Hello,
I have read the suggested topics and tried renaming gpio-util.sh.disabled. I am using the most recent RPi OS 64 bit. The Putty displayed output shows:
[2026-10-26 19:59:07] Copying "bbb.wpi" to "schedule.wpi"... [2026-10-26 19:59:07] Running the script... [2026-10-26 19:59:08] Schedule next shutdown at: 2026-10-26 20:08:00 [2026-10-26 19:59:08] Schedule next startup at: 2026-10-26 20:10:00 [2026-10-26 19:59:08] Done :-) [2026-10-27 11:01:01] Witty Pi daemon (v3.53) is started. [2026-10-27 11:01:01] Running on Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W Rev 1.0 [2026-10-27 11:01:04] Firmware ID: 0x22 [2026-10-27 11:01:04] Current Vout=5.14, Iout=0.3 [2026-10-27 11:01:04] Send out the SYS_UP signal via GPIO-17 pin. [2026-10-27 11:01:04] System startup as scheduled. [2026-10-27 11:01:04] Synchronizing time between system and Witty Pi... [2026-10-27 11:01:04] Writing RTC time to system... [2026-10-27 11:01:18] Done :-) [2026-10-27 11:09:10] Copying "bbb.wpi" to "schedule.wpi"... [2026-10-27 11:09:10] Running the script... [2026-10-27 11:09:11] Schedule next shutdown at: 2026-10-27 11:18:00 [2026-10-27 11:09:11] Schedule next startup at: 2026-10-27 11:20:00 [2026-10-27 11:09:11] Done :-)
When I tried the setup the first time it crashed saying I needed to use 'sudo' I was using 'sudo'. To get around the issue I rewrote the RPi OS and ran the setup after inputting 'sudo -i'. The witty directory is now installed off of '/root/'.
Pushing the button on the witty 3 does turn the RPI Off if I hold it for several (~7) seconds. Pushing it for one or more seconds does not turn the RPi On.
What tests can I run to see what is going on/wrong?
What am I doing wrong?
Bruce
Witty Pi 3 was discontinued more than four years ago, and its software was developed for older versions of Raspberry Pi OS. Compatibility with the latest Raspberry Pi OS is not guaranteed.
One possible issue is GPIO handling. The software relies on utilities such as raspi-gpio, which has been replaced by pinctrl in newer Raspberry Pi OS versions.
You can try stopping the Witty Pi daemon service and then running daemon.sh manually with sudo. Once it displays "Pending for incoming shutdown command...", briefly press the button and check whether the daemon detects the GPIO-4 falling edge and initiates shutdown.
If the GPIO handling does not work correctly, you may need to use an older, compatible Raspberry Pi OS version or adapt the software for your current OS.
The software and firmware source code are available here:
https://github.com/uugear/Witty-Pi-3
Please note that powering on from a fully powered-off state is handled by the Witty Pi hardware, independently of the Raspberry Pi OS. If your Witty Pi 3 is properly mounted on your Pi, and power supply connects to Witty Pi 3 only, a brief button press should turn on your Pi. If it does not, the board itself may be faulty. In that case, further software troubleshooting is unlikely to help.
Thank you for your quick reply. Your reply prompts me to ask a couple questions:
1) If I attach my Witty Pi 3 to a RPi will I be able to access the DS3231 without any interference? Witty Pi 3 application software not loaded to the RPi.
2) Would Power be applied to the RPi, or the Witty Pi 3. Would it matter?
I have a Witty Pi 4 on order from Ada Fruit.
I assume the Witty Pi 4 UART Rx data pin is available. If I bring GPS data into the UART Rx pin, how would I disable / override NTP time being used to set the hardware RTC? I assume that if I avoid setting the 'seconds' time between 55 and 00, I can leave the years, months, weekdays, days, hours, and minutes untouched until a full time check / set is done once a day.
Thank you for all your help.
@blakebr These questions are unrelated to the original Witty Pi 3 power on/off issue.
To keep the forum organized and useful for other users, please create separate topics for different technical questions instead of adding them to an existing thread. More details an be found in forum rules.
You may start one topic for your Witty Pi 3 RTC and power supply questions, and another for your Witty Pi 4 GPS and time synchronization questions, if those questions still exist after reading the related documentation and forum posts.