tl;dr — OUPES devices are purchased as-is, they do not have any firmware update system in-place. Flawed battery level design.
Through our power station journey (EcoFlow, BLUETTI, and pecron) I decided to give OUPES a look. Similar to pecron, they have a lower-cost and greater battery capacity offering — it’s just their app doesn’t work. 😐
OUPES Mega Series — App Does Not Work
I purchased a refurbished OUPES Mega 1 from the OUPES eBay outlet, following our “do not buy these larger units brand new, they’re not worth it” philosophy. More battery capacity than the EcoFlow offerings and a lower price. What could go wrong?
Immediately I felt we were going to have issues — their mobile app shows it is only compatible with 2.4 GHz WiFi networks.
I completely understand why, but it was an ominous sign. The OUPES Mega 1 simply will not connect via WiFi, at all. We have multiple routers to test with as well and it will not connect to any of them.
We were only ever to pair via Bluetooth and even then, the device constantly reported as disconnected and could not be accessed, despite being right next to the device:
Faulty Battery Level Indication
While I was testing all of this, I wanted to test the battery’s run-time and see how well it performed. I unplugged it from power and let it run on battery, powering another power station. It wasn’t too loud or anything and seemed to perform as expected, until it got to 0% — the unit remained running and providing AC power for another 2 hours. 😐
Notice the time and battery level + time remaining…
Now check the time and battery level again…
I took this picture another hour later, after 3 PM:
This is something I’ve seen reports of, so it seems to be the nature of OUPES units. Without getting into any technical reasons why or issues, from a basic consumer-perspective, how can you rely on a unit in an emergency situation that shows 0% for 2 hours?
I reached out to OUPES support for both the WiFi issue, as well as the 0% issue. It was frustrating to see the same, canned responses @ “Maybe it’s too far from WiFi” when I had outlined in clear detail in the original message that the issue is reproducible on multiple routers, sitting right next to the router.
Immediate Return
OUPES was quick to provide a return label and a refund and I do appreciate them having support available, but it’s not really support-support @ it just seems to be scripted answers that overlook what you have already outlined.
So we cannot recommend OUPES solar generators/power stations at all, to anyone. Maybe as just a generator, but the 0% for 2-hours issue is enough for us to say, “Don’t risk it.”
Dean
I am a Software Developer, System Administrator, and consignment software specialist. I currently manage hundreds of consignment workstations, point of sale systems, and database servers all across North America and I am the developer of Peeps' Software, Peeps2Go, and Peeps' Consignor Login for iOS and Android. I've been helping consignment & resale store-owners since 2003. I started The Computer Peeps in February of 2010. Peeps' Software launched in 2016 and is now on hundreds of systems all across North America. I have successfully converted hundreds of stores from all of the major consignment software systems. After 20+ years of working with consignment stores, I understand the unique challenges consignment & resale store-owners face. From electrical issues in old buildings or strip malls, to advocating for them when their old consignment software keeps crashing.