APC BACK-UPS ES – BE650G2-UK – Uninterruptible Power Supply

I bought this to replace a 2008 APC Back UPS 700. The consumer UPS line-up has changed since then and the APC BACK-UPS ES 650 seemed to be its nearest successor.
Some things are the same:
– 8 power sockets.
– 7Ah easily replaceable battery.
– 100Mb protected data (RJ45).
– Proprietry USB to RJ11 data connection.

What’s changed:
– No controlled outlets anymore. This was a very useful feature for those of us that used the BackUPS in conjunction with a PC and connected peripherals.
– UPS enclosure less well built but MUCH lighter.
– The two rows of sockets are now significantly closer together, meaning more power adapters are likely to block sockets. I use a short 4 gang extension from the UPS to accomodate these now.
– The new version has a 4 bar battery level display which is useful.
– An alarm silence button (very welcome!).
– One USB power outlet.
– Now seems to be a Schneider Electric product.

It is quiet, though not totally inaudible, when running on battery. It’s more manageable and compact than its predecessor but this also leads to shortcomings.
I swapped this out for its predecessor and continued with my existing apcupsd config. I was pleasantly surprised to see apcupsd started reporting the status of the internal battery test. This never happened with the previous Back UPS.
Other than the absence of the controlled outlet feature I was used to, I’m pleased with the new UPS. It was well priced compared to the less well known (to me) alternatives.

While I used to use UPS(es) in the past, until the recent energy crisis there was not much use for one; I don’t remember how many years back we had a power-cut (accidental cable cut in high-street?) that required the expense of an UPS. But times have changed… ;(

If you are running a NAS, server, etc. then an UPS is a must; connect the (now included) USB cable and the UPS will show up as a battery, effectively turning your NAS, server, desktop, etc. into a laptop which can then turn off when the power drops (or increases) which then allows it to cleanly shut-down.

You don’t need included software which is antiquated but does the job and allows some settings, e.g. sensitivity, testing, firmware updates (any available?) but in general I’d say don’t bother.

For this there are 6 sockets, with further 2 with just surge protection (e.g. for printer, phone, etc.) that are decently spaced but still some AC adapters may struggle. You may need to try various combinations or even use extenders.

The format (a taller double-sided multi-plug extender format) may suit more than the usual “tower” UPSes.

Note that as another reviewer mentioned, mine also had an internal connector uncoupled and thus was not charging the battery. In effect, the AC power board was disconnected from the battery charging board. Hard knocks in transport? Bad quality control? Even with test results in box?

Anyway, I was just going to send it back when I though to open it up (thankfully easy) and immediately noticed the cable dangling around. Note – disconnect AC power and remove battery first! Yep, one cable was dangling around – pushed it into connector, connected AC power and works perfectly!

The other issue is that is not that cheap, verging into the “pure sine wave” output territory that is nice to have at the same cost if you connect audio equipment for example.

I have quite a big rig with multiple large monitors, a fairly powerful PC and a number of external hard drives and this unit provides enough battery backup time to shut the system down safely, which is all I’m looking for. If you have a big system and you want to be able to use it in a power outage, get a bigger capacity battery/system.
Very easy to set up and install the associated software. I get a warning when I use the printer that the battery is overloaded but I will just change the plug to the non battery linked socket.

A good backup supply. Has enough battery supply sockets for the most important devices (I have this set up for my home working office so wanted a backup that would give me time to shutdown all my work properly when power supply is interrupted). There is a warning buzzer alarm sound when the mains power is off to alert you when I tested the setup. There was enough time to shutdown all my work, but I did not try to see how long the battery supply would run for before the battery drained. The USP sockets are useful for charging. The only grip I have is the sockets are close together and none of them can rotate – which is fine for devices with standard small plugs but not so good for devices with large power pack plugs or the back to front plugs.

“APC by Schneider Electric BACK-UPS ES – BE850G2-UK – Uninterruptible Power Supply 850VA (8 Outlets, Surge Protected, 2 USB Charging Ports), Black – 113.49 on 8 November 2022”

Early days, ONLY issue I had was attaching the negative lead to the battery – it works fine but I thought I was going to break it, it is a wee bit tricky – GOOD insulation though, always a good sign.

Set it up next to a wall socket, plugged in, taped over the switch and left it overnight.

Plugged in this morning – even before I installed the software, it showed a fully charged notification in the tray (Windows 11 Pro).

Only issue is auto updates of software – it keeps saying no internet.

I was looking at more expensive ones which, frankly, have very little extra capacity.

I am running a monitor, CPU and two powered USB hubs on the UPS sockets, printer & label printer on the surge ones – so far so good.

IF it’s reliable I will get another one for my AV system – partly for the Android TV to do a soft shutdown, mostly for the BluRays – same reason as with HDDs. Would save me a mains socket too.

It is lighter than I expected, no issue unpacking – barring a plastic bag it is all card and moulded papier mache (whatever you call it) supports inside.

The quickstart booklet is small, but as with all tech I downloaded ALL the available documentation and the software then printed the documents on A4 BEFORE buying.

Check the Tech Reviews and download documentation and software as appropriate – assess BEFORE splashing the cash. Good way to tell if the model is supported.

BECAUSE I struggled to get the correct documentation on an Eaton brand one I did not buy theirs; they are useless via DM by the way.

It was a toss up between THIS and Cyber Power’s 170 one – THIS one edged it because of reports they now include the RJ45-USB 2.0 cable – they did with mine FBA.

The other thing I liked about CyberPower’s was being able to stand it on its end – space saving, but frankly I would recommend keeping these flat with as much space around as poss.

Mine is on a pair of steel riser shelves (it is long) – heatsink and decent air circulation plus I can hide away all the PSUs.

