Renogy 1 M1 Review: Why Renogy Sucks

[ADDvanced]

Hey guys, so... .. I'm going to link a video review of my experience with the Renogy One M1. This was a brand new product when I recorded this, was out for maybe a month, so I have no idea if they've fixed things now, but.... holy **** I have never been so unimpressed/annoyed/disappointed in a fairly expensive product like this, ever.

All I wanted to do was to be able to monitor my solar system remotely, and turn on and off a couple things. None of this was possible.

I go into more detail in the video, but the short version is it wouldn't connect to my wifi network (my laptops and phones did), tech support was hilariously inept, and was not even aware their own product had network cable ports, they told me to get into a debugging menu which didn't really work, told me to click buttons which didn't exist, and were just awful in general.

The thing that really fired me up though, was their older product, the rover MPPT charger, displays a 'guesstimate' of the battery's SOC dead center of the display. Is this crazy accurate, no, I get that it isn't, but I didn't need accuracy. After over a week of trying to get it to work, it decided to connect even though I did nothing different, and here's what's wild: IT WONT SHOW YOU THAT INFORMATION. Yup, the big ass number that is dead center on the rover? That's not making it to the M1 unless you have Renogy batteries, or a shunt.

I then go off on the annual subscription model, the COMPLETE GLARING LACK of wifi dongles for any of their products (BT or expensive celluar option with monthly fees), and the fact the whole company is setup like an MLM.

In short, F*CK RENOGY. Trash company trying to pretend they are advanced/easy to use/premium like apple, but instead it's horse manure in a pretty wrapper.

I have since ripped out all Renogy components and replaced with Victron, and things have been rock solid.

 

[SomethingAppropriate]

I had the renogy Core, It was listed to work perfect with my 3000 watt renogy inverter. It didnt even show up. EVER
Customer service said it was defective so I replace the Core. The next one was the same....
My inverter was listed as supported but it WASNT

Yeah pfuck Renogy.

 

[Sparks-n-Splinters]

I sure am glad I found this forum before buying anything. When I first started poking around the net Renogy was seemingly the only name to pop up. After some hours digging thru threads here I learned the truth. One heck of a marketing department, I'll give them that.
I'm putting together a small portable system as soon as the rest of my parts arrive, and the Victron was where my research led me.

 

[Tomthumb62]

Your frustrations mirror my own. And all I had of Renogy gear was their 2000W inverter, Rover 30 MPPT and went through a total of $800 of their 100Ah AGM batteries.

Part of the failure of the batteries was my fault. But compared to the poor quality of the inverter and MPPT, I think the failure wasn’t completely my fault. Plus, one of the batteries arrived leaking battery acid.

The inverter worked but had a really high idle draw. But the MPPT, oh my, don’t get me started about how much I came to detest that thing.

The customer service (summer 2023) was crazy. One guy sounded like he was going to actually help me. But he said he would call back and never did. I called or emailed 3-4 times asking for him by name and he was never available and every single time it was a new agent. Each one was pleasant in tone but lacked knowledge to actually help and kept asking for the same information. I gave them the info they asked for, it was right there on the screen on the trouble ticket. But it seemed like they never would read any of my messages. They asked for the same info again. I replied I gave it all to you, did you read the ticket you’re replying on? All they had to do was scroll up a few messages to see the info. After 4-5 rounds of this game of “who’s on first”, I gave up. I bought Victron replacements. They work perfectly.

I even reached out to the Renogy rep on this forum and never heard back.

Even Will Prowse no longer recommends them. He said they used to be really good, but they seem to be less so since their company was sold some time ago.

I don’t like to bash specific companies in general. But i don’t want anyone else to have to go through what I went through with Renogy.

On the contrary, every time I’ve reached out to WindyNation, whom we’ve bought some of our panels and wiring from, they have always been super helpful. They actually know their stuff.

 

[ADDvanced]

I think they're run by marketing now.

 

[Jason @ Auberry]

Your frustrations mirror my own. And all I had of Renogy gear was their 2000W inverter, Rover 30 MPPT and went through a total of $800 of their 100Ah AGM batteries.

Part of the failure of the batteries was my fault. But compared to the poor quality of the inverter and MPPT, I think the failure wasn’t completely my fault. Plus, one of the batteries arrived leaking battery acid.

The inverter worked but had a really high idle draw. But the MPPT, oh my, don’t get me started about how much I came to detest that thing.

The customer service (summer 2023) was crazy. One guy sounded like he was going to actually help me. But he said he would call back and never did. I called or emailed 3-4 times asking for him by name and he was never available and every single time it was a new agent. Each one was pleasant in tone but lacked knowledge to actually help and kept asking for the same information. I gave them the info they asked for, it was right there on the screen on the trouble ticket. But it seemed like they never would read any of my messages. They asked for the same info again. I replied I gave it all to you, did you read the ticket you’re replying on? All they had to do was scroll up a few messages to see the info. After 4-5 rounds of this game of “who’s on first”, I gave up. I bought Victron replacements. They work perfectly.

