I just purchased a new SmarThings Presence Sensor from the SmartThings website on Feb 13th and out it into use right away. I just noticed that on ActionTiles it shows the battery is already at 30% life left. I checked live logging and it shows the same thing.
Any idea on why it would drain that fast? I had have another sensor that I bought in Jan. and it is still at 90% battery life.
The battery may not have been at 100% to begin with.
I remember seeing it register at 100% for a while after starting to use it.
Something funny is going on here. But in general, these things are junk. I got one for my car on 11/25. It’s now at 13% battery. I just got a warning.
I think more than anything the battery calculation is junk. Mine went from 100% to 15% in the first week. It’s been 15% for nearly 2 months now.
I’ve had a zooz motion detector on 1% for a couple months now. . . . I don’t change batteries until these things die. So, I’m curious to see how long the ST presence sensor will really last. I have a ST multi that kind of goes up and down. . . . If it only lasts months though, I’m going to be a unhappy.
So after 4 months of pinging every minute the battery is getting low.
Exactly how long do you expect the battery to last ?
Presence sensors go through battery because unlike contact sensor or motion sensor which only report when something happens, presence sensors are pinging 24/7 & they only have a watch battery. I’m surprised that you are getting 4 months out of one in your car. I’m lucky to get 2 months out of the ones in cars. The ones in girls bags last about 4-6 months. The batteries are not even $1. The issue is that the battery contacts are just & if you are not extremely careful when replacing them you will be replacing the sensor instead of just the battery.
I’m not sure. But I’m not interested in changing batteries every couple of months. I’m surprised that someone would keep using these if they only lasted 2 months. Even if they batteries are cheap, it’s a hassle. I don’t care to have too many little things like this that need frequent maintenance. . . .
Thanks for the tip about the contact. I’ll be sure to be extra careful when the time comes to change the batteries.
But if the presence sensor can’t last longer, I’ll just scrap it. I don’t find it very useful anyway.
[edit: just wired it up to a couple AA batteries and put it in a project box in the hatch of my car. That should solve the problem.]
I have one presence/arrival sensor on CR2032 battery now for years - I have learned to expect no more than 3 months life. A bad battery out of the box, could result in a month runtime or less. That is why I wire-powered the car presence sensors. They also give an adjustable indication of the car battery level.
So your presence sounds normal.