So i tried the no magnet idea and it didn’t work. This was with my 5 button remote.
I left the back battery door off and I did not place it back on the white magnetic holder. Within 24h I’m down to 11% button left.
1 Like
How many Ikea devices were updated when you connected them to the Ikea hub?
What firmware was updated, have you noticed?
Any inprovement noticed?
Grtn Ben
All of the buttons (7 of them) and all of the repeaters (7 of them) updated their firmware.
From memory it went form 2.2.008 on the buttons to 2.2.010. The zigbee repeaters went from 2.2.005 to 2.3.070.
I did that upgrade in June, problem remains.
The problem is that if you run the IKEA hub there is no problem… BUT the IKEA hub and its software is terrible. It does NOT expose the button events so that you can use some other home automation software. IKEA has not figured out that I might want to use one of these buttons to open/turn on something other than a blind
If you only want to used these buttons to drive IKEA smart home devices then the IKEA hub might be a solution… But its software is terrible.
2 Likes
I have one Shortcut Button paired with ST, and one Remote Dimmer Switch, one Trådfri LED driver, and perhaps two dozen bulbs all on ST via the Hue hub. I’m tempted to get the IKEA Gateway just to update the remotes and driver (it has its own issues) and return the Gateway, but the thought of rebuilding everything back in ST/Hue is making me ill. Should I just do it?
ETA: the remote dimmer switch that controls the LED driver (Omlopp and Strömlinje lights in the kitchen) runs through the Hue hub, and I’ve had to change the battery just once in 11 months, after perhaps seven months with the original IKEA battery. It does disconnect every so often but I’ve never investigated whether that’s a driver issue or the remote itself. A quick un-replug solves it.
If you reset a bulb, it will not be removed by default from Hue, as I can recall. Because Hue probably will not recognize what has happened with the bulb and will just show it as unavailable. (You need to test it with a single bulb.) Then you can add it back and it should know it is the same bulb without changing anything in the Hue setup or in ST. But it has to be trialled by a single bulb first.
If it do so behaves as explained above, then you can update their firmwares with the IKEA Gateway and add them back, like nothing has happened.
1 Like
Thank you. I will try this and report back. Of course I doubt it will update the Shortcut Button firmware 23015, and will have no effect on the ZigBee stack battery issue, but one can hope.
I know this thread is miles long… but a few of us have already tried this… The IKEA hub is super cheap. And it will instantly update the firmware. But the battery life problem will remain.
1 Like
Ok thanks, I’ll swing by there today. Do I have to remove Trådfri devices from ST or Hue first if they won’t be permanently paired to the Trådfri Gateway?
No don’t remove them. Keep them where they are, just reset them meanwhile the IKEA Bridge is in pairing mode.
Hue and ST should recognise the device like it fell off from the network.
Perfect, thank you. Picked up the Gateway (CA$30 plus VAT) today and will get to it soon. 
they address the battery issues at some point… 
LOL as expected, the Shortcut Button is already up to date at 2.3.015, and now that I re-paired it to ST the battery is showing the infamous 89% (was 100% from the time I put the new battery until I just reset it for the IKEA Gateway). We’ll see!
Meanwhile, do the Trådfri bulbs just automatically update? I can’t select bulbs in the HomeSmart app, just the buttons and steering devices (or Sonos/Symfonisk). I do not wish to pair the dimmer switch to the Gateway, as its battery doesn’t drain quickly.
2 Likes
I have a few dollar store coin cells left… I will try the new firmware too… you’d think that Samsung would report this patch if it fixed the issue.
Your post is the first bit of good news in about a month…
Was there any update on the repeaters… I have a gut feeling that they are the source of the problem.
At least in my house… Buttons and Blinds that are in the same room as the ST hubs last WAY longer then buttons or Blinds that are a repeater hop or two away from the hub.
Bad news… On my Hub the buttons are not updating beyond 2.2.010.
Odd. I have no experience with the Trådfri Gateway but it should update the device as soon as it pairs — mine looked for the update before letting me configure anything (which I didn’t bother doing).
And FWIW, 4½ days since inserting a fresh battery, and more than 3 days since pairing (and unpairing) with the Trådfri Gateway (without updating), Shortcut Button still works fine, shows 100%.
That’s a good start. As I have commented before, most of my buttons are in hiding on a hub that has retained an old stack, but I retained one on/off switch (dimmer) on the hub with the current stack. That one has had four battery changes at intervals as low as three days but unless I forgot to update some records I was keeping (possible), it hasn’t needed one for four weeks now. One moved from my other hub hasn’t needed a battery change yet, and a Shortcut button I added went ten days, failed, and then hasn’t failed in four weeks either. I’ve just changed the hub on another button to see how it gets on.
2 Likes
Actually there wasn’t any recent update to those switches from IKEA’s side.
https://ww8.ikea.com/ikeahomesmart/releasenotes/releasenotes.html
1 Like
I know. I was on 2.3.015 before I got the Gateway.
My Blinds now drain their batteries once a month. Really frustrating.
1 Like
Moved all IKEA devices on the IKEA gateway.
The Ikea app is frustratingly limited, but everything works lightning fast and reliable. It works even without internet and with the gateway disconnected from the power, as the remotes are paired also directly to the devices.
Meanwhile in the Smartthings “world”, my Xiaomi door sensors and temperature sensors started to drain the batteries very fast. Deja vu. It looks like I will have to bring back the Xiaomi gateway also.
Currently using Google Home app routines to compensate as much as possible for the lack of automations, and the missing features are not so relevant to darken my happiness from the stable operation of all the devices. I may try Apple shortcuts also.
Even if these problems are not originating from smartthings, my home works well without smartthings, and I intend to keep it that way.
1 Like