Customer Ratings & Reviews

My APC 1500VA model stopped working after 10 years and several battery replacements. It was huge and weighed a ton so difficult to maneuver. The way my desk is set up, I have a restriction on height of the UPS. It’s gotta be under 9”. So this new unit fits the bill. It’s a little smaller, less bulky. And the ideal height. Of course with a smaller ups it won’t last as long if the House lose power but then again, if that happens I mainly want to close all open applications/file and shutdown I have a midsize desktop and a 32” monitor connected to battery outlets and ups shows it will last for 23 minutes on battery so not bad. Ideally you may want to connect other devices to battery outlets like router, and this iOS has 4 outlets that are connected to battery if power goes out. So it does the job. Plus it has a nice readout display showing how much battery is charged and how much time it will last on battery. See images

I had bought another UPS from another store and the batteries had been inspected 6 years before and would not charge at all. I returned it and bought this as a replacement and it charged right up and works great.

This is a REALLY nice battery backup for the money. I was expecting this to be a standard battery backup without LCD read out, but I was pleasantly surprised when I found out that it has a nice LCD screen that you can use to get quick information about your device like battery level and how much load your devices are putting on the unit right on the front. This 1050VA was about $100 less than the 1500VA that I bought and with my DVR connected it estimates the battery will last for quite some time in the event of a power outage because the load level is almost nothing for (1) DVR, (8) cameras, and a small ethernet switch.

If you own a 3D printer, an APC power backup is an absolute must-have. This device has saved my printer and more importantly, my prints multiple times from unexpected power outages. Anyone who’s spent hours on a detailed print knows the heartbreak of a sudden shutdown. Since installing the APC unit, I haven’t lost a single print to power issues.

APC Power Back-up - A solid product and service both home and office alike. Easy to set-up and install.

The UPS works like reported, but I am disappointed that it is so hard to plug in the devices. It would be much easier to plug in devices if the outlets were on the top of the unit instead of at the back.

So far fantastic, but this is one of those products you are not sure it is great until that moment. This is kind of like Pascal's Gambit.

