Battery Drain

[Moisie]

Hello:

I've owned a Skip 1s for a couple of years, and it's been great to use - until the last few months.

Just recently, the batteries having been draining much faster than I'd expect; unlike some of the other threads on battery drain, I'm seeing a set of alkaline batteries drain in a month (instead of in a day) - but I was previously getting at least 6 months (probably a year or more) out of them. And this is with very light levels of usage.

 

Last time this happened, I took some notes:

- On 10 March 2026, I upgraded to firmware 4.14.1 and replaced the batteries with new alkaline ones (as the previous set had died after about a month);

- By 28 March 2026, the batteries are dead - I see no background lights on the top A/B/C buttons after pressing them.

 

What can I do to help diagnose and resolve this issue?

[marktuan]

On 4/1/2026 at 3:26 PM, Moisie said:

Hello:

I've owned a Skip 1s for a couple of years, and it's been great to use - until the last few months.

Just recently, the batteries having been draining much faster than I'd expect; unlike some of the other threads on battery drain, I'm seeing a set of alkaline batteries drain in a month (instead of in a day) - but I was previously getting at least 6 months (probably a year or more) out of them. And this is with very light levels of usage.

 

Last time this happened, I took some notes:

- On 10 March 2026, I upgraded to firmware 4.14.1 and replaced the batteries with new alkaline ones (as the previous set had died after about a month);

- By 28 March 2026, the batteries are dead - I see no background lights on the top A/B/C buttons after pressing them.

 

What can I do to help diagnose and resolve this issue? 

That kind of “gradual but still way faster than normal” drain usually points to something subtle rather than a hard fault.

A few things I’d check based on similar cases:

• Firmware side: since it started around your 4.14.1 update, it’s worth trying a reflash or even rolling back if possible. Sometimes a bug can keep the remote from properly sleeping.
• Stuck input / wake-ups: make sure none of the buttons are slightly stuck or overly sensitive — even tiny repeated wake events can kill batteries over a few weeks.
• IR/RF activity: if the remote is sitting where it might constantly “wake” (pets, pressure, couch cushions, etc.), that can add up too.
• Battery type: if you haven’t already, try a set of lithium AAs — not as a fix, but as a test to see if the drain pattern changes.

Also, after putting in fresh batteries, try leaving it untouched for a day or two and see if there’s any noticeable drop — that can help tell if it’s draining while idle vs during use.

If it lines up exactly with the firmware update like your dates suggest, I’d lean toward a software/sleep-state issue rather than hardware failure.

[Matthew Morris]

On 4/1/2026 at 3:26 PM, Moisie said:

Hello:

I've owned a Skip 1s for a couple of years, and it's been great to use - until the last few months.

Just recently, the batteries having been draining much faster than I'd expect; unlike some of the other threads on battery drain, I'm seeing a set of alkaline batteries drain in a month (instead of in a day) - but I was previously getting at least 6 months (probably a year or more) out of them. And this is with very light levels of usage.

 

Last time this happened, I took some notes:

- On 10 March 2026, I upgraded to firmware 4.14.1 and replaced the batteries with new alkaline ones (as the previous set had died after about a month);

- By 28 March 2026, the batteries are dead - I see no background lights on the top A/B/C buttons after pressing them.

 

What can I do to help diagnose and resolve this issue?

That definitely doesn’t sound normal. If it started after the firmware update, maybe try rolling back if possible. Also worth checking if the device is staying “awake” or not going into sleep properly.