Vivint Thermostat Not Working After Battery Change? (Fixes to Try)

Replacing the batteries in your Vivint thermostat (if they’re low) is necessary for a continuous, reliable operation.

However, the reverse might happen sometimes—the thermostat stops working after changing the batteries. Sounds like you? Then keep reading to see why this is happening and what you can do to fix the problem.

First off, here are some reasons your Vivint thermostat won’t work after changing the batteries:

The new batteries are not installed correctly.
Your thermostat requires power cycling.
You’ve used the wrong batteries.
Issues with the battery terminals.
The thermostat is faulty.

Now let’s see how to fix this problem.

Table of Contents

Vivint Thermostat Not Working After Battery Change: Try These Troubleshooting Tips

1. Remove and Reinsert the Batteries

If your Vivint thermostat won’t work after replacing the batteries, chances are the batteries were not installed correctly. Another reason is that the thermostat needs to discharge some current due to the battery replacement.

Remove the batteries and wait 30 seconds before reinserting them. This should help discharge current from the thermostat. And ensure you install the batteries correctly following the battery polarity (+/-).

Did your Vivint thermostat work after trying this fix? If not, continue to the next step.

2. Power Cycle Your Thermostat

For some reason, your Vivint thermostat (though working properly before) may refuse to power on after replacing the batteries. And power cycling the thermostat via the circuit breaker is usually a go-to fix.

So, try power cycling your thermostat to see if it does the trick.

To power cycle your Vivint thermostat, follow the steps below:

Go to the circuit breaker panel in your home (the main power distribution panel).
Find the A/C circuit breaker (usually marked “A/C,” Air Conditioner,” or “HVAC.”
Flip the A/C circuit breaker off and on.

Now return to your thermostat to see if it’s working properly. If not, continue to the next step.

3. Check that You’re Using the Correct Batteries

Vivint thermostat, as you probably know, uses 4 AA non-rechargeable alkaline batteries. You want to ensure that you’ve used the correct batteries. If not, get a new pair of alkaline batteries—Vivint doesn’t recommend using lithium/rechargeable batteries.

Make sure you don’t mix old batteries with new ones and check the new batteries for any signs of corrosion.

4. Clean the Battery Terminals in Your Thermostat

Another likely cause of this issue is that the old batteries in your thermostat might have corroded the battery terminals. This usually happens if the previous batteries leaked acid, probably because they had poor seals or you delayed replacing them.

If your Vivint thermostat still refuses to work after trying the fixes above, the terminals may have corroded. Check and clean the corroded terminals to fix the issue.

You can dip a Q-Tip into lemon juice or vinegar and then rub it on the battery terminal surface gently. This should remove any corrosion and allow current to pass through the terminals.

If the problem persists, continue to the next step.

5. Contact Vivint Support

The fixes in this post should help you get your Vivint thermostat up and running again. However, if none of the fixes help, try contacting Vivint Customer Support for help or get an HVAC expert to run a check on your thermostat/HVAC system.

Be sure to explain the details currently to help the support assistant identify and suggest fixes.

Wrapping Up

So there it is. If you have issues with your Vivint thermostat after replacing the batteries, follow the troubleshooting tips in this post to resolve the problems. Sometimes, removing and reinserting the batteries after 30 seconds may do the trick.

To recap, if your Vivint thermostat won’t work after changing the batteries, start your troubleshooting by removing and reinstalling the batteries. If that doesn’t help, power cycle the thermostat, check that you used the correct batteries, and clean the battery terminals.

You may also like to see how to troubleshoot battery issues in Luxpro and Honeywell thermostats.

Also, see how to troubleshoot connectivity issues in a Vivint thermostat.