With a strong battery, a nice display and 8 total outlets, this APC UPS will keep your non-cordless stuff running when the power goes out. It’ll also keep everything plugged into it safe from power surges. The built-in display shows you everything about what’s going on but it can also integrate with Mac and Windows computers. Pros: * Compact size fits in more places. * Big, bright display shows all the details you need. * Four (4) outlets with both surge and battery backup. * Four (4) outlets with surge protection only (no battery backup). * Provides surge protection even when the UPS is powered off. * Mac and Windows integration for remote monitoring and automatic computer shutdown when needed with included USB data cable. Cons: * The outlets can be a bit cramped for large power adapters. * The display is hard to read from an angle like when it’s on the floor and you’re standing or in a chair. While many of the devices that we use and carry have a battery, there’s still a lot of stuff at home that doesn’t have a built-in battery and needs to remain plugged in to work. If there’s a storm nearby, higher than normal power can surge into your home and fry anything plugged in. A UPS like this one is a great insurance plan for your home by protecting those devices from power surges and keeping them running if the power blips or goes out for a while. This APC UPS is compact in size so it won’t take up too much space under a desk or behind a computer monitor. It’s a bit heavy at about 15 pounds (12 for the backup battery alone) so be sure to put in on the floor or on a sturdy table. This UPS will keep up to eight (8) things safe by intercepting those power surges before they destroy your stuff. We all take our electricity for granted that it’ll be there and be constant, but sometimes it momentarily flickers off or can go out completely for a while. If the power blips for a second or two or goes out completely, this UPS will keep up to four (4) of those devices running as long as it can; giving you time to properly shut them down, turn them off or use them a bit longer. Setup is super easy. The UPS has a huge battery inside that is partially unplugged for safe shipping. The sticker on the outside clearly illustrates how to open the door on the bottom of the UPS, slide out the battery, plug in the one disconnected wire, and put it all back together. After that, just plug it into the wall and it’ll charge its internally battery and keep it fully topped up. Then plug in up to 8 of your devices for surge and/or battery backup power noting which outlets provide backup power and surge, and which are surge protected only. The front of the unit has a great display that tells you how full the backup battery is, how much power demand your stuff needs and most importantly- an estimate of how long your devices will continue to run if your home loses power. The display is clearly laid out and a single button wakes up the display and also rotates through the various screens of information. When the UPS looses power, it almost switches its four backed-up outlets to the internal battery for as long as it can. It also sounds an alarm which can easily be silenced by pressing a button above the screen. Basically, this is the type of product that you set up once and then don’t worry about it until the power goes out (and the alarm sounds). Otherwise, you leave your stuff plugged into it and it just sits there protecting your stuff from power surges or outages. A USB-A data cable is provided (proprietary on the UPS end) to connect to a Windows PC or Mac. There is a free Windows app you can download from APC and install on your PC to configure the UPS and set up all kinds of things. The most basic integration is the ability to have your computer safely shut down if the power goes out rather than it being essentially unplugged while running. There is no version for the Mac, but most modern Macs have some built-in functionality that is made available when this UPS is plugged in with the data cable. Just be aware that this applies to desktop Mac computers. Battery-powered Mac laptops do not allow UPS-integrated automatic shutdown since they have their own built-in batteries and handle it automatically anyway. This UPS is solidly built, has a great warranty and even offers free protection insurance if any of your plugged-in devices are damaged by surges that the UPS didn’t prevent. The battery should last 3-5 years after which a replacement can be purchased and easily swapped in so you don’t need to scrap the entire UPS. I have only two small concerns… the outlets on the back are evenly spaced and sideways, but larger AC adapters might not fit side-by-side easily. This can be overcome by plugging in various extenders or extensions, but just be aware if you want to plug in a lot of things that have chunky AC adapters, you may need to get creative to fit them all in. The other small concern is that the screen is great when viewed head-on, but if you have the UPS on the floor, it might be hard to read some parts of the display while seated or standing. Again, not a huge deal as you can usually just crouch down to see the screen head-on, but this really shouldn’t have been an issue but is. Overall, this APC UPS is a quality product that provides reliable protection and power backup when you need it.

I haven’t needed it thankfully but it’s nice having peace of mind when protecting your PC. It’s nice and quiet too.

Great little battery to handle power dips, replaced my 700VA with a 1050!

​Living here in San Diego, we don't exactly deal with blizzards, but January and February bring those erratic winter storms and heavy rains that play havoc with the local grid. While it’s definitely not "AC season" right now, the wind gusts and wet lines have caused more than a few power flickers in my neighborhood lately. Having this APC Back-UPS Pro under my desk has turned those potential headaches into non-events. Even when it’s 60°F outside, the power isn't always stable. During the recent rainstorms, I’ve watched the Automatic Voltage Regulation on this unit kick in multiple times. You’ll hear a quick, reassuring click as it stabilizes a voltage dip without ever needing to pull from the battery. It keeps my dual-monitor setup and desktop running perfectly smooth while the lights in the rest of the house give that tell-tale dim. The build quality is immediately apparent when you first handle it. It is a dense, heavy tower that feels like it’s built to last for a decade. Because it’s a slim vertical design, it slides right next to a computer tower or under a desk without taking up much foot room. On the back, it features eight outlets, which are divided into two clear groups. Four of them provide full battery backup and surge protection, while the other four are for surge protection only. This is a smart layout because it lets me keep my PC, monitors, and router on the battery side while putting less critical things like a desk lamp or a printer on the surge side. ​What makes this unit stand out from cheaper alternatives is the front-panel LCD screen. It’s incredibly helpful because it eliminates any guessing games. Instead of just a blinking light, the display tells me exactly how many minutes of runtime I have left based on the current power my PC is drawing. On a typical February evening with my mid-range desktop and two monitors running, I usually see about 20 minutes of estimated backup time. That is plenty of time to save a project, close out tabs, and shut everything down properly if the power stays out.One of my favorite small details is the mute button. If the power drops out in the middle of a stormy night, you can silence the alarm so it doesn't wake up the whole house, while the unit quietly continues to keep your gear alive. It’s completely silent during normal operation with no fan noise or electrical hum, which is essential for a quiet home office environment. Ultimately, this unit provides a massive amount of peace of mind. It sits there silently doing its job 99% of the time, and then earns it's keep the second the lights flicker.

