user77621: On many tutorials I have looked at, they say that you should power your Arduino with a 5 - 12V external power supply, but on the Arduino, there is a voltage regulator. Is there anything wrong with powering your Arduino with power outside this range?
Solved

user77175: Let me just give you an example of what happens even with 12V: One time I was working on a claw machine that I made for the Arduino and when I plugged in 12V while the 5V USB port plugged into the computer, guess what happened. Well, I'll tell you: the Arduino burned up and it was broken. I couldn't even put in the code because it was so cooked. I don't think it turned on either. You see, 7-12V is just a range. You typically want to use what is in between the voltage rating. Even with 12V, you have to be careful. So, hopefully that clarifies. Basically, it will burn up your Arduino into hot plastic, sort of like a hot glue gun. The datasheets agree if you don't believe us. You can try it, but just be aware that I warned you not to. This is the datasheet for the Mega 2560 rev3 It's all because of voltage, which is a sort of pressure for electricity. You could say the same for the water specifications. What happens when you add too much pressure to a water container? It bursts, right? In a way, this can be applied to the Arduino. Thanks for reading, hopefully this helped.

user77611: You could use a step-down converter to lower the voltage and also stabilize it to 12V or even lower and you wouldn't have any problem even if you power supply isn't really stable and outputs higher voltage.
(Instead of buying one you can even build it, it isn't really hard to make one)

77621: <p>On many tutorials I have looked at, they say that you should power your Arduino with a 5 - 12V external power supply, but on the Arduino, there is a voltage regulator. Is there anything wrong with powering your Arduino with power outside this range?
Solved</p>
 77175: <p>Let me just give you an example of what happens even with 12V: One time I was working on a claw machine that I made for the Arduino and when I plugged in 12V while the 5V USB port plugged into the computer, guess what happened. Well, I'll tell you: the Arduino burned up and it was broken. I couldn't even put in the code because it was so cooked. I don't think it turned on either. You see, 7-12V is just a range. You typically want to use what is in between the voltage rating. Even with 12V, you have to be careful. So, hopefully that clarifies. Basically, it will burn up your Arduino into hot plastic, sort of like a hot glue gun. The datasheets agree if you don't believe us. You can try it, but just be aware that I warned you not to. <a href="https://www.robotshop.com/media/files/pdf/arduinomega2560datasheet.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">This is the datasheet for the Mega 2560 rev3</a> It's all because of voltage, which is a sort of pressure for electricity. You could say the same for the water specifications. What happens when you add too much pressure to a water container? It bursts, right? In a way, this can be applied to the Arduino. Thanks for reading, hopefully this helped.</p>
 77611: <p>You could use a step-down converter to lower the voltage and also stabilize it to 12V or even lower and you wouldn't have any problem even if you power supply isn't really stable and outputs higher voltage.</p>
<p>(Instead of buying one you can even build it, it isn't really hard to make one)</p>
