To use your CLUE board you'll have to provide it with a power source - and this is where CLUE is different than the micro:bit so we want to make it super clear to avoid confusion.

micro:bit Power

The BBC micro:bit can be powered from USB or it can be powered from a JST 2-PH battery connector in the corner. When powering from USB, use any USB power bank or port. When powering from the battery connector, there is no regulator and the voltage cannot be more than 3.3 volts. For that reason, the micro:bit folks warn users to:

• Only use 2 x AA or AAA battery holders with alkaline batteries for 2 x 1.5V = 3V power.

Can't use:

• You can't use 3 x AA because that will be 3 x 1.5 = 4.5 Volts - too much!
• You can't use 2 x AA NiMH rechargeable because that would be 2 x 1.2 = 2.4 - too low!
• You can't use 1 x LiPoly battery - when charged these provide 4.2V - too much!

CLUE Power

The Adafruit CLUE can also be powered from USB or it can be powered from a JST 2-PH battery connector in the corner. When powering from USB, use any USB power bank or port. When powering from the battery connector, you can use any battery from 3 to 6V because we have a regulator to safely bring the voltage to a safe level. Because of this, you can use:

• 3 x AA or AAA battery holders with alkaline or NiMH batteries for 3 x 1.2~1.5V = 3.6~4.5V power - recommended!
• 1 x LiPoly or LiIon battery. Just remember that the CLUE does not have built in battery charging so you will need to charge separately!

Not recommended (you can use them, we just don't suggest it)

• 2 x AA or AAA battery holders with alkaline batteries for 2 x 1.5V = 3V power.  Not recommended, because the voltage will drop as the batteries die and you might get poor behavior.
• 4 x AA or AAA battery holders with NiMH batteries only! We think the voltage is a little high if you were to use Alkalines, and you may forget to use rechargeable, so we don't recommend it.