Understanding Rekeying Basics

Rekeying involves changing the lock mechanism so a new key operates it. This process is crucial for security after losing a key or moving into a new home.

Tools Needed for Rekeying

You'll need a rekeying kit, a screwdriver, and the new keys. Ensure the kit matches your lock type for a smooth process. The rekeying kit typically includes new pins and instructions. A screwdriver is essential for removing the lock from the door and accessing the cylinder. Having new keys ready is crucial for testing the rekeyed lock. Make sure all tools are within reach before starting the process to avoid interruptions.

Benefits of Rekeying Over Replacing

Rekeying is cost-effective and less time-consuming. It also allows you to keep your existing lock hardware intact. This means you don't have to buy a new lock, which can save you money. The rekeying process is generally quicker than installing a new lock, making it a convenient option. Moreover, keeping your current lock means maintaining the same aesthetic and fit on your door. This can be particularly important if your locks match other fixtures in your home.

Preparing for the Rekeying Process

Before starting, gather all necessary tools and find a well-lit workspace. Preparation is key to avoiding frustration during the rekeying process.

Safety Precautions

Ensure the lock is removed from the door and handle tools carefully. Wear gloves to protect your hands from sharp edges. This will help prevent injuries while you work. Also, keep a first-aid kit nearby in case of minor accidents. It's important to work in a clutter-free area to avoid any distractions or mishaps. Make sure you have a stable surface to place all parts and tools, which helps in keeping everything organized.

Removing the Schlage Lock

Use a screwdriver to detach the lock from the door. Keep all screws and components in a safe place to avoid losing them. Start by unscrewing the exterior screws to free the lock. Once the screws are removed, gently pull the lock apart. Store the screws and small parts in a container so you can easily find them later. This will make the reassembly process smoother and quicker. Double-check that you have removed all necessary parts before proceeding to the next step.

Disassembling the Lock

Carefully take apart the lock cylinder to access the pins. This step requires patience and attention to detail.

Identifying the Pins

The pins are small and vary in size. Lay them out to keep track of their positions. Each pin must be placed in a specific order to ensure the new key works correctly. To do this, use a flat surface and arrange the pins in the same sequence as they came out. This organization helps prevent confusion and mistakes during reassembly. Keep a magnifying glass handy if the pins are too small to see clearly.

Using the Rekeying Kit

Follow the instructions in your rekeying kit to replace the old pins with new ones. Ensure each pin is correctly placed. The kit will guide you on the pin sizes and their correct locations. Use tweezers to handle the small pins and insert them into the lock cylinder. Double-check each pin's placement before moving to the next. This accuracy is crucial for the lock to function smoothly with the new key. Take your time with this step to avoid errors that could complicate the rekeying process.

Reassembling the Lock

Once the new pins are in place, reassemble the lock carefully. Make sure all components fit together snugly.

Testing the New Key

Insert the new key to test if it works smoothly. If it doesn't, recheck the pin placements and try again. Turn the key in both directions to ensure it turns without resistance. If the key sticks or won't turn, there might be a pin out of place. Carefully disassemble the lock and verify each pin's position. Repeat the process until the key operates the lock smoothly. This step is vital to confirm the rekeying was successful and the lock functions properly.

Securing the Lock Back in the Door

Reattach the lock to the door using the screws you set aside. Double-check that the lock functions properly. Align the lock with the door and ensure the screws are tightly secured. Test the lock by turning the key several times to make sure it operates without any issues. If the lock feels loose, tighten the screws a bit more. This ensures the lock is firmly in place and provides optimal security. Make sure the door opens and closes smoothly with the reassembled lock.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Sometimes, things don't go as planned. Knowing how to troubleshoot common problems can save you time and effort.

Key Won't Turn

If the key won't turn, the pins might not be aligned properly. Disassemble and recheck the pin placements. Make sure each pin is the correct size and in the right order. Even a slight misalignment can prevent the key from turning. Carefully remove the pins, lay them out, and reinsert them in the correct positions. After reassembling, try the key again. This should fix the issue, allowing the key to turn smoothly.

Lock Feels Stiff

A stiff lock could indicate debris inside the cylinder. Clean the cylinder and re-lubricate it for smoother operation. Remove the lock and blow out any dust or dirt using compressed air. Apply a small amount of lubricant, like graphite or silicone spray, to the cylinder. Insert and turn the key several times to spread the lubricant evenly. This should make the lock turn more smoothly. If stiffness persists, check for any remaining debris and repeat the cleaning process.

Securing Your Home with Confidence

Rekeying a Schlage lock without the original key might seem intimidating, but with careful preparation and attention to detail, it's entirely achievable. By understanding the rekeying process, gathering the right tools, and following each step methodically, you can ensure your home’s security with a new key. If you face any challenges, revisit the steps and troubleshoot common issues. With patience and persistence, you'll successfully rekey your lock and enjoy the peace of mind that comes with enhanced security.

Contact Smart Home Perfected for Your Security Needs

Need help with rekeying or other home security solutions? Smart Home Perfected is here to assist you. Visit us at California Ave SW, Seattle, WA 98116. Our team is ready to provide the right solutions for your smart home needs. Call us at 1-385-312-0189‬ or visit our website at https://www.smarthomeperfected.com/. We are dedicated to helping you make your home safer and more secure. Reach out today to learn more about our services and how we can help you.

The post How to Rekey a Schlage Lock Without the Original Key appeared first on Smart Home Perfected.

In some cases, the instructions require you to remove the thermostat from its base plate, potentially exposing live wiring. If you come across this requirement, we recommend you isolate the wires beforehand via the circuit breaker box. 

At SmartHomePerfected we always advise readers not to undertake any work they are not competent in performing and if in any doubt, it is best to seek the assistance of a professional.

Honeywell Thermostat Reset: How to Find the Model Number

Before we get into the specifics, the first thing you should do is find the exact model number of your Honeywell thermostat. This can help speed things up since you can breeze through our guide and find the steps to reset your specific model. 

In the guide below, I've included images of Honeywell Thermostats within each range to make it easy to identify the correct one.

Generally speaking, the model name or number of your thermostat is either referenced on the front of the device, is accessible through the digital interface, or printed on a label at the back.

Below are steps to perform, if you need to remove the thermostat from the base plate to access the model number.

Model-Specific Instructions

After you've noted down the model name and number of your Honeywell Thermostat, you can check the sections below for the appropriate reset guide.

Make sure to take note of the various settings on the device before resetting, as you'll likely need to reconfigure them.

T10 Pro and T9 Models

Smart Wi-Fi Thermostats with colored touchscreen

Resetting your Honeywell T9 and T10 models is relatively straightforward. You only need to issue the reset commands via the settings. Here's how:

T5+ / T5 / T6 Pro Smart /T6 Pro Z-Wave Models

Smart Thermostats with Touchscreen

For the rest of the T-series mid-range models such as the T5 and T6 variations, the reset procedures may be slightly different but the main process is outlined below: 

T4 Pro

Programmable Thermostat

The T4 Pro has an entirely different process since you need to head into the advanced setup options menu. 

Here’s how to carry this out:

Lyric Round Smart Thermostat

Smart Thermostat with Circular Interface

Although discontinued, you might still be using a Lyric Round Smart thermostat. Therefore, I’ve decided to include its reset guide also. 

So, here’s how to go through with the reset:

9000 Series

Programmable Thermostat with colored-touchscreen

With a colored touchscreen, the 9000 Wi-Fi models have an entirely different process than the other models. 

8000 Wi-Fi Models (8320 & 8680 VisionPRO)

Programmable thermostats with LCD touchscreen

These thermostat models come with a 10-inch LCD screen and require 4 AA batteries to operate properly. 

Here’s how to reset the 8000 Series of Models:

8321 Wi-Fi Model

Programmable Thermostat with touchscreen

So here’s how to carry out resets for the Honeywell 8321 Models

6000 Series Models (FocusPRO and RTH6500WF)

Programmable Thermostat

Other Models

If your model is not covered by this guide, I've collated a list of user manuals for Honeywell thermostats which you can view here. These manuals contain full reset instructions to get you back up and running, After a reset, you may still need additional tips if your Honeywell thermostat stops working. After a reset, if you notice your Honeywell thermostat flashing cool on, here's what to do next.

References

• https://www.honeywellhome.com/us/en/products/air/thermostats/wifi-thermostats/wifi-9000-color-touchscreen-thermostat-th9320wf5003-u/
• https://www.honeywellhome.com/us/en/support/how-do-i-reset-my-honeywell-home-device/#T10a
• https://www.honeywellhome.com/us/en/products/air/thermostats/wifi-thermostats/wifi-focuspro-6000-programmable-thermostat-th6320wf1005-u/

The post Honeywell Thermostat Reset: Simple Tricks for Quick Troubleshooting in 2024 appeared first on Smart Home Perfected.

What is Honeywell Thermostat EM Heat?

Emergency heat (often referred to as “EM heat” or “auxiliary heat”) is a backup heating option available in HVAC systems that typically rely on a heat pump as a primary heating source.

How to Switch Between Emergency Heat Mode and Other Modes

Depending on the model, the option to toggle the emergency heat may vary. So to address this, I’ve created a model-specific guide below. 

You can check these guides or head over to our collated list of Honeywell thermostat user manuals to browse the guide for your specific model.  

Honeywell Home App

Here's how to switch to emergency heat mode using the Honeywell Home App.

T10 Pro and T9 Models

Smart thermostat with a color touchscreen

For the recent T9 and T10 Pro models:

However, please note that certain models or HVAC systems won’t always offer the emergency heat setting.

T4, T5 and T6 Models

Smart thermostat with touchscreen

For this set of models, the thermostat home screen displays the current system mode at the left of the indoor temperature. Therefore, you can switch between available modes by pressing on the “Mode” button 

9000 and VisioPRO 8000 Series

Programmable thermostat with touchscreen

To set your Honeywell thermostat's system mode for 9000 and 8000 models, follow these steps: 

Keep in mind that the Automatic and Emergency Heat settings might not be displayed, depending on your thermostat's installation.

5000 and 6000 Series

Programmable thermostats

For these programmable models, simply press the “SYSTEM” button to cycle through the available options.

4000 to 1000 Series

Programmable and Non-programmable thermostats

For these older models, you can toggle the available options using the physical switch located on the panel. In most models, this switch is at the bottom but can also be found on the side of the panel.

Similar Questions

When Should I Switch to EM Heat?

Setting the EM Heat on your Honeywell thermostat correctly can significantly improve your home's heating efficiency during cold snaps. Switch to EM Heat when your primary heat pump fails or cannot provide enough warmth. This usually happens during extremely cold weather (less than 30 degrees fahrenheit) or due to a damaged heat pump.

As such, it’s best reserved for true emergencies such as when the heat pump is damaged or nonresponsive.

In certain models, the thermostat will automatically make the switch. 

What Do I Need to Enable the EM Heat Function?

To enable the EM Heat function, your thermostat must be configured for a heat pump with backup heat. 

An installer will usually know how to make this configuration but you can also do this yourself in certain models with the help of the installation manual.

Also, the auxiliary heat pump's signal wire must be connected to the thermostat's wiring.

Doesn't Auto Mode Switch Over to EM Heat When Necessary?

Some thermostat models with the Auto Changeover feature can automatically switch to EM Heat when necessary. 

However, you still need to have the auxiliary heat sources (such as a gas furnace or heat strip) set up and wired correctly.

Is The Emergency Heat Setting More Expensive to Run?

Yes, emergency heat can be considerably more expensive than using the primary heat pump.

The cost difference depends on the heat source (such as gas furnaces or electric heat strips) and the duration of use.

Since it's pricier, I recommend you use the emergency heat setting sparingly and reach out to a professional technician to restore the regular heat pump functions as soon as possible.

Conclusion

Sources

• https://www.honeywellhome.com/us/en/support/prestige-hd-7-day-programmable-thermostat-4/
• https://www.honeywellhome.com/us/en/support/what-is-auto-changeover/
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdTf58IbYZE&ab_channel=KillobyteDIY

The post Ultimate Guide to Honeywell Thermostat EM Heat Settings: 2023 Edition appeared first on Smart Home Perfected.

Normally these messages only flash for five minutes and then turn solid to indicate the system has started. However, if it keeps flashing, it could be due to a communication issue with the AC system. Air conditioning plays a crucial role in maintaining a comfortable indoor environment. Make sure to follow my troubleshooting steps below to get to the root of the problem.

What Does the “Cool On” or “Heat On” Indicator Mean?

During normal operation, the “Cool On” or “Heat On” message stays lit depending on the temperature mode. So if the air conditioner is working to cool down the house, the thermostat will say “Cool On.” It is important to set the thermostat to ‘cool mode' to ensure proper cooling. Meanwhile, if the heat pump is working to heat up, the thermostat will instead display “Heat On.”

“Cool On” indicator on a Honeywell T6 display

Compressor Protection Feature

However, if either of these messages are flashing it can imply that the thermostat is running the compressor protection feature, known as the delay mode. The delay mode helps protect the compressor by preventing wear and potential damage.

In some models, this message is displayed as “Waiting for equipment”. The thermostat activates a startup delay to protect the compressor from voltage fluctuations after a power loss, allowing the AC system to reset and readjust to normal operating conditions.

As the name suggests, it’s an intentional safety feature to prevent any harm to your compressor, especially in the event of a power outage.

By taking about 5 minutes to cycle, the thermostat ensures that everything runs smoothly and avoids the damage caused by intermittent power cuts or surges.

So after you’ve just recovered from a power cut, the “Cool On” or “Heat On” message would stay flashing for five minutes. After which, it will remain solid and the HVAC system will kick in.

10 Steps to Troubleshoot a Honeywell Thermostat Flashing Cool On or Heat On Indicator

When the “Cool On” or “Heat On” indicator continues to flash for more than five minutes without hot/cold air coming in, it can indicate a malfunctioning thermostat. If the issue persists, it is important to consult an HVAC professional to diagnose and resolve the problem.

If so, I recommend following the troubleshooting steps laid out below.

1. Wait 5-10 minutes

Your thermostat could be facing a slight delay in restarting and activating its compressor protection feature, which is often indicated on the thermostat display.

