This is a summary of my 40 day adventure with the new Roost smart battery.
I installed my battery in a First Alert SA720, and tested that everything was hooked up correctly by using the "test alarm" function on my alarm. My setup experience was similar to others’ reviews.
Things were working fine for the first two weeks, but then I started getting low battery chirps at 4am in the morning… not pleasant. Worse yet, when I opened the iOS app afterwards, it was LOGGED OUT; meaning, had the alarm gone off due to a fire, my phone would never have received a notification. This isn't an app you’d open on a frequent basis, so having the phone app disconnected from the service without somehow getting a notification (an email/text/something in iOS Notification Center) is a big problem. To silence the alarm for the night, I simply removed the battery so I could deal with it in the morning; surprisingly, the app still listed my alarm as OK and the battery life level as 'Good’.
A few days later I reinstalled the battery, and it did not chirp anymore. I decided to leave it be and carry on with life.
Two weeks later, I open the app and notice that the battery is now listed as “Offline”. Again, there isn’t a notification when this happens; you have to check the app manually. I was busy so I figured I’d address it next week. But a few days later the damn battery causes my alarm to start chirping AGAIN, forcing me to take out the battery immediately. (Obviously, no notifications again.) I took a voltmeter to the battery and it turns out it’s only pushing out 8.0 volts, just a month after purchase. I did not experience the low beeping from the battery after disconnecting, that others have experienced.
Other thoughts:
- Even when the battery was working, I did not always receive a notification when using the "test alarm” button on my detector. I’d say only 2 out of 3 tests succeeded in "alarm ringing" notifications getting sent to my phones. (When they did go thru, they always sounded on both phones). A 67% success rate at detecting the alarm is pretty poor.
- The battery only lasted two weeks before my alarm started chirping, even though the app thinks battery levels are good.
- The battery doesn't know if it's still installed in the alarm.
- The “offline” appears to be caused when the battery fails to respond to regular pings/heartbeats from the Roost server. There's nothing on the support site that tells you what to do when it’s offline, though I’d guess you’d have to delete and reconnect it, then logout/login on all your other phones.
- The iOS app needs work. There should be notifications when *anything* with the app happens, such as logout or battery goes offline, because if everything is working perfectly, nothing should happen. Also, typo on the login page seems unprofessional. I have not used the Android version enough to be able to comment.
None of the “smart” features of this battery has worked thus far, outside of my testing on the first day. After my experience, I would not trust the "smart" battery to let me know when something's wrong. It didn't do the one thing it promised to do in the video spot (no 4am chirps); and as a lithium battery, it didn't even last two months. I’m replacing this with a regular 9V lithium. While having smart features is nice, reliability is far more important in a passive but extremely vital monitoring device like a smoke detector. The idea behind the product is promising, but I would stay away until they address these major issues.
| Manufacturer | Roost |
|---|---|
| Part Number | 90000001 |
| Item Weight | 1.34 ounces |
| Product Dimensions | 0.68 x 1.04 x 1.9 inches |
| Item model number | 900-00001 |
| Batteries | 1 Lithium Metal batteries required. (included) |
| Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | No |
| Size | 1 Pack |
| Color | 1.9 |
| Power Source | Battery Powered |
| Voltage | 9 Volts |
| Item Package Quantity | 1 |
| Number Of Pieces | 1 |
| Certification | UL Listed |
| Included Components | Roost Smart Battery^ Quick Start Guide |
| Batteries Included? | Yes |
| Batteries Required? | No |
| Battery Cell Type | Lithium Metal |
| Average Battery Life | 40000 Hours |
| Warranty Description | 1 year limited warranty |
