APC Back-UPS Connect – CP12036LI – 12V DC 36W Lithium-Ion Mini UPS, designed for Routers, Smart Home Controllers, VoIP devices, Networking gear and more

Protecting fibre broadband
I got this to protect the optical termination of my BT fibre broadband. There is no power supply with the UPS, but the Openreach plug top PSU is compatible. The wall mounting is improvised from some oval conduit clips I had spare. Tested at least 3.5 hours of continuity with this Adtran ONT. Another UPS protects the router and switch upstairs. Great product – would recommend

Almost ideal, just missing a few features
Other than the Eaton3s mini, this Schneider APC CP12036Li is the only other widely recognised make of mini DC UPS being sold on Amazon and as such its a welcome addition to a market place full of transient clone-like products from short lived suppliers. With the planned withdrawal of the UK PSTN by the end of 2025 and the ongoing switchover to VoiP many more people will come to recognise the value in adding a battery backup to their routers. Given the importance of product safety when relying upon li-ion cells, its good to see a few established UPS manufacturers offering these small domestic products. The UPS doesn’t come with an AC/DC adapter its assumed that it will be connected in-line with the one already powering the router etc. The guidance indicates the UPS can deliver 3A/36W.With around 22Wh of tested usable capacity this UPS should run a typical domestic router for between 2 and 3 hours, most routers seem to use between 6-10Watts. In the event of an extended power cut the device has a simple soft On/Off button, allowing it to be shutdown and restarted as needed. There is no audible warning to indicate an input power failure, the On/Off button just has an LED which flashes to indicate the UPS is discharging its battery.The battery max recharging current is <400mA, which means the AC/DC adaptor you use has to have around 5W of headroom to safely supply the UPS and the device it normally plugs into. The documentation doesn't make this point clearly enough in my view. If in doubt about how many Watts you router is really using then it makes sense to measure it and then decide if the existing AC/DC adapter is up to the small additional load.The unit itself is a solid performer with good voltage regulation across the discharge cycle and across different load. The output voltage held steady at 11.2Volts even @3amps.One observation is that APC used to sell a much larger capacity version of a similarly styled UPS; I still use a CP12142LI and nearly 5 years on it is still protecting my gateway router from regular power cuts; sadly they stopped making it a few years back. This new mini UPS is a good solution which could have been better if they had kept some of the features in the previous model, specifically capacity, audible warning, wall mounts. The price is also on the slightly high side, but you are paying for the name and all the safety, certification that goes with it.

Home user market item
Consumer grade detritus from well known enterprise level brand.What’s going on here?Device not compatible with router due to the barrel connectors provided being too small.Instead, using it elsewhere.Flimsy construction compared with enterprise level products from the same manufacturer.

Good but has one big issue
So far it looks to work as intended. Please note if you have a BT Hub it does NOT come with the correct adapter. You will need to find one from somewhere else. It looks to be a 5.5mm x 2.9mmFairly big error from APC considering it’s being sold in the UK and a lot of people use BT.

Fin, facile d’utilisation pour le 12vdc, ne prend pas de place mais on ne sait pas changer la batterie

This is pretty much plug and play for a typical Australian NBN HFC Modem. You just put this between your existing power adapter and the modem – the standard plug size is 2.5mm barrel type DC connector – but they include two other size options if you need them. Installs in seconds and just works. I tested a full charge and got 90 minutes of use on my modem before it reached 1/2 power remaining – I would guess it could run the modem close to 3 hours. Why not 5 stars? because the price is too high by 2x. This little DC UPS costs more than a 4 plug AC UPS which granted is far less efficient and makes a bunch of heat, but the AC UPS can serve many devices. So you only want one of these if for some reason you don’t want a standard AC UPS – in my application I have a small enclosed network shelf in a closet and it heats up too much with an AC UPS in it – so I bought this. If they cost half as much I’d buy more and use them for routers, security devices, etc. I paid 113 AUD, and got it within 2 days free delivery.