Knowing how to replace your Honeywell Thermostat batteries is an important part of home management.
Unfortunately, with how many models there are, some people are quickly overloaded with information.
Understanding the ins and outs of these great thermostats is just a part of many of our lives, and it’s time that we learned a little more.
Lucky for you, replacing the batteries in these thermostats is actually a lot easier than you might think.
Nonetheless, we’re going to be going through everything you need to know right here.
There’s nothing worse than having a reliable thermostat and not knowing how to change its battery, so here we are. Ready to get into it?
About Honeywell Thermostats
Honeywell has been manufacturing thermostats for some time, and they are incredibly popular.
They’ve become well known for their quality products, reliability, and overall ease of use.
Every model uses the same technology as other manufacturers, but each has its own unique features and specialties.
That’s why they’re all very different from one another.
These thermostats are an essential part of many homes now, but many people still don’t know the first thing about their batteries.
After all, without batteries it won’t work, so it’s a pretty important point, right?
Some Honeywell models have battery compartments, and others give access to the batteries by removing the faceplate.
Either way, you can find the batteries within the control panel, if your model uses batteries.
Battery replacement isn’t the easiest part of having a Honeywell thermostat, but they work so well that it’s worth it.
Once you know where to look and what to do, you’ll never forget.
What You Should Know About Changing Batteries
When it comes to changing the batteries in a device – any device – it’s essential to always put the batteries in the right orientation.
That might sound weird, but things will only work when they fit together correctly.
Thankfully, your thermostat should tell you which direction the batteries should fit in.
You can also simply take note of the battery directions before you take them out, whichever works for you.
It’s also important to make sure that the system runs smoothly after replacing batteries.
We’ll be taking a look at this, too, just so you know what to do.
Changing A Honeywell Thermostat’s Batteries
The process of changing a battery in one of these thermostats is simple enough, but if you’re new to it, it can be a challenge.
The first thing you are going to have to do is locate where the battery is in the device.
Since all the Honeywell thermostats that use batteries store them in the control panel, you can start by figuring out what that is.
You’ll notice that it is the main part of the device – simple enough!
Find the cover or the battery compartment tray, and carefully remove it – the batteries should be in there.
You’ll have to remove the thermostat’s faceplate to get to these areas, so just work carefully.
Once you find the batteries, all you need to do is remove them, noting which direction each one is facing, and replace them.
The thermostat won’t work if you place the batteries at the incorrect orientation.
If you have no functioning control unit, the rest of the system won’t work.
Keep your operating system running with those batteries, and you can have full access to the thermostat.
As a result of this, it’s important to change out the batteries fairly regularly.
You will probably be able to tell when the batteries need to be replaced.
Honeywell’s thermostats that use batteries will always use either AA or AAA batteries.
The battery size will depend on the model you have – maybe your thermostat doesn’t even use batteries!
There are models that will draw power from the main electrical supply, so there’s no need for batteries.
However, the majority of models will need AAA or AA batteries.
The battery brand doesn’t really matter, but we would always recommend you use high quality ones.
Before messing with the control panel of the thermostat, always remember to turn the system off.
If you don’t do this before trying to replace the batteries, you might damage the control panel itself, as well as the whole system.
To be safe, you should shut off the mains power that is linked to the thermostat system.
Any wires that are exposed in the unit can cause electric shocks, so always take safety precautions.
In some faceplates of the control panels, you might notice that you are required to remove a small screw.
This screw is typically found under the faceplate. Once the screw has been removed, you will have access to the batteries.
When you get access to the batteries within the control panel, gently remove them from their battery compartment and replace them.
Use a fresh set of high quality batteries that have not yet been used to do this.
Place the new batteries back in the compartment at the correct orientation.
Once the fresh batteries are in the correct place, you can secure the various parts back into place.
Take your time with this to make sure that everything is right, that way the system will function correctly.
The battery change won’t reset the system to pre-determined settings.
However, things like the time and date might change. If this happens, you can simply correct them to the appropriate time and date.
