[davephan]

Originally Posted by captboxcar

Beeping detectors are a sign of low battery only. If CO or smoke/fire is detected it will go into alarm.The reason for all detectors to sound after one goes into alarm is to notify all residents in the home of regardless of initial alarm area. Some people have hearing problems or sleep very soundly and might not hear the alarm from the detector initially sounding especially in homes with basements and multiple floors.

I would rephrase that to say that usually the beeping detectors are a sign of a low battery only. I had a 4 wire smoke detector that was wired to my security system that went bad. The smoke detector was beeping, even though it was powered by the security system control panel. The solution to fix that problem was to replace the 4 wire security system smoke detector with a new 4 wire security system smoke detector. There are also 2 wire security system smoke detectors that are used for some security systems.

If you have a security system, you need to determine if the smoke detector is part of the security system, or independent of a security system. If you don't have a security system, that answer is obvious. But if you have a security system, you need to determine if the smoke detector is part of the security system or a stand alone smoke detector.

[asianthree]

Some smoke alarms had a recall. Went online 4 out of 6 of our alarms were replaced for free from the company

[FromDC]

We just replaced all of our units last week. For our First Alerts, if you hear 3 beeps you just replace the battery. If you hear 5 beeps, you replace the unit (which was our case). Our home was built in 2013, so we were in the timeframe for replacement.

Went to Lowe's and bought a contractors pack of 6 for $240! Ouch!

[RobertWR]

Replaced all our units. First I replaced the batteries in all units, silent for 3 days then started again.

5 beeps tells you the unit needs to be replaced. Found best price on Amazon. Same First Alert devices which was a simple replacement with out changing the base.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by RobertWR

Replaced all our units. First I replaced the batteries in all units, silent for 3 days then started again.

5 beeps tells you the unit needs to be replaced. Found best price on Amazon. Same First Alert devices which was a simple replacement with out changing the base.

To clarify, according to First Alert, 1 chirp indicates a low battery, 3 chirps indicates a malfunctioning unit, and 5 chirps indicates that the unit is at it's end of life. With either 3 or 5 chirps, you need to replace the unit.

[bluedivergirl]

Originally Posted by asianthree

If you contact the company, some units are being replaced for free, due to issues. Our 2012 home smoke alarms did the same in 2017, our home watch suggested contacting manufacturer. 10 days later all but one smoke alarm was replaced for free. It’s worth a 5 minute call

Agree. We purchased our home in 2015. After a year, detectors started going off and couldn't be silenced. DH called (think it was First Alert) and they sent a box of replacements, no charge. No problems since.