UPS Problem on EB3A

@PEIfiddler Strange! Yea I dont know the router would have triggered an overload alarm on the unit. Is your unit up-to-date with the firmware? And if you get any errors in the future, I recommend unplugging all inputs, then shutting off the unit via the app. Then when you press any output buttons or re-plug back in your inputs, it will fire back up and the codes should disappear.

Yes, it shuts off the grid supply so no charging of the battery, can be reset in app or by turning AC on and off

Correct, but we shouldn’t have to constantly “reset” the unit when we’re operating it in an advertised feature UPS mode.

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Bought 2 EB3A, both are used as UPS.
Only one of the 2 unit experienced exact AC output shutdown issue with or without power outage from the grid. It won’t turn AC back on until I press the AC button. This one was connected to my modem/router/switches drawing about 80W constantly.
The other one is connected to a tankless gas water heater as UPS. It’s drawing 7w (idle) to 100w(hot water running). It hasn’t shutdown since it was up a week ago.
They both have the same firmware: ARM: v2057.11, DSP: v2056.10 came with. I don’t see update options on BT connected iphone app.
From what I read here, firmware doesn’t do much to resolve this issue. I wonder if it’s the hardware issue internally, like quality of the relay or BMS made difference between batches of the product. I decided to return the one with problem back to amazon. The number (serial#?) in the app were quite different, it could be different batch, even though I ordered from amazon only 1 week apart.
The one with UPS shutdown issue is EB3A22300020xxxxx, while the working one is EB3A22350069xxxx. I suspect some parts could be different between these two.

Recently purchased 2 units - December 2022. I’m experiencing this same issue with one of the units. Will switch and see if the 2nd unit has the same problem.

I am adding my name to the ongoing UPS problem on the EB3A. The unit was purchased less than 10 days ago. I employed the unit as an UPS for my modem/router/switch/SWM with total load of 49watts. After a few days, I noticed the unit was drawing more from the grid (150watts) than the output of 49 watts (presumably, to recharge the battery). I then noticed the output increased to 54 watts. Last evening the unit shutdown because of an overload and now continues to do so when applying a load. As a result, I lost WiFi. Firmware versions, ARM v2062.02 and DSP v2056.10. After being initially happy with the unit, I now discovered the UPS problem with the unit. Sadly, had I known of the issue, I would have never purchased the EB3A. I have reached out to Bluetti for a return/refund. Hopefully, they will respond quickly.

Welcome to the "UPS mode” dreamers group. :slightly_smiling_face:

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I wanted to share with everyone something that one of our members wrote up about the eb3a and its UPS mode that laid it out pretty nicely and taught me a few things!


EB3A - UPS mode

What is “UPS Mode”?

The EB3A is the smallest solar generator on the market with a true UPS feature. This feature allows you to bypass the battery and run your devices directly from input power.

A common question is “can it charge while running devices”.

This feature allows it to not only charge while running devices, but it also allow the battery to sit “on a shelf” until the power goes out without needing to put cycles on the battery as power flows through the device.

Most solar generators internally have components as shown in the top half of the diagram I’ve uploaded at the end of this post.

For the electronics geeks: yes, this is highly simplified. Bear with me. I didn’t show the DC parts or the solar charging parts so that it would be easier to read.

**Please look at the diagram at the bottom of this post before reading the rest.


In the traditional design, AC power comes from a wall outlet, goes into a AC to DC power supply. That power supply then feeds into a battery charger, which charges up a battery bank. If you want power out, you turn on the inverter, which pulls power from the battery bank and outputs from the AC outlets on the solar generator.

This path is a big line of parts, and the power has to flow though all the parts to get to the output, meaning you are cycling the battery by running power though it even if the solar generator is sitting plugged in.

A solar generator with UPS has a “UPS shunt” circuit that can take input power and direct it straight to the AC output port without needing to go though the batteries. You still need to have the inverter powered up so that you can switch over to it very quickly, but this reduces the amount of power being run though the battery to very low amounts.

The idea here is that if the battery is charged then the power does not need to flow though the battery at all. They use a fast relay to enable the battery to come on very quickly. The time to enable the battery is usually about 8 milliseconds. I don’t have the equipment to verify this in the EB3A, but I can say it generally works. You can unplug the device while it is powering a load and the load won’t turn off even though the AC power was cut from the shunt and it had to internally switch over to battery.

Depending on who makes the classifications, this type of UPS design is called a “backup”, “standby”, or “offline” type UPS. Those terms generally mean the same thing and also generally describe this type of UPS. It is a pretty well accepted way to design inexpensive UPSs.

The main downside to this design is it can put more cycles on the battery vs other more complex designs, but given the number of cycles on the LiFeP04 batteries, I’m really not that worried about the extra cycles. You can cycles the battery once a day for nearly 10 years and not run it below 80% capacity.

How do I turn it on?

This mode is always turned on whenever the AC side is turned on and the EB3A is plugged into AC power.

What is this good for?

Most electronic devices tend to not like to have their power cut out from under them. This will keep small loads like mini-fridges, CPAP machines, lights, camera gear, or other loads happy when the power goes out.

Is this a replacement for a computer UPS system for my desktop, server, or other critical load?

No. Computer UPS systems have a data connection cable that goes from the UPS to the computer to allows the computer to power itself down before the battery goes dead to prevent data loss. The EB3A does not have this data connection.

Is this good for lifesaving equipment such as IV drips, heart monitors, or oxygen concentrators?

