Etsy's Device Lab
Article Summary
When mobile traffic jumped from 25% to 40% in six months, Etsy knew they had a problem. Their engineers were testing on personal iPhones while users browsed on dozens of different devices.
Lara Hogan, engineering manager for Etsy's mobile web team, shares how they built a physical device lab with 34 phones, tablets, and devices. This 2013 post details the practical challenges of setting up real-device testing infrastructure.
Key Takeaways
- 34 devices selected based on actual traffic patterns and known problematic models
- Color-coded library cards and washi tape made device checkout scannable
- Power management was the biggest challenge (iPads broke standard USB hubs)
- Adobe Edge Inspect enabled simultaneous testing across multiple devices
- Teams discovered device-specific bugs they'd completely missed during development
A well-organized physical device lab helped Etsy's teams catch real bugs on actual hardware that emulators and personal devices were missing.
About This Article
Etsy's device lab kept running into power problems. Standard USB hubs couldn't keep up when iPads and other power-hungry devices were plugged in at the same time. When multiple devices drew too much current, the entire hub would just shut down.
They switched to a Cambrionix USB hub that can handle 32 devices and deliver 16 Amps total, with 500mA per port. The hub has built-in protection that shuts down problem devices without affecting the others. They also connected tablets directly to power strips so they'd charge properly.
The lab now manages power much more efficiently. They set up a timer-controlled power strip that only charges devices for a few hours each day. This lets Etsy track how much energy they're using and run the device lab more effectively. They keep 34 devices in active rotation without the power issues they had before.