Hello - does anyone know if the battery level reporting for Kiwkset is accurate? When I migrated my locks, the level for both locks was showing 80% and it is still the same 1 month later.
I have notifications set up for low battery but wanted to check if the levels reported to Hubitat were somewhat accurate.
Welcome. It depends more on the device & the batteries. Energizer lithium hold their voltage and drop dead in a hearbeat. Alkalines have a nice steady decline and will give you the best results.
The device itself will have a threshold for reporting battery level, and is not always adjustable.
For something as critical as a lock, I'd change the batteries on a schedule, like once a year, especially if it doesn't have a key backup
Thanks - the Kwikset locks change their sound (not intentional I think) when batteries are running low, so I use that and a schedule to replace batteries. Was just wondering if the reporting was accurate. My previous hub (Wink) did show changes in the battery % and I used that as a validation.
I have 2 Kwikset locks and use battery notifications from HE to let me know when they drop below 30%. I’m using Kirkland AA’s and get 6-9 months of life depending on how many auto lock cycles they go through.
I have 2 Kwikset 910 and the battery level is definitely not accurate. I do the sound check just like @rakeshg. Sadly It's way more accurate that way.
I find that they start beeping at 50%, the batteries will last at least 1-2 more months for me YMMV.
Do you use lithium batteries or alkaline? I’m using alkaline for the locks.
I installed a Kwikset 912 Zigbee lock last October; its battery level dropped to 50% a couple of weeks ago and it is now beeping/flashing with every remote unlock also. Supposedly the 'heartbeat' LED on the interior side of the lock (which normally will periodically flash orange) is supposed to change to periodically flashing red, but its hard to tell the difference.
I was using Lithium last year but the cold winter killed them too quick so I switched back to alkaline since Feb.
Weak mesh will also drain your batteries as well.
I have some older 910s and when the battery's are low the led flashes red
I'm trying to remember if mine do that - I have the LED turned off on the 910. I do think it beeps periodically when the batteries are low.
Sorry to revive an old thread, but when you change your batteries, have you found a process that works consistently? I have two 910 locks that I changed the batteries in. The outside keypads work fine, but they seem to have both lost communications with Hubitat and I am trying to figure out how to get them working properly again. And what I did wrong so that next time I don’t lose communications.
Sorry - I have never had this happen so not sure what to tell you. I've changed batteries at least 2-3 times a year for the past 4 years (over 1 year with HE) and the locks work right away.
Thanks for the info. Do you remember how you put the batteries in? For some reason I push the lock button on outside when I slide the battery holder in (I dont remember why I started doing that, seems to me I get an alarm if I don’t). The lock mechanism closes/opens and it appears to be working properly after (all my previous codes work, etc). But then I lost communications to Hubitat so I assume I’m doing something wrong.
I just slide the battery holder out and change the batteries. I don't get an alarm as far as I remember.
IIRC, that's how you force the lock to re-hand itself. (And the bolt extending and retracting is a giveaway.) In my messing around with my 910s (I've converted 2 out of 3 to Zigbee over the past couple of months,) if you mess with the lock's own control board, it makes the radio control board goofy. I'm just guessing, but that could be a reason why you lose comms with HE.
I agree with the poster immediately above, just remove and insert the battery holder without pressing buttons. I'm not sure about the alarm you're getting. Mine beeps pretty loud (just once or perhaps twice,) but it goes away quickly. I just assumed that was an 'I'm alive again!' notice.
To the original topic, my 910s seem to report battery reliably, so long as you plan to replace batteries around the 50% mark. But it's fairly linear from 100 -> 50. Like others, I just replace by sound, though I have done them preemptively once or twice when they were getting low and I knew I didn't have long to go.
Ugh, ok thanks. I’ll do some more testing and then try to readd them. I was afraid I screwed something up. Thanks for your help
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