Make sure to wait at least 5 minutes before further troubleshooting. I recommend waiting for a solid 10 minutes so you can confidently rule out the compressor protection feature.

2. Set the Thermostat to its Lowest Temperature Setting

You can verify the thermostat’s ability to manage the cooling system by adjusting its settings.

• First, set the thermostat to the lowest possible temperature.
• Ensure that the mode is set to “Cool” and that the fan setting is on “Auto.”
• After making these adjustments, give it some time.
• Check if the AC comes to life or if you experience any change in the room’s temperature, specifically if cool air is being emitted from the vents.

This will help determine if the thermostat is effectively controlling the temperature function.

3: Check if the Thermostat is in Setup Mode or if the Clock is Set

In certain models, when the thermostat is recovering from a power outage, it may revert to setup mode, causing the “Honeywell thermostat cool on” lights to blink.

To resolve this, check your thermostat’s settings and make any necessary adjustments.

Also, verify that the time displayed on your thermostat is accurate. An incorrect time setting can interfere with the schedule settings and glitch out the thermostat.

4: Check the Thermostat Batteries/Power Connection

Weak batteries can prevent your thermostat from initiating the cooling process.

To fix this, replace the thermostat batteries by removing the thermostat from the wall mount and replacing the batteries on the back of the panel.

If your thermostat uses a 24 VAC power source instead of batteries, inspect the wiring.

To do so:

• First, turn off the power to your HVAC system.
• Next, remove the thermostat, ensuring you unscrew it first if necessary.
• Then, examine the C-wire to confirm its proper connection.
• Make sure there is no dust, dirt, or debris, and clean the contacts.
• You can also try reconnecting the terminals, making sure they are secure.
• Additionally, check the circuit breaker to ensure it hasn't tripped, as this can affect the power supply to your thermostat.

Check out our guide on how to change Honeywell thermostat batteries

5. Check the Voltage at the Thermostat Contacts

If you know how to troubleshoot electrical components and you already have a multimeter, you can check the voltage in the thermostat wires. 

Make sure that the R and C contacts have a voltage between 24-30V; lower values might indicate insufficient power.

6. Check the Power in Each Component of the Cooling System

If the previous steps haven’t resolved the issue, you’ll need to diagnose the rest of the HVAC system.

• First, inspect the power supply of your air handler, fans, furnace, AC unit, and outdoor unit.
• Watch out for unusual humming or clicking noises coming from your equipment, as these might indicate a problem.
• Also, examine the power supply for each device.
• Make sure that connectors and sockets are appropriately plugged in, and switches are turned on.
• While examining your equipment, check if the doors or panels are properly closed. Loose or detached parts and any obstructions may cause the safety switches to disconnect, especially the furnace door.
• If possible, check the fuses or switches visually or by using the continuity setting on a multimeter
• Then, inspect your circuit breakers for any irregularities.
• Try turning your equipment on and off, as well as resetting the breaker corresponding to these devices.

7. Check the Indoor AC Air Filters

It’s essential to regularly inspect your indoor AC air filter to make sure it doesn’t need replacing. Replacing air filters every three months is crucial for maintaining optimal performance.

A clogged or dirty filter hinders proper airflow and can lead to decreased cooling efficiency and poor air quality inside your house.

It can also put extra strain on your thermostat and other equipment, ultimately leading to higher energy bills.

So I recommend making it a habit to change your AC filter every three months or as recommended by the manufacturer.

8. Check AC Coils and See if they are Dirty

The external AC coils can also become dirty or blocked over time.

• As the coil accumulates dirt, it hampers proper airflow and reduces its ability to absorb heat and adequately cool the air.
• Inspect your AC unit's coils to see if there is buildup on the fins, indicating the need for a thorough cleaning.
• However, always make sure the unit is turned off before attempting any cleaning or maintenance.
• To reduce the chances of clogging and improve efficiency, keep the area around the AC clean and provide ample space for airflow by removing any nearby plants or debris.

9. Reset your Thermostat

In some cases, resetting your thermostat to factory defaults might be necessary.

Keep in mind that this process will erase your settings and programmed schedule, so it's a good idea to take note of any configurations you don't want to forget.To reset a Honeywell thermostat, check out my detailed reset guide which covers all Honeywell thermostat models.

10. Bypass the Thermostat

If you’re somewhat more skilled at DIY, especially when it comes to dealing with electrical components, you can try to bypass the thermostat. 

However, make sure you have a multimeter and a proper tool to create a jumper wire.

• First, turn off the power switch on the furnace or air handler, and also disconnect the thermostat from the breaker.
• Then, take out the thermostat from the wall mount.
• After that, run one end of a jumper to R (Power) and the other end to Y (Cooling) or W (Heating) on the thermostat contacts.
• With this setup in place, turn the power back on and check if the AC or furnace/air handler turns on. 
• If these components turn on without any issue, the thermostat is indeed defective.

Final Step: Call in the Professionals!

When you’ve exhausted all possible solutions and your thermostat is still flashing “Cool On,” it’s time to get the help of an HVAC technician.

• A trained technician can likely pinpoint the problem and fix it with ease.
• Some common issues that may require professional intervention include damaged wiring, a malfunctioning capacitor, an obstructed sensor, or a blown fuse.
• In addition, components like the compressor, condenser, or fan motor may need further inspection.
• For a recently installed thermostat, an expert can verify proper wire connections and ensure the device is set up correctly for your specific HVAC system.

Conclusion

If the Cool On or Heat On message is flashing for more than five minutes, it will require you to troubleshoot the entire HVAC and air conditioning system.

The troubleshooting guide above will help you do just that so if you follow those steps, you’ll be able to get to the root cause in no time.

However, if you aren’t able to check the circuit breakers or the rest of your HVAC system, always get a professional to help you.

Sources

• https://www.honeywellhome.com/us/en/support/my-thermostat-display-shows-wait-or-waiting-for-equipment-or-has-a-flashing-cool-on-in-display/
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Y_R9unnadI&ab_channel=WordofAdviceTV

The post 10 Steps to Fix When Honeywell Thermostat Flashing Cool On or Heat On appeared first on Smart Home Perfected.

An incoming call is indicated by a radiant green circle, while a spinning green emblem demonstrates that you're either on a call or starting a drop-in talk with another person, with the purple line and white light as other light pulsing signals.

The green notification is regularly mistaken for the yellow light ring, which signifies that you have a new notification or message indicated by the indicator light or the light red LED ring.

Check out our yellow light ring article, for how to manage these notifications and dismiss the yellow light among other status lights and flashing lights.

How can Alexa receive calls?

There are a number of ways your Echo speaker or display can receive calls. 

• “Alexa-to-Alexa Contact” allows people with Echo devices to call other people with Echo devices.
• If you’ve hooked up your mobile phone account (AT&T, Verizon, EE, Vodafone currently supported) to your Alexa profile, you can receive mobile phone calls on your Echo devices.
• If Skype is configured in your Alexa App, you can receive these calls via your Echo speaker also.

What is a Drop-In?

The Drop-In feature acts like a digital intercom and allows you to communicate with other Echo devices in your home.

For Echo and Echo Dot speakers, this acts like an automatically answered audio call while for the Echo Show, it acts like an instant video call.

To start a Drop-In you simply say:

• “Alexa, Drop In on [Echo device name]”

Or you can Drop-In from the Alexa app to your Echo speakers or displays if you are away from home.

You can also Drop-In on friends or family in other homes, if they have provided you with “Drop-In” permission. This is great if, for example, you are caring for an elderly relative and need to check in on them regularly.

Say to your Echo device:

• “Alexa, Drop In on [friend's name].”

This feature is configured on a contact-by-contact basis as you can see below:

What Does it Mean When Alexa Flashing Green Ring?

If you see a pulsing green light on your Echo speaker, it means you are receiving a call. Alexa usually informs you who is calling.

You can then say

• “Alexa, Answer”
• “Alexa, Ignore Call”

By saying “Answer”, you will be connected with the caller. Echo devices with a screen will also display the name of the caller.

You can also ignore it by saying nothing. Your Echo will stop pulsing right after the person stops calling. Both ways work fine and will turn off the pulsing green light on your Echo, reverting the LED light ring back to its default state among the various indicator lights

The other variation is the spinning green ring which shows when you are on an active call or someone has “dropped in” on you, indicated by conversation colors, light ring colors, light blue, and ensuring Alexa privacy.

You will see the green spinning light for as long as you are on that call. As soon as you or the other person hangs up, the green light will disappear, reverting back to the default Amazon Echo light colors.

To end the call or drop in, simply say:

• “Alexa, Hang up.” 

How to Fully Disable the Amazon Echo Alexa Green Ring?

If you don't want your Echo speaker to display the green light at all, and would rather disconnect Alexa from calls and Drop-Ins, follow the below steps.

The difference between an Alexa Call and a Drop-In

It’s possible to communicate with the Echo devices of family and friends through the Alexa Call or Drop-In feature.

The main difference between these methods is that you can reject an incoming call if it doesn’t suit, whereas you cannot reject a drop-in. A drop-in opens an instant conversation between the two Echo devices, like an intercom.

Drop-In is highly controlled and permissions must be granted on a contact-by-contact basis. This makes sense as it has the potential to be very intrusive. For that reason, it probably makes the most sense to only allow Drop-in for close family. I know that personally, I  wouldn’t want my friends listening in on my conversations or watching me through my Echo Show camera! 

FAQ:

Why is the Amazon Echo's light green?

The green light on your Amazon Echo indicates that you have an incoming call or drop-in. When you see a spinning or pulsing green light, it means someone is trying to reach you via Alexa's calling or drop-in feature.

What happens to the green light when you are on an active call?

When you are on an active call, the green light will remain solid on your Echo device. This signifies that the call is currently in progress.

Where does the green light appear on an Echo speaker with a screen?

On Echo devices with a screen, such as the Echo Show, the green light typically appears as a green bar or indicator at the bottom or top edge of the display, depending on the model. This light serves the same purpose of indicating incoming calls or active calls.

What does the Echo's green ring look like?

The Echo's green ring looks like a spinning or pulsing green light around the top edge of the device. When a call is active, the green light becomes solid. This visual indicator helps users identify the call status at a glance.

Conclusion

To get rid of the green light, if you’ve said “Alexa, Ignore Call” and “Alexa, Hang Up” and the light is still spinning, then it’s possible that it's more of a Yellow Ring than a Green one! In that case, say “Alexa, Clear Notifications.” Check out our other article which explains more about this.

Also, it may be possible that Alexa misheard something you said, and accidentally started a call or drop-in on someone else. While “Alexa, Hang Up” should solve this, you can review your voice history on the Alexa app to see if this is what happened.

Let us know what worked for you in the comments below!

Sources

https://www.amazon.com/

https://techcrunch.com/

The post Amazon Alexa Echo Green Light: What Does it Mean? How to Stop it? appeared first on Smart Home Perfected.

You might be facing issues with the temperature settings or you might just be selling the thermostat or switching things up with your HVAC system.

Whatever the case, I’ll show you how to carry out a reset in the guide below so let’s get into it.

Restart vs Reset: What's the Difference?

Restarting your Nest Thermostat is like rebooting a computer – it resolves minor glitches without affecting your settings.

Resetting, on the other hand, erases specific or all stored information, helping you adjust to significant changes.

Restarting a Nest Thermostat

Typically, you only need to rely on a restart if your thermostat screen is stuck or frozen. If the screen is blank, you might have to troubleshoot any power issues before following through with a restart. 

To restart your Nest Thermostat: 

Types of Resets for Nest Thermostats

Nest Thermostat offers various reset options: 

Each serves a specific purpose, depending on your needs.

However, before you follow through with each of these reset procedures, make sure to write down any of your old schedules, customer settings, or hardware information (such as the system wire configuration, HVAC equipment, and temperature settings). 

To access the hardware information, you can head over to the “Equipment” menu under Settings.

At SmartHomePerfected we always advise readers not to undertake any work they are not competent in performing and if in any doubt, it is best to seek the assistance of a professional.

1. Schedule Reset

All Nest Thermostats, including the 3rd Gen and Nest E, enable users to set personalized schedules for their home's cooling and heating systems.

Performing a Schedule Reset on your Nest Thermostat deletes all this existing schedule data from the device.

It clears your temperature settings, erasing any learned or manually input set points. Therefore, you may need to reset the existing schedule to create a new one depending on your daily routine.

How to Schedule Reset

To carry out a “schedule” reset: 

After the thermostat restarts, your schedule will be cleared.

2. Wi-Fi Reset

Resetting the Wi-Fi on a Nest thermostat is crucial when switching to a new router or troubleshooting connection issues.

With a Wi-Fi reset, you'll erase the current network settings and prepare your device to connect to a new Wi-Fi network.

Also, if a power outage or connection failure has left you with a spotty Wi-Fi connection, a simple Wi-Fi reset may help resolve the issue.

Carrying Out a Wi-Fi Reset

You have now reset your Nest Wi-Fi configuration. To sign in to a new Wi-Fi network, go to Settings → Network.

3. Away Reset

If you would like to remove all settings and temperature configurations related to home vs away or home/away assist modes, then you can carry out an “Away” Reset.

Below are the steps to achieve this:

Your Nest Away settings are now reset

4. Factory Reset

A Hard/Factory Reset is the ultimate solution to any recurring problem. Apart from fixing any technical problems, a hard rest will turn any Nest Thermostat completely new, overwriting every setting on your device and restoring it to default. 

If you are moving out of your old house, or selling the thermostat, I highly recommend you perform a Hard Reset to make sure all your personal information is removed from the device. 

Also, before going through with a factory reset, make sure to note down any custom settings and remove the thermostat from your Nest account.

How to Remove a Nest Thermostat from Your Nest Account

After this, your device will be removed from your Nest account. You can safely continue with the factory reset process on the thermostat.

How to Factory Reset A Nest Thermostat

The Nest thermostat will now begin the factory reset process. It will also reboot after the factory reset, after which you can start reconfiguring the device.

