Help! My hard-wired smoke detectors green light is blinking

If you have this type of detector – a BKK or First Alert hard wired detector like this one….

… and the green light is constantly blinking, that means that the smoke alarm at some point went off, and the detector needs to be reset. The green light will remain blinking until you reset the alarm.

Resetting this alarm can be done in two ways –

  • First, try pressing the button on the front of the detector for five second. This may or may not reset the green blinking light. If it does not, try the second way.
  • Second, twist the detector counter clock wise and remove it from its bracket. Then unplug the detector, then push the test button again on the front of the detector to discharge the detector completely This will ‘reset’ the detector if the above method did not work.

This should work. If it does not, its best to replace the detector will a similar First Alert / BKK detector. Amazon carries these type of detectors, here is a link for the smoke only type, and here is a link for a combo type of First Alert detector. Best to replace the old detector with a combo type detector if you can afford it.

If your detector problem is that the detector is beeping every 60 seconds, then replace the battery (located on the side of the detector) with a fresh 9 volt battery. Note: the new battery must measure 9 – 9.5 volts, anything less and it will still keep beeping. More on that here.

Do you have another type of detector that is driving you nuts? Email us here or call us at 310-800-4418.

21 thoughts on “Help! My hard-wired smoke detectors green light is blinking”

  1. Why is the green light on our hard wired smoke detector’s green light blinking white every 15 seconds? Please advise

    1. If it is a First Alert detector, that means at some point the detector went off and sounded. Youll need to reset the detector to stop the green light blinking every 15 seconds. To reset the detector, unplug the detector and take out any batteries, then push the reset button. Reinstall the batteries, plug it back into the ceiling or wall and reattach to the base and that should work.

  2. OK I have followed your directions 3-4 times (I have a hard wired First Alert detector) – the batteries were good (expiration date in 2026). The green light would stop blinking for several minutes then start up again. I just went back to the store and bought brand new batteries (expires in 2028) and installed them and pressed the reset button until it stopped going off.
    I thought I had finally fixed the problem – however the green light is blinking and sounding off again.
    I am a widow of 79 years and am going crazy with the beeping. You mentioned another option of unplugging the detector – it’s hard wired – is this something that is easy to do?? I have to climb on a ladder to reach the detector, as my ceiling are 13 ft high? Is there a video of instructions?? Any help you can provide would be GREATLY APPRECIATED!!

    1. Yes – these First Alert detectors can be VERY annoying. Youll need to reset it by un plugging the cable and removing the 9 volt battery, leave it unplugged for a few minutes and push the test button to discharge the detector. Best to ask a neighbor or local handyman to do this chore, dont mess with a ladder unless you feel totally comfortable with it. This is annoying but it can be fixed. Good luck!

      1. Hi, I’m having the same issue. I have unplugged the detector, took battery out, pushed reset button, reinstalled battery and plugged back in 3 different times now and green light still seems to be blinking. What do I need to do now? It seems to keep going off every morning for the last several days.

        1. The annoying green light blinking is just annoying, the detector will still work fine. Once unplugged with the battery out and you have pushed the discharge button, it should be fine. If youve done that and it still blinks green, it shouldnt, and probably the only solution is to buy a new, similar model and replace it. A new one will fit into the existing bracket.

    2. I’m so glad to hear I’m not alone with this problem! I’m almost your age and this is driving my dogs and me crazy. I don’t need to be climbing tall ladders during the night in my sleep-deprived state. This is an ongoing problem. Even the fire department can’t figure this out. Help!

      1. These are a nightmare designed by sadists, we replaced all of ours even though they were supposed to be good for 10 years with 8 years remaining and kept screeching even though we changed for new batteries every couple of months reset cleaned whatever we read to do. Replaced with Kidde within a few days there was a problem with the one in the bedroom I phoned Kidde in the end I phoned the electrician who came and checked and reset etc and now 4 months later the one outside the kitchen is flashing green and chirping and I can’t take any more of this and my elderly dog is heading for a stroke while I am ready to rip these things out of the ceiling.

        1. Kidde is a good brand, we have a 99% success rate with them. The few that have failed Kidde has replaced for free. Do not place any smoke detector near a kitchen, keep any smoke detector at least 15 fee away from a kitchen – especially one with proper venting – or the smoke detector will go off all of the time.

          What was the brand of the first set of detectors you installed?

  3. Sharon Clark

    My smoke detector has a steady green light and just noticed it has a blinkered red light on other side what does this mean?

    1. Steady green light is good, it means it is working. Blinking red light means it detected smoke at one point. To get rid of the red light, you have to disconnect the detectors wiring, push the test button, reconnect the wiring and the red light should go away.

  4. Thank you for your help! My detectors were going off intermittently. I replaced batteries and now reset the ones with blinking lights.

  5. I have 6 detectors in my house and they all went off at around 5:50 this morning. They’re hard wired and when one goes off, they all go off. We checked the house and everything is fine. All green lights are steadily flashing except for two of them. A d probably every 30 seconds or so the red light on the test button will flash. Should I be worried?

    1. The ones that are blinking are the ones that went off. Replace the batteries on those ones, and you should be OK.

  6. EDIT: We had two of our 3 alarms go off 3x between 2:15-3 this morning. The one that did not go off has a red light; the 2 that did go off have solid green lights. I would like to know what would be good next steps so that they don’t go off early morning again. Thanks.

    1. When alarms go off in the middle of the night, that usually means the batteries need to be replace, as batteries lose voltage when they are in the cold of night. Try that first, and unplug them and re-plug them in to reset them. Make sure the batteries are brand new, sometimes older batteries that have never been used lose voltage over time and will not have enough voltage to run the detectors.

  7. Question on the red light on the opposite side of the green light that remains constant and doesn’t blink.

    Is it normal for the little red dot to blink every 20-30 seconds or so?

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