I just had to replace the batteries in my Mailbox Sensor after ten weeks. (In each case with brand new Duracells.)
I see that this time it says the (expiration 2030) batteries are at 27%
Every ten weeks is inconvenient, particularly since there’s no low-battery alert.
Oh, and I wonder if I could’ve changed them without removing the mounting tape?
I’m also wondering if the batteries showing this low brand new could be related to the Mailbox Sensor being 115’ away, and being slightly obstructed, from the Bridge. (I doubt that, I would think that the battery strength reading occurs and the Mailbox Sensor, and reaches the Bridge accurately as long as there’s a signal.)
Good questions, @coyote! Usage, signal, and cold weather should certainly be considered for optimal battery life. Usage is easy to factor out, as this sensor should be inside of your mailbox and only triggering when accessed. Check out our help center article which lists the other reasons for battery drain, including cold temperatures.
I’m shooting in the dark, but wondering if the recent firmware update is causing increased battery drain. I am using new batteries each time, but had been seeing about 3 weeks before the battery notification popped up. Now since the update, this set of batteries lasted 1 week… please help…
Not a long distance…
Plastic mailbox, ~50ft. from the base
I am using Energizer Lithium. Expensive. Don’t last. Especially for just a sensor. I have lots of Zwave sensors around the house that the lithium batteries last years. We need a little more technical help please. Also please ask product group to update firmware so the battery level can be seen by Alexa Routines.
I am glad to know I am not the only one experiencing this known issues by other users. It started over the last 2 months. Batteries are draining in 2-3 weeks. I went 4-5 months over this brutal cold winter with the same batteries (energizer lithium). Something is definitely going on? Firmware Version 1.8.3-29
I just had to replace my batteries, also without warning, for the first time on my sensor. My mailbox is less than 50ft away from the bridge, and when all 3 batteries (duracell 2029) were replaced, it said that only 25% battery life remained. All 3 batteries were brand new. Definitely not ok. Why isn’t the antenna also a solar charger if it had to be outside the box and always connected. Seems like a missed solution.
Hey neighbors! Thank you for your input here and letting us know what you’re going through with your Mailbox Sensor. After taking a look into this with our teams, they are currently looking into this as they have also gotten this report. In the event that your device is unusable in any way or you’re looking for more follow-up on this with your specific device, please give our support team a call at one of the numbers available here.
I just called support. She said she would escalate my two issues, short battery life going back to April, and now false motion which started about a week ago. But no specific help for me. She refused to send me a new sensor.
Here’s the deal…. Too many people are having this issue, including myself for you to just keep responding by telling us to call support.
Ring products themselves are NOT cheap, plus most (if not all) of us are paying off the monthly subscription…
All we’re asking for here is at a VERY MINIMUM, an explanation, but would appreciate the opportunity to swap the device out or get a refund. When we’re spending more money monthly than the Ring subscription, something is wrong.
There are not lights on this device, all it does is detect motion…. That’s it. There should be ZERO reason that batteries shouldn’t be lasting at least 6 months.
Please provide us with an update and explication as to what’s going on.
I have an Aeotec z-wave contact sensor in my mailbox. It also gets terrible battery life. I have many other of the same sensors and the battery lasts for years. I think the result of being outside is a weak signal and large temperature swings that cause short battery life. The Ring sensor is probably experiencing the same issues.
Another thing to consider is that even with short battery life Lithium batteries tend to stay very close to their expected voltage throughout most of their life and then drop very quickly. As a result, battery % readings don’t mean much for Lithium batteries. Other batteries have a more gradual voltage drop off so the % is a more accurate indicator of how much longer they will last.
Extremely short battery life of 8-10 weeks (we live in SF bay area where weather is not very cold). This is even with Duracell/Energizer batteries where each set costs $4-5, making the annual battery expense of the mailbox sensor to be at $25-30.
No warning from the app that the battery is about to die, we have to continuously check the app to proactively keep a track of it
Horrendous design of the mailbox sensor when it comes to battery replacement. You have to take the whole unit out of the gluepads to open the compartment to replace the batteries. The ring engineer or team who designed it, clearly didn’t had much clue or consideration for the operational requirements like battery replacement!
My Ring mailbox sensor is eating batteries. Batteries are lasting 2 weeks no more. This is a replacement sensor for the original one replaced earlier this summer. My firmware version is 1.8.8-39. Has ring support fixed this battery drain with new firmware yet? My old mailbox sensor batteries lasted 3 months…even in the cold winter.
I second this. Before the whole repeated notifications issue a little while back, my sensor worked flawlessly for several months before needing battery replacement. After the notifications fix, now I’m down to less than 6 weeks between replacements. Something “new” is eating the batteries- are these units silently part of the Ring neighborhood snooper program with a silent add-in that the customer cannot disable?
I’m using Energizer lithium batteries that were running very well up until the last swap out, which was after the notifications fiasco.
Getting aggravated with Ring and these repeated issues. Was working fine, Ring. Please fix and stop with the stupid add-ons. Find some real programmers that know how to properly configure and test the platform before release and stop making us your test bed.
I suppose it’s been a while since anyone was talking about battery life of these ring mailbox sensors, but I can’t even get mine to last 12 hours. I would live with 2 weeks.
I know this thread is closed but just adding another data point; I just saw the same as the OP. I installed brand new mailbox sensor on 2021/10/18, then on 2021/12/24 it disappeared from my ring.com. I found all AAA batteries were very low and replacing them with brand new AAAs got the device back online.
I’m in Atlanta, GA. Indeed the temp went down to 0C in the morning for the last 1 month before it went offline.
Oh, and I wonder if I could’ve changed them without removing the mounting tape?
This, I was able to replace batteries without breaking any tape (I bought the sensor in question in 2021/09 FYI).
Would you mind asking why they won’t have the software notify us when a battery is running low? Expecting the user to check in with 30 different sensors regularly to keep up with what’s needing to be replaced soon is not realistic. The software can and should e-mail us when a battery is low, especially one that is so high drain as this one. Seems like such a basic, obvious feature that I can’t believe we’re using a product that’s been out for this long and it still doesn’t do it.