Aeotec Door/Window Sensor 7 Pro - Battery reporting 10% after a few weeks

Hardware
1

Hi,

I just installed a new Aeotec Door/Window Sensor 7 Pro 2-4 weeks ago and a couple of days ago its reported battery level has dropped from 100% to 10%. If this is a true indicator it seems I will only get about 4 weeks from a new battery. Anybody else seeing this?

The sensor was purchased in May 2022. The cover has not been left off and it is not reporting tamper. It is on a garage door that opens less that 5 times a day.

I’m aware of earlier Z-wave firmware issues draining batteries and last year threw a couple in the bin, but I thought that was all resolved. So far I’ve never been able to get more than a month from an Aeotec sensor, I must be doing something wrong. Ideas?

Thanks

Rob

2

From my experience it could be two things:

Some software weakness/error. Sometimes pulling the battery and putting it back in restores it back to 100%

If it is the original battery, it may got empty even before you purchased the sensor, long time storage in weird conditions is killing batteries. Change it for a new one.

3

Did you add the sensor with or without security as my experience shows battery issues when using security?

4

Thanks, I tried removing and replacing - still shows 10% (it did show cover removed, etc).

I do not remember if it is the original battery, as I have had a few battery issues. The battery is dated Nov 2021. I was hoping to discover I’ve done something wrong as I’m a bit reluctant to buy yet another battery.

Thanks

5

Security - interesting. It is configured to use S2 Authenticated. Given it was sending less than 10 notifications a day and went flat (10%) is just a few weeks … hard to see that as a significant load.

Cover removed - It showed cover ON throughout the period. I’ve retest this and checked the logs for when I took it out of service. It says that cover was ON and it does notify when it is OFF (removed).

6

I would love to hear from others using a Aeotec Door/Window Sensor 7 Pro. What battery life are people getting?

If I’m the only person getting only a few weeks, then it would help motivate me to look deeper and try another battery.

7

Multiple instances of people suffering battery issues with Aeotec Z-Wave devices when paired using S2, as its a window / door sensor there is little need for S2 and as it’s such a common issue I personally would put a new battery in it and pair it without the S2 as its a 5 min job and would prove a point.

1 Like
8

Thanks @rossk , that sounds like a good idea. I will give that a go. It will take a while before I report back though.

9

An update - I’ve been talking to the supplier and they had me check the battery voltage which was good. While I’m not sure if I can interpret a lithium battery’s charge from its voltage, it has got me wondering if the battery level % is incorrect. So I’m testing it to see if it does die over a few more weeks.

Now that I’m also watching battery level on a few Zigbee devices I do see a 20-30% drop in the first couple of weeks so just maybe in this industry battery % is … hmmm … aspirational. It is hard to measure lithium battery level as the voltage stays so flat for 90% of its life, but indicating 10% in first 20% (say) of life goes beyond “inaccurate”.

The supplier is suggested that Home Assistant is displaying the % wrong. I doubt that. See what I find.