The APC Back-UPS Pro BN1050M is a compact mini-tower Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) that has a 1050 volt-amperes capacity and can handle a combined load of up to 600 watts from connected devices. The unit itself feels heavy and seems well made with an attractive design. Quick Specifications 1050 Volt-Ampere Capacity 600 Watts load capacity 1103 joules surge protection Automatic Voltage Regulation (AVR) 4x outlets battery back-up with surge protection 4x outlets with surge protection USB/Serial port for Power Chute Software Wiring Fault Indicator Circuit Breaker Front Panel Information Display Setup Setup was easy. You first have to slide out a door to access the battery and connect the red terminal wire to the battery. The most difficult aspect of the setup was working with the thick stiff red terminal wire. I also connected the UPS to my computer’s USB port to enable using Power Chute software. When I went to download the latest version of Power Chute Personal, I discovered that Power Chute Personal was discontinued and replaced by Power Chute Serial Shutdown. Power Chute Serial Shutdown uses a new Web Browser interface and basically can do everything the previous software did but offers some additional new features. With this software, you can view the status of the UPS and configure many settings. For example, you can set the sensitivity of the UPS (high, medium, and low), enable/disable alarms, set the high and low voltage limits etc. and configure shutdown settings (such as when and how to shutdown the computer when a power outage occurs etc.). I’ve used several APC UPS in the past and they all worked well to keep my equipment safe and running during brown-outs and power outages. When the power goes out, they give me enough time to safely save my work and turn off my computer in a safe way. User Experience For testing, I connected my Asus S500TD (using an Intel Core i5-12400) desktop and LG monitor to the UPS. According to the Power Chute Serial Shutdown software, I have about 83 minutes of runtime if the power goes out. During my testing period, I did not experience any electrical events even through a recent snow and ice storm so I can’t comment on how well it would perform when an electrical event occurs. But based on past experience with APC UPS, they have always functioned well and kept my equipment safe and I expect the APC Back-UPS Pro BN1050M to perform similarly. User Impressions The best convenience touch is the Front Panel Information Display. It clearly shows the remaining battery life, current load, input voltage quality, and other status information on the UPS. Without the Front Panel Information Display, I would have to go into Power Chute software to check out the status of the UPS. This is a really great feature to have. And I like the smaller footprint that a mini-tower design offers. Another great feature is that it provides Automatic Voltage Regulation (AVR) to protect sensitive electronic devices that are sensitive and need to have a stable voltage supply. Finally, I also like that the battery is user-replaceable as this will help reduce e-Waste which is something that I am very concerned about. Conclusion I can easily recommend the APC Back-UPS Pro BN1050M to anyone looking for a UPS to provide backup power when power goes out and to protect their electrical equipment. It can provide backup power for up to 4 devices with a combined 600W load. It has a relatively small footprint and a very nice informative front panel display which I found to be very useful.

This was purchased for my network switch and so far works perfectly no problems at all.

