The Ubiquiti SmartPower RPS is not a UPS, and that single fact made it a purchasing disaster for me. The product description is frustratingly vague about what it actually does, which led to an expensive misunderstanding. The RPS is a redundant power supply—it keeps your UniFi equipment running if the internal power supply module fails, not if the electricity goes out. If you lose power, everything still goes dark. For most home lab users, this solves a failure mode that’s relatively rare and usually fixable by swapping hardware. What you almost certainly want instead is Ubiquiti’s actual UPS line, the UniFi SmartPower USP , or the Mission Critical Switch which integrates battery backup directly into a PoE switch.

What It Is Not

The SmartPower RPS is not a UPS. It will not keep your equipment running during a power outage. The product description is frustratingly vague about what it actually does, which led to an expensive misunderstanding.

What It Actually Is

The RPS is a redundant power supply. It’s designed to keep your UniFi equipment running if the internal power supply module inside your gear fails. If the PSU inside your Dream Machine or switch dies, the RPS takes over and your network stays up.

If you experience a power failure—the actual electricity going out—the RPS does nothing. Your equipment goes down just like it would without the RPS connected. If your power supply fails when the equipment is off, or the RPS is disconnected, you can’t connect the RPS to boot up the device with the dead power supply. This is solely for continuing to run after a failed to the power supply hardware, a very narrow use case. In fact, you probably can’t even swap in a new power supply while running on the RPS. The RPS is purely a delaying tactic. It buys you time to turn an unplanned outage into a planned one.

Who This Is For

If you’re running critical infrastructure where a failed internal power supply would be catastrophic, and you can’t tolerate even brief downtime while swapping hardware, the RPS provides that protection. Data centers and enterprise deployments might find value here.

For most home lab users, this is a waste of money. You’re protecting against a failure mode that’s relatively rare and usually fixable by replacing the affected device. A traditional UPS protecting against actual power outages is far more useful.

Physical Issues

The power cables are very thick and don’t bend easily. They also don’t fit well into the Mini Rack’s cable routing slots. If you’re trying to maintain a clean, compact installation, these cables will fight you.

What You Probably Want Instead

Years after the RPS launch, Ubiquiti now offers actual UPS products: the UniFi SmartPower USP line . Battery backup, power failure protection, Protect integration. That’s almost certainly what you’re looking for. You might also be interested in the Mission Critical Switch .

Verdict

The SmartPower RPS solves a problem most home users don’t have, while failing to solve the problem most home users do have. Vague marketing led to a purchasing mistake. Unless you specifically need redundant internal power supply protection, skip this and buy a proper UPS.