Equipment connected to a Back-UPS product turns off unexpectedly and/or reboots.

Search FAQs

Issues:
There are many possible scenarios in which a Back-UPS product might drop or reboot the attached equipment. Below are potential problems ordered by commonness.

Product Line:
All APC Back-UPS and Conext related products.

Environment:
N/A

Cause / Resolution:

Problem #1: Equipment connected to the wrong outlets
Investigation: Follow the input power cord of the equipment that shut off back to the outlet that it is plugged into on the Back-UPS product, if the outlet’s label does not have the words “battery backup” this is why it has dropped the load.
Solution: Not all the outlets on a Back-UPS product provide backup power in the case of a power disturbance. Unplug the equipment and make sure your vital equipment gets plugged into the outlets labeled Battery Backup. Any thing that does not require backup power should be plugged into the surge protection only outlets.

Problem #2: Capacity overload
Investigation: In the technical specification section of the user’s manual that came with the Back-UPS product there is a watt rating listed. That is the maximum wattage that can be attached to the Battery Backup outlets and still have a decent runtime in the event of a power problem. If there is too much attached it will not be able to be supported by the battery. Make a list of all the equipment that is being plugged into the Back-UPS product.
Solution: Determine what equipment would be required to stay on in the event power failed for an extended period of time. These are the things that will need to be plugged into the battery backup outlets. The rest should be plugged into the surge only outlets that do not provide battery backup. If the total Wattage of the equipment that is being plugged into the battery outlets is more than the wattage of the battery outlets then the Back-UPS product will NOT be able to support that equipment in the case of a power disturbance.
You can confirm at https://www.apc.com/shop/us/en/tools/ups_selector if your Back-ups product is to small or not.

APC NEVER RECOMMENDS BATTERY BACKING UP A LASER PRINTER.

Problem #3:The Circuit Breaker tripped:
Investigation: Check the circuit breaker located on the rear of the UPS or near the input cord. The circuit breaker is labeled ""Press to Reset"". The circuit breaker will ""trip"" or pop out if there is a severe overload on the output side of the UPS (i.e., too much equipment is plugged into the UPS).
Solution: Reducing the load, then press the ""Reset"" button in. If the circuit breaker is tripped if it protrudes approximately 1/4"" out from the unit. Once pushed back in, try to power the unit up again. If breaker will NOT stay in, contact APC at Technical Support and have the Model and serial number available.

Problem #4: The UPS exhausted its available battery power
Investigation: Back-UPS products can only supply battery power for a limited time before the unit must shutdown to protect itself from totally discharging. In some cases, depending on the size of the load and the size of the Back-UPS product's batteries, it may only have a few minutes of battery power. Try to determine if the UPS had been on battery shortly before the attached equipment has shutdown. Keep in mind that while normal power may seem to exist, many power problems are transparent or invisible to a user. These unforeseen power problems, such as voltage wave shape distortion, Harmonic Distortion, and frequency variances, will cause the UPS to go to battery. You may have found that your UPS has been going to battery but only for a very short amount of time. So, what may be happening is that it is going to battery frequently enough that the unit has not had enough time to recharge. Eventually, then, the UPS will shutdown (and drops all attached equipment).
Solution: This would not happen if the software that the Back-UPS product shipped with was installed. It can be configured to Gracefully perform and unattended shutdown. Then when power returned to acceptable it would return power to its outlets and if the equipment is configured properly it should reboot. If this happens often without there being a black out condition then most Back-UPS products can be Desensitized via either the front switch (If this is possible the instructions will be stated in the Back-UPS product’s user manual) And/or through the APC management software that the Back-UPS product shipped with. An example of the management software is PowerChute Personal Edition.

Problem #5: Connected equipment does not accept a stepped-approximated sine wave.
Investigation: This would be the case if only one of the pieces of equipment plugged into the battery backup outlets dropped while the other equipment in the battery backup outlets stay on when the unit transferred o battery power.
Solution: Back-UPS products output a step approximation of a sine wave when the unit is On Battery. While this kind of waveform is ideal for computers and computer-related equipment, it may not be compatible for other types of loads like motor loads. If you are using non-computer loads with one of the above mentioned UPS's, consult the manufacturer's specifications to determine if the equipment can run off of a ""stepped wave"". If it can't, then it will require a UPS which outputs a pure sine wave when On Battery. APC UPS single phase models which do output a Pure Sine Wave include: Smart-UPS >700VA, Matrix-UPS, and the Symmetra LX.

Problem #6: The power supply in your equipment is faulty and incapable of handling the transfer time of the Back-UPS product
Investigation: This would be the case if only one of the pieces of equipment plugged into the battery backup outlets rebooted while the other equipment in the battery backup outlets stay on when the unit transferred o battery power.
Solution: Depending on the model of the UPS, the transfer time (time it takes for the unit to transfer from On Line to On Battery) can vary anywhere from 2 milliseconds to 8 milliseconds. Modern computer and computer-related power supplies can ""ride through"" power outages as long as 10-20 milliseconds. Many, in fact, can last through a 50 millisecond gap in power. If the equipment is rebooting when the Back-UPS product transfers to On Battery operation, this may be the problem. Try to recreate the problem by connecting another device, pull the plug on the UPS (puts it on battery) to see if the new device stays up and running when the UPS goes to Battery. If it does, then its more likely that there is a problem with the power supply of the original piece of equipment. The manufacturer of the equipment will need to be inquired upon for further support in this situation.

Problem #7: Communication cable is attached but no APC management software is installed.
Investigation: On most Back-UPS products there is either a Data port, Serial port or USB port available for communication with a computer. The software is optional not mandatory. Check the Back-UPS product and see if there is anything attached to this port. If there is and there is no sign of APC management software installed on the computer there is a slight chance that the Back-UPS product might turn off for no apparent reason.
Solution: Either remove the cable and do not installed the software since its optional not mandatory, or leave the cable attached and properly install the software according to the instructions in the Back-UPS product’s user’s manual.

Problem #8: The UPS may be faulty
In order to receive advanced troubleshooting assistance please refer to our support page at https://www.apc.com/us/en/support/contact-us/ to chat or leave an email of exactly what you are experiencing. Please include the exact model and serial number of the unit which can be found on a white sticker located on the back bottom or side of the Back-UPS product.