This is a fairly compact tower-type UPS that uses a single sealed lead-acid battery. Using a desktop computer and monitors, I'm using about 250 Watts, which should provide about 15 minutes of UPS power, and it's well below the UPS maximum capacity of 600 Watts. When using only a laptop without external monitors this might last much longer, around 45 minutes. It's very straight-forward to use. Note that after unpacking the UPS, the battery needs to be connected (It's unplugged for safety). The battery can be replaced without tools by sliding the cover and swapping the battery (With the UPS unplugged). It has three buttons in the front: Alarm mute, power on/off and a menu button to scroll through different readings. The display is easy to read without being too bright (Load, battery, voltage, watts and so forth). Holding the menu button turns off the display (When not running on battery), or leaves it always on. Keep in mind that this UPS does not produce a sine wave like an AC power outlet, but an 'approximate' (stepped) sine wave. This is not an issue with most PCs and consumer electronics, but can be an issue with more sensitive devices. On the back, there's a row of 4 battery-protected outlets and 4 that are surge-protected. There is also a management port. It uses a proprietary RJ45 to USB-A cable and an RJ45 to RS232 serial can be purchased separately. I would've preferred a standard USB port, since this is a desktop UPS. Connected the USB to a Mac and it automatically recognized the UPS, indicating if it was running on battery power, time and percentage remaining. There is nothing to install on macOS, and it just worked. Connecting the USB cable is not necessary however, but the computer won't be able to prepare for shutdown when the battery runs off. APC provides a software 'PowerChute' for Windows to provide similar information. Note that Windows 11 should provide basic UPS detection without this software. When running on battery, it produces a loud humming. This is normal. The battery should last about 3 years, and the UPS itself comes with a 3-year warranty. Also note there are no USB charge ports, it provides only AC power. I've been using APC UPSs for many years, and all of them worked when needed. I like the display, that can be turned off, and provides very useful information like power consumption, voltage and frequency from the power outlet. The batteries are fairly easy to find, and lead-acid batteries are recyclable.

The APC Back-UPS Pro 1050VA/BN1050M is a nice, compact battery backup unit. Unboxing and setup is fairly straight-forward. The biggest task is gaining access to the battery and connecting the red/+ battery cable; this cable is somewhat thick/stiff and I found it rather uncooperative when trying to slide the battery back into the case. On the back you'll find 4 outlets with battery backup and surge protection, 4 outlets that provide only surge protection, and a serial port that's used to communicate (via the included cable) with the downloadable PowerChute software. The display on the front of the case shows the current battery power and load, which is a nice feature since it allows you to see the main metrics with a glance. I have the personal edition of PowerChute installed, which allows you to monitor various aspects of the UPS (events, load, battery power, estimated runtime, etc.), as well as change various settings, such as voltage sensitivity and how long to keep the machine running under battery power before shutdown. I currently have an older Asus gaming desktop (GeForce 3080) and 2 - 40"+ curved gaming monitors plugged into this UPS. I haven't had any surges or low voltage events since setup, so I decided to pull the plug on the UPS to see what happened. As it should, the unit provided uninterrupted power to my desktop and both monitors with no hesitation whatsoever. Initially I had a game running, and the UPS showed about 7 mins of runtime, but when I closed the game and just left non-CPU/GPU intensive apps open, the estimated runtime jumped to 15 mins, which is plenty of time to save any work items and properly shut the desktop down safely. I think this is a great UPS for the price, especially given the smaller footprint compared to previous APC units I've had. The APC UPS's I've had in the past have all performed well, and I don't see anything about this unit that would make me think differently, so I would definitely recommend it.

