I have a FireFighter Smoke Alarm Audio Detector (319.5 MHz). I’ve only had it a short time, but it’s been going offline relatively frequently. When I tamper the sensor, I get an alert, and I can replace the cover, and the tamper alert goes away, however, it still won’t report as online. The only thing I’ve found that seems to reset it is to remove / reinstall the battery at which point it reports as back online immediately. I’ve replaced the battery (even though the original was tested as good) with no improvement. Looking for any thoughts or suggestions about what to attempt at this point. Thank you!
How far from the panel is the sensor located?
Is this the Zone 10 device labeled “Smoke Detector”? I do show the tampers in history but I am not seeing any “Offline” or “Malfunction” trouble conditions being reported at this time.
Offline or Malfunction typically indicates a communication issue with the panel. Steps on how to resolve a malfunction can be found here
Some things to check:
- Distance: Ensure that the sensor is within range of the alarm panel.
- Attenuation: Objects of home construction may be blocking the frequency transmission between the sensor and the panel.
- Metal (HVAC, wire, etc.)
- Large Appliances (TVs, Refrigerators, etc.)
- Mirrors
- Drained battery: Battery can be borderline low and not report a low battery to the system but still cause a malfunction.
It’s probably 20 feet from the panel? It is through two drywall walls, but nothing else I can think of that would cause any issues. And definitely not a battery issue. It was just the behavior that seemed odd to me, in that the only thing that would seems to allow it to allow it to clear the error is to remove / reinsert the battery, even though the panel is registering the tamper even when the offline error is current? There is one smoke detector that is a bit closer that I can attempt to move it to if you think that might help? Thanks for the reply!
Range shouldn’t be a factor here.
Try deleting from programming then pair it again. Watch it and see if it goes back into offline. If you can bring it closer to the panel by installing it near a closer smoke detector, that may help.