Are you puzzled as to why your Schlage encode lock battery runs down all the time. Are you frustrated because your batteries only for lasting 2-3 weeks instead of eight months or a year?
Do you keep asking why your Schlage lock keeps draining your battery. Below are the culprits responsible for this and the solutions you can use to have longer life batteries.
Why is My Schlage Lock Draining My Battery?
1. Most Wi-Fi devices just don’t have very good battery life.
Schlage says the Encode is expected to last six months on one set of batteries as opposed to their Z wave and Zigbee locks which are expected to last 12 months.
Schlage suggests that the most frequent reason for excessive battery use is that the Wi-Fi connection to the lock is too weak and it is having to send multiple connection requests.
It’s not really the speed of your internet connection that matters, but the strength of the connection between the lock and the router. A lower signal strength can cause the lock to send repeated messages, shortening battery life.
Fix – Check Wi-Fi strength in your area.
Fix – Try contacting Schlage support and see if they have any suggestions.
Fix – It may not be possible due to mechanics, but try moving the router closer to the lock as a test.
Fix – Incorporate a Wi-Fi extender
Fix – Try a putting a mesh system with a module close to the lock may be the answer.
2. Rechargeable or Lithium AA batteries do not indicate low battery sign
Your Schlage lock will send alerts to your phone when the batteries are low.
Schlage does not recommend using rechargeable or lithium AA batteries since their voltages might throw off the battery life reporting system.
Schlage locks are attuned to alkaline and not lithium or rechargeable batteries to ensure correct battery reporting.
Fix – Battery reporting is horrible in these batteries so set a schedule for change the batteries for your Schlage lock.
Fix – Do not use Lithium or rechargeable batteries.
3. Lithium batteries last long but die fast
Lithium batteries may have a longer life, but when they begin to fail, they fail quickly.
They maintain a constant power and then die after no indicating a period of low power. You won’t get a low battery warning since the device can’t detect the voltage slowly going down.
Lithium batteries for example Energizer Ultimate Lithium are not suitable for use with a Schlage Sense smart lock because of their power profile, as indicated in the warning in the User Guide.
“Lithium batteries may have a longer life, but when they begin to fail, they fail quickly. We don’t recommend them because they don’t give you a lot of time to change your batteries before the lock is completely dead.”
Fix – Avoid Lithium batteries
Other locks such as August 1st, August 2nd and August 3rd gen locks also discourage the use of Lithium batteries. Though the new August 4th gen Wi-Fi lock uses CR123 Lithium batteries.
Weiser/Kwikset Premis, and Yale Assure door locks also discourage the use of lithium batteries.
Fix – Schlage Locks not designed to be used with lithium batteries should stick to using alkaline
Fix – Use a key override and make sure you carry the key.
Alkaline batteries currently last over a year. Lithium batteries always show 100% but just stop functioning without warning and die.
Lithium batteries (rechargeable or non-rechargeable) are more expensive and lose power at a quicker rate than alkaline. They’re better suited for higher power devices.
Fix – You can try Eneloop Pros (black). They show 97% when fully charged in Schlage Sense app.
4. Alkaline batteries are leaky
Alkaline batteries have a long shelf life but are notorious for leaking. Leaky alkaline batteries ruin your expensive electronic devices.
Why are your alkaline batteries leaking so much?
Generally good alkaline batteries do not leak unless they are left in a device that isn’t used for so long
Mixing old batteries with new ones can also cause batteries to leak and cause damage.
Extended life alkaline, lithium, and rechargeable batteries will not work in your lock effectively.
Fix – Buy a pack of 24 batteries for added years of power for the lock.
Fix – Switch to an alkaline battery that is less likely to leak for instance an Energizer Max for your Schlage Connect or Schlage Sense Lock.
Fix – You can phase out the use of alkaline batteries and stick to rechargeable NiMH and lithium where appropriate.
Even brand name alkalines leak and that is why some people prefer to use the Eneloops.
Eneloops and rechargeable lithium for work because the operating voltage of NiMH is lower.
You can use lithium batteries in your Schlage Sense, but rarely for the automated functions.
Fix – Keep another pack of batteries nearby, so hopefully if current battery goes out it won’t be at a inconvenient time.
You can use HomeKit everything, we can just open another entrance.Fix – Lithium batteries last a long time, up to 10 years. Have a spare set ready in storage to easily access replacements as soon as I get the low battery warning.
