PCIe M.2 HAT

This HAT works exactly as expected and delivers solid PCIe Gen 3 speeds with a compatible NVMe drive. Build quality is good, installation was straightforward, and it integrates cleanly with the Raspberry Pi. Performance is a noticeable upgrade over USB-based storage and makes the system feel much more responsive. A reliable option if you want real NVMe performance on a Pi.

If you’ve upgraded to the Raspberry Pi 5 and want to take full advantage of its new PCIe capabilities, the iUniker PCIe M.2 HAT+ is the expansion board you need. It brings fast, reliable NVMe SSD storage to the Pi in a compact, well-designed form — perfect for makers, DIY server builders, or anyone using the Pi 5 as a desktop replacement. Why It’s a Game Changer: ⚡ Full NVMe SSD Support: Add an M.2 M-Key NVMe SSD (2230–2280) directly to your Pi 5. Say goodbye to slow microSD cards — this HAT+ makes booting and data transfer blazing fast. 🔧 Plug-and-Play with Minimal Fuss: Setup is straightforward. Just connect it to the PCIe FFC port on the Pi 5 and you're good to go (with a little help from the Pi 5’s firmware updates). 🌡️ Built-in Heatsink & Active Cooling: Includes a well-sized aluminum heatsink and small fan to keep both the SSD and Pi cool under load. It’s efficient and super quiet. 🔩 Stackable HAT+ Design: Keeps a low profile and integrates cleanly with official Raspberry Pi 5 cases (with minor modifications). 💡 LED Activity Light: Handy indicator for SSD activity so you know your drive is working properly. Use Cases: Perfect for Raspberry Pi NAS builds, home servers, media centers, and power users who want the performance of a full SSD setup without the size or noise of a traditional PC. Final Thoughts: The iUniker PCIe M.2 HAT+ is one of the best upgrades you can add to your Raspberry Pi 5. With its clean design, active cooling, and support for fast NVMe drives, it turns your Pi into a serious performance machine.

The speeds for it are crazy I forced it to PCIe 3 and it works so much better than just pcie 2/1

UPDATE: iUniker reached out to me and provided a refund outside of their return policy. That was an unexpected gesture. Thank you iUniker. Even more uplifting is that they actually read our user reviews to better their products and have shared that this hat will be revised to maintain compatibility with the more demanding peripherals that have surfaced. Great! ---- Did not work for my configuration: Raspberry Pi 5 SAMSUNG 980 PRO SSD 2TB PCIe NVMe Gen 4 Gaming M.2 Internal Solid State Drive Memory Card The SSD would register with lsblk but was otherwise mute. Looking at photos in all other reviews, I obvserved that people found success with smaller SSDs, specifically at 256GB. So I switched over to a different hat that was proven to work with larger SSDs, specifically Geekworm X1001 V1.1 PCIe NVMe M.2, and voila! It worked immediately. There is one reviewer who claims that this iUniker hat does not deliver enough power to run larger or more power intensive devices and proved it by adding a capacitor to smooth things out. From my own experience, I am inclined to believe him. It is a shame that this hat requires you to confirm device compatibility beforehand. Otherwise you are just taking a chance. Fortunately, at the time of this review, there is 30-day return policy -- which I missed out on :( At the end of the day, there are already better, more compatible, future-proof hats out there, so why even bother with this one?

I got this to use an NVMe drive that I had lying around, to balance some loads in some video production work that I was setting up a little server LAN for. I didn't need it to perform as advertised, and I fully expected an especially slow SATA transfer rate. That being said, it is an actual PCIe-3.0 device, which performs at PCIe-3.0 speeds. Considering there are no moving parts, the spacer positioning doesn't matter on the posts - so it was also very easy to screw down with the (lacking) provided guidance. That said, it wasn't at all obvious that you need to keep the port plug in order to install it. You're not SUPPOSED to need it by the design of the Raspberry Pi 5 - but if you threw that little plastic piece out, you won't be able to install the connector properly. Overall I am pleasantly surprised. Even though the documentation is terrible, this is a fantastic peripheral!

A very nice well made item with everything included. It gives the Raspberry PI 5 a boost in processing speed and frees a USB port I had been using for my SSD. I would suggest connecting the FPC cable using the M.2 hat to guide it into the base 1st before mounting it to the base or it will be a hassle otherwise. Doing it this way allows you to connect it to the PI without having to touch the delicate FPC cable without use of tools.

Great addition to my RPi 5. I plan to get more as I upgrade my cluster of Pi 4 to Pi 5. Reliable and works well. Installation is relatively easy, just be careful when handling the printed circuit flat ribbon cable that connects to the PCIe slot on the PI. This HAT fit perfectly on the PI and was low enough profile that I could place the PI and HAT in a 19" rack mount cage from UCTRONICS. So nice to have the speed and reliability of an NVMe for the PI.

I am using it with my RPI 5, the hat makes the combination too big for the regular case, you will have to buy the case for a hat addition. Be careful connecting the ribbon to the pi, it can be tricky to connect.

IT was as ordered