# Running a Fin on USB or other battery power? **URL:** \ **Category:** balenaFin\ **Created:** [February 8, 2019, 6:12pm UTC](https://forums.balena.io/t/running-a-fin-on-usb-or-other-battery-power/5254 "2019-02-08T18:12:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Showing post:** 9
**Author:** ![zestyping](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/balena/user_avatar/forums.balena.io/zestyping/32/1453_2.png) [@zestyping](https://forums.balena.io/u/zestyping)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2019, 7:54pm UTC](https://forums.balena.io/t/running-a-fin-on-usb-or-other-battery-power/5254/9 "2019-02-18T19:54:40Z")
Thank you, @chrisys! I really appreciate you making the effort to explain this to me. What did you mean by “without having to worry about charging”? Is there something different between the PiJuice and a USB power bank with respect to charging capability? My knowledge of the situation currently looks like this: - USB power banks are warranty-backed consumer products - USB power banks are readily available everywhere - USB power banks are cheaper per mAh - The only functionality that the PiJuice provides beyond a USB power bank is programmability and an API - The PiJuice is currently out of stock everywhere I can find in the Western hemisphere - The PiJuice might go out of production at any moment - The Fin is designed for reliability and mass deployment For use cases that don’t require an API, these points _seem_ to weigh very heavily in favour of USB power banks. Given what I currently know, I can’t explain why USB power isn’t the primary recommended off-grid solution, and I’m mystified by the design decision to omit a micro-USB power port on the Fin. I’m a complete beginner in this realm, and obviously your design team must have made this decision for a good reason, so it seems likely that I’m missing something important. Could you help me understand what I’m not getting? Thanks so much for your time! --- _[View the full topic](https://forums.balena.io/t/running-a-fin-on-usb-or-other-battery-power/5254)._