Discussion : - Utorch UT01

I hope the problem is eventually fixed going forward. Iā€™ll wait this one out until then.It must be a pretty great little light if everyone is still buying it knowing it has issues.

Its a nice light but I wouldnā€™t buy another one right now, not even for the for $9.99 that I paid. I already had to fix the battery length issue and switch problem to make it usable, now itā€™s unusable again.

Not sure why anyone would buy one of these after reading these issues, unless they like to just roll the dice, even for a host theyā€™d need to fix the battery length and maybe the switch, and I havenā€™t see any deals for $9.99 anymore. The Sofirn Sp10A would be a better choice, currently on sale for $10.93

I was quite happy with it after doing the switch mod, until this happened. I do like the UI, size/form and warm tint, considered the Lumintop EDC05 but Iā€™ve already read many are having the same issues with that one too, (both the switch issue and having to break circuit every time issue) and it also is reported to have considerably lower max output. Thereā€™s also the Manker E11 that I believe is the original of this design, suppose to have output like UT01 and is rock solid reliable, but itā€™s $30.

Gearbest wants me so send in a video of the problem but the file needs to be less than 2mb, so now I have to work on that now too.

Like they never heard of these problems before. By now , they should just ship out another one , no questions asked.

Yeah exactly what I was thinking, so I replied I couldnā€™t make a video, weā€™ll see what they say.

Dunno if I want another one though, maybe a credit.

Had that issue also with another item, but did not progress further. Was going to ask them if they have a video showing the item working properly when shipped. Or any proof that the item was even inspected.

One of mine was originally DOA, so I opened a ticket with GB. They wanted a video, but I told them I had no means to make one, and instead sent 3 pictures. Pic 1 showed the battery voltage on a DMM, the 2nd showed that same battery in the light, and the 3rd just showed the LED end of the light not lit up. They offered to replace, credit, or refund, and I could keep the DOA light. I took the credit and bought a On The Road M3 light, which is very nice and has a magnet in the tailcap. I still greatly prefer the feel of the UT01, and hopefully my 2 working ones will keep working properly with eneloops. Not as awesome as with a 14500, but still very good. Itā€™s a great little light when working as it should. Really hope they get the driver issues fixed on the UT01 and also on the Lumintop EDC05. Iā€™m thinking about trying to replace the switch. Iā€™ve read some comments where doing that has fixed all problems for some people. Maybe worth a try.

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Mine started this problem tonight. It had been working just fine on a Imren 14500 IMR, pulled the cell out measured 3.8v so I charged it and several other 14500ā€™s, popped in an new Soshine 900mAh and the problem started, it will turn on only once until you break the circuit, and then only once again. Itā€™s even doing it on an alkaline that measures 1.59v.

Very strange seemed like putting a fully charge battery in is what killed it. Filed a ticket with Gearbest, Iā€™m pretty much done with this light for now.
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Nothing has happened to mine yet, thankfully, but after reading this I immediately put in a fully charged battery. Maybe if I keep the battery above 4v I can prevent the problem. I donā€™t know, just a theory I came up with after reading your post. I hope someone finds a fix, or Utorch fixes this problem, as it is a great little light.

Edit: I guess I donā€™t understand how to quote someone.

My 2 UTorch UT01 behave that way (one was using AA, the other a 14500)ā€¦

After turning on and turning off, it wonā€™t turn on again. Will need to unscrew (break the current) before it will turn on again.

Already past the Gearbest refund periodā€¦ (bought a few months ago) ā€” well actually one had been refunded due to another issue it had before I fixed it. But now, this is a new issue that affects both unitsā€¦

My UT01 worked reasonably well, i.e. the switch was uncertain. Putting the washer, it worked well, but over time it got worse. Today I decided to replace the old one with a new switch. As I put it together, it turned out that I was affected by the general problem, i.e. not turning on the light at 14,500. Just in case, I checked all February, changed the switch again, etc. With NiMh it works perfectly.
The 100% problem here is electronics, not mechanics. As UT01 was in good working mode, he was charging 4.7uA on NiMh and 14uA for 14500 in standby mode. Now, as something changed, it is 101uA and attention, 2.3mA so 164 times more than before. In my opinion, this high drainage is the reason that the lamp does not turn on. I can not find the culprit. The pipe and tail do not affect this parasitic drainage.