Conclusion

Cited Sources

• https://support.google.com/googlenest/answer/9247296?hl=en-GB#zippy=%2Chow-to-manually-restart-if-your-nest-thermostat-is-frozen-or-stuck

The post How to Reset a Nest Thermostat appeared first on Smart Home Perfected.

8.2

Starling Home Hub

A reliable Nest to iOS Bridge

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How to Connect Nest to Apple HomeKit and Siri

The Nest Thermostat is made by Google, so if you want to use your Thermostat with any Apple device, you will definitely run into compatibility issues. 

However, third-party devices will let you connect your Nest Thermostat with Apple HomeKit, the most popular of which is the Starling Home Hub. 

Besides that, there have been some recent developments with Nest thermostats supporting “Matter,” the new smart home standard that’s designed exactly to bridge this gap.

Option 1: Starling Home Hub

The Starling Home Hub is a simple yet effective solution to connect your Nest devices with Apple HomeKit and Siri.

You can set it up within five minutes and get all your Nest products connected to Apple HomeKit, all you need is the home hub, a Wi-Fi router, and an Apple device, such as an iPad or iPhone.

8.2

Starling Home Hub

A reliable Nest to iOS Bridge

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On Amazon.com

After you get the Starling Home Hub to connect with your Internet router or switch, you move ahead and configure the hub using your iPad, iPhone, or any other Apple device. You can complete the configuration from your browser, no additional steps required.

Apart from convenience and compatibility, security and data privacy are top priorities for Starling Home Hub, which is why it doesn't store user data. Instead, all the information remains on your local network.

The hub only connects to the internet when necessary, such as when firmware updates are available.

Supported Nest Products

Starling Home Hub has support for almost every Nest product on the market. Check below to see a full list of Nest devices that you can control using your Apple phone.

How to Install and Integrate the Starling Home Hub with Apple HomeKit

Connecting Nest to Apple HomeKit and Siri is a breeze using the Starling Home Hub. It integrates with your Wi-Fi router to act as a smart home hub and bridge the gap between your Nest and Apple HomeKit devices. 

Starling supports almost all routers (except for Arris RAC2V1A), including HomeKit Secure Routers, such as the Eero. The Starling Hub does not support PoE (Power Over Ethernet). Instead, you will have to power it via the Micro-USB interface provided or with a PoE micro-USB power splitter. 

To get started:

If you run into any issues or the smart device doesn’t operate as expected, simply force close the app, head back into the Starling portal, and restart the Apple HomeKit app.. 

Security

The Starling Home Hub uses two-factor authentication to protect your data.

The team behind Starling Home Hub regularly rolls out new software upgrades, bug fixes, and patches. You can check for new updates by simply visiting their website. 

If convenience is your priority, you should always install these updates as soon as they’re made available, since they make the Starling more reliable.

Option 2: Nest, HomeKit, and Matter

Matter is an innovative smart home standard created through the collaboration of tech giants like Google, Apple, Amazon, and Samsung.

As of April 18th, Nest Thermostat now supports Matter, making it the first smart thermostat to do so.

This upgrade allows Nest users to easily connect their device to Apple HomeKit without needing extra hardware, as long as they're running iOS 16.4.

Amazon Alexa, Samsung SmartThings, and other Matter-compatible platforms are also supported in this update.

However, this new functionality is limited to the 2020 version of the Nest Thermostat, with Google promising to bring functionality to the Nest E and Learning models in the future.

Adding The Nest Thermostat to Apple HomeKit via Matter

Once your Nest thermostat gets updated with Matter compatibility, you'll be able to locate a new Matter settings page on the device itself and within the Google Home app settings for the thermostat.

This is where you can find the Matter pairing code required to link your Nest thermostat with Apple HomeKit.

Although the Google Home app on iOS doesn't currently support Matter, you can still integrate your thermostat with Apple HomeKit using the code provided by your Nest device.

This enables you to manage the thermostat through HomeKit until Google Home decides to include Matter support for a seamless connection.

Wrapping Up

Sources

• https://www.googlenestcommunity.com/t5/Blog/Matter-is-now-available-for-Google-Home-across-Nest-and-Android-devices/ba-p/306517
• https://www.theverge.com/2023/4/18/23687751/nest-thermostat-matter-support-apple-home
• https://www.techhive.com/article/1789782/googles-nest-thermostat-gets-matter-support.html
• https://www.starlinghome.io/

The post Two Ways to Connect Nest to Apple HomeKit & Siri appeared first on Smart Home Perfected.

Note: The yellow and orange light rings are often mistaken for each other. If the instructions in this article don't work for you, then I recommend checking out my guide to the Alexa yellow ring here.

Also, you can watch my video below where I discuss the topics covered in this article.

What does the Alexa Orange Ring mean?

If your Alexa Echo or Echo Dot is displaying an Orange ring, it can mean one of two things. 

• Firstly, it can indicate that your Echo device is in setup mode and awaiting a Wi-Fi connection. 
• Secondly, it can tell you that your Amazon device is facing issues connecting to your Wi-Fi network or the network does not have an active internet connection.

Unlike other flashing lights on your Amazon Alexa device (such as the green ring that has two variations – pulsing and spinning), the orange flashing light only spins.

I’ve had to set up and reconfigure Wi-Fi on my various Echo devices, multiple times down through the years. You can see an example of my Echo Dot 3rd generation spinning below.

How to resolve a spinning Alexa Orange Ring

1. Alexa Setup

Step by Step Screenshots

2. Changes to your Wi-Fi Network

You might also encounter the orange flashing light after you have already set up your Amazon Alexa device. 

If for any reason, your Wi-Fi connection is disrupted (Such as a new Wi-Fi router, change to the network name or a new password), the connection to your Alexa device will break and the device will need to reconnect to your Wi-Fi network. 

This is when you will see the orange light flash again. 

Step by Step Screenshots

If you periodically see the orange light, which goes away by itself, then it’s possible that your Echo device has a weak signal and is at the limit of the router's range. Or there may be too many devices on your network causing congestion. In these scenarios, you may need to consider upgrading your hardware to improve the Wi-Fi signal or decrease the number of devices on the network.

3. Alexa Orange Ring: Issues with your Internet Connectivity

If your Wi-Fi network is unchanged and stable, then it's possible that there’s an issue with your internet service provider. 

Like any service, there can be scheduled and unscheduled downtime, such as for network maintenance or during storms. In these situations, your Wi-Fi router won’t be able to communicate with the outside world.

The first step I take to determine if this is the issue is to restart or power cycle my router. (Turn it off, wait a minute and turn it back on). If that works, your network will be back online and the orange light will disappear.

If that doesn’t solve the problem, I usually check online to see if other people are having the same issue. Downdetector.com is a good resource along with Twitter or Google News. If others are experiencing the same problem, I usually wait for the ISP to resolve the outage or get in touch with them to get an ETA on when it’ll be back online.

Conclusion

That’s it! Hopefully the above instructions solve the spinning orange ring and help you get your Alexa device back online. 

Let us know what worked for you in the comments below!

Sources

Amazon Alexa Support

The post Resolved: 3 Quick Fixes for the Alexa Orange Ring Issue appeared first on Smart Home Perfected.

Check out my video below where I talk through the various topics discussed in this article.

Scenario 1: “Disable Microphone” Button Pressed

All Echo speakers come with omnidirectional microphones which pick up voice commands for Alexa to respond to. They also all come with a privacy feature that allows you to disable these microphones.

As I have an Echo speaker in my office, I use this feature when on work calls, to avoid Alexa mishearing a command and interrupting my meetings.

To enable it you simply press the “Disable Microphone” button which is opposite the action button (which is the solid circle). Amazon Echo Show devices also have this button beside the decrease volume button.

To disable it, simply press it again and the red light will disappear and Alexa can hear you again.

It's worth noting that the “Disable Microphone” feature results in a solid red light ring on the top of the speaker, for 2nd & 3rd generation speakers, or on the bottom (for 4th & 5th generation speakers. The microphone button also illuminates red.

If you have a flashing red light, then the problem is related to your Wi-Fi connection and not your microphone.

Disable Microphone Issues

If you press the button, to re-enable the microphones and the solid red light remains on, then it’s possible that your Echo speaker has frozen or glitched and needs a reboot.

In this case, simply power cycle the speaker, by removing the power cable from the outlet, waiting 30 seconds to 1 minute and then plugging it back in.

If that doesn’t work there may be damage to or obstruction with the microphone button which might require a repair or replacement.  

Scenario 2: Wi-Fi Issues

If your Alexa device is struggling to connect to Wi-Fi, or cannot connect to the internet via the Wi-Fi network, it can also display a red ring. The difference between this red ring and the microphone-muted red ring is that one flashes, whereas the other red ring is solid.

From my testing, the Echo 2nd and 3rd generation speakers demonstrate this red ring during connectivity issues while the 4th and 5th do not. I believe this is because the later generation Echo devices have a Zigbee hub built-in so can still work without internet connectivity. 

There are a number of potential causes and solutions to this issue.

1. Wi-Fi Network is Down

If someone plugged out your Wi-Fi router, or it has frozen, then Alexa won’t be able to connect to it. 

My first port of call is always to stand beside the router with my smartphone, disable mobile data, connect to the Wi-Fi network and see if I can access something in a web browser. 

If you can access the internet on your phone, then I recommend moving the speaker closer to the router to rule out an interference or signal strength issue.

If you can’t access the internet, then I usually just power cycle the router, by plugging it out, waiting 60 seconds and then plugging it back in. Anytime I do this, I usually need to wait a few minutes for the router to come fully back online.

2. Internet is Down

Your router may be working fine, however, there may be no data coming through your broadband connection. This can happen if there is a local outage. On my phone, I usually check online to see if my internet service provider is having uptime issues in my area. If this is the problem, then it's just a matter of waiting until you’re back online.

3. Wi-Fi Details have Changed

If you have replaced your router, or changed the Wi-Fi network name or password, then Alexa won’t be able to connect, which can result in the flashing red ring.

In this instance, you need to re-configure the Wi-Fi network on your Alexa device. For this, I recommend you have Bluetooth enabled on your phone along with the “Find Nearby Devices” permission if on Android.

Step by Step Screenshots

In some cases, changes to Wi-Fi security settings can hinder your Echo device from connecting to the network. You can go to your router settings page on a browser to see if your Echo device is registered on the network. If not then review the various firewall and security settings to see if anything could be hindering the connection.

4. Power Cycle your Echo Speaker

If your Wi-Fi network is working fine, has an active internet connection, and isn’t blocking your device from connecting, then it may be a glitch with the speaker itself.

In this instance, unplug the speaker, leave it for 30-60 seconds and then plug it back in.

5. Factory Reset your Echo Speaker

If none of the above works, you can factory reset your speaker by holding the action button for 30 seconds as opposed to 5-10 seconds.

This will take up to one minute and allows you to set up the speaker from scratch. 

Conclusion

As you can see, each generation of the Amazon Echo & Echo Dot comes with a light ring on the top or the bottom to communicate. I hope this article helps you understand what the red light ring signifies and how to resolve it on your Echo speaker.

Sources

Amazon

The post Solved: Alexa Red Ring Issues appeared first on Smart Home Perfected.

What Does “Wait” or “Waiting for Equipment” Mean?

When you see “Wait” or “Waiting for Equipment” on your Honeywell thermostat, it's signaling that the system is currently in a safety delay.

This built-in safeguard pauses the operation of your HVAC equipment, specifically, the compressor, to allow for a proper cooldown and reduce the strain on the hardware.

Implementing this pause prevents the equipment from quickly cycling on and off, which could lead to premature wear and eventual damage, especially when the system is recovering from abrupt power failures.

In some models, this will also indicate Wi-Fi connectivity issues. I'll talk more about that later on.

Type 1: Troubleshooting Issues with the HVAC System

Apart from the compressor protection feature, the wait error message will stay on when the rest of your HVAC system doesn’t respond.

So if the blower doesn’t bring in cold/hot air, and the AC, furnace, or heat pumps don’t seem to kick in, It can indicate a hardware fault. 

So, let’s get into the troubleshooting process of fixing a Honeywell thermostat with this type of “wait” or “waiting for equipment” error message.

Also, in a similar fashion, learn how to fix the Honeywell thermostat flashing “Cool On” or “Heat On” issue here.

Step 1: Wait it Out!

If your Honeywell thermostat displays the “Wait” signal, allow it up to 5 minutes to clear.

It might clear out sooner or even take an extra couple of minutes, so I highly recommend giving it a solid 10 minutes so you can verify the issue is not the compressor protection feature.

Step 2: Change Batteries

If the “Wait” message persists for more than 5-10 minutes and your HVAC system remains inactive, you'll need to start troubleshooting the issue.

You can begin by replacing the thermostat batteries. Take out the thermostat from the mounting plate and take out the batteries at the rear panel.

Low battery power can prevent the thermostat from effectively communicating with your HVAC system, resulting in a lack of heat or cool air.

Step 3: Check the Wiring

At SmartHomePerfected we always advise readers not to undertake any work they are not competent in performing and if, in any doubt, it is best to seek the assistance of a professional.

For thermostats relying on 24 VAC power instead of batteries, the wiring may require inspection.

To do so, first, turn off your system's power to safeguard your equipment. Then, remove the thermostat and examine the C-wire for proper installation.

Step 4: Reset Breakers

If your thermostat is not working even after changing the batteries, resetting your HVAC equipment via the circuit breaker could be the solution.

This can help address possible issues within your equipment's circuits and connections.

By resetting the breakers, you're essentially resetting the system and ensuring smooth communication between your thermostat and HVAC equipment.

Step 5: Check the Thermostat Voltage

If the issue persists, consider resetting the circuits connected to your thermostat for an extended period (30 minutes) before moving on to the next step.

The problem may lie in the fuses or wiring, such as a short circuit.

To determine this, use a multimeter to test voltage levels in the thermostat wires. Beyond that, you can also check the continuity in the different fuses, breakers, and switches in your HVAC system. 

Only diagnose electrical components yourself if you have the necessary expertise. If you're unsure or unequipped to handle the situation, it's best to call in a professional.

Final Step: Call in the Professionals!

If you’ve carried out all the steps above and the “wait” or “waiting for equipment” error message doesn’t seem to clear out, it’s best to call in an HVAC specialist.

