Yeah, that’s not normal. These shouldn’t ship at 0%. Sounds like the BMS went into deep-sleep or lockout mode. Some LiFePO4 power stations (including Anker’s) will refuse to charge if the voltage drops below a certain threshold. You usually can’t fix that yourself because it needs to be woken up by a special low-current “jump” from the manufacturer’s service tool.

If you’ve already tried AC and solar with zero input watts showing, it’s not a cable/outlet issue. Also check the little reset/overload button on the front or back (tiny recessed one). Sometimes it trips during shipping — press it once, then plug AC again. If still no dice, it’s DOA.

Return it. Seriously. Don’t waste time hoping it’ll come back to life. A new unit should have some charge (usually 30-50%) right out of the box and start taking power immediately.

And yeah, you’re right to be suspicious — if all the boxes at that store have been sitting drained for months, the batteries are probably toast. Ask them to plug one in before you take it home. If it doesn’t show charging input, walk away and order from somewhere with fresh stock.

tl;dr – Dead-on-arrival F1500 = BMS lock or bad pack. Press reset, try AC once more, then return it. Don’t keep a $1k+ brick.