I have no problem with high standby drain when I take the tailcap off and test with a 14500, but when I put the tailcap back on, the button only works once before I have to break the circuit to reset things again.

I have 2pcs UltraFire ā€œ1200mAhā€ 14500 (actual tested discharged capacity with analyzing charger for both is between 250-300mAh).

(not a scientifically controlled test)
Freshly charged both of them. Placed one of them on my UT01, the other is not used.
With the UT01, I tested that it works (it turns on, then turn off). I know mine has the issue that after turning off, it wonā€™t turn on again until I break the circuit.
In my test here, I did not break the circuit after I tested the battery. But I was wondering how much was the self-drain when I did it.

Anyway forgot about it until several days or maybe up to 2 weeks, I didnā€™t touch both batteries (both the UT01 and the other 14500).

After that period of time, I tested the UT01 and it wonā€™t turn on, even when I broke the circuit. I removed the 14500 inside the UT01 and tested that it has drained to below 2.0v! (so the UT01 drained that 14500). The other Ultrafire 14500 has also self-drained a bit, but it was still around 4.0v or somewhere there (from being freshly charged and just kept in storage).

Just to test if itā€™s self-drain or these low-quality Ultrafires or the UT01, used a different 14500 (capacity around 14500).
It was around 3.9x volts when I placed the battery inside the UT01, then turned it ON and then OFF, and did not break the circuit after that.
After several days (maybe 5 days or so), that battery still works (tested by breaking the circuit and turning it back on). But the voltage has dropped a slight bit (was 3.9x, and now was 3.8x volts resting voltage). So maybe the UT01 indeed has some high parasitic drain (or at least my UT01 has).

I havenā€™t had time to do more comprehensive controlled testing thoughā€¦

I have the EXACT same issue with the Lumintop EDC05!

Oh, the new Utorch S1 mini has also a prolem at 3.8V: At 3.8V you had to cycle power if you want HIGH for a second time.

Ha, ha, 4 of my 5 UT01 have this bugā€¦ All of them (incl. the good one which still works without any issues) I therefor switch off by turning off.

It used to be that 2 out of 4 of mine had this bug. Then, a week or so ago, I decided to do an emitter swap on one of the ones that worked with 14500s. A few days later, it developed the problem, too, despite never seeing much use before or after the emitter swap.

So, I pulled out my once tested and otherwise unused UT01. I swapped the emitter in, and noticed along the way that the reflector was no longer threaded like it had been on the first three (so theyā€™d done some redesign). Now, tonight, after a few days of minimal use, it now has the same problem.

This makes me very angry.

I thought I had one of the good ones. Worked fine for a month or two, then it developed the same issue as everyone elseā€™s. Not buying Utorch again in a hurry, this issue was known LONG before I bought mine, seems like they had no interest in solving it.

Oh, even better. I downgraded this latest casualty to NiMH; It has the same problem with those!

I have UTOCH UT01 for about a year and it works without any problems. I use it irregularly. After reading todayā€™s answers, I measured the battery. After a few months when I did not use the lamp, it has a voltage of 3.9 volts. So my UTORCH does not have a large parasitic current drain. I only use the Li-ion 14 500 battery.

mine broke after 1 year
i probably use it 30 times a day so that would be about 11,000 switch operations
still

bad design or bad part

wle

how hard is to make a properly working light,
my UTOCH UT01 have the same problem, need to break the contact after turning off the light,

i mean i love this light, so nice and compact but common this fukin switch/driver is a deal breaker,

i need to buy more AA/14500 light but nothing new the past year or so :person_facepalming: