GeeekPi Case for Raspberry Pi 4, Pi 4 Mini Tower Case with ICE Tower Cooler, with UPS Plus Hat, 0.96 inch OLED Display, GPIO 1 to 2 Expansion Board for Raspberry Pi 4 Model B

Nice little build

Only issue i had with this product was that it came with 2 instruction manuals and only needed to use 1 also had some issues setting up the mini i2c screen even after following the directions provided.

I have home assistant running on the pi i have installed in this and it's been great. The battery 🔋 backup feature means that my pi stays on no matter what. The fan keeps the temps of my pi low at all times regardless of the load that home assistant puts on it. It's a really good looking case that was relatively wasynto put together and adds functionality to my raspberry pi. The only downside is that i don't have a script to get the OLED working. The included script is good if you're running pi os or other similar operating systems. Since I'm running a bare metal HA install, it doesn't work for me.

I had high hopes for this product. I am familiar with the material and I knew it would last. Then I ran right into trouble. Batteries. Special batteries. Lithium LIPO 18650. No where on the product description does it say what batteries are required. So there you are with your shiny new case ready to build your new toy and you stumble on the question, where am I going to get two of these. Some looking around and it seems they can't be had over the counter in my town. If I order them from Amazon it will be the better part of another week to get them. I could barely tolerate waiting when prime was two days. If I don't use the UPS feature then I just spent $65 for a pretty pi case. They don't bother to mention that you might want to order some batteries. Down below where they mention other items you might want to purchase to go along with, that might have been a good place to bring it up. The only nice thing I have to say about the product is that the printed UPS PLUS Installation manual was very nice.

I wanted to like this since I enjoy fiddling around with Raspberry Pi's and other small computers. While the UPS sounded like a fun option it was problematic from the beginning. The primary issue was how you attach the UPS to the Pi and then install it into the case. Essentially, you have to install the batteries in the UPS which makes it hot (electrically), then while trying to hold it together with the RPI in one hand, being extremely careful to keep the pogo pins on the UPS touching the right pins on the RPI, you have to awkwardly screw in the base, which will keep the pogo pins aligned. But I never got that far. It's impossible to keep the pins aligned and TWICE (i.e., two different UPS's), while trying to maneuver the screws, one of the pogo pins touched something it wasn't supposed to and smoke came off the UPS card, presumably damaging something on it permanently.This problem could be remedied in a couple ways - 1) put a jumper or switch on the UPS that would cut isolate the batteries (at least until all installed), or 2) modify the base part of the case to be open on the bottom so you could install the batteries after everything else is assembled.

The bottom needs to be redesigned so batteries can be added later or replaced WITHOUT taking most of it apart

Well finished product. The cooler works on the standard RPI pin and you configure it directly through raspi-config, to turn it on only when necessary and avoid dust accumulation on the heatsink.As for the leds and oled display, the manufacturer offers applications to use them, but you can just use them as a reference (some are in shell script), and create your own script entirely in Python, using the UPS libraries to show the state of charge of the battery, and with the psutil library the other system information.Tip: I tried using 18650 button-top batteries, but it didn't fit. I used the model without button-top and they fit perfectly.Tip2: pay close attention to the polarity of non-button-top batteries - if you reverse the polarity in the UPS, you can irreversibly damage it.

