A low battery can happen from time to time with all of our newly installed wireless devices. This may lead to some frustration with customers as their panel will always alert them of the issue by beeping. Once you have informed the customer on how to stop the beeping diagnose which sensor needs its batteries changed. Battery changes are not covered under the customer's warranty and will need to be changed by them. If the customer wants us to do it for them they will need to pay for the service ($50) plus the cost of batteries. The battery cost will vary depending on what needs to be changed. Please refer to the pricing guide for the amount to quote the customer. ALWAYS make sure the customer's panel is "DISARMED" before having them begin any battery changing processes as the alarm will be tripped once the customer begins tampering with the sensors.
Door Window Sensors
Our door/window sensors use a battery called _______. To replace the battery the customer will need to pop the white cover off the sensor, remove the old battery, replace it with the new battery, and replace the cover. When they remove the cover the panel will alert them that the sensor is "tampered" this is because the system wants them to know that there is an issue with the sensor. Once they have completed the battery change the panel will no longer read tamper if the cover is correctly put back into place. This alert may take some time to disappear from the panel. Please advise the customer that they need to wait 15-20 mins if the alert does not immediately go away. If after that time it does not go away, have them re-check the cover to make sure it is completely snapped into place. There should be no issues with this after the allotted time.
Smoke/CO2/Glassbreak
A low battery in a smoke, CO2 or Glassbreak will also alert the customer. The battery types in these devices can vary so have the customer check the device by removing the cover to check the battery type. To replace the battery they will pop the cover off the device by twisting it (just like a normal smoke detector). Once the cover is off they will replace the battery and put the cover back on. When the customer removes the cover the panel will read "tamper". It is extremely important that the cover is put back correctly. There are notches on both the cover and the plate mounted on the ceiling. They will need to line those notches up to get the panel to read that the device is "OK". Allow 15-20 minutes for the panel to read ok if it does not happen immediately and inform the customer to call the office if the tamper alert continues. If they call back in walk them through the steps again. Make sure they have put the battery in place correctly and that the notches line up. If the problem continues we will need to send out a technician and will charge them the service fee.
Motion Detectors
When replacing the batteries in a motion detector advise the customer to be extremely careful with the faceplate as it is pretty brittle and can shatter if dropped. The batteries in these devices can vary so the customer will need to remove the faceplate on the device to check which type of batteries are needed. Once they know what battery it takes they can replace them by taking the old batteries out and putting the new ones in. When they remove the faceplate the panel will read "tamper" just like all other devices and when they properly re-attach the cover the "tamper" should clear itself. Advise the customer to wait 15-20 to allow the alert to clear and that if the alert does not clear to call the office back. If they call back walk them through the steps again and give the panel time to clear again. If the "tamper" alert continues they will need to have a technician come out to check the device.
Door Locks
All of our door locks take AA batteries and are very easy to replace. The customer will need to remove the cover off the back of the door lock, slide the battery pack out, and replace them. Once the new batteries are in place they will put the cover back on and will have to wait for 15-20 mins for the system to no longer read "low battery". This process is VERY simple but if a customer has issues with the system still reading low battery after the 20 mins before we send out a technician do a hard reset on the panel itself to clear out any old alerts that may be stuck. This process can take up to 30 mins. Advise the customer that you are doing a hard reset on the panel and to call back in 30 mins if the alert is still there. There can be only 2 reasons the alert continues after this...1. the batteries that they put in are bad or 2. They were not put in properly. Walk them through the above steps again one more time and let them know it may be the batteries that they are using if the problem continues after the second try. If they do it again and the problem does not go away have them try new batteries. Last resort is to send out a tech. If a tech is sent you will charge them the service fee and let them know that they will have to cover the cost of batteries.
Panel itself
The panel itself can read low battery ONLY if the power has recently gone out or the panel is unplugged. Inside the panel, there is a backup battery that will be used in the case of a power outage. If the power goes out the system will automatically alert the customer of a low battery because the backup battery kicks in and will only last a few hours up to a few days depending on how many devices are on the system. Once the power comes back on, the backup battery will recharge itself and the low battery warning will go away. This process can take a few hours. So, always ask the customer if the power has gone out, even for a few minutes, at their home. If they say yes, let them know the above information, if not, have them check that the panel transformer plug is currently plugged in. It will be a white plug not far from the panel. Have them make sure that it is plugged into the same outlet that the installer put it to ensure that they have not moved it and plugged it into an outlet that does not have power to it (this has happened before) if this is the case have them correct the issue and wait a few hours for the backup battery to recharge itself. However, if they check the plug and if everything is as it should be then we will need to send out a tech because there is no reason for a low battery and it may be an issue with the actual panel itself.