The Breakdown Of Models, Battery Types, And Battery Locations
- 1000 Series – 2 AAA batteries, located under the cover plate
- 2000 Series – 2 AAA batteries, located under the cover plate
- 3000 Series – 2 AA batteries, located under the cover plate
- 4000 Series – 2 AA batteries, located under the cover plate
- 5000 Series – 2 AA batteries, located in the battery compartment
- 6000 Series – 2 AA batteries, located in the battery compartment
- 8000 Series – 3 AAA batteries, located under the cover plate
Finding A Honeywell Thermostat’s Batteries
Since Honeywell is a company that produces many thermostat systems, keeping track of them all can be a little confusing.
Generally, however, the majority of their products need batteries in order for operation to continue through the control panel.
In all models, these batteries can be found in the control panel area of the system.
These batteries are either kept behind a sliding tray area or in the main area of the panel.
The majority of models will require you to remove the faceplate of the panel to access these batteries.
That being said, some models do have separate removable trays or lids where the batteries are kept.
If you aren’t sure where the batteries are in your device, fear not.
To find the batteries, you can first check the top area of the right right-hand corner of the device’s control unit.
If you don’t see anything there, then there’s a good chance that the batteries are located inside the unit itself.
There would be a marking to indicate the location of the battery compartment, and you would simply need to slide it open, and you should be able to see the batteries.
For the models that do not have a separate battery compartment, you’ll have to get inside the unit by removing the unit’s faceplate.
You don’t need any tools for this unless there is a screw for you to work around.
For the majority of models, however, all you need to do is pull down on the faceplate of the panel carefully.
Doing this should unclip the faceplate from the rest of the unit.
Just be careful while you do this, since the plate can sometimes be a little stubborn.
Be gentle, and you won’t cause any damage to the faceplate. As soon as you get this off, you will have access to the batteries.
After that point, you will be able to replace the old batteries with fresh ones easily.
How To Tell If Your Thermostat Needs A New Battery
Honeywell’s thermostats will have some kind of indicator on the control panel that will let you know what a new battery is required.
A warning should come up on the control panel screen. Something such as “low batt” should show when it’s time to replace the batteries.
However, not all models will do this. Some models will flash, showing an icon that looks like a snowflake.
Honeywell thermostats (see also our guide to clearing the schedule on Honeywell Thermostats) that have control panels or screens will require batteries to work and power those parts.
Every single thermostat model with these features will have a way of telling you when the batteries are running low.
This specific thermostat brand typically only requires a battery change annually.
Battery changes once a year is enough for these devices to function well.
Since these systems only need a battery change once a year, it is a good indication that it doesn’t use batteries quickly at all.
At the time when the low battery sign comes on, there are generally still two months of use left.
After those two months, the control panel is likely to stop working since the battery will die.
A few Honeywell thermostat systems also have a final warning feature.
This will kick off when the batteries lose too much power and are on the verge of dying.
When this happens, the screen will not turn on until you install new, fresh batteries.
After this, you won’t get any other indications that the device’s batteries are low.
Resetting A Low Battery On A Honeywell Thermostat
You should not have to wait more than a few minutes for the low battery indicator to disappear.
Once you have installed the new batteries into the Honeywell thermostat, just wait around for the indicator to do away.
On a rare occasion, the indicator will not disappear on its own. If this is the case, you may need to reset the indicator.
This can be done in different ways, depending on the thermostat model you currently have.
If you have an advanced model, you can reset the indicator by following the instructions that show on the screen.
If the low battery indicator is still visible after five minutes, you can restart the system.
This can be done internally, or at the circuit breaker.
Models that don’t have a reset button on the control panel menu will have to be turned off at the circuit breaker.
To do this, you will need to:
1. Turn off the whole thermostat system using the control panel
2. Find the circuit breaker board
3. Find the power switch to the thermostat
4. Turn that switch off
5. Go to the control panel of the thermostat
6. Remove the batteries. It doesn’t matter if you just put new batteries in, remove them, even if they are brand new.
7. Wait for 1-2 minutes
8. Put the batteries back in
9. Go back to the breaker board and turn the switch for the thermostat back on
Doing this should reset the Honeywell thermostat systems, deactivating the low battery indicator in the process.