I even reached out to the Renogy rep on this forum and never heard back.

Even Will Prowse no longer recommends them. He said they used to be really good, but they seem to be less so since their company was sold some time ago.

I don’t like to bash specific companies in general. But i don’t want anyone else to have to go through what I went through with Renogy.

On the contrary, every time I’ve reached out to WindyNation, whom we’ve bought some of our panels and wiring from, they have always been super helpful. They actually know their stuff.

Pretty much agree... Except I can't even get through to tech support via phone. Just on hold/ queue for a few minutes then dumped into a mailbox. Renogy ONE Core not connecting to Renogy AIO. Both were bought last year and now finally have time to install them - along with 4 @ 48V LiFePO4 batteries.

Setup = Renogy 48V AIO, Renogy 48V 50Ah Smart LiFePO 4, Renogy ONE Core, Renogy BT-2 and Renogy Communications Hub. The ONE Core is connected to the battery - but not connecting to the AIO. I can connect to all three - ONE Core, battery and AIO on my Iphone with the DC Home app. Something not connecting with the ONE Core and the AIO. The ONE Core does connect to the battery as expected - but not discovering the AIO.

Won't be purchasing any Renogy next time.

 

[sunsurfer]

If you look up Renogy in latin, it means over priced junk.

 

[SomethingAppropriate]

Renogy ONE Core not connecting to Renogy AIO

Still?>>= OMG that problem has been going on this long?!? Fvck!

 

[SomethingAppropriate]

Renogy 48V AIO, Renogy 48V 50Ah Smart LiFePO 4, Renogy ONE Core, Renogy BT-2 and Renogy Communications Hub

Pretty much my exact setup.. before I got a real AIO
I still have to look at that horrible DC Home app for my batteries ...... I REALLLY wish i didnt.
I even thought about replacing the BMS in all 8 of my 50ah batteries to get rid of DC Home.
That would only be $800 or so... lol

 

[Jason @ Auberry]

I even thought about replacing the BMS in all 8 of my 50ah batteries to get rid of DC Home.
That would only be $800 or so... lol

So you're saying there's a chance?!
What is your current AIO? Any attempt at changing out the firmware somehow to get the Renogy to behave like a SRNE?
Solar Assistant or similar won't communicate with the batteries either?

 

[SomethingAppropriate]

So you're saying there's a chance?!
What is your current AIO? Any attempt at changing out the firmware somehow to get the Renogy to behave like a SRNE?
Solar Assistant or similar won't communicate with the batteries either?

No, I wouldnt mess with firmware on it. I doubt there is anything to help.

What is your major issue with the inverter?

 

[Jason @ Auberry]

The issue I'm working on now is the communication between the ONE Core and the AIO. The system is installed at a remote location that I won't be able to monitor directly via the bluetooth on DC Home app.
I've connected the ONE Core to the wifi and the battery monitoring is working - just not discovering the AIO.
Thanks for your input.

 

[SomethingAppropriate]

The issue I'm working on now is the communication between the ONE Core and the AIO. The system is installed at a remote location that I won't be able to monitor directly via the bluetooth on DC Home app.
I've connected the ONE Core to the wifi and the battery monitoring is working - just not discovering the AIO.
Thanks for your input.

This is the same problem i had. it was never fixed.
THEY LIED

 

[JWLV]

@ADDvanced forget monitoring equipment. Just put up a cheapo Wyze cam and make a mount and position it so that the screen of your inverter/charge controller shows up. See my pictures. You may have to play around with the IR or low light settings so that the display screen is not too dark or too light.

Mine is an old Wyzecam I had laying around (I think it's a V1).

 

[JWLV]

Some of the newer Wyze cams have a light that you can turn on/off remotely in case it's too dark to see the display screen of your inverter/charger.

 

[CrazyswedeVT]

Saturday mornings the local town garage has a garbage truck come in and there are two 30 yard roll off's for scrap metal and scrap wood. I always check the scrap metal on my way out because people throw out all kinds of good things. Last Saturday I found a brand new Renogy 1000 watt back up power unit and 2 200 watt portable solar panels still in the box. I have a Jackery already so I quickly realized what it was. I haven't tried the Renogy battery or panels yet but for the price of Free I figured it was worth the risk. But defintely no plans to buy new from them given the level of negative reviews out there.

 

[Gadwall*Drake]

Your frustrations mirror my own. And all I had of Renogy gear was their 2000W inverter, Rover 30 MPPT and went through a total of $800 of their 100Ah AGM batteries.

Part of the failure of the batteries was my fault. But compared to the poor quality of the inverter and MPPT, I think the failure wasn’t completely my fault. Plus, one of the batteries arrived leaking battery acid.

