i just tried to pair my new first alert smoke and co alarm with smartthings and I am not having much luck. I went to the plus at the bottom of the main screen in smart things. Then I removed the battery tray in the smoke alarm and then pressed and held the test/silence button while inserting the batteries again. I tried it several times but smartthings did not see it. Any ideas?
1 Like
@blairdee2000, how close to the hub were you? It’s been a while since I added mine, but I think they chirp when added correctly.
I was about 5-10 feet tops. Do I need to be closer?
@blairdee2000, I would, just to be safe, like within 3 feet or so. Did you hear the chirps the last time you tried?
For all my battery powered devices I’m usually right next to the hub when including the device.
Try excluding it first and then include again.
1 Like
I’ve only had luck when a foot or two away, and it usually takes a few tries.
I did try excluding it and that didn’t work either. I will try doing it closer to the hub and report back.
I just tried again, this time with it less than a foot away. Tried several times and still it would not pair. I even tried once with it literally on top of and touching the smartthings hub.
I tried removing the battery tray, pressing and holding the Test/Slience Button until it beeps.
It will give a short beep almost immediately after inserting the batteries then a few seconds later it will give a slightly longer beep.
I tried holding the button until the first beep and I tried holding it until the second beep - didnt seem to make much difference.
What could I be doing wrong here?
I think mine would only pair if I just clicked the add device button rather than the specific device type for smoke/co.
Thanks for the reply. I actually tried that too and still no luck. Really scratching my head on this one.
I am in the same boat. Just got the First Alert and not pairing even after exclusion step. Have 37 “things” connected to my hub except for this smoke/CO2 sensor.
Has anyone solved this problem yet? I recently purchased the first alert and followed all of the same steps to add the smoke alarm. There is no indication in the smart things app that the system sees the smoke alarm.
1 Like
Having the same issue and have tried everything to make this work. Any one else with this same issue and making it work
Going through the Z-Wave Exclude procedure perhaps 3 or 4 times (there’s a double-beep or something and a yellow blink) may help.
I was able to connect mine successfully after that.
Be sure to wait at least 5 seconds with the batteries out before each exclude and include attempt; and I did the include right next to the Hub.
I have tried removing and adding many many times at various distances from the hub. Tried repairing my zwave network on which are several working devices, and I can’t get smartthings to see the smoke alarm. I’ve tried several different bottom battery tray combinations and nothing works. I’ve tried connecting as a nonspecific device… Nothing… Does this device really work with smartthings or is it a scam
1 Like
I have 12 of these paired and integrated, so they definitely work. They were also on hub v1 and I moved them to hub v2 without issue. I also paired many of them pretty far away from the hub, but my mesh is large.
Repairing your zwave network doesn’t do anything for you, so let’s check a few things. Please confirm your exclusion/inclusion process:
First put the hub in exclude mode, and then you slid out the battery compartment, and then slid it back while pressing and holding down the Test button until you heard a beep? When you excluded the device, did the app confirm “a device was excluded”?
After successfully excluding the device, you went back to the app and went to include the device via Connect New Device (verify the hub is in include mode by visibly looking for the blinking green light), and while holding down the Test button you slid the battery compartment back in until you heard a beep?
1 Like
I’m having the same problem. Did anyone find a way to get a finicky one to pair? Is mine defective?
Had the exact same problem as described on this thread. I finally was able to fix it by excluding the device at least 3 times in a row. Then pulling the batteries out before the second beep after the third exclusion. Then did the normal find device with the detector 1 foot away from the hub.
1 Like
I ran into similar issues and found the steps here worked well:
- With the App, Exclude the First Alert Smoke Detector and Carbon Monoxide Alarm
- Connect the First Alert Smoke Detector and Carbon Monoxide Alarm
To exclude the First Alert Smoke Detector and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (ZCOMBO)
If the First Alert ZCOMBO detector was not discovered, you may need to reset, or “exclude,” the device before it can successfully connect with the SmartThings Hub. To do this in the SmartThings mobile app:
- Tap the More menu
- Tap the Hub
- Tap Z-Wave Utilities
- Tap General Device Exclusion
- When prompted, do the following:
- Slide out the smoke detector’s battery tray
- Remove and re-insert the batteries (checking the correct orientation)
- Press and hold the detector’s test button while re-inserting the battery tray
- Wait for the smoke detector to beep (about 2 seconds)
- Release the button
After the app indicates that the device was successfully removed from SmartThings, follow the first set of instructions above to connect the First Alert device.
To connect the First Alert Smoke Detector and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (ZCOMBO) with the SmartThings Hub
First, slide the battery tray out of the smoke detector (on the top left side).
Insert the batteries (checking the correct orientation).
Then, in the SmartThings mobile app:
- Tap My Home
- Under Things, tap Add a Thing at the bottom of your Things list
- The app will say Looking for devices…
- While the Hub searches, press and hold the detector’s test button as you slide the battery tray back into the device
- Wait about 2 seconds for the smoke detector to beep, and then release the button. The smoke detector will then beep again
- When the device is discovered, it will be listed at the top of the screen
- Tap the device to rename it and tap Done
- When finished, tap Save
- Tap Ok to confirm
8 Likes
Like RobertK, I found that just adding it didn’t work. After failing adding it initially, I then Excluded it, and then Added it, and that worked fine. I’ve done this (and hand to do this) with two of these alarms. Do be sure to hold the button down until it beeps once. Be sure to have the Alarm within 3 feet of your hub. Note that the Exclude step includes taking the batteries out and putting them back in (I just took 1 out, pushed it up and out from under it).
1 Like