Lithium is best suited for expensive gear as alkaline batteries can leak and ruin my electronics.
5. Extended life batteries drain energy
Mixing old batteries with new ones can cause batteries to leak and cause damage. Extended life, lithium, and rechargeable batteries will not work in your lock effectively.
Fix – Check in all your locks that one whether all batteries are working even. You have to test each one because some of them could be dead and lead to battery drainage in others.
Don’t use extended life batteries to save money. Buy a new pack when your batteries die.
6. You are using the locking and unlocking function too much
Also check to see how many times your lock is locking and unlocking.
Fix – Keep daily unlock o unlock functions to a minimum
Fix – Make unlock a manual activity to reduce battery usage.
Fix – Try to keep unlock on arrival as a rule
Fix – Set the re-lock to 10 minutes so that you don’t keep coming in and out.
Fix – The part that uses the battery the most is providing power for door is unlocked/locked notifications. Keep notifications off.
7. You mesh network needs repair
Battery drainage leads to your mesh network getting flakey.
When your batteries start dying abnormally fast then maybe it’s time to replace them and do a Zwave repair.
Fix
- In the Smart Things app,
- Go to the Device section,
- Tap on the Home icon in the upper left of the screen,
- Select All Devices
- Find and open your hub,
- Click on the 3 dots in the upper right of the screen
- Open z-wave utilities.
- Pick Zwave repair.
This is a typical Zwave utility that instructs all devices on your Zwave network to update neighbor tables so it can take the most timesaving route when sending messages to the hub.
You need to do the above Zwave repair every 6-8 months or so.
Fix
Put in new batteries and run a Z Wave repair. Repeat a ZWave repair everytime you installed a new device including a new lock.
Fix
Make sure your lock is less than 12 ft and unobstructed line of sight from the hub, and install repeaters in the same room.
Fix
Remove/exclude the lock and then re-add it to Hub
Fix
Replace the lock batteries.
8. Your door alignment is off
With the changing seasons, doors expand and alignments change. This can cause the locking to no longer be smooth and may require a slight re-alignment. Any significant difference will drain the battery at a high pace.
Most locks have dual modes for locking the lock. The low power mode for normal operation.
The high power mode happens when the door opens and the lock calibrates fully extended and ends up hitting on the inside when the lock engages.
This is because the lock needs to force itself closed because of misalignment or improper pairing.
A lock has trouble locking it will go into “high power” mode, and that kills battery. It could also go into this mode during a season change.
Fix – Test this by opening the door, seeing how the locking feels, then closing and seeing how it feels.
Check your door locks fitment and verifythat it can engage easily with the thumb twist and adjust the strike plate as needed.
Also listen for when the lock engages and see if you hear the motor fighting resistance as it engages.
It sounds like the motor is slowing down as it is locking. If you hear this then try repairing the lock alignment so it can properly calibrate.
Fix
If it is in high power mode, you may need to exclude and re-include the device to get it out of this battery draining power mode.
Fix
For your lock to be perfectly aligned, make sure the bolt never touches the strike-plate or door frame.
You can re-do your strike plates so that they move freely.
Fix
Make sure the door is closed when you pair it so it can calibrate accurately.
9. Your batteries are not long lasting
Some batteries are not that durable. This is due to the lithium dendrites that develop between the positive and negative terminals of the battery during each charging process.
These forked, tree-like metal structures short-circuit the battery after a handful of charge and discharge cycles.
Also, battery life can be affected by the frequency of usage, how long they are used, charging habits, temperature of storage and operation and the settings on the device they are powering over time e.g., reducing lock notifications can dramatically increase the battery’s life.
Overall, the more chemicals a battery contains that can be converted into other chemicals, the longer it lasts.
This one of the reasons why alkaline batteries have a slight chemical advantage over their non-alkaline counterparts and are recommended for your Schlage locks.
Fix – Duracell AA alkaline batteries are some of longest lasting battery in the market
Regular Duracells can last for a year or more. Lithium batteries tend to make the lock sound noisy and only lasted 7-8 months
10. Defective battery reporting
You may have the correct long lasting alkaline batteries but they are not reporting the power levels or percentages. This means you can’t tell whether there is a battery drain, or a low battery percentage level.
Fix – Remove the batteries, factory reset the lock, and then re-pair lock.