Not found the correct replacement battery yet but will do as a precaution soonest.

If you have dexterity issues etc this is a very good choice – simple, easy to access battery compartment and change it.

Only real issue would be that the mains sockets are very close together, could do with being an inch or two wider and three inches longer to accommodate this.

I use the simple system of shutting down and unplugging at night – works fine, no overheating but it is the end of autumn, summer to come.

Bought this to be used as a power backup for my nano marine tank ; Its been used for many months now without any issues; I have my circulation pumps( 1 jebao sw2 + 1 jebao crossover Scp-70m) connected to it and I can confirm it would hold them running for about 4 hrs It is very important for aquarists to have a backup source of power to avoid a “catastrophic” power loss specially during energy crisis and uncertaintyits definitely a great addition to my setup..

Seems to be a nice unit, but the orientation of the sockets is ridiculous – the banks of sockets mirror each other – plugs with wires that come out of the top (such as many wall watts) will block the opposite socket. Diagonal orientations would probably be better. Make sure the plugs you’re intending to use will work okay with the orientations of the sockets.

This was bought to replace an older APC unit which had died, saying it needed replacing. This was not due to the battery requiring replacement, but rather that the unit’s internal electronics had failed, apparently. (The standard APC PowerChute software showed the battery as 100% charged but the unit would not operate to provide the uninterruptible power supply.) I had bought this older unit some five or so years ago and it had given “excellent service” so, when a replacement was necessary I had no qualms about choosing another APC model.

This new unit is physically quite a lot smaller than the one it replaced, which created, for me, one of the problems which led to me awarding only four stars; more of that later.

I knew the unit would arrive with the battery disconnected but found the procedure to actually fit the connecting lead not at all easy! Accessing the battery compartment was easy (following the instructions supplied) but accessing the actual battery itself was not so obvious – deliberately it is a “tight fit” inside its storage compartment – but securing the battery lead to the connector requires no small amount of brute force! And it is not immediately obvious which way up the connector is intended to go, though it will fit only one way!

Having won that battle and then connected the unit to the mains, it powered up immediately and it seems the battery was already nearly full. Then came the problem of the “smaller size” as compared with my previous unit. Both have 8 x 13 amp sockets, 6 with battery back up and surge protection, 2 with surge protection only. The older unit had the actual rows of sockets more widely spaced than the new one. This is not a problem if all the plugs you are using are standard 13 amp.

However, I have three external USB3 drives, which are connected to this unit and which have “wall-wart-type” individual power supplies, to convert the incoming 230 volts to each unit’s requirement of something like 5 volts. The size of one of mine effectively prevented it from making proper connection with its socket because it “overlapped” the standard 13 amp plug opposite to it and so could not be properly seated. (This had not been a problem with the older unit because the space between the two rows of sockets was much wider.) The only solution I could find was to purchase a short 13 amp plug to socket extension lead, plug that into the UPS and the power supply for the particular drive into the socket.

Other reviewers have commented on the lack of the appropriate cable to connect the unit to the PC and so have the PowerChute Personal Edition software “monitor” the unit. Because I had had an APC unit previously I already had such a lead and simply plugging the ethernet plug into the unit and the USB into the computer activated the connection and the PowerChute software immediately recognised the unit and began monitoring it.

For users who don’t already have this lead APC say they can supply one (though I note other reviewers say they have failed to receive one even after requesting to be sent one) but I think that any USB to Ethernet (RJ45) cable should fulfill this need. I did see one listed on Amazon, about 7, I think. Might be worth the cost of purchase?

Overall, I am very pleased with this purchase but the actual setting up is not easy and, if you need to connect anything larger than a standard 13amp plug the lack of space between the rows of sockets could prove to be a problem!

I’ve owned an APC Back-UPS CS 650VA for five and one-half years, and have changed the lead-acid battery once after it died not long after the three-year mark (when you’re supposed to change the battery anyway). So I’m familiar with APC UPS devices and the PowerChute Personal Edition version 3.0.2 software I use with that kit, and didn’t want to lose that facility when I bought a further UPS on replacing my back-up laptop with a back-up PC; and I read in Amazon reviews (thank you, M D Speight and Mr Kemp) that the Back-Ups ES 400VA lacked the necessary USB connection. The CS 650 has four IEC sockets, three with battery backup and one surge protection alone, and I’ve just the PC, the monitor, and my data back-up gadget plugged into that; and the current price of that is 96 against 54 for the BE550G. Also, I needed to replace, by reason of available space, a four-socket extension lead on the floor. The downside to the BE550G is that it’s twice the size of the CS 650VA; on the upside, it has eight ordinary three-pin socket outlets, four on the battery and four surge-only, and is much more versatile than my old CS 650. One of the battery sockets is designated the master, into which you plug your PC, and (optionally) turning off the PC will kill the power to three of the four surge-only sockets (so you might automatically turn off the monitor, the printer, the data back-up drive). It also has the facility of network and telephone/fax line protection if you need it.

Setting up the BE550-G is straightforward. You can’t forget to slide back the battery cover on the bottom and push the second battery connector onto the lead-acid battery because there’s a metre of yellow tape on the casing to remind you to do so (and it sparks!). I plugged my four mundane electrical devices into the surge-only side of the UPS, the (all-in-one) PC into the master socket, and the USB cable into the UPS and the computer. The Internet connection is via powerline, there’s no fax and I’m not concerned about the telephone, so that was it; the back-up gadget will come later. I couldn’t be arsed to load PowerChute from the supplied CD-ROM, so I downloaded it from the APC website – and turned off the unwanted bleeps. The PC alone runtime is 22 minutes.