PollWatt Help

PollWatt watches your UPS from your Mac, iPhone, and iPad. It polls each unit over SNMP on your local network and shows power, battery, and environment readings. Your devices stay on your device, with optional private iCloud sync for your device list and settings.

Getting started

PollWatt opens to an overview of your UPS devices. When it is empty, add your first one with the + button, or tap Try Demo Device to explore with a simulated UPS before you connect real hardware.

Compatibility: PollWatt works with CyberPower UPS units that have an RMCard network card. It has been tested with the RMCARD205, including its SNEV001 environment sensor. Because it reads the standard RFC 1628 UPS values first, other SNMP-capable UPS cards may report some of their data as well.

Adding a device

Enter the host name or IP address of the UPS network card, choose the SNMP version, and PollWatt tests the connection as you type. The default port is 161.

SNMP v1: Enter the community string set on the card (often public for read access).
SNMP v3: Enter the username and authentication password (MD5 or SHA). Passwords are stored in your device's Keychain, never in plain settings.
Poll interval: How often PollWatt reads the UPS, set per device. A shorter interval gives finer charts and more frequent updates.

Tip: The demo device uses the reserved host demo.local and produces realistic drifting data. It is local only and never syncs, so it is a safe way to look around.

Your devices

The overview shows a rollup of total watts, amps, and load across your devices, plus a card for each UPS with its current watts, battery, and status. Devices running on battery or reporting an error show a badge, and a 30-minute chart tracks total watts and amps across everything.

Click a card, or a name in the sidebar, to open that device.

Pausing a device

You can pause collection on a device from its menu, or with a swipe in the list. A paused device stops polling but keeps the history it already recorded, and it drops out of the rollup and the menu bar. Resume it whenever you want readings again.

Device detail

Opening a device shows its full readings and charts.

Power, battery & input: Output watts and load, battery percentage, estimated runtime and battery status, and input readings, laid out as a grid of cards.
Charts: A watts and amps chart and a battery-charge chart, each with a hover or touch tooltip and a time-span label. The window follows the readings you have collected.
Environment card: Temperature and humidity with their high and low thresholds, shown when an environment sensor is attached (see below).
Info card: Model, rated power and current, nominal voltage and frequency, firmware versions, serial number, location, and uptime.
Note: A one-line note you can add to any device. It is saved with the device and syncs with it.
SNMP Data & Connection Log: The full table of recorded polls and a timestamped event log. Both can be exported to a file.

Menu bar

macOS only. PollWatt can show watts and amps in your Mac's menu bar, and clicking it opens a compact dashboard popover. You can also hide the dock icon and run from the menu bar alone. Turn these on in Settings → Menu Bar. Hiding or showing the dock icon takes effect after you relaunch the app.

Environment sensors

If your UPS network card has a compatible environment sensor attached, PollWatt reads temperature and humidity and shows the high and low alarm thresholds on the device's Environment card. A thermometer glyph marks those devices in the list, and when a reading crosses a threshold, the change is noted in the connection log.

SNMP setup

PollWatt speaks SNMP v1 and v3. Enable SNMP on the UPS network card's own web interface first, then add the device in PollWatt with the matching version and credentials.

It reads the standard RFC 1628 UPS values first and falls back to the card's vendor-specific values where needed, so a compatible card reports its full set of readings.

If a device will not connect

Check SNMP is on: SNMP is often disabled by default on the card. Turn it on in the card's web interface and allow read access.
Check the credentials: The community string (v1) or the username and auth password (v3) must match what the card expects.
Check the port and network: SNMP uses UDP, usually on port 161. Make sure PollWatt and the UPS are on the same network and that no firewall blocks that traffic.

History & data

Readings and the connection log are saved to a local database on the device, so your charts and log survive a relaunch. By default PollWatt keeps the connection log for 90 days and the per-poll readings for 7 days. You can change both windows, see how much space the database uses, and clear all saved data in Settings → Data.

This history stays on the device and is never synced to iCloud.

iCloud sync

Sync is opt-in. Turn on iCloud Sync to keep your device list, notes, SNMP credentials, and settings in step across your Apple devices signed in to the same iCloud account. Everything is end-to-end encrypted in your own iCloud and is not sent to the developer.

Sync Now: Sync on demand and see whether it succeeded.
Re-download from iCloud: Fetch every record from iCloud again and merge it in, to recover devices if this device shows fewer than iCloud reports.
Remove All iCloud Data: Delete your synced devices, settings, and credentials from iCloud and turn sync off. The devices on this device are kept, and their passwords stay in the local Keychain.

These live in Settings → iCloud. Sync needs you to be signed in to iCloud on the device; if you are not, PollWatt starts syncing on its own once you sign in.

Privacy

PollWatt has no accounts and collects no analytics. SNMP polling happens directly between your device and the UPS cards on your local network. Optional sync uses your own iCloud account. For screenshots or shared views, you can hide the serial number and location in Settings → Privacy.

Full details are in the Privacy Policy.

FAQ

Do I need an account?: No. There is nothing to sign up for. Sync, if you want it, uses the iCloud account already on your device.
Which UPS units work?: PollWatt needs a UPS with a compatible SNMP network card (see the compatibility note under Getting started). It speaks SNMP v1 and v3 and reads standard RFC 1628 values first, so many SNMP UPS cards report at least their core readings.
Why is a device not connecting?: Check that SNMP is enabled on the card's web interface, that the community string or v3 credentials match, that the port is 161, and that UDP is not blocked between your device and the UPS.
Is sync on by default?: No. PollWatt is local until you turn on iCloud Sync, and you can turn it off again at any time.
Where is my poll history kept?: In a local database on the device, pruned to the retention windows you set in Settings. It is never synced.
Can I run it from the menu bar only?: Yes, on Mac. Hide the dock icon in Settings → Menu Bar and PollWatt lives in the menu bar, with a popover dashboard when you click it.