Satechi USB-C Power Meter Tester Multimeter - Compatible with 2020/2019 MacBook Pro, 2020/2018 MacBook Air, 2020/2018 iPad Pro

[UPDATE June 11, 2017]I finally got around to asking Satechi for a replacement. They replaced it quickly with no trouble.1) As other reviewers have remarked, it now seems to start up reliably.2) Although I'd still like it to be a little less fragile, I can live with it, now that I know to be careful.[ORIGINAL, unedited]I like the power meter, a lot. It has told me some interesting stuff about how my devices charge (see below) Unfortunately, there are three problems, one of which is a show-stopper:1) [minor, but irritating] As noted by others, the screen lights up with a sparkly display sometimes. This seems to happen after it's been unplugged for a bit.2) [very serious] The meter is fragile. It is a 2-inch lever arm acting against the connector that's plugged into the laptop. If anything gets pushed or pulled up or down, the internal connections (solder joints, I expect) can pop loose. This happened to mine - although I can't recall any particular time when it got flexed like that. The male connector now feels kind of like a loose tooth, and I sometimes have to nudge it around to get it to turn on and charge my laptop. More serious is that the same force would be acting on the laptop's connector and circuit board. So... BE VERY CAREFUL. Especially, don't pick up the device with the meter and cable plugged in - the weight of the cable might be enough to break it.The only way that I can see for Satechi to solve this problem is to replace that connector with a short pigtail, which is what a lot of the older USB-A meters have.3) [kind of nerdy-nit-picky] The mA-hour display is wildly incorrect in some circumstances. I hadn't realized - until the Satechi showed me - that some devices change the voltage they request depending on their needs. My late-2016 Macbook Pro requests 20V when it's charging or active. When it's sleeping and the battery is charged, it requests 5V and consumes less than 50mA. That's actually pretty cool. However, the Satechi displays cumulative mA-hours by adding up current over time - regardless of the voltage. So, if you try to compute watt-hours by multiplying mAh and voltage, you're multiplying a sketchy current X time by a voltage that may not be the actual voltage that's been used.This sounds absurdly nit-picky, but it has a real impact on an important use case: I want to see how much energy (watt-hours) it takes to charge a my laptop (or phone) and compare it to the stated capacity of the battery.The only way for Satechi to deal with this is to display mWatt-hours. Laptop batteries are rated in watt-hours (49 for my MacBook Pro). When USB-C battery packs come along, they're going to have to deal with the same issue - is that 30,000 mAh at 5, 15, or 20 volts?

There's not really much to say except that this does exactly what it is supposed to do. Plug it between your computer and a USB-C device, and it shows you the voltage and current used. Pretty handy for troubleshooting any weird stuff happening with your peripherals. I was able to pinpoint a problem with a USB-C/SATA adapter in less than a minute. Now I know exactly which piece is defective and what the problem is.One minor quibble. No manual was included with the device although Satechi does email an electronic copy directly to you at the time the order is placed on Amazon. In fairness, it doesn't really need a manual anyway since there are no buttons or controls of any kind -- just insert it between your computer and the other device. Impossible to do it wrong. However, be warned: this meter doesn't seem to "wake up" until a peripheral is actually attached. Thus, you can't just plug it into a USB port to test if the port is "live". On the other hand, it is unlikely that you'll get a meaningful health indication anyway unless the port is under load.

After only a week of having this meter, I am giving my review. Right out of the box, I noticed that the meter had scratches on the plastic screen (which were noticeable but not too major), which I could deal with. So, I had fun plugging it into my desktop's USB-C port and seeing the current and mAh on the meter while my devices charged. However, one day, after only ~10-20 unplugs from the port, the USB-C male port (the portion sticking out) broke and completely separated from the meter, rendering it useless. It's a shame, as I really did enjoy using the meter and will be getting a refund (I do plan on getting this again sometime in the future, as I did like the slim design and easy-to-read OLED screen). The meter was never abused and only slightly pushed left or right while plugged in next to cords. This meter would be better if it had a reinforced USB-C male end to prevent these kinds of problems from appearing. Photos are attached to help visualize the environment and failure of the USB-C male end.

M'a permis de vérifier le bon fonctionnement d'un chargeur et surtout qu'il fournissait bien la puissance nécessaire, on déplorera le manque de fonctions avancées dont un petit bouton qui servirait de menu pour afficher plus d'informations.

Works really well on a multi-voltage supply such as the Google 60W USB-C Pixel Slate charger and is capable of working in either direction of current flow so, for example, it can show the output from the Slate when charging another device e.g. a phone.Update Apr '21: There is only one slight criticism I would have of this device and that is that the male plug end is rather weaker than I would like and can be easily bent. I cured this by carefully prising the case open (plastic pin/socket arrangement at each corner) and using some epoxy resin around the plug and its exit from the case. Since there is really never a need to open this again, I went around the whole case with a fine layer to make for a really well sealed (and now) robust device.

Works great, tested on an HP laptop, Moto Z, and other USB-c devices. Display is clear and easy to read, although depending on the USB port orientation, you may end up looking at it upside down.

Display non funziona

Das Tool von Satechi ist ein sehr tolles Gadget zum einfachen Ablesen der wichtigsten Kennwerte.Damit kann ich mir einerseits sicher sein, dass meine Geräte richtig geladen werden und andererseits durch die Live-Anzeige immer nachschauen, ob sich etwas geändert hat.Die Aussenhülle ist aus Kunststoff mit einem integrierten Display. Direkt nach dem Einstecken in eine USB-C Buchse, startet der Bildschirm und das Gerät an sich und beginnt mit der Leistungsmessung.Das Display ist sehr gut lesbar und ich finde das Gerät wertig und gut verarbeitet.Durch die Pass-Through-Funktion kann ein Verbraucher am anderen Ende eingesteckt werden und damit die Leistung gemessen.In den Bildern habe ich testweise einen USB-A Stick über einen Adapter an das Powermeter angesteckt.Ich kann dieses Produkt jedem uneingeschränkt weiterempfehlen.