adamgreig - thank you for your comprehensive and excellent review. Do you know whether Keysight engineering has seen your video yet? They need to and I encouraged the Keysight support team to have a look as well. I have run into many of the same issues (although you've found many more). I've reported them to Keysight as well. The egregious bugs like locking up indicates very poor software QA and there is no excuse. If something is in a rack or bench top, it's not easy to unplug it always to reset it. I'm not clear how these could have passed the kind of rigorous process I used to know (I worked for the original HP T&M division for 13 years). Makes me wonder if this is an OEM product and Keysight relied on third-parties to design and test it. I hope not for the price. They really need to improve the software to make the UI more usable, less prone to errors, and obviously fix the bugs impacting usability. Also, I remember now if you mentioned it, but when you save and recall settings, it does not recall the Logging setup either. Maybe this isn't a bug per-se, but it's a pain because I want to be able to save and recall the instrument setup, including the logging feature. It can take a bit of time to reprogram the logger setup, especially when the unit completely hangs up!
In addition, I have experienced the same issue as you with inadvertently adjusting the current or voltage not realizing that the active area was something else. As a result, I accidentally applied 20V to a diode (good bye diode) when I was trying to current limit to 20 mA. This is simply due to the way the UI works. Yes, my fault, but too easy to make an error.
I also have the issue that others have reported of a periodic buzzing noise of the unit (even when powered down). During this condition, it draws an extra amp of current for a couple of seconds, then goes back to its quiescent state. It sounds like a fairly loud "buzz" or oscillation of the power supply, even while turned off. Keysight wants my unit back for evaluation but after visiting this forum I see that at least one or two others have reported similar issues with an audible buzz or noise. In my case, the fan is not on -- as it happens even overnight with nothing turned on (I've captured the transient in a power data logger, showing the instrument side of the load).
Anyway, great review. You captured so many of my frustrations with this unit. To be clear, I'm an avid supporter of Keysight/Agilent/HP T&M equipment. But with this unit, I feel like they lost their magic touch and that with some software improvements, they will have an outstanding piece of gear. Otherwise, it's a frustrating experience and I'm tired of pulling out the cord to reset it. No excuse, Keysight! Put your best on this to fix these things and please watch this video from adamgreig. Customers don't take time to do this because they want to waste their day. They do it because they love the brand and want the products to work in a way that's intuitive and reliable.