The SupTronics X1208 is a UPS and M.2 NVMe SSD HAT for Raspberry Pi 5 designed to offer fast storage and protect the system against data loss during power outages for Edge Computing, NAS, data logging, and other always-on applications.
The HAT draws up to 5V/5A from the USB-C port, which charges a 21700 lithium-ion battery (1.5A) and powers the Raspberry Pi 5 directly through the 40-pin GPIO header, eliminating the need for extra cables. It also features an M.2 M-key NVMe slot supporting 2230/2242/2280 SSDs up to 4TB with PCIe 2.0/3.0 speeds. The UPS supports power switching, auto power-on, safe shutdown on low battery, and GPIO-based power/charging control, along with power loss detection. The X1208 board is also equipped with a Maxim fuel gauge I2C chip for battery voltage and capacity monitoring.
SupTronics X1208 UPS + M.2 HAT specifications:
- Compatibility – Raspberry Pi 5 Model B
- Storage – M.2 M-key socket supporting 2280, 2242, and 2230 NVMe SSDs up to 4TB; supports PCIe 2.0 (5Gbps) and unofficial PCIe 3.0 (8Gbps); bootable
- Expansion
- 40-pin extended GPIO header (uses GPIO 2/3 for I2C, GPIO 6 for power loss detection, and GPIO 16 for charge control)
- PCIe FFC connector for connection to the Pi 5
- Power Management
- Power Input – 5V/5A via USB-C port
- Battery – 21700 Lithium-ion rechargeable cell holder (unprotected, max length 70.3mm)
- UPS Output – 5.1V ±5% (Max 5A) to the Pi via 40-pin header
- Charging – 1.5A default charging current
- Automatic power switching, power loss detection via GPIO, auto power-on, and programmable safe shutdown on low battery
- Misc
- 4x Battery capacity LEDs (25/50/75/100%), power and drive status LED.
- Power Output LED ( If pi not connected, power on for 3s then off)
- Pi 5 detection LED
- Charging LED (Flashing – charging; solid – full charge)
- SSD status indicator LED (Blue)
- Power button (same use as Pi 5 power button; triple press to force off)
- Cooling vent (Compatible with official active cooler)
- Dimensions – 86.5 x 84.5 mm
From a hardware design standpoint, the X1208 is quite clever. It uses a pogo pin to connect to the Raspberry Pi 5’s power switch, allowing the HAT’s onboard button to mirror the Pi’s native power button functionality.
On the software side, SupTronics provides a setup guide that clearly outlines instructions for enabling PCIe and setting PSU_MAX_CURRENT=5000. The company has also published a GitHub repository with Python scripts for reading the Maxim fuel gauge (I2C address 0x36), testing power-loss detection, and setting up a soft-shutdown script that safely halts the Pi when the battery drops below a defined threshold (defaulting to 3.20V).
The market has already provided plenty of UPS HATs for the Raspberry Pi 4/5 SBC, including the qUPS-P-BC-2.0 UPS HAT, which supports multi-chemistry batteries, the Waveshare UPS HAT (E), which takes four 21700 Lithium batteries, and SupTronics’ own X1202 V1.1 HAT, which takes four 18650 batteries. Users have even more choice when it comes to M.2 HATs with products such as the Geekworm X1004 HAT+, Pineboards HatDrive! AI, and HatDrive! Dual with two sockets, and the Geekworm X1011 with four M.2 Key-M sockets. However, the SupTronics X1208 is the first HAT we’ve seen to combine both UPS and M.2 storage features into a single board.
The X1208 UPS + M.2 2280 NVMe HAT is available on Amazon for $45.00, where we also noticed a $15 X1207-C1 metal case for it. You’ll also find the X1208 board on various AliExpress shops such as Geekworm and Geekbord for under $40. A few more details can be found on the product page.
Debashis Das is a technical content writer and embedded engineer with over five years of experience in the industry. With expertise in Embedded C, PCB Design, and SEO optimization, he effectively blends difficult technical topics with clear communication
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