Boot loop if not using a proper USB cable

[Z80]

If you must use micro usb to power the tinker board, I can recommend jucEbitz cables , you can get them on ebay, they seem very good quality

The problem with micro usb as a power cable, is that its a bit rubbish.

I power my tinker board directly into the GPIO 5v and 0 v pins, using a buck convertor,
https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=...d&_sacat=0

the advantage of a buck convertor , is that it drops a higher voltage down to 5v (or whatever voltage you need), but maintains the power.
So I use a 12v 1.5 amp power supply, the convertor drops this down to 5v, but since power is maintained, the max current is just over 3 amps. I.e. Power=Volts x Amps.

PS powering directly via the GPIO pins can break the tinkerboard if you provide more than 5volts