General Features The general feature list of the BN1050M Battery Back-up is: • Battery back-up with up to 98 minutes runtime • 8 Outlets: 4 with battery back-up and surge protection & 4 with only surge protection • Output Capacity is listed as 1050 VA, 600 Watts • LCD Screen • Automatic Diagnostic Testing • Push Button Circuit Breaker • Powerchute Auto-Shutdown Software • Building Wire Fault Indicator • Automatic Voltage Regulation • 3-Year Warranty with equipment protection How I Use It Everyone uses products their own way. For me, I use this battery back-up to protect and power a desktop PC and 32” Samsung Monitor. I want to be able to shut down my computer on my own and have an uninterrupted power supply (UPS). For this to work, I need to keep my desktop and monitor active long enough to shut down. This UPS also regulates voltage to prevent surges and brown outs. I have owned several APC battery back-ups and I typically do not use the Powerchute Auto-Shutdown Software. There are cables in the box to connect the UPS to your computer and software that is Windows compatible for your use. Battery Back-Up Feature The battery back-up feature is the main feature in my opinion. It boasts to have up to 98 minutes of runtime. I assume that this is with virtually no load. In my real-world testing, the LCD screen shows that I should actually get 19 minutes of runtime with the 190 Watt load (desktop and monitor) that I am running. Outlets As briefly mentioned, there are 4 outlets that will serve as battery back-up and surge protection. There are 4 other outlets that are surge protection only. This model does not have any USB charging ports. One disadvantage with this model is that the ports are placed closely together: 4 stacked on each side of the UPS. Sometimes the power adapters that plug in are large and will take up more room, so you can’t use the adjacent power outlet. If these were spaced out a little more, it could help with that. I assume that APC was trying to keep the casing more compact for this model which is why they are close together. AVR This UPS utilizes Automatic Voltage Regulation (AVR). This feature helps to regulate the power that comes from the wall outlet without using the battery. In addition to surge protection and battery back-up, it’s a nice addition to keep consistent power coming to your electronics. Automatic Diagnostic Testing The UPS will self-perform tests on its internal components and the battery. The battery is checked every two weeks. When it does the self-perform checks, you’ll hear some clicking noises. If the battery fails, usually there will be a shrill continuous beeping sound to let you know that something is wrong. I’m giving the APC BN1050M 4 stars. It’s the minimum that I would choose for a desktop PC. As you can see, you really need to account for a decreased runtime once you add real world loads. If you have a power hungry PC (gaming), you may look at a larger model to support your power needs for the battery back-up. The LCD display looks nice, and helps to be transparent with what it’s doing. The outlet placement is a concern for me, as I may not be able to utilize all 4 plugs on each side. This just depends on the power adapters plugging into it. It packs surge protection, voltage regulation, and UPS into one package. Overall it’s a good option for a standard desktop PC and monitor.

