Recently installed 3 combo and 4 smoke only OneLink wireless devices. All were set and programmed per the instruction sheet. All individually test OK when using the test button. However, how can one determine if all are communicating when an actual alarm occurs? Testing seems to test only the individual unit. Any ideas? I can find no such info on the Mfgs web site or in the supplied manual.
Thx
Have you got a fireplace, or prepared to badly burn dinner. :-)
Fry a pound of bacon Sear a steak Light a candle and blow it out under the detector Set the cat's tail on fire Burn toast Burn a crumpled newspaper in a tray and blow it out so the smoke reaches the detector
There is a test spray in a can.
Nevermind all the work arounds. he wants a real test: Burn the house down.
- . Christopher A. Young learn more about Jesus .
OK, OK. I get it.
All great suggestions and I will try some (short of burning the house down. Of course as the housing market continues to tumble that suggestion might be the most economical).
If you hear sirens its only because of me and your suggestions!
You might want to call First Alert at 1-800-323-9005.
Unless the nice lady I talked to is wrong, she said that pressing the test button on the main unit should cause all the other units to sound.
Now if that is true, I have an issue with that being the only way to test all of the features. According to this PDF, the OneLink units operate on a "mesh network" meaning that devices talk to all devices.
If the only way to test all devices is from the main unit, then how do you really know that all units are talking to all units? It seems to me that
*any* test button should trigger all units. That is the only way I would feel comfortable that no matter where the problems occur, all units will sound.Well, other than a smoke test, of course.
I just installed 6 of these in our house -- when I test one, all of them sound (siren and saying the room name where the test button was pressed). If they're not all sounding while testing, I'm guessing they are not set up to link properly. There's a specific sequence you do on one of the already-linked and the new one on battery install to add each detector to the network.
Josh
That's how I would hope they would work but that's not what the nice lady at First Alert Customer Service said.
According to her, you have to test the main one for all to respond. I'm glad to hear she may be wrong because I would want them all to sound from any test button. That would be the only way I would know that the mesh networking feature was working.
There's no "main one" -- she must just be confused. Obviously, one of them is the first one you set up, but once you link the first two, either of those can be used to link the third, any of those to link the fourth, etc. They're all the same at that point.
And I personally verified multiple times that pressing the test button on any one sounds the alarm at all of them (and announces the room that started it, which is nice info to have when they go off). If that's not happening, they aren't set up/linked correctly, period.
Josh
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