Had a client last summer who insisted on a sleek, minimalist smart lock—looked great, but the battery drained way faster than advertised. Got a call at 10 pm because they were locked out after a weekend trip. Ended up installing a discreet keyed backup for them too. Curious if anyone's noticed certain brands or models holding battery life better than others? Seems like mileage varies quite a bit...
"Got a call at 10 pm because they were locked out after a weekend trip."
Had something similar happen with a popular brand I installed at my place. Battery life was decent at first, but after a firmware update, it tanked. Ended up swapping to a different model with AA batteries instead of rechargeable—surprisingly, they've lasted way longer. Makes me wonder if rechargeable batteries just aren't the best fit for smart locks...
Had a similar issue when I first installed mine. Went with a rechargeable model initially because it seemed like the smarter choice—less waste, easier to manage, etc. But after about 6 months, battery life started dropping noticeably. A firmware update made things even worse, and suddenly I was charging every couple weeks instead of every few months.
Did some digging around and found out rechargeable batteries (especially lithium-ion) have a different voltage curve compared to alkaline AA batteries. Basically, rechargeables maintain a steady voltage until they're almost dead, then drop off sharply. Smart locks often rely on voltage readings to estimate battery life, so they can misinterpret this sudden drop as a battery failure or low charge way earlier than expected.
Switched over to regular AA alkalines about a year ago and haven't had any issues since. Battery indicator is way more accurate now, and I'm still on my first set of batteries after nearly 10 months. Not ideal environmentally, but reliability-wise it's been night and day.
I guess rechargeable tech just isn't quite there yet for smart locks—or maybe lock manufacturers need to tweak their firmware to better handle rechargeable battery profiles. Either way, sticking with standard AA's for now...
Interesting, I was thinking about going rechargeable too, mostly to save money in the long run. Maybe certain brands or battery types handle voltage drops better? Curious if anyone's tried NiMH rechargeables instead of lithium-ion...might behave differently.
"Curious if anyone's tried NiMH rechargeables instead of lithium-ion...might behave differently."
I actually gave NiMH batteries a shot in my keyless entry system about a year ago. They worked fine initially, but I noticed they didn't hold their charge as consistently over time, especially in colder weather. Lithium-ion seemed to handle voltage drops better and lasted longer between charges. Might just be my experience, but I'd lean towards lithium-ion for reliability—especially if you're somewhere with harsher winters.