A professional will be able to troubleshoot more complex issues within your HVAC system and fix it before the day is up. 

Type 2: Wi-Fi-related “Wait” Errors

In certain models, the “wait” message can also pop up while your Honeywell thermostat is trying to establish a secure connection to your wireless network.

This typically occurs when the thermostat is verifying your home's Wi-Fi network or attempting to connect to Honeywell servers for updates.

The entire process should only last a few moments; however, connectivity issues can arise.

If you find yourself waiting for an extended period or notice an error message, it's a good idea to follow up with the following network troubleshooting steps:

Step 1: Restart the Wi-Fi Router

Restarting the router can be a simple yet efficient solution.

Step 2: Restart the Thermostat

Restarting your thermostat is another effective method to help clear out any glitches or software processes that are stuck.

Keep in mind that the restart process may slightly differ between various thermostat models.

If you want to find the exact steps for your specific Honeywell thermostat, don’t forget to refer to our list of collated Honeywell user manuals.

Step 3: Reset Wi-Fi Settings on the Thermostat

Try resetting the Wi-Fi settings on your thermostat. This will clear the connection information.

There are different steps for different thermostat models. Here’s a helpful link on how to reset the Wi-Fi settings of your thermostat. Look for the Wi-Fi Reset instructions in your specific model’s section. You can also refer to your thermostat’s user manual as mentioned above.

After resetting the Wi-Fi settings, you’ll have to reconnect to your Wi-Fi network.

Wrapping Up

The “Wait” or “Waiting for Equipment” message usually shows up as a protection feature. It will usually go away after five minutes or so. 

However, if the message doesn’t clear out, you might be having an issue with the HVAC system not powering on. You can troubleshoot it yourself or get the help of an HVAC professional. 

Sources

• https://www.honeywellhome.com/us/en/support/my-thermostat-display-shows-wait-or-waiting-for-equipment-or-has-a-flashing-cool-on-in-display/
• https://www.honeywellhome.com/us/en/support/why-is-my-thermostat-wifi-not-working/
• https://www.honeywellhome.com/us/en

The post Honeywell Thermostat “Wait” and “Waiting for Equipment” Explained appeared first on Smart Home Perfected.

Alexa, Siri and Google Assistant are now commonplace in households around the world. As people come to grips with the benefits these voice assistants can provide, some are turning to voice shopping as the ultimate convenience in keeping the kitchen stocked!

What is Voice Shopping?

Voice Shopping is gaining more and more popularity with each passing month.

Leading strategy consultants from OC&C predict that by the year 2022, voice shopping will have grown into a $40 Billion industry.

Voice shopping is simply the ability to place orders with retailers by interacting with a voice assistant. This is typically done through a smart speaker installed in your home.

What are Smart Speakers?

Smart Speakers are becoming an essential part of every home. They can listen to and respond to what you say. Such as asking for the latest news, playing music, or controlling the lights in your home. At the core of their hardware, is voice assistant software, such as Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa.

Smart Speakers are programmed to respond to certain trigger words. For example, uttering the wake words “Alexa” or “OK Google”, will trigger these voice assistants to activate and respond to your query.

Voice shopping with Alexa on the Amazon Echo

The Echo and Echo Dot are flagship devices from Amazon that were launched back in 2014. They come with Amazon Alexa and feature microphones that can record what you say. 

After you have asked it to perform a task, Amazon Echo uses Wi-Fi and connects to Amazon Cloud to analyze the request and formulate a response. Once it has figured out what it should respond with, it vocalizes the response through the inbuilt speakers to communicate with you. This entire process takes only a couple of seconds.

How it works

To activate this device, you can say “Alexa” or “Echo”. When it’s activated, you will see the ring on its top light up. Now, if you haven’t used Amazon Alexa before, don’t worry about how you structure your sentences. Make sure you are speaking a natural language.  

For example, use the words “Alexa order”, and this device will give you a list of items you bought during the previous month. Say the words “Alexa, what are today’s deals?” and you will receive the best deals for you.

For a typical voice order, you can ask “Alexa, order laundry detergent”. Alexa will search Amazon for the most relevant product and inform you of its price asking would you like to order it. If you’re happy then you can say yes to confirm the order and it will be placed. Easy!

Voice shopping with Google Assistant on Nest and Google Home Speakers

Smart Google Devices such as Google Nest come with Google Assistant built into them. To activate these devices, simply say “OK Google” or “Hey Google”.

After activation, you can ask them to play your favorite song, to resume a podcast you were listening to, to give you the latest news, to control your home speakers and TV, to ask for the weather forecast, and of course to order items from an online shop.

How it works

Unlike Amazon, which has its own inventory, Google Smart Devices depend on third party stores to get your orders delivered. These third parties are called Google Express partners. Some popular and trusted stores on this partner program include Costco, Target, Home Depot, PetSmart, and Walmart. 

Google Nest and Google Home Speakers come with pre-installed Google Assistant. To place orders, first activate Google Assistant. Then, use your natural way of speaking and look for items such as your favorite stores. 

For example, you can place an order for a product by saying “OK Google, order paper towels from CostCo”. The Google assistant will then fetch the most relevant product and tell you the price, asking you if you’re happy to confirm the order. By confirming, the order is immediately placed.

Extending Voice Shopping – Walmart Voice

Walmart is a leading retailer for grocery items. As of 2020, it has ended up having over 11,000 stores. From the USA to Asia, it operates in 27 different countries.

To make shopping easier and more convenient, Walmart partnered with Google and introduced the Walmart Voice orders application. Using it, you can order items through your smartphone, smartwatch, and any other smart home device.

1. To set up Walmart Voice order, simply say “Ok Google, talk to Walmart.”
2. On the next window, tap the link to connect and sign in to your Walmart account. To buy tomatoes, simply say “OK Google, tell Walmart to add fresh tomatoes to my cart.” or “OK Google, buy tomatoes” to immediately order them.
3. You will be told the price and asked to confirm the order.

Extending Voice Shopping – Order a Pizza!

Amazon Alexa is a powerful voice assistant. Third-party developers can extend Alexa’s abilities by adding new “Skills”.

For example, to order pizza you can use either the “Domino’s Pizza” or the “Pizza Hut” Amazon Skill. You can enable these two skills either via the Alexa app or via voice command.

After these skills are enabled, you can order pizza using voice commands. For example, after your setup Amazon Alexa with Pizza Hut Skill, you need to link it to your Pizza Hut Account. Afterward, simply say “Alexa, ask Pizza Hut to send the usual.” That should do it!

Benefits of Voice Shopping

Voice shopping makes online ordering all the way more convenient. 

While you don’t have a visual display to review different products, it can be perfectly convenient when reordering products you buy week in, week out.

This is especially handy in the kitchen where you can ask Alexa or Google to re-order staple products like kitchen towels, pet food, laundry detergent etc.

Alexa and Google provide personalized results when you ask them to order a product. So if you have previously ordered the product before, it will propose that one as opposed to a random selection.

If you don’t want to place an order via Alexa or Google, you can still add products to your shopping cart to be reviewed later.

Challenges of Voice Shopping

Everything has a downside, and voice shopping is no different. Compared with traditional e-commerce stores, voice shopping comes with inherent limits on how many products it can propose.

Although voice shopping is gaining momentum, it still has hurdles to overcome. Voice assistants are based on natural language processing to interpret requests from people. The accuracy of this natural language processing is not 100% so sometimes Alexa and Google can misinterpret your question or command. The accuracy of these voice assistants is constantly improving.

Sources

express.google.com
amazon.com

The post Voice Shopping: Place Orders with Alexa and Google Assistant appeared first on Smart Home Perfected.

At SmartHomePerfected we always advise readers not to undertake any work they are not competent in performing and if in any doubt, it is best to seek the assistance of a professional.

The Two Scenarios that a Heat Pump Can Run Continuously

There are two situations where a heat pump that runs continuously is not considered a good sign:

Below, I’ll show you troubleshooting steps for both scenarios, starting with the first one: a stubborn heat pump that doesn’t shut down, even after reaching the desired temperature.

Scenario 1: Heat Pump That Continues to Run, After Reaching the Set Temperature

If your heat pump continues to run after reaching the set temperature, it may be due to a malfunctioning thermostat, incorrect temperature calibration, or a weak capacitor, requiring professional diagnosis and repairs.

So let’s go through these, step-by-step.

1. The Blower Fan is Set to “On”

It's possible that it's not actually the heat pump that is continually running after the set temperature is reached. It may be the blower fan within the air handler that continues to run, sending air through the ducts 24/7.

You can check the fan setting on your thermostat. If set to “On” it means the blower is running constantly. While in “Auto” it will stop when the heat pump stops. 

A fan/blower that's running non-stop can help circulate air more frequently throughout the house. However, it can wear down the system faster and in some cases, prevent the air conditioner from reducing the moisture in your home. 

2. Thermostat Wiring is Loose

Inspecting the thermostat wiring is essential because loose or damaged wires can prevent the shutoff signal from properly reaching your heat pump, causing it to run continuously.

3. Thermostat Batteries Might be Dying Out

Some thermostats, without a C-Wire, are powered by AA or AAA batteries. When those batteries run low, there may not be enough power to call the heating system to deactivate.

Check out my articles here on Honeywell and Nest battery replacements.

4. The Heat Pump Might Be Auto-Switching from Heat to Cool to Maintain the Temperature

Heat pumps or thermostats with an auto-reverse, or auto-changeover function, can enable the system to seamlessly transition between heating and cooling modes.

This function can help automatically maintain the desired setpoint without you having to manually switch back and forth between heating and cooling.

If your heat pump runs even after reaching the set temperature, it might be because it's distributing cool air to maintain this set point.

Usually, there’s a “Deadband” or “differential” temperature range (of about 0.5°F-1.0°F from the setpoint) where the heat pump stops working.

In this scenario, the thermostat might have breezed through this temperature point or this setting might have been disabled or altered in your thermostat’s installer settings. 

5. Blower Relay Switch Might Be Stuck or Malfunctioning

Due to a stuck blower relay, the signals from the thermostat might not be going through, causing the blower to continue running even after the heat pump has been turned off.

While it's possible to replace the relay yourself I recommend hiring a professional to avoid damaging the equipment (or yourself!).

6. The EM Heat Setting Might Be Turned On

It may be possible the emergency heat setting has been activated on your thermostat. 

The Emergency heat setting disables the primary heat pump and attempts to switch on the emergency heating system. This could be coupled with another issue, such as a failing defrost cycle, causing the system to glitch into running the heat pump indefinitely.

Scenario 2: Heat Pump Continues to Run, Without Reaching the Set Temperature

If your heat pump constantly runs without ever hitting the target temperature, there could be underlying issues such as leaky ducts, low refrigerant, or a malfunctioning thermostat, which needs proper diagnosis and repair.

So let’s start troubleshooting this issue.

1. Faulty Temperature Sensor

In some cases, your thermostat might be engaging the heat pump non-stop because it’s reading the temperature in your home incorrectly. 

Faulty temperature sensors are rare but if the thermostat placement is not ideal, it could cause the thermostat to measure temperatures incorrectly.

2. Clogged Air Filter or Snow Drift on Outdoor Unit

A clogged air filter or snow drift on the outdoor unit can disrupt the heat pump. On top of that, if the indoor or outdoor filters become obstructed, the heat pump struggles with airflow, forcing it to work harder to reach the desired temperature.

In extreme cases, the heat pump may never hit the target temperature, causing it to run non-stop.

3. System Lacks an Auxiliary Heat Source and the Temperature Setpoint is Too High During Cold Weather

When dealing with cold weather, it's important to understand that your heat pump's efficiency decreases as the outside temperature drops below 30º F (-1º C).

If you set your thermostat to an extremely high-temperature setpoint, such as 80 °F (27º C), your heat pump may struggle to achieve this goal, causing it to run continuously.

This is due to the limited heat output capacity at low outdoor temperatures.

4. Temperature Set Too Low During Hot Weather

Conversely, during hot weather, setting the heat pump's temperature too low can cause it to run constantly as it struggles to lower the indoor temperature to an unattainable level.

In some cases, the cooling system may be undersized, the outdoor temperature could be excessively high, or your home's insulation might not be adequate.

5. Windows / Doors Open or Poor Insulation

If your home has open windows or doors, drafts can cause warm air to escape, making it difficult to maintain a consistent temperature.

6. Refrigerant Leak

A refrigerant leak could cause your heat pump to never stop running, trying to pump in warm air that’s not warm enough to meet the desired temperature.

Although you can’t confirm a leak very easily, you can identify certain signs such as:

7. Damaged Compressor Contactor

A damaged compressor contactor could be stuck or malfunctioning due to various issues, causing your heat pump to run continuously.

8. Malfunctioning or Unplugged Condensate Pump

A heat pump in cooling mode generates water as a natural byproduct of the air conditioning process.

This water typically drains into a floor drain or is collected and removed by a condensate pump through a discharge tube.

The constant running of your heat pump might be due to a malfunctioning or unplugged condensate pump.

9. Failed Defrost Cycle

This happens when the outdoor unit's coil becomes covered in ice and the defrost cycle fails to efficiently thaw it out.

In such cases, the heat pump's defroster may have a problem, such as a malfunctioning timer or temperature sensor.

If your outdoor coil has a significant ice build-up, it's a good indication that the defrost cycle isn't working properly.

An HVAC technician can diagnose the issue, repair or replace any faulty components, and ensure that your heat pump's defrost cycle is functioning as it should, preventing further ice accumulation and improving your system's efficiency.

10. Stuck Reversing Valve

Heat pumps contain reversing valves to switch between heating and cooling. If one of these valves gets stuck, the heat pump will continually run in this stage, never reaching its temperature or sometimes creating the opposite effect.

10. Undersized Heat Pump or Ductwork

An undersized heat pump or duct setup can struggle to efficiently maintain the desired temperature in a large home, causing it to run constantly without ever reaching the set point.

Conclusion

References

• https://www.viessmann.co.uk/en/heating-advice/heat-pumps/why-is-my-heat-pump-constantly-running.html
• https://www.tempstar.com/en/us/products/heat-pumps/

The post Solved: Heat Pump Constantly Running appeared first on Smart Home Perfected.

