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Open/Close Sensor (actual) Battery Life experiences?

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    Open/Close Sensor (actual) Battery Life experiences?

    I've got a total of (6) of the Open/Close Sensors attached to seldom used windows and doors in my basement, and linked to a Siren for notification if these are opened. Installed per recommendations, with magnet 1/4" or closer to the sensor arrows. I have 25-30 other Insteon devices in my house, including nearby, so range/distance to a repeater should not be an issue. All devices are managed by the Insteon Hub (No ISY or other controller). Using the 'old' Hub app, as I have I/O Lincs.

    I've noticed that in only get maybe ~3 months of run time on the AA batteries for these units (name brand, Energizer, Duracell Alkaline batteries). The sensors are almost never activated in any manner. The manual on these units indicates battery life is expected to be "6 months (w/ 2 links @ 50 activations per day)".

    I'm a bit disappointed in this, as it seems wasteful to keep babysitting these with battery replacement on a very aggressive turnaround. I could live with 6 months, but generally expected a year or better for a security sensor with minimal activations, and that I would replace these when replacing smoke detector batteries annually. I've also tried Lithium based AA batteries, but it doesn't seem to help much.

    Interestingly, the one sensor which is activated most often (downstairs door) consistently seems to have much better battery life than the others, which makes almost no sense. It's almost like regular activation of the sensor increases battery life.???? It's definitely not an issue of these seldom-used sensors going to sleep or otherwise dropping off the network, the batteries test out as dead when replacing, and slapping a new battery in works just fine.

    Does anyone else have similar experiences? Is this 'normal' behavior for these units? Any other potential tips on extending battery life?

    Further exacerbating the issue is no ability for the Hub or sensor to report when the battery is low, so I've got to checkup on these sensors regularly. Overall, not an ideal situation.

    Thanks for any help/input you can provide!

    #2
    This is an old thread and no reply but I have the exact same issue. Either using Lithium or Alkaline it doesn't matter but Open/Close sensors that are almost never used (like basement window) wear out very quickly (3 months or so?) but ones that are used all the time (like a front door) last a long time (over a year). This makes no sense to me.

    Any explanation or solution?

    The lack of any battery life indicator with the Insteon system has always been a big negative to me.

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      #3
      There was an improvement by the old SmartLabs company to increase battery life starting with product revision 2.1 in 2017.

      There is a "heartbeat" signal the product sends out once 24-hours to indicate it is operating. It is not quite the ideal system you like to see "The lack of any battery life indicator with the Insteon system has always been a big negative to me." I expect that future products will include the battery level in its heartbeat or an extended length message. The Motion Sensor II does send the battery level in its heartbeat message.

      If the sensors was linked to a responder that is no longer in service, the door sensor will try to contact the sensor for 17-seconds after each activation. That is lots of transmitter power going to waste. So a factory reset and re-linking to your responder is an easy first step to increase battery life.

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        #4
        Ok John thank you for the reply and I will try the Reset tip

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