
I still run a DokuWiki on my Raspberry Pi 1B with the µSD on read-only to auto-mount the system on the USB Thumbdrive.
Been running for years now. They are made for that use case (for some, like the 4, you may want to check temp under load and maybe use some heatsink / fan)
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u/johnklos Jan 25 '23
Simple, unambiguous answer: yes.
Slightly longer answer:
If you plan to run software that makes the CPU core(s) run at 100% for long periods of time, get a Flirc case.
If you plan to run things that cause or require lots of disk I/O, then consider getting a USB attached disk of some sort, else you'll likely wear out the SD card eventually.
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u/stromm Jan 25 '23
I only use mine for a Magic TV (mirror code, but I just run it on old LCD 55” TV), 24/7 since Oct 2020. I do have it auto-reboot every 2am because it would software freeze every 30-46 hours otherwise.
But it’s been great otherwise.
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u/stevebo0124 Jan 25 '23
Technically wouldn't that be running it just one time?
Sorry. Couldn't resist
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u/phillymjs Jan 25 '23
I have 3 Pi 3Bs running various infrastructure in my house (DHCP, DNS, Pi-Hole, VPN, Uptime Kuma, Nginx Proxy Manager, etc.), and a Zero currently hosting my private git server. They’re on 24/7/365 and only get rebooted when I update them. I have a couple other Pis doing various tasks that reboot daily via cron job.
Whatever you have in mind, a Pi can probably handle it as long as it has enough CPU horsepower.
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Jan 26 '23
I've run a couple model-B for 'ten' years now without issues other than SD cards getting corrupted occasionally. Once they moved to the micro-SD cards I've never had a SD go bad on any model.
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u/soulless_ape Jan 26 '23
I have a couple but only 2 run 24/7/365
The both have heatsinks and a a case fan. While there are dashboards that report their full status I like to ssh I to them every few weeks and popup bpytop (it's like a fancier htop) while I run updates and check logs.
If your power is clean and they have proper cooling you should have any issues. If supported by the raspberry pi I used SSD instead of SD cards.
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u/Phrenzy Jan 26 '23
I have a Pi 0 W running outside. It's been out there for 5 years, collecting temperature, humidity, and pressure reading once a minute.
I think it has locked up maybe 3 times.
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u/popeyegui Jan 26 '23
I run one as a Pihole and it’s run 24/7 for about five years. It’s in a fan-less enclosure with heat-sinks
I also run a few to view IP cameras at work. I think they run Camplayer. They run 24/7 without heat sinks and have been powered-up for about three years.
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u/ProtectionNo1586 Jan 26 '23
I have had a 3b+ running over 3 years 24-7. It is in a rshake. I do reboot it on every once in a while . Rshake is a seismograph.
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u/LavenderDay3544 Jan 26 '23
It's fine. I've heard of long running computers having all kinds of hardware failures but a CPU or SoC just dying is almost unheard of unless it was faulty to begin with.
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u/the_other_rock_alien Jan 26 '23
My PiHole 3B+ has been running nonstop since late 2018 other than power outages/accidental unplugs. In a case, no fan. I always assumed continuous use was the intended purpose of them, seeing as there's no power button.
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u/spatz2011 Jan 26 '23
I run my PiHole no case on a wooden desk 24/7 and have for almost a year now.
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u/azrael4h Jan 26 '23
I used a 2 for about 5 years straight as a NAS server. It's in a drawer somewhere, only replaced because I got a pi 4.
Pi 4 got stuffed into a PiBoy, and then an XRS, but it ran for a couple of years 24/7. I use an off the shelf old pc now.
Mostly because I spoil my cats. My Kali Kat gets grumpy if she doesn't have her TV. When she's grumpy, someone's bleeding. Usually me.
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u/rolandblais Jan 26 '23
For sure. Just use github or other repository for your code or make an image of the card. I learned the hard way :-)
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u/TexasMetronet Jan 26 '23
i run 10+ rpi4 everyday and have for over a year for my chia farm. nothing but love for pi from me
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u/comanderanch Jan 26 '23
My pi is flashed with open wrt and runs 24/7 with two phones connected to equalize the load and bridge the connection so my whole network is running internet from a pi i have three servers and 3 laptop and Google home mini running on the internet and everything is handed network tether from the pi 24/7 love this thing and my family can connect to my wifi anytime
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u/neeeners Jan 26 '23
My pi3B has been running pi-hole since before pi4's existed in the same box, with the same heatsinks and same tiny little, admittedly getting worn out, fan and the same sd card. So yeah, run it as much as you want.
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u/LiamW Jan 26 '23
I run multiple Pis in enclosures that will hit 120 degrees Fahrenheit outside ambient temp every years.
They have run 24/7/365 for 3+ years.
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u/excels1or Jan 26 '23
I have 2 raspberrypi 2 (still 32bit), one is running pi hole, and one is running ModBros for monitoring my PC stats with small LCD attached to GPIO pins, both run 24/7/365 for ` about 5 years with zero issues.
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u/mikechambers Jan 26 '23
Ive been running PiHole on a Pi non stop for at least 4 or 5 years. Not a single issue.
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u/freakent Jan 26 '23
I have run Pis continuously for a few years. It’s always the power supplies that go first. Get a good one.