What is a temporary hold and how do I turn it on?

The temporary hold feature, lets you suspend a programmed schedule. This is so you can adjust the current temperature to your desired level until a certain time. You will be able to input how long you want the “hold” to continue, usually up to 11 hours. 

Some models without this function will resume the schedule on the next programmed period (your display might indicate a “Hold Until” time).

For most models, you can easily turn on a temporary hold by pressing the +/- or up/down buttons. If it is available, you will have the option to set a Hold Until time, giving the hold a fixed period.

How to turn off a temporary hold

If you change your mind, you can cancel the temporary hold at any time to resume your usual thermostat schedule. 

This can be done easily by pressing Run, Cancel, Run Schedule, Use Schedule, Remove Hold, or Cancel Hold, depending on your Honeywell thermostat's model. 

Other models might have a ↵ button instead, for canceling the hold. If you are finding any difficulty in doing this, you can refer to your user manual/guide for instructions. Click here to find the user manual for your Honeywell thermostat.

What is a permanent hold and how do I turn it on?

The Honeywell thermostat permanent hold feature, unlike the temporary hold, lets you manually set the temperature. This is for an indefinite amount of time, overriding the programmed schedule completely.

For earlier models, this was the only temperature hold option where you press the HOLD button and then toggle the keys to set your desired temperature.

If you have the newer Honeywell thermostat models, such as those with touchscreen functionality or an app to configure your settings remotely, you can press +/- or up/down buttons to override the thermostat schedule.

Afterward, check from the options below to see which steps apply to your Honeywell thermostat model:

• Press Hold or
• Press Hold Until, then either of the following: Permanent Hold, Switch to Permanent Hold, Permanently, Permanent

How do I turn off a permanent hold?

Turning off the Honeywell thermostat's permanent hold setting is easy. It is usually the same for turning off a temporary hold.

Depending on your model, you can go ahead and press Run, Cancel, Run Schedule, Use Schedule, Remove Hold, or Cancel Hold.

For other models such as the T4 Pro, press the +/- or up/down buttons first then press Cancel or Remove Hold. If you have the Lyric T5 Wi-Fi, press Pe

In the next section, I’ll show you how to set up these hold/override features for each model. 

Model-Specific Instructions

Ranging from the T10 Pro to the PRO 2000 series, any Honeywell thermostat with a programmable schedule will allow users to override it.

So now, let me walk you through how to enable/disable these hold features for each model range.

Schedule Override for T10 Pro and T9 Models

Smart thermostat with a color touchscreen

T6 Pro Smart/T6 Pro Z-Wave and T5+

Smart thermostats with touchscreen

For these models, the temporary hold enables you to change the set temperature for up to 12 hours, while the permanent hold maintains the set temperature until manually adjusted.

For extended absences, you can also set up a vacation hold that maintains a low-power temperature for an extended period. However, this mode is only accessible through the Honeywell Home app.

Setting up Temporary Hold

With the temporary hold feature, you can quickly change the temperature until a specified time.

To cancel a temporary hold, touch the “Hold Until” message and then tap on “Run Schedule.”

Setting up Permanent Hold

T6 Pro and T4 Pro

Programmable thermostat

Honeywell's T6 Pro and T4 Pro thermostats offer temporary and permanent hold features.

Setting Up Temp Hold

A temporary hold allows you to adjust your thermostat’s temperature without impacting your programmed schedule.

Setting Up Permanent Hold

On the other hand, a permanent hold allows you to override your entire programmed schedule.

9000 Series

Programmable thermostat with a color touchscreen

To use the temporary/permanent hold feature in the 9000 Series: 

To go back to the scheduled program from either temporary or permanent hold, touch “Cancel Hold” at any time.

VisionPRO 8000

Programmable thermostats with touchscreen

To use the hold feature: 

You can simply cancel the hold by tapping on the “Cancel Hold” option at any time.

FocusPRO 6000 Series

Programmable thermostat

RTH6500WF Model

Programmable thermostat

Setting up Temp Hold

Setting Permanent Holds

PRO 4000 and 2000 Series

Programmable thermostats

Benefits of the Hold/Schedule Override Function and When to Use It

The hold function offers significant benefits for users looking to temporarily adjust their thermostat's schedule.

With this feature, you can easily accommodate unexpected changes, such as vacations or last-minute gatherings, without having to completely reconfigure the thermostat settings.

The temporary hold is suitable for when you only require a brief change in temperature, such as during a short nap or a quick lunch with friends at home.

On the other hand, if you plan to be away for several days, the permanent hold feature can help you conserve energy by maintaining a consistent temperature throughout your absence.

Setting your thermostat to a modest level before activating the permanent hold can significantly lower your overall energy consumption, ultimately resulting in a reduced energy bill.

Conclusion

Sources

• https://www.honeywellhome.com/us/en/support/what-are-the-features-on-my-t5-t5-plus-t6-pro-wifi-thermostat/#hold
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqljWYWZ0Ps&ab_channel=JohnFranco

The post Honeywell Thermostat Hold and Schedule Override Explained appeared first on Smart Home Perfected.

What Does Airwave Mean on Nest?

Nest Airwave is an innovative feature found within your Nest Thermostat that’s designed to enhance energy efficiency and reduce costs.

Essentially, it shuts down the compressor prematurely and keeps the blower running until the desired setpoint is reached. 

How it Works

Every air conditioner has two integral parts – the compressor, and the fan. The compressor works to generate the temperature you want, and the fan distributes the cold air throughout your room.

Nest Airwave works as a buffer for these two components, so once your home is getting close to your desired cooling temperature, the Airwave feature shuts down the compressor but keeps the fan running until the setpoint is reached. 

This helps to draw out every last bit of cold air from the compressor and evenly distribute it to every corner of your home, meeting your desired setpoint but with the compressor shut down several minutes in advance. 

Since the compressor requires significantly more wattage than your fan, it can help save a small amount of energy, every time your Air Conditioner turns on and meets your desired setpoint.

The “Learning” Aspect of the Airwave Feature

When you first configure this setting, the thermostat shuts down the compressor 5-10 minutes before it's supposed to shut down.

After a couple of days or weeks, it will learn to gauge your compressor’s performance and decide exactly when to shut down the compressor. 

Usually, this value will be calculated based on the time the compressor is running or a particular temperature that is 2-5 degrees above your desired setpoint. 

For instance, if you’ve set the temperature to 72 degrees, the thermostat might shut down the compressor when the indoor temperature is around 74 degrees, predicting that the residual cold air blowing in will eventually cool your home perfectly to 72°F.

How to Enable or Disable The Airwave Feature

On the Nest Thermostat

Here’s how to configure the Airwave feature on these models:

Via the Nest App

First, make sure the Nest app is installed on your device and that you have the thermostat connected to the app.

How Does the Airwave Feature Impact Humidity?

Nest thermostat takes humidity into account as well and prioritizes it over the Airwave feature.

So if the humidity level in your home is uncomfortably high, and it’s supposed to shut down the thermostat according to the airwave function, the Nest thermostat will instead hold off on shutting down the compressor until the humidity level improves.

What is that comfortable humidity level you ask? Well, your Nest thermostat calculates this based on your indoor and outdoor temperature. So as soon as the humidity falls below this level, the airwave feature will turn on. 

When Should I Disable the Airwave Function?

Although the Nest thermostat is perfectly capable of automating the Airwave function so it doesn't interfere with the humidity requirements in your home, there are certain instances where you should keep it switched off.

The Airwave feature can interfere with these situations, especially when it's trying to optimize itself based on indoor and outdoor humidity levels. 

In that case, it's best to disable Airwave and let the thermostat run using “Cool-to-Dry” or regular Cool.

Does the Nest Airwave save you money?

On average, the Airwave feature can help you shave almost 10% off your monthly energy bills. 

However, let's try to estimate some numbers by assuming the Nest thermostat switches off the compressor 5 minutes early (average scenario).

However, this is only a ballpark figure so depending on your climate, house insulation, and the specifications and condition of your AC system, my best bet is that the Airwave feature will improve efficiency by around 10-20%.

Also, depending on how significant the AC is on your power bill, you can expect to save around 5-10% of your power bill under the right conditions.

FAQ

How Much Can I Hope to Reduce From My Energy Bill with Nest Airwave?

On average, you can expect your AC to run 20% less and cut off around 5-10% of your monthly energy costs.

Will the Airwave Feature Interrupt the Humidity Levels in My Home?

With uncomfortable levels of humidity, the Airwave feature will automatically disable, allowing the AC to absorb the excess moisture and reduce the humidity. 

However, it's not a good idea to be entirely reliant on this feature, so I recommend switching on the “Cool to Dry” mode instead if your goal is to get rid of excess humidity. 

If your home constantly experiences low humidity, then you might have to address it with a humidifier setup. For this, I recommend getting help from an HVAC expert.

What Other Features Can I Use to Improve the Efficiency of My Nest Thermostat?

The Airwave feature is compatible with Nest Seasonal Savings, and IFTTT. 

So if you’re hoping to integrate your Nest thermostat with these features and platforms, you might be able to cut down on power a little more.

Visit the IFTTT app to learn more – https://ifttt.com/

Is the Airwave Feature Similar to the Cool Dry Feature?

No, these two are separate features with the Cool to Dry setting designed specifically to operate your AC in order to reduce the humidity in your home. 

So with the Cool Dry (or Cool to Dry) feature turned on, your thermostat may cool the house down a few degrees lower than the setpoint and try to reduce indoor humidity when it's extremely high. 

Conclusion

Initial Sources

• https://support.google.com/googlenest/answer/9249730?hl=en#zippy=%2Chow-airwave-works
• https://support.google.com/googlenest/answer/9294957?hl=en

The post What Does Airwave Mean on Nest? Understanding Your Thermostat’s Advanced Feature in 2024 appeared first on Smart Home Perfected.

If your Roomba displays an error code, this guide will help you understand and follow the necessary steps to troubleshoot and fix the problem promptly.

All Roomba cleaners have a battery. Furthermore, they come with a home base, have brushes that sit underneath, and rely on wheels to travel from room to room. All these parts are susceptible to some form of error.

For instance, the battery on the Roomba cleaner might overheat, resulting in a battery error. The wheels and the brush that sit under Roomba can collect dirt particles and hair. These particles can jam the device’s brush and wheels. As a result, your Roomba cleaner might stop working. 

Whatever the reason might be, you can always troubleshoot the device by identifying the error and following the steps to resolve. Let's look into the most common types of error codes for Roomba robot cleaners and how you can fix them without seeking expert assistance.

Operational Errors & How to Fix

Roomba Error Code 1: Uneven Grounds

Roomba is a powerful home cleaner. However, uneven grounds are a major obstacle for it. If you are experiencing Roomba error codes that start with 1, then read on.

You will get the Roomba Error code 1 if Roomba encounters an uneven surface. In case the left wheel of the cleaner gets tilted and stays suspended above the ground, you will receive this error message.

To solve this error, place your Roomba on a stable, flat surface and press the “Clean” button.

Roomba Error Codes 2: Clean Brushes

Roomba cleaners come with dual multi-surface rubber brushes. Thanks to these, your Roomba can adjust its position and stay in contact with the surface at all times.

You will get the Error 2 message if for some reason the brush on your Roomba fails to self-clean. In that case, unless you clean the brush, the device will not be able to spin and continue cleaning.

Clear any dirt particles and any other object that might be tangled with the brush of your Roomba cleaner. That should resolve the error. 

Roomba Error 5: Clean Brushes

Every Roomba cleaner comes with two separate wheels. You will find the wheels below the body of your Roomba cleaner. It is of utmost importance that the wheels don’t get tangled with anything. Otherwise, your Roomba cleaner will stop working. If for some reason the right wheel of your Roomba cleaner no longer works, it will trigger the Roomba Error 5. 

The solution to this problem is very easy. First, take your Roomba cleaner and place it on its back. Gently push the wheels. This should dislocate any dirt particles. If you still don't see the dirt coming off, place the cleaner in one hand and tap it gently with the palm of your other hand.

Roomba Error 6: Clean Cliff Sensors

Roomba cleaners are designed to work perfectly on plain floors. They will not do their job if you place them on bumpy floors with a lot of obstacles. This is why your Roomba cleaner comes with Cliff Sensors.

When your Roomba reaches an obstacle, a fall, or even a wall that it cannot roll past, it will display the Error 6 message. Unless you pick it up and place it back on a plain surface, it cannot continue cleaning. 

To solve this, pick up the cleaner and place it on a plain surface. If you still encounter the error, double check to make sure there isn’t anything stuck or blocking the cliff sensors.

Roomba Error 7: Wheel Problem

The wheels are the only way your Roomba robot cleaner can move from point A to B. It will flash and voice the Error message 7 if the wheels get jammed. Furthermore, if your cleaner reaches a bumpy floor, you are equally likely to receive this message.

To solve this error, turn over your Roomba and analyze for debris stuck on the wheels. You can also use a hairdryer on a cool setting. The airflow from the hairdryer can clear out the dirt.

Roomba Error 8: Clean Vacuum

All Roomba cleaners come with a motor and a filter. If both of them stop working, you will get Error 8. A broken motor means your Roomba cleaner will not be able to suck the dirt in. And a broken filter means it won't be able to filter the collected dirt and store it in its bin.

To remove the bin, press the Bin Release Button on the back of your cleaner. Gently slide out the bin door and empty the trash. Hold down tight on the left side of the filter and slide out to separate the filter from the bin. Use a brush to clean out the debris or shake the bin and the filter. While doing so, make sure you do not try to clean the filter with any liquid detergent or water, as this part is meant to be kept dry. 

Roomba Error 9: Clean Bumper

You will get the Error 9 message if the bumper of your Roomba cleaner gets stuck.

Turn over your Roomba cleaner. The simple act of turning it over on its back is enough to clear out light dirt. On the flip side, to clear out heavy dirt and hair, you can gently shake the cleaner or use an object to untangle the hair. After you have cleaned the bumper, press the Clean button to start the cleaning again. 

