ARRX15 fast battery drain

1031982 · Post by **1031982** » Fri Jun 23, 2023 7:18 am

I hope this is the right place to ask this, but I'm not sure where else to ask about this.

So I recently replaced a Nevo C2 with a ARRX15 because my Nevo fell and broke. I took the time to re-create the setup I had on the Nevo for the ARRX15 by exporting my devices to girr files and importing them; then created my layouts.

Everything works just fine, except the batteries drain real quick. By real quick, I mean that after about a week I drop between one and two units on the battery meter. By that I mean It changes between showing either one or two units.

I use Eneloope rechargeable batteries, so the meter dropping or just starting at two units is normal, but the Nevo would run for at least a month without needing to charge.

I did the firmware upgrade on the remote, and the only differences between what I had programed on the Nevo and ARRX15 is that I spent the time creating icons for a lot more buttons, so there is more storage space used and late in the Nevo's life I switched from have a cable box as my main source of entertainment to using a Roku.

Any ideas what's going on or if this can be fixed?

mdavej · Post by **mdavej** » Sat Jun 24, 2023 11:28 am

Upload/download and backlight timeout have a huge impact on batteries. So change the timeout to the lowest setting and expect a lot of upload/downloads to drain the batteries. Also confirm that motion sensor is working properly and backlight isn't staying on longer than the setting.

1031982 · Post by **1031982** » Sat Jun 24, 2023 1:36 pm

mdavej wrote:Upload/download and backlight timeout have a huge impact on batteries. So change the timeout to the lowest setting and expect a lot of upload/downloads to drain the batteries. Also confirm that motion sensor is working properly and backlight isn't staying on longer than the setting.

Ah, didn't think uploading would drain it too much, so that might be it. I was testing out the Roku codes and had the remote updating numerous times, as well as the backlight on for an extended period because of finding out what each code does. In addition to that, I was also testing out numerous icons to find out which ones I liked, and when I updated Remote Master to version 3, I ran into the icon issue, so there were a lot of uploads and trying to figure out what happened with that before I figured out I have to revert to v 2.14.18 for icons to work.

As for the backlight, I think I have a 15 second timeout, and I disabled the tilt detection.

Thanks, I'll keep an eye on it now that I'm done messing around with the remote programming.

Post by **mathdon** » Sun Jun 25, 2023 11:57 am

1031982 wrote:I ran into the icon issue, so there were a lot of uploads and trying to figure out what happened with that before I figured out I have to revert to v 2.14.18 for icons to work.

RMIR v3.0.1 is coming in the next few days and fixes various issues with the XSight Touch/Color support.

n8nagel · Post by **n8nagel** » Mon Jun 26, 2023 5:52 am

It's just the nature of the beast, I'm using the same remote with the same batteries. If you notice, if you walk by the coffee table the backlight comes on, so pretty much if you're in the same room with the remote, the batteries are draining. the motion switch is super sensitive and I'm not aware of a fix. In fact, if you come up with a how to on disassembling these without damage, I have several with dead buttons and would love to try to save them.

1031982 · Post by **1031982** » Mon Jun 26, 2023 12:48 pm

n8nagel wrote:It's just the nature of the beast, I'm using the same remote with the same batteries. If you notice, if you walk by the coffee table the backlight comes on, so pretty much if you're in the same room with the remote, the batteries are draining. the motion switch is super sensitive and I'm not aware of a fix. In fact, if you come up with a how to on disassembling these without damage, I have several with dead buttons and would love to try to save them.

Naw, I just disabled the motion because it's used in my room, and I have the remote on my bed. The batteries would probably need to be changed every few days if I left it on.

n8nagel · Post by **n8nagel** » Tue Jun 27, 2023 11:22 am

Weird. I have several Xsight Colors and when I'm using them I probably charge the batteries maybe once a month - and I do NOT disable the motion sensor, and upstairs has wood floors, so they really are triggered by walking across the room. Using whatever I have on hand, usually Eneloops, Duracell Ion Core, or more lately Ikea Ladda (as I moved near an Ikea that is now the best deal going in NiMH) with a Maha C9000 charger, I usually accept the default rate of 1000 mAh for AAs.

1031982 · Post by **1031982** » Wed Jun 28, 2023 9:52 pm

n8nagel wrote:Weird. I have several Xsight Colors and when I'm using them I probably charge the batteries maybe once a month - and I do NOT disable the motion sensor, and upstairs has wood floors, so they really are triggered by walking across the room. Using whatever I have on hand, usually Eneloops, Duracell Ion Core, or more lately Ikea Ladda (as I moved near an Ikea that is now the best deal going in NiMH) with a Maha C9000 charger, I usually accept the default rate of 1000 mAh for AAs.

That kind of proves my point, with the Nevo C2, I would charge between 1.5 and 2.5 months, just depended on how often I used the remote. I had a cable box then, so sometimes I would turn on the TV, adjust the volume, and that was it for a couple hours. Now I have a Roku, so I use the remote more. I'm guessing I'll probably linger around 1.5-2 months at best, which is just fine for me.

I could get longer runs, but I usually just charge them once the battery meter shows one unit on the remote.