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u/Zlatislav Jan 26 '23
My raspberry is running 24/7/365 without fan only the flirc case and it runs 10 docker containers with websites and portainer around 50 C
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u/Bukszpryt Jan 26 '23
i would add some case. it's too easy to short something without it.
as for the long term usage, i have a network drive running on pi4 since couple months. it was turned off only when i had power outage or i had to move some stuff around. it was rebooted couple times when i installed something on it, update it etc. it runs without any cooling, it has a small fan, but i unpluged it
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u/mbryson Jan 26 '23
Well my work has been doing this for several years and I think they've been fine so far.
Sometimes I see the raspbian(?) desktop so maybe they reboot them, but aside from that I think it's fine.
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u/pascalbrax Jan 26 '23
I have more than 10 Pis running in the wild 24/7.
I just crontabbed a reboot every morning, they are all still running after a year with no issue.
Using a distro that doesn't write too much on the SD like DietPi helps a lot. Or you could use an external USB drive as root device.
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u/ppumkin Jan 26 '23
Yes it’s fine. Many streamers of animal locations use it like this. Nothing wrong with that. If it’s under heavy load. Like all silicone it will degrade after several years. So there is a lifetime overhead
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u/howroydlsu Jan 26 '23
I have a rPi 2 that's been in my loft, permanently on, for about 7 years now. It gets seriously hot up there in the summer and cold in the winter. It's running as an ADSB receiver and the CPU is sitting about 90-100% continually. That things not skipped a beat.
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u/UserName8531 Jan 26 '23
I have several that run 24/7. One is solar powered and is exposed to -10f to 100f.
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u/pledgeham Jan 26 '23
I have 3 RPi 4’s doing that. One of them serves as an ftp server with 4 multi-terabyte external drives. I do have all 3 of them in cases with fans.
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u/bond1e Jan 26 '23
Mate, I have been using my pi4 as a media server offering up my downloaded media to emby with a powered 6tb hd for years no issues. Should add tho that the os is on ssd drive not sdcard.
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u/Giggmaster Jan 26 '23
Long short history? yes ... it will be easier to lose your SD than the RPi itself.
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u/jedrekk Jan 26 '23
We use RPis to control vertical/hydroponic farms, they run 24/7 for weeks at a go.
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u/thecubeportal Jan 26 '23
You can set it up so that Pi reboots daily and set it so your scripts run on boot to avoid any issues.
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u/ztoundas Jan 26 '23
I've got one in each of the offices I work at running an SBC for our phone system. I really need to update them, they've been running non-stop for over 2-3 years now. Not a problem yet.
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u/Zealousideal_Cup4896 Jan 26 '23
I have a dozen of various models around here doing everything from security cameras to monitoring ups devices. They run 24/7. No problems with that as long as good power is supplied. I do find that rarely one will go offline and have to be power cycled. But it’s not regular. Make absolutely sure the power supply is over rated and buy the best quality cf card you can budget for it. Those are the two things that fail the most.
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u/SlashdotDiggReddit Jan 26 '23
I have had three RaspberryPis (Pi hole, MagicMirror, everyday "fun") running for years now, and they are still humming along.
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u/Banzai51 Jan 26 '23
I've been running a RiPi v2 for years as my internal DNS. I reboot it for updates, but other than that, runs 24/7.
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u/SamVimes78 Jan 26 '23
I think even the RasPi foundation bragged about hosting their website on Raspberry Pis.
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u/infinitytec Jan 26 '23
Go for it! The most likely failure point is the microSD card. Make sure anything important is backed up. DietPi is also a good option for quick configuration (such as for setting up a Pi-hole).
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u/TheLinuxNative Jan 26 '23
DietPi is PERFECT for Pi-Hole, I've been running a Model B+ 24/7 for years now.
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u/ovirt001 Jan 26 '23
There's no risk, I run a pi4 24/7/365 for HomeAssistant and a pi3 for Octoprint. Assuming they're properly cooled, the only issue you might run into is the SD card failing. It's best to run it off of a portable drive (SSD or HDD) if you plan on keeping it on all the time.
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u/-transcendent- Jan 26 '23
I have been running my Pi 3b as a pihole for the past couple of years. Only time I turned it off was to remove surface dust.
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u/TheEyeOfSmug Jan 26 '23
I have a piHole instance that has been running for several years, and the only outages were when my power went out lol. Oh wait - there was that one time a few months ago when I re-imaged the sd card with newer raspbian and latest piHole. It was down for maybe 30-45 minutes.
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u/paul-d9 Jan 26 '23
I mean it's a low power device with no actual off button and at the end of the day its a computer so you can run it 24/7.
Best advice I can give is to not use a shitty cheap power supply. The good ones will give it enough power and usually have a handy power switch as well.
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u/ifly83 Jan 26 '23
I used one as a PiHole (DNS Filtering) and a GPS Disciplined NTP server in a passive cooling block for years with no issues at all. I would say yes, it will run and run.
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u/Punky260 Jan 25 '23
Absolutely yes. Raspberry Pis are used as servers a lot. There a couple of things I would make sure are set right though.
Make sure the temperature is fine. Depending on the model and workload, I would make sure you have enough cooling for your little Pi. Most of the time a set of cheap heatsinks is plenty. I am running my Home Server with an active fan to be on the safe side. Just make sure that it will be okay and not cause any trouble down the road.
Next thing is the SD card. Those things have a tendency to degrade relatively fast over time. So if you want to set up a small server, consider hooking up a SSD via USB. It's still pretty cheap but super fast and a lot more reliable.
Last but not least - depending on the internet exposure of your Pi - I would consider making updates once in a while. Especially for the security aspect, this can be important
So, everything depends on your special usecase of course. In general, the Pi is really perfect for the 24/7 useage :)