EDIT: Added more info at the bottomI think what this case offers does make up for flaws and issues. It is a solid case with good cooling, UPS feature will be very useful while on travel. This is not, though, a novice case, and depending on software, there may be a steep learning curve. Took a bit of work, I did get ROCKY LINUX 9 running, a RedHat derivative. This review may be kind of long, but I hope someone will find it useful. When discussing the software bit, I'm only going to be referencing the default Raspberry Pi OS since that is what the WIKI walks you though. Also to note, I have purchased two of these cases.HARDWAREProduct arrives well packed, and the side panels have protective film coverings. Included is the UPS module, the fan and bracket assembly, and the case. The OLED display is set inside and can be easily slid out to remove the protective film covering it (this was mentioned in one of the comments, they were not aware of this film). To install the ups, there is a sled at the bottom of the case held in with four flush screws at the bottom.FIRST ISSUE (and big one), once you remove the sled and see how the UPS mounts, you realize the batteries MUST be installed in the UPS prior to assembly. As noted by one commenter, they did this and may have fried their Pi. The UPS instructions that shipped also says not to install the batteries until UPS is attached to the Pi. What I ended up doing was simply cutting out the bottom of the sled around the base. This leaves more than enough room to get the batteries in and out, and allows full assembly without risk of frying something. THIS NEEDS TO BE IMPLEMENTED IN FUTURE ITERATIONS! Since I will be traveling with my Pi's, I will need to remove batteries for air travel, now instead of fully disassembly, I only have to take the sled out and pop out the batteries. (Really should take two stars off for this). Even with the big section of plastic removed, there is still plenty of support from the sled to mount the UPS and Pi. (Yes, my cuts ain't the prettiest but I wanted to make the mod quick).SECOND ISSUE (only on case #2) - QA oversight? The button on the side of the UPS was pulled off the board, the solder pads were completely separated from the PCB. The two contacts at the back (actual electrical contact) were good, the front two that had separated hold the button to the board. I could have done a simple board repair but used epoxy to fully fasten the button down to the PCB. Over time and use, those two back contacts would have failed. This wasn't caused by shipping by the way the UPS assembly is shipped in the case (would be very obvious damage elsewhere). Possibly during packing? In any event, this likely happened at the originator. (1/2 start if I could - see photo)ASSEMBLYAfter modification and repair, installation is straight forward. Affix the fan assembly over the SOC (keep in mind orientation, test fit first) using the standoffs from under the Pi PCB. Next, with the Pi upside down, place the UPS on the standoffs (pay attention to the pogo pins), put the sled on next, then screw the entire assembly together. I recommend screwing the two screws on the GPIO side so you can verify the Pogo pins didn't slip. Once the full assembly is complete, check those pogo pins again.Here is where it would be nice if they mentioned UPS firmware update in the manual... more on that later.AFTER THE UPS update, the rest of the assembly is easy. The sled goes into the case the same way it came out, fan connects to the OLED display, and the OLED wiring assembly connects to the first 10 pins of the GPIO (orient RED wire to the back of the case). Side panels go on easy enough with four screws each.SOFTWARESuggest following the WIKIs, a bit easier to use than the manuals. Following the WIKI, setting up the UPS then setting up the RTC was straight forward. After setting up and confirming connection to the UPS, you will want to do the firmware update. This requires removing the batteries at least twice (no mention of this with the case assembly!!!). First case I didn't know this and had to remove the sled.... second case I knew better! Depending of OS distro, you may have to research package dependencies. Raspbian Minimal I had to install python, git, and a couple of others (full desktop it works out of the box).UPS software instructions does have you run the same installation script twice, you don't have to. Part of the installation also sets up sending UPS data to a third party server for diagnostics. This is simple to disable, remove the upsPlus_iot.py file entry from cron (cron -e). My opinion, it isn't needed and is more data sent from my setup.OLED display and Fan setup is simple, follow the automatic install instructions at the bottom of the Case WIKI. There is a couple of typos, both of which are minor. Also, you will need the user "pi" since the script calls out pi home directory to collect files. One typo will be in the service created for the OLED display, the sys_info.py file is called sysinfo.py in the service (edit service file here: /etc/systemd/system/multi-user.target.wants/minitower_oled.service to fix).OVERALL:I really do like this case, fits perfectly for my use case. Instructions are ok... but parts could have been thought out better. No easy access to the batteries is a major design flaw but it is fixable if you have the means. The OLED display (with some google and/or python experience) is very useful. I am on the fence with 3 stars vice 4 stars, but I think this case (and similar cases in their line) have a ton of promise. UPS testing has shown them to be very stable both while under mains power and under battery power. UPS also provides the capability of running (for 1.5 to 2 hours) without mains power making the Pi somewhat mobile. With some LINUX scripting and Python knowledge, the OLED is a great feature. The fan lights, I could care less and didn't even install other than initial testing.I do recommend this case to anyone with a similar use case or has need of UPS and RTC features as long as they understand the battery compartment flaw and have a good understanding of Pi operating systems.EDIT 11/26/2022Returned from an overseas trip, kept the two PI's offline and in travel packaging for more than a week. Found the batteries had been drained to a dangerous level (2.2VDC). Since the batteries were too low the UPS would not charge and would not power the attached PI. Since I do have a separate 18650 quad bay charger and was able to *SLOWLY* recover all batteries (though I now assume battery longevity is negatively affected). So, there is a small but constant draw from the batteries even when not powered (RTC comes to mind). Previously I considered lack of a switch to isolate the batteries more of an inconvenience since I had a work around to get the batteries in and out of the sled, I now consider it a serious safety oversight. I only had the batteries installed for a week and since the batteries I have are protected, hit the deep voltage cutoff for the cells. Unprotected cells will become unstable... and 2.2VDC is way too low for Lithium batteries sitting on the shelf (protected or not). So, now a solid 3 stars.