Roost PP3 (9v) Specialty Battery

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.

Sometimes the simplest product ideas are the best. Instead of spending 5x this amount on a nest, this takes what I already have an makes it smart. Simply replace the battery in my existing smoke detector, and viola I have an internet connected smoke detector or carbon monoxide detector. Given that a 10 year smoke detector that isn't connected costs the same price and requires me change my wiring and will still beep at me in the middle of the night when the battery is low, the roost battery seems like an amazing deal. The UI isn't fancy, and does a few basic things:1) Setup the battery to my wi-fi network. There are simple straight forward picture driven setup instructions. Tones emit from my phone's speaker and 30 seconds later my battery is connected. Make sure you follow their instructions and take the case off your phone, turn up the volume, and hold the speaker about 1/2 inch from the battery's microphone hole.2) Lets me know when the alarm is going off (which you can find out quickly by pressing your test button, which they suggest you do). From the app you can click on call 911.3) Lets me know the status of the battery (connected and power level). Both easy to do from the app.4) Have my wife or others able to monitor as well. Easy to invite other to monitor your smoke detectors as well.Thats it. There are NOT 15 different confusing functions in the app, and I don't need it. I now monitor my house for fire, and it works amazingly with my existing smoke alarms. I did have one smoke alarm that it was a little tougher to squeeze the battery into. Some patience and wiggling got it in. I wish the corners were more rounded then squared. However the good news, I don't have to go back for 5 years to change the battery.I also want to take a moment to address two reviews here that weren't flattering. Simply put, this works with an APP only on iOS or Android. If you don't have this, this device won't work for you. This device is super simple, and it is designed to do one thing, turn my smoke detector or carbon monoxide detector into a connected monitored device. If you want it to do something more, you may want to look else where.

The smart battery has arrived! Or at least it has if you have a smoke alarm that takes a 9v battery.The product aims to convert a standard smoke and/or carbon monoxide sensor into a smart one. Integrated, very smart, detectors already exist. These can remotely tell you via your mobile phone when the alarm is activated. They can warn you of a smoke build-up before there is sufficient smoke to set the alarm off. They can be interlinked so if one of your smart alarms goes off all of them go off. You can use your phone to disable an alarm if you know it's a false alarm. If you're away from home and certain the alarm is not a false one, you can notify emergency services. And, you can link your smart alarm to other Internet of things of smart home devices such as heating controls as some smart alarms will detect movement (and will turn an inbuilt light on if you walk under them at night). The idea here is that if motion is not detected, the heating can be turned off. Also you might link an alarm to smart lights so that if the smoke detector is activated, all the house lights are turned on making it easier to safely escape, especially at night. Probably the best know smart smoke/carbon monoxide alarms is produced by Nest.The problem with these smart detectors is that they are expensive. The Nest models are about twice the price of this smart battery. In essence it replaces the existing 9v battery in your existing smoke alarm and if the smoke alarm is activated the battery, not the smoke alarm, will warn you via your phone. The battery connects to your home wifi network via a standard 2.4ghz connection. You download an iOS or Android app (other phone operating systems are not supported) and link the battery to the phone. The linking of the battery to wifi and to your phone is rather last decade, using a series of sounds to give the battery the information it needs to connect to the network from your phone. This includes, for example, your network password. This did not work smoothly for me, and the manufacturer suggests a few tries might be necessary. The usual method of a smart device creating its own network which you then use to inform the battery of your network details, I guess is not used for a cost perspective or perhaps this would increase the bulk of the battery. Once connected the battery then has to learn the sound that your smoke alarm makes when it is set off. Once stored it is the sound of the alarm that causes the battery to notify you via your wifi that the alarm is active. Again this is a little low tech. I'd assumed that the battery would measure the power usage of the smoke alarm and detect an increase in use to detect an alarm.Overall the battery has some advantages. The key one is cost. At half the price it's cheaper than the Nest alarm. There are cheaper smart alarms available though. Also of importance is that fitting the system is easy. You don't have to replace your existing alarms as long as they take a 9v battery. Finally I guess if you don't see yourself using other smart home kit, then this battery offers a simple solution.Less positively, this battery really isn't that smart compared to a smart alarm. In the US this battery is much cheaper and there is a bigger price differential between it and a smart alarm than in the UK. So it's still cheaper, but not so much dramaticly cheaper. And based on that, the differences between a true smart alarm and the battery seem more important.Overall whilst more costly I think a true smart alarm is a better option. Nest for example has a 10-year life, not the maximum of five-years for the battery. Not that Nest combines a smoke alarm and a carbon monoxide detector. Roost advise that a dual alarm could reduce their battery's lift to two years. You can get replacement battery modules from Roost but they are expensive. If you bought four of these together with the original battery, suddenly true smart alarms are not much more expensive. In fact they are a bit cheaper, and a lot cleverer.So from a cost/benefit analysis, as long as you can afford a smart alarm now, I'd recommend you go for that. I see few reasons for selecting this smart battery, interesting as the technology is.