When Should I Change the Battery in a 2GIG SMKT3-345 Smoke Detector?

You should change the battery in a 2GIG SMKT3-345 Smoke Detector every year to ensure proper working order. However, fresh lithium batteries will normally last at least two to three years. But since this is a life-safety sensor, it doesn't hurt to change the batteries more frequently.

When it comes to life-safety sensors, the batteries are often changed more frequently. Instead of waiting for a low-battery warning, they may go through and swap out the batteries for all their devices at the same date every year. A popular time for doing this is Daylight Savings Time, but really an end user can pick any date of their choosing. Following this practice will all but ensure that the user never receives any low-battery warnings and that all their sensors work reliably. So if you want the recommended answer of when to change the batteries for a 2GIG SMKT3-345, it's once per year.

However, it goes without saying that not every user will follow this recommendation! Instead, they will will want to stretch their batteries and make them last as long as possible. Well these users are in luck because the batteries in a 2GIG SMKT3-345 should last longer than a year. In fact, two to three years is a more accurate estimate. If a user really wants to stretch their batteries, they can wait for the device to display a low-battery warning. But if a user decides to follow this practice, they should make absolutely sure that they have replacement batteries on-hand. The device will not last much longer once the low-battery warning appears!

A low-battery warning for a 2GIG SMKT3-345 can be identified by several symptoms. First, the yellow LED light on the sensor will blink every 12 seconds. Next, the device will chirp every 48 seconds. A user can press the device's test button to temporarily stop the chirping, but it will resume after 12 hours if no further action is taken. The panel may also display its own low-battery notification during this time. If a user notices these signs, they must replace the batteries immediately, as there is not much time left.

For reference, the 2GIG SMKT3-345 uses three AAA batteries for power. Using lithium batteries is strongly recommended. Alarm Grid has a helpful guide on how to change the batteries, which can be seen here.