This morning I found my PurpleAir PA-I-Indoor sensor’s light dim. It is now difficult to see at a short distance (10 feet). Also, the dim light is slowly flashing on from dim to dimmer every two seconds or so. I suppose it is trying to tell me that something is wrong, but what could that be? The FAQ does not seem to address this problem.
I tried unplugging and tried a different outlet, but neither attempts solved the problem.
I have had the PurpleAir PA-I-Indoor sensor for about 1.5 years. It sits on a kitchen table.
Same for me, the readings look fine though, but LED behavior has changed exactly the same way as yours. Did the units get a firmware update that changes their behavior, maybe?
It looks like my sensor is using version 7.00 firmware. I have no idea when it began using that version; months ago?, yesterday? I notice that serveral other sensors nearby are using version 7.00.
Likewise, my sensor seems to be operating normally, except for the dim flashing light.
A change - the sensor blinks differently today. Now for about 3 secs it is at a normal looking brightness, and then changes to dimmer brightness for about 2 secs.
The change with the LED occurred with the release of our latest firmware, 7.00. The reason the brightness was lowered was that a new formula is being used to set the brightness of PurpleAir sensors. This new formula allows for higher precision at lower values. Before, an LED could either be too bright or off, and there was no in-between. We have changed the default brightness, and you should now see that change reflected on your indoor sensors.
The LED will also have a new “breathing” effect. This effect will help you know that the sensor is alive and functioning. Before, the sensor could crash, and the LED would not be able to indicate information about that. Now, if the sensor is not blinking, you know that the sensor may be having an issue.
This new firmware is setting up the groundwork for innovations with PurpleAir, and for helping to improve our implementation of the Bosch BME680 sensor.
I don’t want my LED lights to be blinking on my indoor unit. The flashing is annoying. They started blinking today after I submitted the form to make my LEDs dimmer - they are set at 5% now instead of 35%. I am happy with the dimness but very unhappy with the blinking. I want them on solid unless there is a problem. It was already bad before, when they would briefly flash off every minute or so - very annoying. Does anyone know how to have them on solid?
Thanks for getting back to me, Nick.
The flashing is not resolved after changing my registration to “Full-Color AQI Only”. It never was flashing blue - the color is and was the air quality color. It stays on for two or three seconds, turns off for a fraction of a second, turns on again for two or three seconds, and so on.
This post leads me to believe you programmed it to do this:
“The LED will also have a new “breathing” effect. This effect will help you know that the sensor is alive and functioning. Before, the sensor could crash, and the LED would not be able to indicate information about that. Now, if the sensor is not blinking, you know that the sensor may be having an issue.”
You guys programmed it to be obnoxious. It is flashing and disrupting the peace in your customers’ homes. I got this with a visible sensor because I wanted to be able to see the air quality by looking at it. It was already obnoxious before because you would flash the LEDs off once per minute.
I am in the market for another sensor and I’m looking for other companies who have more consideration for their customers. Or can you fix this so the sensor lights stay on steadily, never flashing off unless it is to indicate a problem?
It looks like the problem you’re trying to solve is that the sensor could get into a bad state and the user would never know. I can see why you would want to correct that. But this solution is not a good one.