Roomba Error 10: Clean Wheel

You will get the Error 10 message if your Roomba cleaner can’t move. This happens if anything gets stuck on any of the wheels on the underside of your Roomba cleaner. Also, if your Roomba comes across any obstacle, it will trigger this error message, too.

To solve this error, place your Roomba cleaner on a plain surface. You might also want to block off any problematic zones for the device. If you still get the error, check if the wheels have anything stuck on them.

Roomba Error 11: Replace Vacuum

Your Roomba cleaner comes with a powerful motor to suck in all the dirt. If the motor on your cleaner stops working, you will get the Error 11 message.

You might need to replace the motor to fix your Roomba. In this instance, we recommend you contact the iRobot customer care to order a new vacuum motor. Don’t forget to mention the warranty on your cleaner.

Roomba Error 14: Can’t Detect Bin

Your Roomba cleaner collects dirt and stores it inside a bin. If the cleaner fails to detect the bin, you will get the Error 14 message.

If you took out the bin for cleaning, make sure you place it back in properly. While doing so, also check if you have installed the filter as it should be installed.

Roomba Error 15: Can’t Communicate

You will get the Roomba Error 15 if the internal circuitry fails to communicate. This error indicates an internal communications error. 

Don't panic. It might sound too technical, but pressing the Clean button to restart the cleaner or performing a reboot will fix this problem in most cases.

Roomba Error 16: Tilted Bumper

You might hear different 16 Error messages on the Roomba 900 Series and Roomba i Series. You will also get this error message if your Roomba cleaner’s bumper is tilted and not in contact with the floor. 

For both series, press and hold the CLEAN button. This should initiate the cleaning process again. However, if you get this message even when you have placed Roomba on a flat surface, you should consider a reboot. 

Roomba Error 17: Navigation Problem

Your Roomba can self-navigate your apartment. However, it might encounter unknown territory from time to time. If it does, it will inform you of it by sending the Roomba Error 17. Moreover, it will also stop the cleaning process. 

To stop this error from appearing follow the below steps, don’t move any furniture around the room, ensure sufficient light is available, and ensure there isn’t too much clutter. You might also get this error if your Roomba cleaner is in contact with any infrared interference.

To solve this error, turn over your Roomba cleaner, locate the round iAdapt® Floor Tracking Sensor, and gently clean it with a soft cotton cloth.

Roomba Error 18: Docking Problem

Your Roomba Cleaner is programmed to return to the home base after it has finished cleaning your home. If for any reason, your cleaner fails to dock to the home base, it will show the Roomba Error 18 message.

To solve this, follow any or all of the below steps:

• Make sure the home base is not unplugged or did not change its position during the cleaning cycle.
• Make sure the charging ports on both the Roomba cleaner and its home base are clear of residue. 
• Move any obstacle from in front of the home base. 
• Check the Room Confinement Sensor to see if your Roomba cleaner can detect the Home Base.

11 beeps without a voice warning

This error message indicates your Roomba cleaner is unable to register obstacles. When hearing this error message, you are likely to find your Roomba cleaner stuck in one place.

To solve this error, tap the bumper to confirm that it is functional. Moreover, if you find the Roomba circling, chances are it has caught some debris around its wheels. Clean it and it should be working again.

4 beeps or Roomba says “Please charge Roomba.”

Your Roomba Cleaner depends on a battery to run. After it has run out of battery power, it will dock itself to the home base. 

If your Roomba cleaner loses battery power and doesn't have enough juice to get back to base, you will get this error message. To solve it, manually dock the Roomba robot at the Home Base and connect it to the charging port.

Roomba says “Please Inspect and Clean Roomba’s Cliff Sensors”

Roomba relies on its Cliff Sensors to determine changes in terrain. For example, if your Roomba reaches the stairs while cleaning other rooms, its Cliff Sensors will tell it to stop. 

You will get the “Please Inspect and Clean Roomba’s Cliff Sensors” message if the cliff sensors catch some debris that stops the cleaner from working properly. Clean the Cliff sensors to fix this error.

Roomba says “Please Inspect and Clean Roomba’s Wheels”

Your Roomba comes with two wheels to travel around your apartment. These wheels sit at the bottom of the device. Because of their position and rotating motion, the wheels are very likely to catch unwanted dirt and even hair. In that case, your Roomba will display the “Please Inspect and Clean Roomba’s Wheels” error message. Check the wheels and clean them to fix the error.

Roomba says “Please Remove and Clean Roomba’s Brushes”

If you turn over your Roomba, you will find its brushes. As with all Roomba models, the brush is located on the bottom of the device. If the brush can’t operate, you will get the “Please Remove and Clean Roomba’s Brushes” error message.

To fix it, you need to clean the main brushes. Flip over your Roomba cleaner and lift both the yellow tabs that sit on the opposite sides of the brush. This should unlock the brush compartment. Remove any debris and hair from the yellow brush caps and the metal brush cap shafts. Reinstall the brush after you are done cleaning. 

Roomba Returns to Dock Too Early with Full Battery

If your device returns to the home dock early with a full battery, there is no need to worry, as there is nothing wrong with the battery. This happens if the different parts of your Roomba cleaner fail to communicate with each other. 

To solve this error, perform a reboot. After the reboot is complete you should no longer face this issue. However, if you still get this error, contact iRobot customer care.

Charging Errors & How to Fix Them

Charging Error 1: Battery Disconnected

If you get this error, it means the battery has somehow been disconnected. Often, this error can also appear if your Roomba cleaner cannot detect the battery.  

What message you receive for this error varies on the Roomba model you are using. Along with voice messages, you might also see the troubleshooting, battery, or clean icons while charging.

To solve this error, make sure you are using an authentic iRobot Lithium-Ion battery. If you are using it and still get this message, check to see if anything is obstructing the battery connection.

Charging Error 2: Charging Error

This error message indicates the battery on your Roomba cleaner is unable to charge. If you have a Roomba 900 series, you will hear the following audio message “Charging error two (2)”. The 500, 600, 700, and 800 series models also display the same error message. 

To fix this error, you will likely need assistance from an expert. Contact iRobot customer care to fix it.

Charging Error 3: Charging Error

Similar to Charging Error 2, you need to contact iRobot customer care to fix this problem. 

You can tell you are having this error if your Roomba cleaner blinks three times. If you are using a Roomba 600 or 700 series model which comes with Wi-Fi, you will get the message “Charging error three (3). Please open the iRobot HOME app for help.”. 

Charging Error 5: Charging System Error

Depending on the Roomba model you have, the message for charging error 5 can be “Charging error five (5)”. Please open the iRobot HOME App for help or “Charging error five (5)”. 

This error message declares that the charging system on your Roomba is not working properly. This can occur if you are using an unofficial iRobot battery. Also, if any debris disrupts the connection point between the battery and the contacts within the Roomba robot, you will get this message too. Clean the charging contacts on the Home Base and the Roomba robot, which should resolve the error. 

Charging Error 6: Battery is too warm

This error declares that the Roomba robot is not charging. This error is often triggered if you place your Roomba beside a heating vent, radiator, or anything that emits heat. Also, while charging your Roomba make sure it is at room temperature. To fix this error, always charge your Roomba cleaner at room temperature.

Charging Error 7: Battery too warm or too cold

You will get this error message if your Roomba cleaner fails to charge. It can happen if you place your Roomba and its Home Base in a warm or cold place. 

During winter days and in summer, make sure Roomba gets its charge at the room’s temperature. It is recommended that you do not place the Roomba and its Home Base near an oven, radiator, or a refrigerator.

Charging Error 8: Communication Error

This error message is triggered when your Roomba battery fails to communicate with the Lithium-Ion battery. It will vary depending on the Roomba model you are using.

To avoid encountering this error, make sure you are not using a counterfeit iRobot battery. Always use authentic batteries.

Charging Error 9: Lithium-Ion Battery Error

The charging Error 9 is declared if the battery within the Roomba cleaner starts acting up. Upon receiving this error message, you should immediately contact iRobot customer care.

This message may vary depending on the model you are using. On Roomba 900 series you will get the message “Charging error nine (9)” and on other Wi-Fi models, you will get the additional message to launch the iRobot Home app.

How to Reset Roomba

The Verdict

Regardless of the Roomba model you are using, this article hopefully helped you find solutions for the most common Roomba error codes.

If any of the above guidance has not worked for you, or you have encountered other Roomba error codes, please leave a comment below and we can update the guide.

Happy cleaning!

Sources

irobot.com

The post Roomba Error Codes 2023: Unleash the Power of Our Comprehensive Troubleshooting Guide appeared first on Smart Home Perfected.

Does Roomba work with Google Home?

Extensive Compatibility

Roomba cleaners can suck in dirt, pet hair, and any other microscopic dust particles. To automatically navigate, they come with smart home mapping technology, which enables them to map out your entire home and with some models, label each room. That way, you can make your Roomba clean specific rooms instead of performing a complete home cleaning session. 

On top of these features, you can use voice commands via your Google Home / Google Assistant smart speaker. Just like any other Google Assistant compatible device, you can talk to Roomba robots in natural language and make them do things such as start cleaning or return to the dock to recharge.

What Roomba Models can connect to Google Home or Google Assistant?

Google Home and Google Assistant have grown a lot in popularity over the past few years. People are more comfortable controlling their smart devices with voice commands than ever, and Roomba robots always have a suite of commands ready. 

Most modern Roomba models can connect to Google Home and Google Assistant. Roomba e5, e6 89x, 69x, 67x, Roomba 96x, 98x, Roomba i7, s9, and Braava jet m6 are such models. Furthermore, along with English, all these models support a handful of other languages as well.

The information on this page is accurate as of the time of writing. As things change quite quickly in technology, if any of the information on this page becomes out of date, please leave a comment at the bottom of the page and we will rectify it

Get the Apps

To connect your Roomba vacuum cleaner to Google Home and command with Google Assistant you will need to have both apps set up on your phone. Here are the links to get set up. If you already have this set up then skip to the next section.

iRobot Home

Google Home

iRobot Home

Google Home

Commands

Single Roomba Robot

After you have linked your Roomba robot with Google Assistant using the Google Home app, you can use simple voice commands to control it.

To make the Roomba cleaner start cleaning your home, simply say 

“Hey Google, start vacuuming.” 

Saying the words “Hey Google, start Roomba” or “Hey Google, start cleaning.” will have the same effect. If you need to make the Roomba pause immediately, say the words 

“Hey Google, pause cleaning.” 

To make Roomba start cleaning again, use the command 

“Hey Google, resume Roomba.” 

Now if you want to completely cancel the cleaning schedule, say the words 

“Hey Google, stop vacuuming.” 

After the Roomba has stopped cleaning, give the command 

“Hey Google, dock Roomba”

This will send the Roomba back to its Home Base.

If you make your Roomba clean your room and want to know how the cleaning is coming along, you can say the words 

“Hey Google, what is Roomba doing?” 

to check up on the device’s status.

Single M-Series Roomba Robot

Roomba M Series, also referred to as Braava jet® m Series, are special Roomba robot cleaners that were built for mopping your home. 

Using the Google Assistant Voice commands, you can make an M-Series start mopping, pause mopping, cancel mopping schedule, resume mopping from where it left off, ask for its current location, and make it return to Home Base for docking. 

To have your M-Series Roomba robot perform any of the tasks mentioned above, just say the words 

“Hey Google, tell Roomba to (action i.e. start/resume/cancel mopping)”

The M-Series Roomba robots also come with Imprint Link Technology,  which means you can have them mopping specific rooms. To do so, make sure you add the name of the room you want it to mop with the voice command.

Multiple Roomba Robots

If you have a big home, it might be worth investing in multiple Roomba robots. You can easily control all Roomba robot cleaners using the same Google Home app. The only important thing to remember is to mention the name of the Roomba robot you want to use. Make sure you give proper names to your Roomba robots and avoid including any emoji characters. 

Another tip is to use names for the robots other than “Roomba” or “Braava”. You can use names such as “Alpha”, “Bravo”, “Charlie”, which are very easy to remember. 

After you have made sure all your Roomba robots have a separate name, you can use the voice command 

“Hey Google, start vacuum cleaning with (Roomba Robot Name)”. 

For example, if you do decide to name one of your Roomba robots “Alpha”, saying the words “Hey Google, start vacuum cleaning with Alpha” will activate the Roomba robot named Alpha. 

If you want to pause Alpha or any other of your Roomba robots in the middle of cleaning, say the words 

“Hey Google, pause cleaning with (Roomba Robot Name)” 

To make the robot resume cleaning, say the words 
“Hey Google, resume cleaning with (Roomba Robot Name)”

Robots with Smart Mapping technology

Roomba robots are smarter than you think. Just like a human maid, your Roomba cleaner can teach itself the inner layout of your home, how many rooms you have, how to get to each room, and other important information. 

This is called Home Mapping. After your Roomba robot has successfully registered each room in your apartment, it stores that information using the Imprint Smart Map feature. 

Moreover, you can label or name these rooms using the Google Smart Home app.

For instance, you can name your bedroom as “Alan’s Bedroom”, and another as “Guest Bedroom.” You can get more creative with the names, as long as you are not using anything confusing or emoji characters. 

Once that is done, you can make your Roomba robot clean any specific room. Say the command 

“Hey Google, clean (Room Name)” 

Moreover, if you have multiple Roomba robot cleaners connected to your Google Home app, you need to specify both the room names and the robot name you want to assign the new cleaning task to. 

For example, if you want to use a Roomba robot named “Alpha” to clean your “Alpha Bedroom”, simply say the voice commands 

“Hey Google, make Alpha clean Alpha Bedroom”

Extend Roomba with IFTTT

Difficulty: Intermediate

IFTTT, which is short for “If This Then That”, is a web-based service that lets people use simple conditional statements to make multiple apps / products work together. Using IFTTT, you can make your Roomba robot start cleaning right after you leave for work. Similarly, you can configure Roomba to dock itself as soon as you return home. 

If you are annoyed by the little sound that Roomba makes while cleaning your room, you can make it pause cleaning as soon as you receive a phone call. 

And the best part is, these applets (IFTTT conditional statements) are freely available with the IFTTT app. You can even make your very own applet from scratch. How fun is that?