The APC BN1050N is a battery backup/power surge hybrid solution. The battery backup provides a total of 1050 Volt/Amps up to 600 watts. Ease of use: Setting up the APC was almost as easy as setting up a power strip. A regular power strip requires unpacking and wall power. The APC BN1050M requires unpacking, battery unrapping and installing, and wall power. The only decisions to make is room placement and which devices will have battery backup/surge and which will have surge only. There are four outlets with battery backup/surge and four outlets with surge protection only. In my case, my gaming laptop, work laptop, and 34” gaming monitor are on backup. I connected my motorized powered desk to a surge protected only outlet because I felt no reason why it required battery backup. I also use the Surge Protected outlets for phone charging, headphones charging, and general power needs such as tablet charging duties. The outlets are located on the back of the unit. Unexpectedly, this has proven to be a bit of challenge for me. The APC BN1050M is long and heavy. If I want to see the status LCD screen on the front, then the outlets will always be on the back. Meaning, if I have a need to plug in a new item, or remove an item such as a phone, tablet, or computer charging power adapter, then I need to move a somewhat heavy piece of equipment to allow me to plug or unplug from the back. Depending on the size of the cable plugs, or wall warts, the spacing can be tight. The outlets are tight and require more force than normal to plug and unplug a power adapter or cable. Combine these together and the APC BN1050M is not the best product if you need quick and easy access to power. Most of these challenges would be less so if the outlets were placed on the top of the APC BN1050M and not the back. I am not stating that the current configuration is wrong. It is not. I am saying that you will want to think about how you will use APC BN1050M before committing to it. The APC comes with a flat wall plug. This makes using wall outlets in tight spaces easier. I started with the APC on the floor. I discovered quickly that the power cords for my equipment were not long enough to accommodate the distance between the APC and my motorized desk’s standing height. So, I mounted the APC on my desktop. It does not look awful on my desk. Again, not the fault of the manufacturer. But something to consider if you also have a motorized desk that adjust between sitting and standing positions throughout the day. The unit has four buttons: Power, Alarm, Information, and a circuit breaker button located on the back. The Power button power cycles the unit. The alarm button can be used to silence an active alarm and to permanently disable/enable the alarm. I chose to disable the alarm. The Information button cycles through specific metrics such as volts in, volts out, load %, Load measured in Watts, battery charge status, estimated battery runtime, and a few other data points. Finally, the Circuit Breaker button is to reset the APC in those cases where a power surge tripped the APC’s breaker. Outage: As a test, I connected my Asus ROG G18 gaming laptop to my Alienware AW3425DW 34” gaming monitor. The system also runs an RGB lighted gaming keyboard, mouse, and other accessories. According to the APC, the load at idle was 60 watts and about 150 watts while gaming. I opted to test the APC in a work like environment since office applications, internet, and videos constitute 90% of my computer usage. The APC BN1050M estimated that my computer and monitor would operate for 57 minutes if a power event were to occur. So, I simulated a power event by unplugging the APC BN1050M from the wall. The total runtime was recalculated within 30 seconds. The estimate went from 57 minutes to 43 minutes. Actual runtime was 40 minutes. Plugging the unit back into the wall did not automatically switch my laptop and monitor back to main power. This may be because the battery was at 1% by the time I plugged the APC back into the wall. I performed a second test after charging the unit to full. This time I simulated a 20 minute power outage. The goal was to see if the unit would recover from the power outage where the first test failed. And it did! Lesson learned. Battery drained means no immediate recovery when power is restored. Partially drained battery will not cause an interruption when power is restored. Battery Power: The APC makes a slight humming sound when charging the battery. You have to be near the unit to hear it. Discharge the battery generates a humming noise that can be heard from the next room. Charging: Charging the battery takes all day. It is slow. There is no fast-charging mode. Charging will be even slower if there is active equipment connected to the battery outlets. Size and Weight: The APC BN1050N is surprisingly heavy. This is not a one hand lift and place piece of equipment. Definitely use both hands when handling the unit. The bottom of the unit has “feet”. But they are made of hard plastic and could scratch your surface if you simply slide the unit around. In most instances, I had to lift and move. The APC BN1050M is tall and deep. I typically hide a power strip behind a desk or mount it long-ways under a desk, so I don’t have to see it. The APC BN1050N is meant to connect to power in the back with its nose facing out into the room. Furniture may require re-arrangement to accommodate the APC BN1050M. PowerChute Software: APC has a free management software called PowerChute. It is available for free from the manufacturer’s website. The APC BN1050N ships with a serial to USB cable. This allows the APC to connect to a computer, laptop, server, or other device. PowerChute Software can then be deployed to the device. PowerChute allows logging, configure shutdown conditions, setup messaging alerts, basic metrics, and other useful tools for those who want to get more involved with the APC’s functionality. I use PowerChute to monitor the APC and to review log data. I do not have any need for automated system shutdowns so I will not comment on the usefulness of that feature. The data I am interested in is power in/out, battery charge status, load on the system, runtime estimated battery runtime, testing, and the event logs. The application runs via a webpage. Supposedly you can keep tabs on the APC from anywhere in the world if you create an account with APC. I did not go this route since I have no need for remote access or remote monitoring. Overall Usefulness: Overall, I found the APC BN1050M battery backup and surge protector very useful. I did not experience an actual power outage during my time with the APC BN1050M. However, I do work from home and have experienced my share of power outages over the years. The worst experience in the world is losing data when the power suddenly goes out. This battery backup will provide me with at least 40 minutes runtime with my laptop and monitor. Better yet, there is enough room in the back to connect my cell phone’s charger to battery. This allows me longer runtime with my phone if I need it to operate as a hotspot. This would allow me to reconnect to the office, save whatever I am working on, and avoid a workplace catastrophe. Thus, saving me hours of rework. In a real pinch, I can disconnect the laptop from the APC BN1050M, turn off my monitor, and use the battery power in the APC BN1050M to power my phone for hours if needed. My laptop battery will also last at least two hours. In the end, having the APC BN1050M opens up a world of flexibility in an emergency that I did not have before.

