APC by Schneider Electric BACK-UPS ES - BE850G2-UK - Uninterruptible Power Supply 850VA (8 Outlets, Surge Protected, 2 USB Charging Ports), Black, Pack of 1

This works great to keep my TV and WiFi running when I have power cuts in Zanzibar. I have a generator but there’s a 15 second automatic switch over where everything goes off, now I can at least keep my essentials running. It also includes a surge protector and when the voltage drops the battery takes over, this can happen many times while watching TV and it keeps it running seamlessly

An excellent UPS for protecting home or very small business IT systems. A tested and effective design giving good electrical protection to devices running from the battery plus surge protection and limited ability to charge mobile devices. Note that this size battery (850VA) won't keep full PC systems operating for long, but is ideal to allow graceful shutdowns and keeping routers running to maintain internet access via mobile devices (charged ideally by other means) during an extended power cut.The UPS works very well with recent Apple Macs - it is detected directly by MacOS as a UPS and needs no extra software. Easy and effective if you just want a safe and automatic way of powering down your Mac in the case of a power cut.In contrast, the provided Windows PowerChute software looks old-fashioned and is a little fiddly but is very powerful and useful. It gives detailed information on energy usage and UPS performance and therefore indicates how long the unit's battery would be expected to power your IT system for. This lets you decide how to respond to a powercut and manage any business risk.Follow the documentation (download the full manual) and in particular plug the UPS directly into a mains socket rather than through e.g. a smart plug or home-plug adapter.Test that the battery will fully charge before putting a load on it, and make sure you are familiar with the different warning lights and audio beeps.The batteries are easy to replace when they reach the end of their useful life - the unit gives a warning when it considers this the case.In summary, a good small-capacity UPS with quality software. As such, it is different from the many battery-based chargers for mobile devices or a mini 'powerstation' as advertised for camping or solar charging. Not better or worse, they just meet different needs.

I got this to deal with brief outages that have happened recently. I got the 850va/520 watt model and it keeps the PS5 and TV running for about 20 minutes (around 5 mins 20 seconds to drain about 25%). That's easily enough to cover both small power cuts or to save and power off the PS5 to investigate if the RCD has tripped.In fact, I also bought a more expensive CyberPower model and I'd still recommend this APC model due to more sockets overall, more sockets with battery backup and roughly the same battery life. I'll be returning the ridiculously heavy CyberPower model soon.The battery is also replacable, but I've noticed on a second one that I bought, the connectors are very stiff and I couldn't remove them if I want to replace the battery later. So maybe units aren't produced to the same standard every time.As for volume, it's nice and quiet while running, at least for my setup. I got someone else to test a PS4 Pro and different model of TV and it started buzzing, also didn't last nearly as long, about 5-7 minutes. So higher loads seem to make it more noisy. It features a beep that lets you know it's on the battery and this repeats unless you press the silence button. Still, this is intended as a last resort to save and power down, not a way to play continually off-grid so it's not much of a problem either way.I haven't tested it's PC software, but I'll update the review if I do. Otherwise, this does exactly what I wanted it to do and better than a more expensive option.

I’ve been using the APC by Schneider Electric BACK-UPS for a few months now, and it has proven to be an excellent investment. The unit provides seamless power backup during outages, giving me enough time to save my work and safely power down my devices. It’s particularly useful in areas prone to sudden power interruptions.The setup was straightforward, and the build quality is solid and durable. I also appreciate the user-friendly interface and the helpful LED indicators, which make it easy to monitor its status. Another standout feature is the multiple outlets that accommodate both battery-backed and surge-protected devices, ensuring everything stays safe and operational.The peace of mind knowing my electronics are protected and my workflow isn’t disrupted is invaluable. APC by Schneider Electric has delivered a reliable, high-quality product, and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to anyone looking for dependable power backup solutions.

My old APC BACK-UPS ES700 stopped working suddenly this week - unable to kick-in when power cut, just gave a continuous beep and cut power immediately (thus computer went off without protection). Startup battery test did not show a dead battery and the battery itself held charge. So looked like a dead unit somehow. So went in search of a replacement on amazon wishing to try a different brand. Bought a Cyberpower BR700ELCD but after a full charge and test I could see this would also not work - the battery appeared not to hold charge. Would state on the display that it was 90% and then drop all of a sudden through the numbers to zero and cut-out, literally within 2 mins, after an 8 hour charge! Help chat with Cyberpower determined I should send it back. So poor experience there. Also the power button didnt really work properly on the unit - instructions said hold for 2 secs but on holding for 30 nothing happened. Customer services also said that was weird. Perhaps I got a return that was faulty. I did notice the package did not have a seal on it, and the battery was connected, with a date of manufacture some 11 months ago - so likely it was properly dead by then! Anyway purchased this item from APC - which is an update of my old one. Was concerned the plugs are now much closer so might not be able to access all the slots for some of the weird shaped plugs I have. Anyway this has 8 rather than the Cyberpower's 6 and I only use 2 or 3 anyway - so decided to go ahead with the purchase. This came in a properly sealed box, and the battery needed connection before it is used so it is not shipped connected (much more sensible APC!). Charged for 24 hrs, and tested on a single light then my iMAC and it works a treat - shut down as per my settings in Energy Saver dialogue box. I had read that an iMac needs pure sine wave UPS (even the CyberPower Website FAQs says this), but this appears to be nonsense designed to get you to fork out for a more expensive unit. This discharged 5% during the 3 mins before the machine shut down (you can see this decrease in the imac settings). So just right for the load I have. Anyway - good replacement for me, we'll see how long this unit lasts - at least it's a different design to the old APC one, and slightly higher capacity. Oh, and mine came with the data port connector - looks like APC have changed tack on that since lock down. During my research I also found that replacement batteries are very standard and are easy to source for about £30. Hope the review helps.

I purchased this UPS to provide continued power for my fibre broadband ONT (my router is on a separate UPS), so that I have continued broadband for a limited amount of time and digital voiceThe UPS is well built, and has 6 UPS enabled outlets, along with 2 surge protected outlets and 2 USB outlets. For the UPS and surge protected outlets, they are standard UK plug types which is useful and is easier to connect domestic devices than many other UPS devices that typically power IT related equipment and have the common cloverleaf cable outletsThe UPS seems to be of great quality and is easy to use, at it’s most basic level, plug in, power up, plug in devices and you’re ready to go. If used to provide power to desktops/laptops etc., a USB connection can also be used, along with some downloaded software to manage what happens if there’s a general power outageOverall, I believe this UBS to be very practical for a home user not looking just to connect IT equipment and in terms of the UPS products sold by my broadband/phone provider, BT, this is much more practical a product and provides much more functionalityI would definitely recommend and I will be looking to purchase further units to provide power to other key items in my houseUpdate: following a power outage as a local transformer blew up, I was without power for around 5 - 6 hours, during which time I had no problem in keeping my ONT alive as well as my backup 4G router, if my main BT router went offline (that’s served by a separate, much lower quality BT supplied UPS). For my purposes, a cannot recommend this UPS highly enough