Get false smoke alarm and also message that battery needs to be replaced when there are new lithium

[Meg3]

I’ve got one of the 5 smoke/CO2 units that is telling me there is smoke upstairs - then is says smoke is cleared.  There is no smoke!  Same unit has 3 month old lithium batteries and I am getting a message they need to be replaced.  Very frustrating to have this relatively expensive unit malfunctioning!  I don’t know how to fix it.

[Lance_L]

Hello Meg3,

Oh no! I’m sorry to hear that happened to the Nest Protect. Don’t worry; help’s here. Let’s check it out.

If Google Nest Protect sounds a smoke alarm when there's no smoke, there could be several reasons.

• Dust got into the smoke chamber. All photoelectric smoke alarms can be impacted by dust. So, it’s important to keep your Nest Protect free of dust during the installation process and to clean it if dust is building up. For detailed cleaning instructions, refer to How to keep your Nest products clean. 
• Steam has set it off. Steam can also trigger false alarms in many smoke alarms. Common household sources of steam include showers and humidifiers. So if you’ve experienced a false alarm and your Nest Protect is placed near a source of steam, this may be the cause. To help lower the number of false alarms caused by steam, find out how to perform a Steam Check. But, the best way to eliminate steam-related false alarms completely is to move Nest Protect away from sources of steam like bathrooms and home humidifiers.

Also, battery life varies greatly depending on usage: how many times Nest Protect detects smoke or carbon monoxide (CO) and sounds the alarm, how often Path light turns on, where the Nest Protect is placed in the home, etc.

Here are some things you can try to extend the battery life:

• Turn the path light brightness to low or disable it entirely.
• Turn off Nightly Promise. Nest Protect still speaks if the batteries get very low, and you should notice the battery status in the app.

You can check out this guide on how to replace Nest Protect's batteries.

Let me know if you have any questions.

All the best,

Lance

[Meg3]

No this was not at all helpful.  Only one unit in hall had problem and the bedroom units didn’t.  There was no steam and no visible dust when I took unit down.  I did a soft reset which did seem to help.  It seems the unit is flawed not these external factors like steam and dust that you discuss

[zoeuvre]

Hi folks,

Thanks for your help, Lance. 

I'm glad that everything has been sorted out, and I appreciate your sharing the steps you took to resolve this case. We'll also take your feedback as an opportunity to learn and to be able to provide a better experience in the future. If you have questions or concerns in the future, feel free to start a new thread, and we'll be happy to help.

All the best,

Zoe