The UPS that reminded me of the TLS protocol :)

From a hardware perspective, the UPS is pro. Silent, stable, does what it promises. So, three stars. I’m holding back the other two in case APC fixes SmartConnect!

How SmartConnect works:
The IC model has a built-in Ethernet port exclusively for cloud monitoring. It’s not an NMC (Network Management Card) but an embedded module that communicates only with APC’s servers via mutual TLS-PSK. The device gets an IP via DHCP, does a DNS lookup for cece.prod.struxurewarecloud.com, and authenticates with a unique PSK identity in the form urn:dev:ops:XXXXXX-itb-MACADDRESS. To appear on the portal, you must first register at smartconnect.apc.com with the Product ID (MAC address) and Product Key, which are written on the device or shown in the LCD About menu.

My SmartConnect experience:
After a factory reset, firmware update to UPS 18.0, and packet capture with tcpdump, I discovered through hex dump that the TLS handshake was systematically failing. The UPS negotiated the cipher suite TLS_PSK_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA256 (0x008C) and sends its PSK identity, but the server always responded with:

15 03 03 00 02 02 14

That is, Fatal Alert, code 20 = unknown_psk_identity. The new device was not provisioned in their backend. I understand it left the factory without its PSK key being registered in their cloud system. After contacting support (L2, escalation to some smartconnect team, waiting for a planned infrastructure upgrade that took a few days), the device finally connected without any change on my part. The dashboard that greeted me showed battery status and load percentage. It was, in other words, a bit underwhelming, and for remote management you need to pay a subscription.

For confirmation, after support’s intervention, the tcpdump completely changed character. Instead of RST, we now see continuous exchange of TLS Application Data (record type 0x17) with keepalives every 2 minutes and data exchange every 5 minutes, with no disconnects.

Practical advice for registration:
If you encounter the message “Unable to add device,” first check if the LCD shows “Securing” instead of “Connected.” This means the TLS handshake is failing. Also check if the firmware is up to date (LCD > About > Firmware), because older versions have a broken TLS implementation. If nothing helps, the problem is probably on their backend and you need to contact support.

About EMF:
According to another reviewer, the UPS emits dangerous radiation that causes cramps. Personally, I wouldn’t worry about that.

Conclusion:
If you want serious monitoring, also buy the AP9641 card. SNMP, web interface, graceful shutdown on all devices, without cloud dependencies and without TLS debugging at 11 at night

I got it to replace the previous model that I had for 20 years... (the previous one got burned).

The important thing about this is that it has the smart cart, where you can insert a network card and get information about the power at more than one point, for example, computers + NAS together. However, to avoid confusion, you need to buy this card separately. It has the same network connection, but only for 2 basic things, which are almost useless to me - that is, to check its status. The important thing is to update the network with SNMP and be able to access all its parameters, which can only be done with an additional network card... which are now available in many used ones, relatively cheap...

So, the smart connect is useless to me because it doesn't send the information anywhere for you to use.

The USB connector has confused me; it's not the usual "male" USB, but a regular USB, so I had to buy an additional long cable from abroad...

In any case, you shouldn't place it near you because it emits a high level of EMF radiation, which causes cramps and pain... keep it away from your feet, your head, far away... and connect it either through the network or a long USB cable to your computer...

The menu is a bit confusing, but again, if you have the network card that you buy separately, all of this is simple. In the previous one, I had to use a serial terminal to make changes... This one, on the other hand, has an Ethernet connector for a serial terminal, but it doesn't come with an Ethernet to serial cable. Strangely, it didn't even come with a power cable - only 2 cables to connect its output to a device. And the power connectors are not female plugs, but computer power connectors. You need cables and adapters that support them...

It doesn't make noise, except when the fan needs to turn on.

Why spend so much money on a UPS when there are much cheaper options? Because it has many controls on the input and output, and nothing will get damaged when something bad happens... that is, if something gets burned in it, your machines won't get damaged due to poor power.

I haven't changed the batteries in this one yet; in the previous one, I found equivalent ones at a much better price than the ones sold by this brand.

Also, if the power exceeds a certain limit, it automatically corrects it, which is also important for protecting your devices.

Also, I don't hear any noise from the coils, while in the previous one, there was a loud noise coming from the transformer.

Currently, I'm drawing 300W, and it's at 25% of its capacity..