No. The EB3A is a consumer UPS system. It is not certified as a medical grade emergency power system. You should not use the UPS feature to back up lifesaving equipment such as dialysis machines, heart monitors, or other serious medical equipment unless that equipment already has a battery installed.

Can this augment a computer or critical load UPS system to get longer runtime?

Yes! Most consumer grade UPS systems have very small lead acid batteries in them. You’ll get at most 10-15 minutes of runtime out of them. The EB3A’s battery has much longer runtime then some of the really inexpensive lead-acid based UPSs, despite being the smallest unit Bluetti makes. It really shows what the newer battery technologies can do.

This can extend the lead-acid based UPS to have much more runtime, depending on your load. I think the idea of using an EB3A as an inexpensive way to turn a “little” computer UPS into a “big” computer UPS is a good one when used in residential settings.

The EB3A can also be used to extend the runtime of a medical device that has a built-in battery or to extend the runtime of a medical rated UPS system in a residential setting.

For professional, medical, or datacenter settings I would still recommend professional UPS systems. Those tend to have warranties on the data being protected.

Are there any downsides to this feature?

This isn’t a 100% foolproof UPS. During charging, the EB3A occasionally resets itself and can cut off the AC output for up to 500 milliseconds (half a second). That length of loss of power can and will reset most any electronic device that is plugged into it that does not have a battery built in already. I wound up resetting my network router 3 or 4 times before I realized what was causing it. These resets do not happen when not charging at high speed. I’m hoping Bluetti can fix this in a firmware patch.

Most appliances that they designed this for either already have small batteries built in (like CPAP machines or laptops) or don’t mind short loss of power events (like fridges or lights).

Edit to add (6/18/22): Bluetti has confirmed in an email that these issues are due to a software bug. They are working on a fix that will be available soon. I don’t have a specific ETA. I’ll update this again when the feature is fixed.

Does the UPS function guarantee that the waveforms are lined up such that the EB3A could be paralleled?

No. UPS and parallel operation are separate features. The EB3A does not support parallel operation. Bluetti makes larger solar generators for use cases that need larger amounts of power. Those would be a better choice.

Overall thoughts:

The UPS feature is a good idea and can save cycles on the battery for many loads where you want to leave things running from the solar generator when the power isn’t out.

I really like this feature and hope Bluetti rolls this feature out across their entire line of solar generators as they move to the next generation of units.
#eb3a

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I recently purchased 3 of these units all with SN starting with 2239, to be used as UPS backup for my networking equipment. Each supplying 20-30w AC on bypass UPS mode.

1 of them has worked for 1 week so far and is still going.
1 of them failed with overload error after 10ths, contacted Bluetti and updated firmware to DSP 2056.12, running again for 5 days and counting…
1 of them failed with overload error after 3 days. Updated firmware as but failed again after 6 hrs and another 6 hours. Working through replacement logistics now.

This unit is really promising, but some of us do have problems with it on UPS mode. I need this to work for at least 6 months non stop.

Try contacting Bluetti for a firmware update. I don’t know what the firmware does, nor do I know why it isn’t widely released.

Hello, let me join the party … My EB3A is just a few hours old. Obviously UPS stands for Unexpected Power Shutdown. When in UPS-mode and 100% charged, all at a sudden the machine switches off & on & off & on & off & on, keeps on running for about 15 minutes before it again toggles three times between off & on and so forth.
How long has this model been on the market and still faulty units are being sold?
Is there anybody who can help?

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Did the firmware update solve your issues?

Welcome to the UPS problems in the bluetti EB3A world.
I seriously don’t if you will get a answer other than send a video.

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What update I have ARM v2062.03 DPS v2056.10 and not able to down load via the app.

No updating DSP to 2056.12 from 2056.10 did not solve my problem.

I have 3 EB3A running on USB mode powering 20-30W of AC
1 of them has been working for almost 2 weeks without issues so far
2 of them failed with overload in 1-6 days. Updated to 2056.12, failed again in a few days.

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Ok in my search I have found much information. It seems that the EB3A can only function as a non critical UPS. It is fine for things that are not effected by momentary power drops or outages. But things like routers,modems no good. Live and learn what seems to be too good too be true often is. So Bluetti you need to issue a disclaimer or fix it. As far as a good backup for power losses it’s great charges quick can be recharged by many ways. Solar, 12 volt DC,120 volt ac. So I need to buy a real UPS. That’s just fine.

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What are you trying to backup using the EB3A? I find the UPS switching time actually pretty good, there’s no issue with my router, modem, or desktop computer or anything when it works. Is just that 2 out of my 3 units has the dreaded “overload” error. The actual UPS works fine when you have a non-defective unit. If you have one that is defective, it doesn’t matter what you are trying to back up, it won’t work at all.

How do you update firmware? I have ARM 2057.11 abd DSP 2056.10. I never see any available updates in the Firmware Upgrade screen.

You message or email support and tell them your problem with you serial number. They can push the firmware for you. It didn’t help me, but it doesn’t hurt to try.

Oh it’s not that I get overload. Mine reboots the router every time the EB3A drops to 99% recharges back to 100% then something blinks in it. It displays no error codes. It does the same with my security system and that is how I found it because every few hours it has a short blank spot in the recording.
Funny thing is when you use without plugging into the grid then allowing it to drop say to 50%. Then plug it back in it will not skip after reaching 100%.

Ok, that’s a totally different problem.

My 1 (of 3) EB3A is backing up my internet modem, router and switch now. I haven’t noticed any abnormal behavior yet. But my other 2’s AC output shuts down with overload error (even though it is only powering 20-30W). I am shipping them at my cost back to Bluetti said they will refund me when they arrive and is inspected.