I have a recurring problem with my Concord 4 for about the last two weeks. I get trouble beeps in the morning and in the evening and when I push asterisk status on the keypad it screen displays “Smoke Trouble”. The smoke detector itself is not alarming. I replaced batteries with a new pair just in case. No difference. When I replaced the batteries, I did get several tamper notifications.
The ADC app and website both show “Malfunction (Smoke)” and the activity shows Smoke offline and Smoke Online cycling on and off. In order to stop the Smoke Trouble alert beeping at the keypad, I press the asterisk or disarm from ADC app. This seems to be only a temporary solution.
“Offline” indicates for a wireless sensor that this is a wireless supervision issue. Supervision signals from the sensor, heartbeat signals letting the system know the sensor is there and functioning, are being missed at the panel.
This typically indicates an environmental issue attenuating the wireless signal. This is most commonly due to distance from the panel. Metal near the sensor in question is the biggest material culprit, but all materials cause some level of attenuation, so changes to the surroundings or the location of the sensor can cause this.
Lower battery levels can cause this activity as well if distance or other factors are present.
What model of sensor are you using?
Is it a newer sensor or has it been installed for a long time?
Were the batteries purchased new recently or were they on the shelf for a long time?
Have there been any layout changes to the sensor or materials nearby?
Any changes to the Concord 4 area/antennae? Are all of your sensors wireless?
The smoke sensor is TX-6010-01-1. The sensor is not new and has been in place since before I moved in over 6 months ago. I replaced the batteries twice, thinking the first time around they may have been bad. The current batteries are brand new. Nothing changed. There is nothing blocking the sensor or the GE panel in another part of the house. When I just checked the sensor for model, I received several tamper alerts to the keypad and my phone. After I put it back on the wall, the keypad alerted again to the Smoke trouble issue.
Performed 3 test on the sensor. Each time it returned 8, indicating it’s too sensitive and may have an issue with the optical chamber (I’m not familiar with what that is). I will look into either cleaning or replacing the optical chamber, if possible.
I cleaned everything I could but did not replace the optical chamber. The sensitivity test now shows 5 and the smoke reset itself since it is within normal range. System status is OK. No smoke trouble showing for now on the keypad. However, the ADC app and web still shows a "Malfunction (Smoke) alert banner. Maybe this will reset after time as well.
Thanks for the help and quick responses. Hopefully this is the last of the issue.
Happy to help! Yes if the underlying issue is resolved the status on Alarm.com should update as well. In fact it looks like the malfunction is not currently showing for that sensor. You may need to refresh the web page or app to view this change.