The inverter worked but had a really high idle draw. But the MPPT, oh my, don’t get me started about how much I came to detest that thing.

The customer service (summer 2023) was crazy. One guy sounded like he was going to actually help me. But he said he would call back and never did. I called or emailed 3-4 times asking for him by name and he was never available and every single time it was a new agent. Each one was pleasant in tone but lacked knowledge to actually help and kept asking for the same information. I gave them the info they asked for, it was right there on the screen on the trouble ticket. But it seemed like they never would read any of my messages. They asked for the same info again. I replied I gave it all to you, did you read the ticket you’re replying on? All they had to do was scroll up a few messages to see the info. After 4-5 rounds of this game of “who’s on first”, I gave up. I bought Victron replacements. They work perfectly.

I even reached out to the Renogy rep on this forum and never heard back.

Even Will Prowse no longer recommends them. He said they used to be really good, but they seem to be less so since their company was sold some time ago.

I don’t like to bash specific companies in general. But i don’t want anyone else to have to go through what I went through with Renogy.

On the contrary, every time I’ve reached out to WindyNation, whom we’ve bought some of our panels and wiring from, they have always been super helpful. They actually know their stuff.

I had a 4D Trojan AGM in my work van, and it lasted ten years before it would no longer run power tools. I replaced it with a Renogy battery of the same size and spec. It was barely better than the Trojan was in its later years. After two years, it was kaput. Then I learned that not only was it not under warranty, it essentially never had a warranty. That was annoying, but it saved from me buying anything of consequence with that name on it.

 

[donmontalvo]

I sure am glad I found this forum before buying anything. When I first started poking around the net Renogy was seemingly the only name to pop up. After some hours digging thru threads here I learned the truth. One heck of a marketing department, I'll give them that.
I'm putting together a small portable system as soon as the rest of my parts arrive, and the Victron was where my research led me.

My Jeep has an all Renogy off grid 100ah LiFePO4 power kit. Two issues:

1. Their 1000W inverter is horrible. ECO mode does not work, and no way to turn off the screeching alarm.

2. Their iOS app blows chunks.

My RV is completely Victron. Thank goodness.

 

[sunsurfer]

My Jeep has an all Renogy off grid 100ah LiFePO4 power kit. Two issues:

1. Their 1000W inverter is horrible. ECO mode does not work, and no way to turn off the screeching alarm.

2. Their iOS app blows chunks.

My RV is completely Victron. Thank goodness.

A Victron Phoenix 1200w inverter would replace that Renogy HF. I have used them and they are amazing little inverters.

 

[donmontalvo]

A Victron Phoenix 1200w inverter would replace that Renogy HF. I have used them and they are amazing little inverters.

I have a Victron Phoenix 12|1200 in my camping trailer and I love it! But it is too thick to fit in the Jeep where the Renogy inverter is mounted.

I would go to their 800, which is what I wanted to put into the camping trailer. Still too thick for the area in the Jeep though.

 

[Sellier_bellot]

I'm in the process of removing my renogy gear from my van. it was a fun DIY to get my feet wet but trying to get help from Renogy was FUTILE. I did finally get it working on my own. Their manuals suck too, which makes try to contact support.

 

[donmontalvo]

I spoke to Renogy tech support earlier today. Whoever they outsource their Tier1 support to would do well to buy noise cancelling headsets for their people. The tech confirmed many are in a big room, shoulder to shoulder with many others. Many customers complain, but the outsource company won't spend the money. Disappointing to say the least.

The support tech confirmed:

1. The ECO function has a 50W draw threshold. There is no way to change that value. So if you are a Starlink Mini (which draws between 25-40W) user, ECO is of no use to you. The tech confirmed a number of people have reported the issue but Renogy doesn't think it matters.

2. There is a "Low volts warning" that is hard set 12.1V threshold. When your battery gets to that point, a loud high pitched continuous alarm goes off. You will cringe, and anyone near you (buddies on an offroad ride; RVers closeby) will as well. This is also by design, no way to adjust the threshold, volume, disable the alarm, etc.

Not happy with Renogy.

 

[ADDvanced]

Renogy fucking sucks

 

[SomethingAppropriate]

Renogy fucking sucks

What was it for you?

Their crappy APP was driving me insane.

 

[seneysolar]

But the MPPT, oh my, don’t get me started about how much I came to detest that thing.

Agreed! My issue was a few years ago but it was the low battery cutoff programming. Once it was reached the mppt would not recharge batteries until voltage was brought back up to a much higher lever and it was not adjustable. The low bat cutoff was actually set higher than their own inverter. So the mppt shuts off charging, the inverter keeps drawing down and the system would never recover. It was stupid, a 12v system would run down then not recharge on its own when the sun comes out. Had to use a generator and power supply to jump start the mppt. Terrible design to start with, customer support could not understand why this was a problem.