Once again, if you have a more advanced system, all you need to do is follow the instructions that come up on the control panel menu.
You may even be able to reset the system from the Honeywell smartphone application.
This can only be done if you have a thermostat system that is Wi-Fi equipped, though.
To do this, you will need to do the following:
1. Go to your thermostat system
2. Open up the settings menu
3. Follow the prompts that come up until you reach the option to reset the system. This will be shown as either “factory reset” or “system reset”.
4. Follow the instructions that come up on screen.
5. Your thermostat system will reset automatically, getting rid of any and all unnecessary notifications on the system.
This includes the low battery indicator.
Getting Your Thermostat To Work After Changing Its Battery
If your thermostat system is not working after you replaced the batteries, the batteries are likely to be in the wrong direction.
Any batteries in the wrong orientation will result in the system not working.
The other possibilities would be that the faceplate has been put back in correctly, the batteries you put in are faulty, or the system needs to be restarted.
Batteries Are Facing The Wrong Way
If the batteries are facing the wrong way, you will need to open the faceplate again and fix the issue.
You can switch the battery orientation to see if that works.
However, there should be an indication of which direction the batteries should go in the compartment.
Align the + and – symbols in the compartment with the batteries, and it should work.
You should also ensure that the batteries are aligned properly.
This is usually done automatically, but sometimes the batteries do not line up well.
Check The Panel Placement
You need to make sure to reinstall the faceplate correctly after replacing batteries.
Faceplates that are incorrectly installed may look incorrect. The pins of the control panel need to be making contact with the baseplate.
If you notice that the panel doesn’t look right, carefully remove it and reinstall it.
Take your time doing this so that everything lines up.
The Batteries Are Bad
If you suspect that the batteries are at fault, remove them and put them in a different device.
If the batteries power the other device, they should be fine. If not, then they are likely the issue.
Try using a different pair of batteries in the thermostat if they do not work.
System Reset
If none of the above seem to be the issue, you might need to reset your system.
A hard reset should kick-start the system back into working order. You can follow the system reset mentioned prior to do this.
All you need to do is find the circuit breaker and turn off the correct switch.
If the system reset fails, you will need to call in someone to help with your problem.
Trying to fix the issue yourself would likely result in damage to the system.
Will All Honeywell Thermostats Work Without Any Batteries?
No, not all systems will work without batteries. This depends on the system you have.
Some systems require batteries, while others do not.
A number of Honeywell systems are non-programmable, and those do not have control panels, which means no batteries.
Any system that is programmable will need batteries in order to work.
Any thermostat systems that need batteries will not work if they don’t have those batteries.
Control panels that are needed for programmable systems mean that batteries are needed to power them.
There are some systems that have control panels that connect to the main electrical supply, but these are rare.
So, generally, systems with control panels need batteries to operate.
Thankfully, the systems that do require batteries only need a battery change about once a year.
This means that there is little extra cost to power them.
Honeywell Thermostat Is On Cool, But Isn’t Working – What Can You Do?
Like every product, Honeywell thermostats can still have their issues for us to deal with.
One of the more common issues that buyers experience with this system is the thermostat not cooling a chosen area while on cool.
If you’re wondering what usually causes this issue, the reasons are as follows:
- Faulty wiring
- Airflow issues
- Issues with the furnace and/or heating system
- Compressor issues
- A problem with the thermostat device
If you’re experiencing this issue, you will probably also have a blank screen on the control panel.
While this is usually the case because of dead batteries, it might also just need a system reset.
If you notice this problem in your thermostat, you can check to see if the batteries and face panel are put in correctly before doing a system restart.
Final Thoughts
Honeywell thermostats (see also ‘How To Connect A Honeywell Thermostat To Google Home‘) are great products, but they are not without their issues.
As long as you remember to replace your batteries when needed, and take care of the system, it should work fine.
If you do experience any of the issues mentioned in this post, try the methods we’ve outlined to help.
Doing this should fix the issue, but if it doesn’t, don’t hesitate to get in touch with a professional to get the job done.