Check it out here – https://ifttt.com/irobot

Common Questions about Roomba and Google Home

The Verdict

Roomba makes smart homes a reality. With robot cleaners and moppers that you can control using simple voice commands, Roomba makes life easier for every homeowner. 

In this article, you have learned how to connect Roomba with Google Home, how to use voice commands, how to control multiple Roomba robots, and how to connect Roomba with IFTTT.

Sources

play.google.com
irobot.com

The post Enhance Your Cleaning: 5 Ways Roomba and Google Home Can Transform Your Routine in 2024 appeared first on Smart Home Perfected.

Let us start with the basics, shall we? There are four primary methods to store data and footage from your security camera system. These methods are DVR, NVR, SD Card, or Cloud. Currently, most security systems try to pack a number of storage options into each system they manufacture, but you don’t need all of them. 

Outside of off-site backups, why spend more money on multiple storage options when you are better off with the one you can rely on? This blog has limited its discussion to only NVRs and DVRs, and for obvious reasons, these two are the most popular and reliable systems out there.

What is an NVR and how does it work?

NVR is an abbreviation for Network Video Recorder. In comparison to DVRs, NVRs process and encode data and footage within the security cameras. After that, they transfer or stream it to the NVR Recorder, where they store it and when requested, play the footage. 

Now due to how NVRs work, they are most suited for certain types of security cameras, which are IPs. IPs or Internet Protocol cameras are different from traditional CCTV cameras. They do not require any local storage, their only connection being to a local network.

There are two types of NVRs – PoE NVR and WiFi NVR. The PoE NVR cameras use ethernet cables, whereas Wi-Fi NVRs don’t need any wire. They work wirelessly. 

What is a DVR and how does it work?

On the other hand, the DVRs or Digital Video Recorders process and encode video data after they reach the DVR. Most of the time, DVR security systems are cheaper than their NVR counterparts. The primary reason behind their low price is the cameras they work with. 

Now you might be wondering, what cameras are best fit for DVRs. Well, DVRs work best with analog or traditional CCTV cameras. Another important feature of DVRs is that they are always hard-wired. They do not work wirelessly like their NVR counterparts.

NVR Benefits & Drawbacks

NVR Benefits

Let’s look at the benefits of NVR systems first. Think of NVRs as an upgrade to DVRs. NVRs incorporate all the latest cutting-edge innovations in home security. For instance, users of NVR security systems can benefit from IoT technology and any other smart device at their home/office i.e. Google Home or Amazon Echo.

Power over Ethernet

NVR systems rely on Cat cables (PoE) for data and power transmission. If you are hearing these terms for the first time, don’t worry, we’ll explain! Cat cables are typically used to connect desktop / laptops computers to your broadband router. They are the backbone of networking in all IT infrastructures. 

These cables inherently support high performance and fast data transmission. Power can also be transmitted over these cables, which is known as Power over Ethernet (PoE). In summary, Cat / ethernet cables can transmit video, audio, and power to connected security cameras.

Direct Connection Not Needed

A big difference between DVRs and NVRs is that the former one requires each of the security cameras to be connected separately to the device. Whereas, with NVRs, cameras only need to stay connected to the network, not to the NVR directly.

Greater Cable Flexibility

If you have a big area to cover, NVRs will offer greater flexibility in setting up your security system. Thanks to their thinner cables, you can reach far and cover your entire real estate. Most ethernet cables have the highest range of 328 Feet or 100 meters. That might be enough for the average user. However, if you are in charge of security of a large premises, you need to make sure you have no blind spots. Don’t worry, you can easily use network switches to extend the reach of your security system. 

Unlike DVRs, which rely on Coaxial cables for video transmission, the NVRs receive pure digital video signals from their connected security cameras. This ensures the highest quality of videos.

Advanced Motion Detection 

Now let us look at some of the competitive advantages of NVRs. These advanced security cameras can be accessed from anywhere, ensuring you have a third eye, all day every day. Moreover, these cameras can detect movement and instantly trigger video recordings. Some newer models also come with heat detection technology. Even if expert burglars break into your porch, they can’t go unnoticed for very long. 

Facial Recognition

Thanks to their powerful video processing specs, they can support other advanced technologies such as facial recognition. Users also receive a push notification about alerts. All of these advanced features combined make NVRs a more reliable security system than DVRs.

NVR Drawbacks

The most obvious drawback of NVRs is that they are more complex. If you are not a tech-savvy individual, you might face serious problems setting up these systems all by yourself. For instance, to power cameras, users first need to electrify the ethernet cables. 

Power

The only way to do that is via using PoE Injectors or Switches. This brings us to the second drawback, which is the price. Most NVRs are priced higher than DVRs. To some, this high price might be justified because they offer advanced features. 

Distance

The next drawback of NVRs is their shorter wires. When compared to Coaxial wires that feed DVRs, most PoE wires have a shorter maximum length. 

Ethernet cables can reach up to 300 feet, whereas Coaxial cables can reach up to 1,600 feet, albeit with some degradation.

DVR Benefits & Drawbacks

DVR Benefits

You might think the reason why DVRs are cheaper than NVRs is that they compromise video quality when it comes to resolution. However, that is not true. DVRs can support cameras that record at an HD resolution. 

Separate Power and Data

Usually, DVRs rely on Coaxial BNC cables. These cables have separate connections for power and video transmission, which is convenient for some users. If you already have a Coaxial wire system that was used with your old security camera, you can hold on to it if you decide to get a DVR. 

If you have a security system that uses analog cameras already at your home or office, and you want to upgrade it with only a new storage option, DVRs solve this problem. After you get a DVR, you can keep on using the analog cameras. 

Environment

Now let's talk about reliability. You don't want to be stuck with a blank screen the very moment burglars break into your home or business. Moreover, you also don't want your videos to stop streaming during storms. If you live in a cold atmosphere, where it snows in winter or it rains all summer, DVRs will outperform NVRs in this area. This is because they use Coaxial cables instead of relying on wireless data transmission, which is vulnerable to interference from other electronic devices as well as adverse climate.

DVR Drawbacks

The drawback of coaxial cables is that while the video quality is good, it’s not as good as on NVRs. Moreover, the video quality degrades beyond 300 feet / 90 meters. So, if you are thinking about covering a large area, do expect the video quality to degrade. 

No Audio with Coaxial Cable

Moreover, Coaxial cables do not come with an audio transmitting signal. The audio ports are very limited on DVRs. This means you won't be able to listen to audio from your security camera. These cables are built with hard material to withstand adverse climate and external forces. Due to this, they are naturally inflexible and rigid so harder to install.

Direct Connection to DVR

While using a DVR, you need to have a connection for both power and data. That doubles the wiring requirement. However, you can easily provide power to all your separate cameras by using a separate splitter. Yes, each camera requires a separate splitter. So, if you wish to connect 10 cameras to your DVR, you will need 10 splitters. Most people find this very annoying and require expert help to set up their DVR.

Unlike NVR security systems that can support both wired and wireless cameras, the DVR is strictly limited to hard-wired connections. Most NVRs also support both wired and wireless cameras at the same time. If you think about it, you might have to give up on many advanced and modern security cameras just because most of them are wireless.  

Does Not Support Wireless

If the appearance of your home is of utmost importance, you might want to reconsider getting a DVR. As mentioned before, DVRs need to be hard-wired. This means that if you have a long porch and you want to set up a camera right at the front gate, you will need to figure out a way to form that hard-wired connection. You might feel like hanging them from trees or light poles, but that might destroy the elegance of your home and could be an easy target for burglars to cut the lines. Less flexibility in mounting cameras means you are limited to how you can position the DVR and all the other cameras. 

Video Processing

As mentioned earlier, the DVR needs to be connected to all the security cameras in the system. It poses a great challenge in terms of data processing. With all connected cameras sending video footage at the same time, the DVR can be overworked, resulting in delays as well as unwanted system crashes.

Things to consider when selecting a DVR vs NVR

Cabling & Installation

DIY has become a trend, and for good reasons. In present times, anyone can access any information with a simple smartphone and internet connection. However, when wiring a security system, you might fail to accomplish the task if you have no prior knowledge about it. 

Depending on what security system you are using, the difficulty of wiring it varies. You may face higher difficulty wiring the DVR, as it needs a lot of hardwiring. On the flip side, an NVR requires less cable work. It needs other configuration steps such as connecting the security system to the app.

Number of Channels / Cameras

Channels refer to the number of security cameras a security system can handle. For instance, an NVR vs DVR system with 20 channels can connect to 20 separate security cameras.

If you have a big area to cover, you are better off with a multi-channel security system. On the other hand, if you only want to buy a security camera for your two-bedroom apartment, you might be better off with only a single-channel security system.

Video Quality & Resolution

Most security cameras on the market have an HD 1080p resolution. That has become a standard. You will also find security cameras with 4MP, 5MP, or even higher resolutions. 

However, the question you should be asking yourself is if your security system can handle the resolution. For instance, as DVRs are connected to all the cameras via a separate cable, proper encoding and storage depend on its processing power. Along with that, the video quality and resolution also depend on the cable. Coaxial cables do a below-average job, whereas PoE cables are masters of ensuring no degradation of video quality during transmission.

Storage

Storage is a big concern. If you want to set up multiple security cameras at your home/office, this should be your first worry. You might know people who missed out on footage from the very moment burglars made entry into their homes. This usually happens if your security camera runs out of storage, if you forget to delete older footage to make space for newer ones, or if you forget to upgrade your storage capacity. 

Whatever the reason, storage is a big issue. As a standard, most NVRs and DVRs come with 1TB or 2TB Hard Drives. That is enough for the average user.

Remote Access Needed

Smartphones have made our lives easier. On top of that, different apps have enabled us to accomplish tasks in less time. To ensure users have this convenience while using security systems as well, many leading brands have introduced dedicated apps for their security cameras. 

These apps are usually free. Using them, people can see how many cameras are connected to their system, receive alert notifications, review captured footage, control pan/tilt of their cameras, and many other things, not to mention they can do it from a remote location.

Facial Recognition

Facial Recognition has been the buzzword in the technology arena for the last few years. Many flagship smartphones use facial recognition. Some have even completely replaced pin/pattern locks with facial recognition. Along with fingerprints, facial recognition is a highly effective biometric security measure. 

Many security cameras on the market have facial recognition too. This is how it works. The camera can self-teach itself who are your family members, and who are the regular visitors to your home. This way, they will only give you alerts only when an unknown face is detected.

Motion Detection

Motion Detection is the latest innovation in the security sector. It usually works as a trigger. The underlying motive for motion detection is two-fold.

First, a motion trigger ensures your video camera starts recording only when it detects motion. This way, you are saving a lot of hard drive storage.

The second advantage of motion detection is tighter security. Even if you are not at home, your security camera can detect the slightest movement in your bedroom or out in the driveway. Moreover, nowadays motion detection is paired with heat detection. So instead of just focusing on motion, now cameras look for warm moving objects.

Budget

Everything has a budget. When we go to buy a new smartphone, we look for phones that are priced in the ballpark of our budget margin. We might increase or decrease our budget depending on the situation, but we tend to anchor toward it. 

This is true when you go shopping for a security system as well. As a rule of thumb, NVRs are priced higher than DVRs. How high you might ask? Well, it depends on which model you are considering buying. Depending on the model, the price difference can be anywhere between $50-$100.

Common NVR vs DVR questions

Conclusion

In this NVR vs DVR article, we looked at what is an NVR, and what is a DVR. After defining what they are, we analyzed how they are different from one another. We also looked at the benefits and drawbacks of both NVRs and DVRs. 

And lastly, we concluded the entire article by discussing some for the common factors to go over before making a purchase. We hope you found this article helpful. If you have any questions, please leave a comment below, and we will get back to you.

Sources

swann.com

The post 5 Key Differences Between NVR vs DVR: Unveiling the Ultimate Surveillance Choice appeared first on Smart Home Perfected.

General Precautions

If you are determined to reset your Samsung refrigerator, make sure you know what you’re doing. Unplug the fridge from the AC socket before doing anything to it. Also, fridges contain noxious gases within the compressor so never interfere with that.

At SmartHomePerfected we always advise readers not to undertake any work they are not competent in performing and if in any doubt, it is best to seek the assistance of a professional.

Each Samsung refrigerator model is different, so if the below troubleshooting steps do not work, then you can access the specific model's user manual here.

Common Error Codes

Sources

https://www.samsung.com

The post How to Reset your Samsung Refrigerator – Step by Step Guides appeared first on Smart Home Perfected.

What is Passive PoE?

A crucial aspect of PoE is how power is delivered via Ethernet cables. Passive PoE describes ethernet power supplies (like PoE switches or PoE injectors) that send raw unnegotiated energy down ethernet cables to connected devices. The device connected to that cable will receive the electricity, whether it is able to handle it or not. This is why Passive PoE is dubbed as “Always ON.”

Active PoE describes ethernet power supplies that negotiate how much power should be sent to the connected devices. This handshake process ensures the device does not receive energy it is unable to handle, and eliminates the risk of burning out the device. There are three IEEE 802.3 standards, for Active PoE.

• PoE (802.3af) – Provides 15.4 W of power
• PoE+(802.3at) – Provides 30 W of power
• PoE++(802.3bt) – Provides 60 W or 90 W of power

Differences between Active PoE vs Passive PoE

If you have an electronic gadget that uses Active PoE, it will not power up until it completes a handshake between the PoE power supply and the device. This ensures the device gets the right amount of power inflow (voltage).  After you connect a device to an ethernet cable powered by an Active PoE supply, it first determines the characteristics of the incoming current flow.

After that, it matches it with the requirements of the gadget itself. If it senses any discrepancy in current flow, it simply won't flow the current to the gadget. This is a great safety measure as it can prevent fire and other hazards.

How power is delivered over Ethernet

PoE (Power over Ethernet) cables serve two purposes. First, they transfer power over an Ethernet cable. And second, they use the same Ethernet cable to also ensure data transfer. To serve both these purposes, the wire pairs inside a PoE cable are divided into distinct pairs.

