These Are The Ryobi USB Lithium Tools To Avoid, According To Users

• Tools
• Tool Brands
• Ryobi

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

Ryobi's USB Lithium line is often marketed for its grab-and-go convenience, and to be fair, some of the tools in the series live up to that promise. But a handful of these tools have gained quite a reputation for performing poorly, particularly among users who expected more, or rather, something remotely close to what you get from rival brands like DeWalt or Milwaukee.

Users across r/Ryobi and similar forums seem to point out the same problem along the lines of, "These tools feel more like gadgets that [than] real tools for trade". As one user put it in the thread: "I have several (Ryobi) tools ... I'd never count on them for woodworking other types of DIY stuff and can't see how they'd be useful in many of what I'd call "service-trades". Given the compact battery format, we can't say the limitations are surprising, though it appears some models struggle more than others.

Suffice it to say, these patterns matter, especially if you want to know which tools fail in real situations, which deserve space in your kit, and not just blindly going by what the spec sheets promise. On that note, here are a few Ryobi USB lithium tools you may want to avoid.

1. USB lithium soldering pen

Ryobi's soldering pen is one of the tools in the lineup that are consistently criticized, primarily for not maintaining a steady tip temperature under load. That inconsistency can lead to cold joints, especially in automotive or connector repair, and this is something that users notice right away.

"Really disappointed with this soldering iron [...] The main issue the device has is it can't generate enough heat to do very much work [...] it struggled to melt existing solder I was removing of some led strip," wrote one user on Amazon who also claims to be a Ryobi fan. Right below that comment was another user sharing his sentiments, and the same issue: "Too unpowerful," they wrote. This issue was consistent with several other user reviews, with one even going to the extent of calling it "a useless gimmick" whose initial idea was interesting but just unable to deliver in practical situations.

Even pro reviewers seem to agree. House Digest's Ryobi tools buying guide bluntly states that "Ryobi tools aren't designed for heavy use" and that "other budget-friendly brands might be better for prosumers." Looking at all the feedback we could find, it's safe to say that the Ryobi USB lithium soldering pen is a decent hobbyist option, "if all you want to do is tin and solder a few connections," as well as reach awkward spaces. However, expecting anything even remotely close to pro-grade performance is overreaching.

2. USB lithium screwdriver

There's no denying that a USB-charged, pocketable screwdriver sounds perfect, particularly for quick panel screws or light interior trim. It is pretty popular among users. In fact, plenty of verified buyers and even expert reviewers like Pro Tool Reviews seem to love the driver's ergonomics and removable USB-lithium battery design, which are truly impressive in their own right. Some users, however, are dissatisfied when they expect more from it.

One thing that kept coming up in product reviews and forum threads was that the screwdriver "lacks torque" and "spins slowly" compared to standard 12V and 18V compact drivers. In one discussion, the user wanted to know if the multi-head Ryobi would go against a Milwaukee M12 lithium-ion screwdriver "for work around cabinets and tight spots on furniture." Other users jumped in to share their views, with one going: "I have the Ryobi. Useful only if you don't need a lot of power. Useless if you are trying to remove a sticky screw or anything that requires even a little torque," and several others also cited the same issue of power limitations.

That split sums it up. The screwdriver is handy for panel clips and light interior trim, no doubt. But if your work involves driving longer screws into metal or dense composite, you'll often have to finish by hand. For mechanics and fleet techs, opting for more powerful compact 12V or 18V alternatives sounds like the wise choice.

3. USB lithium rotary tool

Rotary tools are used for everything from delicate engraving to deburring metal brackets, trimming, sanding, and more. To achieve that range, two things come into play: stable RPM under load and minimal bit runout, which, in layman's lingo, is the wobbling of a drill bit as it spins.

Despite many users praising its compact design, rechargeable batteries, affordability, and decent RPMs (5,000 to 25,000), the Ryobi USB lithium rotary seems to trip on both of those features repeatedly. "I have the USB lithium rotary tool with the removable battery and it's a gutless piece of junk, it would bog down when I was sanding [...]" is the clearest, genuine user comment we could find on Reddit, and is just one of many complaints citing bogging or stalling of the rotary tool under load.

Many other users also expressed frustration with the tool's collet. One verified buyer under the Ryobi rotary tool product page wrote: "I bought this tool and can't get any accessories to go inside the collar [...] Apparently there is a part that breaks inside the collar that won't let any accessories to fit inside. Another buyer on Home Depot wrote: "Right out of the box I have an issue with the quick change collet. Can't get any accessories to fit [...] I checked the reviews to find many people have the same issue." That said, there's a regular collet supplied with the tool, and swapping it seems to work just fine.

4. USB lithium power scrubber

A brush that spins fast and easily reaches confined spaces, unlike drill brushes, sounds fantastic, to say the least. The thing, however, is that when it comes to tools like this, the whole story — at least for the most part — becomes about torque, and Ryobi's USB lithium power scrubber just doesn't offer enough to warrant a spot in a serious cleaning kit. Not that it's a bad product overall. No, in fact, many users seem to find it useful, as evidenced by the 4-star+ ratings on Home Depot and Ryobi's site. However, not all users agree. One verified buyer on Home Depot expressed his disappointment, claiming that "while this scrubber is compact in the hand, it just lacks power. Even on turbo (300 rpm), it's not doing any much more than my normal cleaning tools."

Looking at the power scrubber's buyer reviews on Ryobi's site, the same frustration can be seen, especially when it comes to grout and rough surfaces that need a scrubber to dig in. Things aren't any different on Reddit either, with one user posting: "Meant for scrubbing, doesn't do well for scrubbing. It's the unfortunate case for a few of these recent USB Lithium products [...] it just stalls out (stops then you have to cycle off/on again) if you put any strong pressure/load on it."

For light soap scum and sink fixtures, it'll do. But from a working tech's perspective, and for a real cleaning force? Users overwhelmingly agree to pass.

How we identified the most commonly criticized Ryobi USB lithium tools

The primary goal of this piece was to build a fair, credible picture of the Ryobi USB lithium tools, which fall short. To arrive at that, we relied on user-submitted feedback that is both publicly accessible and tied to verifiable purchases, if not a recognizable forum. That involved digging through buyer reviews on retailers such as Home Depot and Amazon, both of which explicitly label verified buyers, and comparing their experiences with long-form discussion threads on Reddit's r/Ryobi and r/Tools communities. We didn't go for dramatic comments. Rather, we only looked for patterns that reflect actual consumer experiences and appear across platforms, basing our findings strictly on that.

It's also worth noting that every quote in this article was sourced from a site that allows direct linking. As such, anyone reading can see the full context rather than paraphrased summaries of it. Having spent enough time around workshop benches and pro-grade fleet equipment, I understand which failures matter most, and that experience shaped what I deemed as "material" user feedback for this piece.

Expert evaluations and tool write-ups from sites like Pro Tool Reviews and House Digest also helped add insight into the mentioned limitations (where applicable), helping us determine whether we can attribute some of the issues to design or engineering trade-offs. This, in turn, strengthened the argument over whether to include or exclude a product from this roundup.