Review of EcoFlow Solar Generators

tl;dr — Great devices, best app experience, but high premature failure rate.

With The Computer Peeps being based in Florida, hurricanes (and storms in general) are something we live with.  During the last two hurricanes toward the end of 2024, I knew it was time to implement extended runtime generators.

You have some basic options when it comes to generators and whole-home battery backups:

• Outdoor gas powered generators for whole-home.
• Indoor/outdoor battery powered solar generators for whole home.
• Outdoor gas powered generators for emergency backup.
• Indoor battery powered solar generators for emergency backup.
• Indoor battery powered solar generators connected to each/any important device within your home/office/store.

That final one, was a route I thought was best to follow.  Without a major investment up front you can start to implement extended run-time battery backups on a per-device/per-outlet basis.

Keep in mind, I was doing this not only to test for our own uses here @ The Computer Peeps, but also to see how and if this can help consignment/resale stores.  We have customers all over North America and they experience a variety of power issues, from power outages caused by major storms (e.g. tornadoes, snow storms, etc.) to power issues caused by the local infrastructure (e.g. old wiring, shared wiring with adjacent businesses, etc.)

Tried Anker First

After doing a ton of research and watching a ton of Youtube reviews (thank you to Will Prowess, Hobotech, The Solar Lab, and Jasonoid) I decided to purchase an Anker device first.  I had experience with Anker devices, they’re a trusted brand (infrastructure, quality control, etc. all matter), and sales were running.  I purchased an Anker SOLIX F1200.  This is a medium/large capacity device in the “1000 range” with a 1229wh battery.  The device itself has been great and it powers the home theater system + TVPC in the living room, providing 10+ hours of run-time.  One of the reasons I was interested in these solar generators is the remote control via app.  This was the first shortcoming I encountered with Anker — i.e. their devices in this class do not have WiFi and only offer Bluetooth connectivity.  Not the end of the world, but for my ultimate goal I knew this would not do.

Enter EcoFlow

I went back to my research and started looking for devices in this price range, in this battery capacity range, and with not only WiFi access, but fully-remote access so you can monitor the devices from afar.  This led me to the EcoFlow devices.  They not only ticked all of these boxes, but also offered battery expansion, something the Anker SOLIX F1200 did not offer.  That experience alone — trying Anker first, then EcoFlow next — really shined a light on those two requirements.

We purchased a smaller EcoFlow River 3 first, which is in the “250 range” of batteries, and were surprised to see even these smaller units had WiFi on them, something the four-times as powerful and triple the price did not have.  And full WebRTC/Turn Server access so you can access these from afar, without being on the same network.  I was impressed and purchased another unit to test, an EcoFlow River 2.  Same general range as the River 3 and on sale, so why not.  This device also had WiFi and full remote access, so we were on a roll.

Using EcoFlows for Computer Battery Backup

This was when we learned not all solar power generators are created the same, specifically when it comes to being able to be used as an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) for computers.  In order to protect a computer from power-loss, the UPS needs to be able to switch to battery backup power within 20 milliseconds.  The River 2 units provide a 30 ms UPS vs. the River 3 units which provide a 20 ms UPS.

I knew I wanted to protect our first server/network rack here with extended run-time batteries, so even if a thunderstorm comes through in the afternoon, the Internet, servers, and network gear all remain running for a long time.  This led me to the EcoFlow Delta 2.  It provided over 1,000wh of battery capacity, it had WiFi and full remote access, it had a <20ms UPS response time, and it provided battery expansion to double the battery capacity.  Black Friday deals were around and we decided to buy one…then a second…then a third and a fourth.  By the end of December 2024, I had implemented an EcoFlow Delta 2 for the following:

• The Computer Peeps’ server/network rack #1.
• My kitchen refrigerator
• A garage refrigerator
• A garage chest freezer

This was all to test how these devices perform in real-world situations and over long periods of time.  I saw the benefits to both the EcoFlow River 3 (as a per-computer, per-router battery backup), as well as the EcoFlow Delta 2 (as a per-server, per-router/network infrastructure battery backup).

Since we can lose power for hours here in Florida, just from summer storms, I wanted to see what kind of protection the EcoFlow Delta 2 devices would provide for refrigerators and chest freezers.  This is so we can then recommend these to customers who also experience all of these issues during storms.

