My 2gig smoke alarm had a low battery alert, so I replaced the 123 batteries. The alerts continued after acknowledging them, so I thought the replacement batteries might also have been bad. I replaced the batteries a second time and the low battery alerts have begun again and continue even after acknowledging them. How do I clear and stop the alerts?
Is the 2GIG control panel showing the alert and beeping or is the alert just on the Alarm.com app/website?
If the 2GIG panel is beeping it’s possible the battery terminal contacts have a little corrosion on them. You might try spinning the batteries in their terminals a few times or rubbing them with very fine sandpaper.
What is the model number of the smoke detector?
Does the 2GIG panel show a smoke detector tamper when you take the smoke detector down?
2gig smoke alarm had a low battery alert, so I replaced the 123 batteries. The alerts continued after acknowledging them, so I thought the replacement batteries might also have been bad. I replaced the batteries a second time and the low battery alerts have begun again and continue even after acknowledging them. How do I clear and stop the alerts?
Make sure the replacement 123 is actually “CR123”, or “CR123A”, they have to be lithium (or you will get the low battery alert).
I guess what I was trying to get at was maybe the smoke detector with the low battery wasn’t the correct device that the batteries were replaced in. The 2gig smoke detector takes 3 AAA batteries and not the CR123As.
... The 2gig smoke detector takes 3 AAA batteries and not the CR123As.
No. only the Smkt3 takes 3 AAA
The Smkt2 (at least) takes 2 CR123A
True true. Was thinking it was the smtk3 for some reason. My fault there. Still could be a different smoke detector in the house that needs the batteries replaced.
True true. Was thinking it was the smtk3 for some reason. My fault there. Still could be a different smoke detector in the house that needs the batteries replaced.
True, But considering the panel will be showing a trouble for the detector via descriptor, and the detector itself should be actively chirping away, It would be very hard to not be able to locate the right detector…
Though it is very possible the programming descriptor is wrong, but still there is the chirping.
Sorry for the delay in getting back to all, but it is a SMKT2-345, the batteries are definitely 123, replaced with Energizer Lithium 123. The alarm does not chirp, just the panel beeping various times of the day showing the alert Hallway smoke: low battery. The alert was from 5-7-16 and even after acknowledging the alert the panel keeps beeping, the last was today at 7:27 pm.
I see an end of low battery yesterday evening on this sensor, but now shows malfunction.
Does your panel currently report a loss of supervision for that sensor?
Has this sensor been moved at all, or is it further from the panel than others? It sounds like signals may be having trouble reaching the control panel.
Yes, it now shows loss of supervision for that sensor? It has not been moved, it is about 15 ft from the panel.
How old is the sensor?
Also, check the date on the battery. If you are able to test the battery voltage, that would help.
As Ryan mentioned above, the terminals may have a bit of corrosion on them, have you checked and cleaned the battery terminals?
Borderline low battery may influence loss of supervision signals.
Is the LED flashing every 9 seconds on the detector? Or is it just off?
Also possible: an internal problem with that sensor, but you would want to rule out other issues first.
I’m running into the exact same problem. My 2GIG SMKT2-345 was showing a low battery as was my glass break detector. Both take two CR123A Lithium batteries. I replaced batteries in both. The notifications for the glass break detectors have stopped. But the smoke detector notifications have not. Neither was that low to begin with. The glass break detector batteries were 2.65V and the smoke alarm batteries were at 2.95V. The new ones (Panasonic Lithium) are 3.22V. Like Ronald, I thought maybe the new ones are defective so I replaced them with another set. No dice.
Now the interesting thing is that while the smoke alarm itself is not beeping, it is flashing a red every 8-10 seconds. I thought with the new batteries, it would flash a green. I have 2 old non smart smoke detectors on the same floor. They show a steady green light. So it could be something in the smoke alarm that’s incorrectly signaling the 2GIG system that it has a low battery.
Any idea how to fix this?
When swapping the batteries of an SMKT2, make sure to leave the batteries out and the device unpowered for a minute. The SMKT2 requires at least 30 seconds between power down and power up. (Located on a sticker on the inside.)
That should resolve the issues you are seeing.
Thanks. I hadn’t noticed that. But unfortunately, that didn’t help. I removed the batteries out for an hour and added them back in. The red light is still flashing every 10 seconds.
What is the printed manufacturer’s date on the unit? The 2GIG SMKT2 are only good for about 5 Years.
Say what, smoke detectors expire?!! What is in the smoke detector that should expire? I have smoke detectors from the time the house was built - 15 years ago that are still going strong.
When I press the test depression for 5 seconds, it beeps 3 times which seems to imply dirty sensors I believe. I cleaned it with compressed air, which didn’t help.
This one was manufactured on April 13th 2011. If it’s expired, I’m not likely to be getting another 2GIG smoke detector!
Most life safety devices have replace by dates on them. The test feature on the device only confirms that the electronics are working and that the battery is holding a charge, not the actual sensitivity of the sensor, which becomes dulled over time. The 2GIG-SMKT2s have been replaced with the 2GIG-SMKT3s, which should last for 10 years ( the typical time frame even among non-smart smokes)
Attached is the SMKT2 manual which has cleaning instructions, if needed.
2GIG-SMKT2-345-Manual.pdf (1.95 MB)
Yes. All life safety devices should always be replaced based on manufacturer’s stated end of life. The SMKT2 is 5 years iirc and has not been manufactured for a while. The SMKT3 is 10 years. I very strongly recommend not trying to use a smoke detector past their end of life. Not only can the sensing element fail, insurance companies may even deny claims if manufacturer’s instructions are not followed.
Thanks for the info. I did some research and as you say, it is recommended to replace Smoke detectors after 10 years (which to be honest seems pretty ridiculous for a static device in a mostly clean environment). And it’s one thing to replace a $15 smoke detector after 10 years, but quite another to replace a $100 smoke detector after 5 years. I know of course that you don’t manufacture them, so am not dumping on you. But if I had known that the lifespan of these 2GIG units was 5 years, I would have looked elsewhere. I can’t see myself rewarding them with more money even if their new ones supposedly last 10 years.
The Nest is almost twice as expensive at $100. But I think I’ll either go with the Nest or go with a non smart $20 smoke detector and wait for Ecobee to make a smoke detector. I installed their thermostats 6 months ago and love it.
Thanks for your help!