IRIS devices - My experience

Has anyone tried the Iris devices? A couple months back I bought the automation pack. Everything hooked up great. Slowly every device seems to be flaking out, or just flat out dying. The button was the first to go, and when I tried to reset it by opening the battery door, the little plastic piece that holds back the battery door cracked. So the button is garbage now. Looking at it the battery door is so complicated it is obvious it was engineered for a limited lifespan. I took it back and the next button would not even come on. That went back as well. Next was the motion sensor not recognizing motion. Again I reset it by taking the battery out. It reconnected but was flashing every colour in the rainbow for days, it probably used up half the battery in those few days. The other night I had hundreds of motion detected signals all night from it. Chalk that up as flaking out. Next one of the door sensors stopped reporting. Not sure how long that was going on for, removed the battery again, and it started up again. Oddly though when I reset it, the other door sensor near it reported as open, even though it was firmly closed. Bottom line, after 2 months of these Lowes products, I have no faith in them at all. One of the sensors is on a basement door to the outside and it is critical for intrusion alerts since this would be a prime door to break into. I cannot trust these devices at all for security purposes. I will slowly be replacing them with Smart things versions since all of those have been operating since last November with no issues at all. It is just too bad that the Smart things sensors have to be multi purpose, and therefore so much more expensive.

i bought a pack, its been working fine for me. i even went out yesterday and bought another one. This was using the 40% off CES coupon ( which is now expired ). Cant speak for the battery life, but things seem a - ok for now. the smart plug i the same manufacturer of the samsung smart plug. no false positives yet either.

I’ve had some of my Iris devices before they were in stores, initially paired to Iris hub then ST. All working great except the buttons. The battery door and contact are a flawed design and both are dead. But the motion, contact and keypad are great.

Hint switch the device types to Smartsense and they run local on the V2 hub. :slight_smile:

I assume you are talking about the IRIS Single Button. http://www.lowes.com/pd_690401-41277-3460-L_0__?productId=999925306

If so then yes I found an issue with the way the battery made contact inside. Mine has not cracked. However I ended up making it work by placing a shim using some card stock at the back of the battery so when the battery tray was closed the battery would be pushed harder against the contacts. This resolved the problem for me.

The design isn’t great however the button was inexpensive. I figure if something breaks like it did for you I would either repair it or use a small screw to hold the battery door closed.

Other IRIS devices seem to be okay. The Keypad, Fob and SmartPlugs have been working great for me. Links below:

http://www.lowes.com/pd_690406-41277-3405-L___?productId=999925326&pl=1&Ntt=iris
http://www.lowes.com/pd_690405-41277-3450-L___?productId=999925322&pl=1&Ntt=iris
http://www.lowes.com/pd_690407-41277-3210-L___?productId=999925330&pl=1&Ntt=iris

I had the flashing rainbow problem with a motion sensor after I dropped it. And yes, it ate a whole battery in a week before I replaced it.

Hi @ebishop75,

I’ve purchased 3 of the automation packs, a half dozen open/close sensors, a few buttons, and I lost track of how many motion sensors. I’ve had none fail since they were installed, including using some in refrigerators and freezers. Most of my devices are also in high usage areas.

The buttons need a redesign for the battery compartment and poor battery contact, but I have implemented a workaround. Everything else has been rock solid.

I’ve actually had more problems with ST’s motion sensors and their crappy battery compartment design.

Have you caught up with these discussions? Based on your first sentence, you may have not searched the community and found these:

what is your button battery workaround?

It’s super high-tech: use folded paper under the battery. It causes the battery and tray to slide in with just enough resistance with the upper contact to keep the battery and tray pushed in really far to ensure it makes and stays in contact with the front metal tab. Beware though, it also makes getting the tray out a bit harder too.

The overall design of the battery contacts, and the fitment of the battery tray has been the root cause of all 3 of my buttons not working. After making that modification, they’re working perfectly.

Even my ST gen 2 motion sensors have issues with the battery compartment design. To such an extent that ST only recommends certain batteries because of their design and differences in battery designs:

Yes, the single button. The plug is working great for me as well. The other devices though are questionable. I just bought two Minimotes for 24 each off eBay. They work great. Same price as the single button, four times the functionality, rechargable battery. Much better deal. It amazes me that Centratech cannot make a stupid little button work right!

John, Yep, I read all the posts to see if I was missing something with that stupid button. Saw lots of talk, little feedback, and the custom device handlers. Just wondering what the consensus was on these devices, if they were worth getting any more at all or cutting my losses and avoiding them.

I wish I would have waited to get the Iris devices instead of the PEQ’s Best Buy was unloading. All are made by Centralite, but the form factor of the Iris version is better in my opinion.