APC is an industry leading manufacturer of Uninterruptable Power Supplies. APS was founded in 1981; their parent company is Schneider Electric. When selecting the best device to protect your computer, router, or other critical electronics, APC offers many options to best suit your needs. APS Back-UPS Pro BN1050M offers 1050 volt-amperes, which is more than sufficient to back up most desktop computers, 2 monitors & a number of accessories. The maximum battery life during a power outage is 3.4 hours; full current run time is 2 minutes; half load run time is 10.6 minutes. Surge protection is rated at 1103 joules. Auto shutdown software is included. This uninterruptable power supply is very energy efficient & earned the coveted Energy Star certification. The front panel includes a bright, easy to read, configurable digital display with controls that show real time voltage, load percentage of total capability, estimated run time based on the current load, on-line confirmation, audio on/off & other critical features. The only action you need to take when starting up this UPS (or most any UPS) is to slide open the clearly marked side panel & to plug in the red battery power lead; UPS batteries must ship disconnected for safety. Simply plug in the marked red lead to the marked terminal & slide the panel closed. You are now ready to plug in your valued electronics into any of the 8 protected outlets. CONCLUSION: APS Back-UPS Pro BN1050M measures 7.48” H X 3.58” W X 12.2” L, & weighs 15.87 #; it offers great protection for your electronics while maintaining a small footprint & earns my highest recommendation.

I’ve been using UPS backups for many years to make sure my major systems keep power if there is an outage. This APC battery backup is a very easy one to use. It is very heavy, but that’s pretty normal for a battery backup. There are several power outlets (8 to be exact) and four of them that will be backed up when power is out. To get started, you first need to connect the internal battery and make sure it’s being charged before it can be guaranteed that you will have a backup that works. There is a battery door on the bottom of the unit that slides open to reveal the internal battery. There is a red cable connector that you slide onto the contact and then you plug the backup into a power source. If you don’t connect the internal battery, the unit’s alarm will sound and the battery level on the front of the unit will blink. I really like the display on the front because it gives you a clear picture of what the battery level is. In addition to the onboard display, you do have the option of connecting the backup to a PC and monitoring/managing the power through a third-party app. After setup, I tested the unit by disconnecting it from wall power to simulate an outage. The transition to battery power was instant, with no interruption to the connected devices. During testing, the display updated to show the estimated remaining runtime, which changed depending on how many devices were plugged in and drawing power. With fewer devices connected, the projected runtime increased, making it easy to understand how your setup impacts backup time. This gave me confidence that the unit would perform reliably in an actual power outage. I think this is a very user-friendly UPS and it definitely gets the job done.

Very easy to setup – simply open the battery cover and slip the connector for the red wire to the battery terminal. Plug in your electronics and good to go. Provides 4 “surge protector” plugs and 4 battery back up plugs. Great for hooking to a TV, PC, Wifi router, cable modem etc. With my laptop and 2 phones charging pulling 35 watts together it easily ran for almost at hour by itself and charged them fully. It’s capable of handling up to 600 watts, with obviously a much shorter run time (their specs state Half Load Maximum Run Time of 10.6 minutes and Full Load Maximum Run Time of 2 minutes) or enough to handle a short power outage under full load. It has 3 buttons on the front – 1 for power, 1 to silence the alarm when your power goes out and it’s on just battery (it beeps loudly to alert you of power out), and then 1 button to cycle through various electrical power readings. It shows load, battery level remaining, load watts, load %, hz out, estimated run time in minutes based on current load, power outage events, voltage out, and voltage in. Super easy to use, nice slim form factor and great option for surge protection and battery backup of your critical home electronics during a short power outage.