Sensor batteries regularly failing!
I purchased and installed 4 contact sensors 6 months ago. Only 1 of these sensors worked as expected, although I had installed the other 3. I have basically given up on them as I burned through the batteries that came OEM in the packaging in less than a week. I should say the 3 out of 4 batteries that worked; 1 original battery was DOA!
I purchased extra batteries after a week and they were dead within 2 weeks - except in 1 unit! That 1 unit still works without issue and is still working with the original battery; Surprising as it is on a different floor and the furthest from any sort of connectivity. Two of the units eventually were out back in their box and added to my IoT cemetery in the basement!
In the 6 months I have had these sensors, I have gone through not less than 22 aftermarket replacement batteries in addition to the 4 that came with the purchase.
Given 1 original still works using the original battery since day 1, I will ignore that one
That’s the 3 original batteries dead with 21 newly purchased and installed batteries across the other 3 units!
After 6 weeks I pulled 1 of the sensors down and put back a different, older sensor in place - but it’s not Matter, or Siri compatible, which was the reasons for my original decision to purchase this brand.
So I continued with only 3 sensors in use for another few weeks until I got frustrated and pulled another 1 sensor down and put back in the box!
1 new one working for 6 months (24 weeks) with the original battery, we ignore
1 working with regular battery replacements for 6 weeks,
1 working with regular battery replacements for…. Let’s round-up to 12 weeks,
1 working with regular battery replacements for 24 weeks
So with the original 4 batteries supplied less 1 dead-on-arrival 3 + 22 replacements
= 25 batteries working spread across 3 problematic units for approximate active service time of (24 + 6 + 12) 42 weeks. Puts the battery life replacement average at 1 per unit every 1.75 weeks.
Two of the units almost never get triggered as the door rarely opens so no automation. One has frequent usage with 1 active automation.
Doesn’t seem viable to continue with this product as the batteries due to their small size are some of the most expensive ones out there.
I originally bought some retail, then some online with 1-day delivery, and most recently direct from a top-name brand battery company!
I don’t have a complex home netwirj. No other devices show such battery life issues on my network.
I’m ready to chuck the lot of them in an envelope and mail them to the CEO with some inappropriate words about the quality of their product.
I’m no Luddite! I own a software company and I’ve used home automation since as early as 2008/09 and progressively expanded my home’s ecosystem.
I also occasionally write articles for business magazines in Canada and the US about the future direction and strategies behind information gathering and the methods that all of our devices are providing more telemetry to the big data world than most people conceive - and while I don’t see myself as an influencer, I suspect if I wrote about this hardware issue I would sway minds? The thing about it is I don’t want to do that! Like everyone else who purchases these devices I just want these things to work as the marketing materials specify. How can this be such an issue with my 3 out of 4 devices, and am I alone here? Is no one else having this issue?