Almost all PoE cables have eight Ethernet wires inside them. Instead of being organized in a parallel fashion, these eight wires are further divided into four twisted pairs. Among these four pairs, two are used for data transfer and the other two are spare.

The two pairs that transfer data are referred to as the Data Pairs. As the name suggests, these two are responsible for transferring data over the cable. The remaining two pairs are referred to as spare pairs. Now you must be wondering which pair is responsible for flowing current through them? Well, a PoE wire can use any of the four pairs to transmit electricity flow.

Electrical current flows in a loop. That’s why you need two conductors to establish current flow over a cable. A PoE wire can use any of the wire pairs as a single conductor. This means PoE wires can use either the Data pair or the Spare pair to flow current through them.

Risks associated with Passive PoE

PoE wires have grown in popularity mainly because they reduce the need for electrical wirework in the home. With every new technological innovation, something new is introduced. And when we are talking about the power supply of electrical gadgets, shifting from hard-wiring to ethernet powered or wireless is the latest trend.

PoE cables have many advantages. Users don’t need to worry about having a power socket close to their devices anymore as this is taken care of over one single wire. However, there is a flip side to it too. If you are using a Passive PoE, you need to make sure you properly understand the voltage requirement for your gadget before you plug it in.

There are many risks associated with plugging in gadgets to power outlets that exceed the required voltage threshold. For instance, if you plug in an appliance that requires 120V power to a 240V outlet, you are exposed to severe accidents and the device burning out. Your appliance might get damaged beyond repair, or on the other extreme, it can catch fire.

The exact same goes for plugging in an electronic device to an ethernet cable powered by a Passive PoE power supply.

Ways to mitigate the risk of Passive PoE

To mitigate the risk of Passive PoEs, always make sure you are connecting your device to an ethernet power supply that provides the exact voltage the device requires. If in any doubt, consult a professional electrician before installation. Also, always read the instructions written on the product packaging as well as in the user manual.

With ethernet cables powered by an Active PoE power supply, there is a handshake process in place that helps gauge the voltage of the required current inflow. If there is a mismatch or an anomaly is detected, it will simply stop the current flow from reaching your device. However, that is not the case with Passive PoEs as there is no such safety mechanism.

Our Recommendation

PoE ethernet cables are widely used in smart IoT devices. You will find them in IP phones, smart lighting systems, wireless LAN, surveillance cameras, and other household gadgets. 

When using PoE to power your devices, we recommend you use an Active PoE power supply to deliver power. Check the voltage requirement for your appliance, and then match it with what your PoE power supply can provide. For instance, a PoE that supports IEEE 802.3af can provide an electricity supply of 15.4W. Any appliance that requires more than that should not be connected to this PoE supply so instead, you need to look at PoE+ or PoE ++ which have higher wattages.

You can connect multiple devices using a PoE switch. However, while doing so make sure the cumulative power consumption does not exceed the total power limit of the PoE switch. For instance, if the maximum power limit of your PoE is 90W, even if you add 10+ devices to it, make sure the combined power consumption stays below 90W. While connecting an ethernet cable to a Passive PoE power source, always ensure that the power supply has galvanic isolation and short protection. 

Conclusion

We hope you learned something new from this article. In a nutshell, you should now understand what PoE is, how it works, what the difference is between Active vs Passive PoE. And lastly, we looked at some recommendations for using PoE with different Electrical devices. We hope you found this article helpful. For any queries, leave a comment below!

Sources

Netgear

The post Understanding Passive PoE: Essential Guide for Network Enthusiasts in 2024 appeared first on Smart Home Perfected.

Environment

Generally speaking, lithium-ion batteries have reduced capacity in low temperatures. Nonetheless, heat can shorten the Ring doorbell battery life, as well.

Activity

There are a lot of features wrapped up in a video doorbell which can use up a lot of energy. Motion detection, prolonged live streaming, leaving the night light on during the day can all drain the battery.

Weak Wi-Fi 

Due to a weak Wi-Fi signal, your Ring doorbell tends to automatically increase its transmission power so that it increases the Wi-Fi broadbase. As such, the doorbell battery will be drained sooner. The Ring Chime pro can help with this as it acts as a Wi-Fi extender.

Relevant Products

Ring Chime Pro

Improve Battery Life with this Wi-Fi Repeater and Chime

View Price

9.4

Ring Rechargeable Battery Pack

A long-lasting rechargeable battery

View Price

Dual Port Charging Station for Ring Doorbell Batteries

A convenient dual-port battery charger

View Price

How can I improve the Ring Doorbell battery life?

Below are some ways you can improve your Ring doorbell battery life:

• You can bypass the problem of low Ring doorbell battery life by hardwiring the device into an electrical circuit in the house. (Similar to traditional doorbells)
• Prolonged live streaming of video footage from your doorbell uses up a lot of energy and it's best to limit its use for when it's needed.
• Motion detection can be adjusted to help reduce battery drainage. This way, passing cars don’t trigger motion detection. 
• Extremely cold or hot temperatures should be avoided as they affect the battery’s performance, too. 
• The Wi-Fi signal strength needs to be monitored so that the optimal level of signal is obtained, helping the doorbell run more efficiently. In this scenario it’s worth considering installing a Wi-Fi booster or the Ring Chime Pro to increase signal.
• The battery only needs to be recharged when it’s low. Charging it when full decreases the Ring doorbell battery life. 
• The nightlight should be switched off at daytime, as it tends to drain the battery too. 
• High currents and high charges should be avoided while charging. At the same time, very low discharges that are below 2 or 2.5 volts should be prevented. It is best to use the charger that comes out of the box.

9.4

Ring Rechargeable Battery Pack

A long-lasting rechargeable battery

View Price
On Amazon.com

Rechargeable battery that typically provides 6 – 12 months per charge.

Top Features

• Works with the Ring video doorbell.
• Has a quick-release tab.

This device is compatible with the Ring Video Doorbell, Ring Peephole Camera, Second and Third Generation of Ring Stick Up Camera, Ring Spotlight Camera, and Ring Solar Floodlight.

It’s a great purchase if you want to have two battery packs at all times so you don’t lose doorbell functionality during the charging process.

The Ring rechargeable battery pack typically powers your device for 6 – 12 months. However, if your doorbell gets heavy use, it may be closer to 3 months. 

Features

The voltage required by this rechargeable battery is 3.66 volts consuming 22.046 watts per hour during charging.

This battery pack’s model number is V4, which is compatible with Ring 2 and Ring 3.

It features 1 lithium-ion battery and comes with a USB cable to charge it. The battery is rated as 6000 mAh and has a USB port. The battery takes 5 to 6 hours to charge. 

How to charge

When it needs to be charged, the app on the user’s smartphone sends alerts, or a check on the battery power can be made on your Ring account on the website. 

The battery includes a quick-release tab that allows easier access to remove the battery from the doorbell unit.

This battery can be charged by plugging the USB into a standard AC adapter or by connecting it to a PC. However, the latter can take up to 12 hours to charge.

Once the green lights glow, the battery is fully charged and ready to be used. If it showsa green light and an orange light, then it means the unit is still charging.

Tech Specs

Ring Chime Pro

Improve Battery Life with this Wi-Fi Repeater and Chime

View Price
On Amazon.com

The all-new Ring Chime Pro extends Wi-Fi signals up to 2000 sq. ft.

Top Features

• Features night light and a chime box.
• It has a Wi-Fi extender.
• Real time notifications when motion detected and doorbell pressed.

The All-New Ring Chime Pro serves as an indoor doorbell system, complimenting the Ring Doorbell’s smartphone notifications.

It has built-in volume control, a night light and chimes when motion is detected by the Ring Doorbell or the button is pressed. 

Wi-Fi Extender

The Ring Chime Pro features a Wi-Fi extender and is compatible with other Ring devices to improve the overall internet connection of nearby doorbells and cameras.

The Wi-Fi extender does not interfere with the household’s internet signal as the Chime’s signal is exclusively for Ring doorbells and cameras.

However, the Ring Chime Pro does not extend a signal to Ring Smart Lights as the smart lights connect directly to the Ring Bridge.

Multiple Devices

The user can connect multiple Chime Pro devices at the same time to enhance security in houses with multiple entry paths.

The Ring Chime is easy to set up by plugging into a standard outlet. It connects via Wi-Fi at 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz and comes with a guided setup process that helps the user find the best location for the Chime.

Chime Options

There are 30 chimes available for the user to choose from when using this gadget. The tones library keeps expanding and new chimes are added every so often.

Tech Specs

Dual Port Charging Station for Ring Doorbell Batteries

A convenient dual-port battery charger

View Price
On Amazon.com

This battery charger features multiple charging slots and allows you to hot-swap, which eliminates any downtime with your Ring doorbell.

Top Features

• Charge multiple batteries simultaneously.
• Compatible with Ring video doorbell batteries.
• Has indicator lights that signal when it's charging or it's fully charged.

This battery charger has a patent-pending design that enables charging two Ring Doorbell batteries at the same time. It includes indicator lights which allow the user to check if the battery is charging or is full.

Compatible

This device can charge Ring batteries compatible with the Ring Spotlight Camera, Ring Video Doorbell, Ring Stick-up cameras and more.

Features

The Ring battery charger package includes 1 power adapter, 1 dual charging station, and 1 power cable.

It uses a single wall socket to charge the 2 batteries that are in the charging unit. The voltage required for it is around 5 volts and takes roughly 5 to 6 hours for a full charge.

This charger is UC and FCC certified. It’s made up of a high-quality fire shell material and has built-in safeguards that provide short-circuit protection. It ensures safe charging and protects against overheating, overcurrent, or overvoltage. 

You can charge 1 or 2 batteries at a time with it and it comes with a 12-month warranty. 

Note

This product is a charger. It does not include Ring batteries.

Tech Specs

Ring Doorbells

Ring Video Doorbell v3

View Price
On Amazon.com

Top Features

• Features motion detection.
• Enhanced Wi-Fi for a product of its kind.
• Works with Alexa.

The All-new Ring Video Doorbell 3 has enhanced Wi-Fi and provides 1080p video. It also has enhanced features that allow its user to speak, hear, and see visitors at the front door from anywhere. It is made up of high-quality, shock- and vibration-resistant materials. 

This doorbell is easy to set up and can be accessed through the Ring app from any corner of the world. It gives mobile notifications when someone presses the doorbell or triggers it. It features motion detection, privacy zones, audio privacy, and dual-band Wi-Fi connectivity.

Ring Video Doorbell Pro

View Price
On Amazon.com

Top Features

• Motion-activated alerts.
• HD video with 1080 resolution.
• Compatible with Alexa.

This Ring Doorbell offers 1080 HD video quality and features live view. It has privacy features like Customizable Privacy Zones and Audio Privacy. Furthermore, it comes with the Ring app that can be used via Wi-Fi. It also comes with a Ring protection plan and records videos to be reviewed later.

This device requires a transformer to charge 16 to 24 volts with a frequency of 50 to 60 Hz. Its user can see and hear the visitors at their door from anywhere by using the Ring app or the website.

Ring Peephole Cam

View Price
On Amazon.com

Top Features

• Smart video doorbell.
• 2-way talk for hearing and speaking with visitors.
• Compatible with Alexa.

The Ring Peephole Cam can be connected with Alexa. It’s easy to install and requires no wiring or drilling. Furthermore, it features motion sensors that give notifications to phones, PCs, or tablets.

This camera has 1080p HD video quality, so it allows its user to see visitors at the door very clearly. The user can also hear and speak to the visitors through the Ring app, so from anywhere. This peephole cam can be easily installed in any doorbell. It comes with all the tools required to replace it in under 5 minutes.

Ring Video Doorbell v2

View Price
On Amazon.com

Top Features

• Motion alerts sent directly to the phone, laptop or tablet.
• HD video with 1080p resolution.
• Live view for increased security.

The Ring Video Doorbell 2 is powered by a quick-release rechargeable battery pack. It can also be connected to the existing doorbell wiring. Moreover, it features live view, which allows users to hear and talk to visitors from anywhere. 

The motion detection feature sends a notification on the phone, PC, or tablet, whenever motion is detected. Furthermore, thus doorbell has a two-way talk feature that allows users to see, hear, and talk to the visitors at the door just by using the Ring app.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I recharge my Ring Doorbell?

Your Ring doorbell battery needs to be recharged every few months, depending on how fast it drains.

To recharge, loosen the doorbell’s base screw and lift off the faceplate. After, press the release tab and remove the battery. Connect a USB charger to the battery’s charging port and leave to charge. Once the battery light has turned green, it will be full and ready to go.

When putting the battery back, slide it into the doorbell until you hear a click. Wait 30 seconds and put back the faceplate. Last, tighten the security screw and you’re done. 

How long does it take to recharge?

The Ring doorbell takes around 4 to 5 hours to fully charge if you connect it with a compatible AC USB adapter. 

You can also charge it using your PC, however it may take slightly longer to charge with a lower voltage.

If the battery dies totally, you may have to go through the setup process in the app.

How to check the battery levels of my Ring Doorbell?

The Ring apps send multiple alerts as push up notifications to your phone, PC, or tablet, to let you know about the battery level.

How do I know it is fully charged and ready to go?

The light on the front indicates the charging percentage. When this light is green, it means the battery is fully charged and ready to go.

I recharged my Ring Doorbell but it still says its low power … what do I do?

There is no need to worry if the app shows a low battery sign. The Ring app updates the battery percentage after every ring. So, it updates the battery on the app the next time the ring button is pressed.

How to replace the battery on my Ring Doorbell?

Remove the existing battery from the mounting bracket by loosening the two secure screws at the bottom. Use a star-shaped screwdriver. 

After, slide the battery up and off the mounting bracket. Put a new battery on the mounting bracket and tighten the security screws to lock the new battery in place.

What is the quick release option?

When the battery pack in the Ring doorbell runs out of power, you can easily remove it by pressing the quick release tab on the battery pack.

This feature is available in Ring video doorbell 2, the spotlight cam battery, and the stick-up cam battery.

Sources

https://www.coolblue.be

The post 2024 Ring Doorbell Battery Life: How long does it last between charges? appeared first on Smart Home Perfected.