Mine works in the cold and it’s at least 75 feet away from the camera, but I uncoiled and moved the antenna to outside the sensor. Actually, today it was about 24 degrees when the mail got here. and Alexa announced “The Mail is here” (an Alexa routine I have set up). The coldest I remember when the mail arrived was in the teens. We’ve been down to zero degrees this winter so far, but our mail doesn’t come early in the morning so it’s usually warmer by the time it gets here.
I’m getting replacements from Wyze so I’ll crack open the duds.
What am I looking for once open?
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The antenna, you can’t miss. It’s a gold colored coil like the spring in a pen. It’s soldered to the board on one end, so if you uncoil it, you just have to be careful not to pull or twist too much where it’s soldered. I just cut a slot in the case to route it outside and put some silicone around the wire to seal it up.
Will keep me busy while it snows and then rains. Mother Nature PLEASE make up your mind
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I live in the country. I’ve replaced my mailbox 3x in 10 years but tractors come by with machinery behind and either totally destroy them or rip the doors off. Three of us live on a private lane (the county decided to abandon it even though 3 homes are on it) all of our mailboxes are doorless now. We asked the post office if we could move them. NOPE! So we try to get the mail before it gets too wet.
I know this sounds crazy. But to confirm your theory that cold is the issue, have you considered running an extension cord and putting a small (~25W) lightbulb inside the mailbox? Dunno, your mail carrier might be creeped out and refuse to deliver the mail. But that’s a small price to pay for science!
I mentioned the other day when someone asked that by the time my mail gets here around 11:00-12:00 it’s usually warmed up some and Alexa has announced “The Mail is Here” down into the lower 20’s. The other night however, I got a notification about low battery and it was around 10 degrees. Once daytime arrived and it warmed up a little, It worked fine though.
I put a motion sensor outside and then realized that with the snow it was never going to clear. So I deleted it out of my devices until the weather clears up and then I’ll add it back. I pair it with my front porch light and then when people walk up it turns on the front porch light. Or when the dog goes out and then comes back from doing her business light comes on
Hey just an idea, have you replaced the CR1632 stock battery with a name brand lithium ion version? I live in a cold area of the country too. My sensor is inside my detached garage. Now, it doesn’t get as cold as you do but as soon as the ambient temp dropped below about 15F it fell offline. Never to come back. I replaced it with an Energizer Lithium Ion battery and it’s working great now even to 0F. Time will tell how long it lasts but, this is a trick I learned with an outdoor garage door touch pad that’s wireless and takes 4 AA batteries. I put lithium ion batteries in there in 2006 and they are still working. It’s a miracle. And even on the coldest days it works.
I just recently changed the battery (last month) with an Energizer.
Seems as long as it’s inside it’s fine.
I may just have to find a sensor that is designed to be used outside, regardless of temperature dips.
Shame really, this was perfect especially since I colored it black to match the mailbox and it worked as I wanted it to, as long as it’s decent temperatures out.
It’s a 3 volt battery so at some point I may take one of the solar panels I have around, mount it to my mailbox post and wire the output to the contact sensor. Some of the ones I have use 3.2 volt LiFePo4 batteries that are 800mah which is much higher capacity.
By the way, the Energizer 1632 button batteries I got on Amazon say they’re good to -22 degrees F
Just make sure it’s the Lithium Ion version of it. The Energizer is rated for -30C. And maybe try another set from a different store (newer stock) or buy online. Maybe you got a bad egg. Or switch out brands and see what works best. They are cheap enough to try a few different ones.
I just started using alexa for some of the home gadget if you will, capabilities. I had no idea that you can set up a response like that. I have the sensors and now armed with this info, I am going to set up a response for when the sensor is tripped. Thanks!
I haven’t tried a push notification from Alexa since I already get a notification from Wyze that the mailbox was opened. Good idea though, I’ll play around with it
Hello TechSis
I don’t live in cold country like you, but painting the mailbox a dark color may help or adding some insulation. In my installation I altered the sending unit by making the magnetic reed switch remote. This allowed the sending unit to be placed outside the steel mailbox and be shielded from the weather. It is nestled in a rabbit-cut into the wood support.
To see, checkout ‘Thinking outside the metal (steel) maillbox-2’.
Good luck Victor Maletic.
so I’ll crack open the duds.