Premature Failure of EcoFlow Products

On April 4th of 2025, the first EcoFlow Delta 2 device we purchased failed.  I was alerted early in the morning to a power-loss for Internet and when I checked the EcoFlow Delta 2, it had a red exclamation mark on its screen:

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I contacted EcoFlow support and they confirmed the unit had failed.  This is when I encountered my first issues with EcoFlow as a company.  While they did own that their unit failed prematurely — and after only 4 months of use — they wanted me to return the unit to them first, before sending me a replacement.  For a brand-new unit that failed after 4 months of use, I felt that was a poor company policy.  I capitulated and moved one of the other EcoFlow Delta 2 devices in to replace it and shipped this one back to EcoFlow.

A few weeks later, I received my replacement unit.  While the box and unit itself appeared to be new, I realized it was a used and refurbished unit as soon as I powered it on — a battery warning light was on the screen:

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So this told me this unit was not a new one and had been previously used.  This was the second thing I felt was a poor company policy for EcoFlow.  Maybe if the unit was 11 months old, or 3 years old, but only 4 months and I now have a used EcoFlow Delta 2.  I did not buy a used EcoFlow Delta 2 — I purchased a brand new EcoFlow Delta 2.

The device would not charge, would not provide power, and would not pair with the app:

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After some troubleshooting and firmware loops (unit could not update due to low battery, but required a firmware update, but would not charge), I was able to get the firmware updated and clear the battery alert, finally being able to charge the unit.

I communicated this to EcoFlow support.  I received no response.

Posting Reviews on Amazon Seems to Get Their Attention

I then posted a review on Amazon and outlined the details of what happened.  A brand new device that fails after 4 months, only to receive a faulty used device.  We received a message within 24 hours.  😀  The message was to offer us a full refund for the issues we had:

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I replied and said we accept the offer and appreciate the refund.  We thought all was done and we’d be receiving a refund, which while I did not ask for one I felt was a fair and kind gesture from EcoFlow, since I now have a used unit and spent two months going back and forth with EcoFlow support on this.

How surprised was I when the next day I received a new message.  This new, separate message was to provide a shipping label and to have me ship this EcoFlow Delta 2 back to them.  I feel that should’ve been mentioned in their offer, or I would not have accepted in the first place.  I let them know I do not accept this offer and I have lost all confidence in EcoFlow as a company.  While they have the best app experience, the best device aesthetics, and solid offerings, how can you invest your time and money in a company when their products fail within 4 months, it takes 2 months to get a replacement unit, and you end up with used goods?

I never received a final response back, but I did receive an EcoFlow flashlight in the mail.  lol

We’re Not Completely Done with EcoFlow

I don’t want to toss the baby out with the bathwater, however, we had to stop recommending the EcoFlow River 3 for computer battery backups.  I simply do not feel comfortable risking our customers’ systems, nor wasting their time, after such a crappy experience with EcoFlow.  I can handle these issues, but I’m not going to push this kind of problem on our customers.  Do I still think the EcoFlow Delta 2 + Expansion Battery is a great solution for extended battery backup of servers, network gear, and appliances?  Yes.  Can I proactively recommend these to The Computer Peeps’ customers without mentioning my experience with EcoFlow?  No.

This has led me to a simple philosophy — do not buy brand new EcoFlow products.  Since EcoFlow has proven to have a high premature failure rate (we went on to see three EcoFlow River 3 devices fail for customers), I will now only purchased refurbished EcoFlow devices from EcoFlow’s eBay outlet.  At least if one fails or has issues, I won’t be as let down + they have essentially the same warranty.  I just won’t recommend EcoFlow products to customers without having this conversation with them.

Let’s Try Other Manufacturers

We then decided to give some of the other solar generator/battery backup power station manufacturers a try, including:

• Bluetti
• OUPES
• pecron

We just wanted to share this information as there is no way these failures are isolated to just us and I do not see a lot of discussion or commentary on “Big company charging a lot of money for products that fail prematurely.”  Sure there’s a warranty, but if it fails after 4 months and takes 2 months to go through the warranty process, it’s not something we’re interested in spending our or our customers’ time on.