How to Turn Off Hard-Wired Smoke Alarm? Complete Guide

If you find yourself unable to locate a comprehensive guide on how to turn off hard-wired smoke alarm, you’re in for a treat!

Just like you, a lot of people are trying to learn the correct procedure to shut down hard-wired smoke alarm models!

So, in this guide, we will give it to you in the most complex and most intricate ways possible!

To turn off hard-wired smoke alarms, you first have to take out the battery from it. Then, power the smoke alarm off by shutting down the circuit breaker that it’s connected to.

Before we learn the process of how to turn off hard wired smoke alarm, why learn how to turn it off in the first place?

Why Turn Off Your Smoke Alarm?

It’s kind of ironic to think about turning or shutting off a smoke alarm because it defeats the purpose of warning or alerting you of a potential fire.

However, there are situations and instances where turning it off is necessary.

The most common scenarios include:

• Replacing/fixing disconnected wires
• Random uncontrollable chirping without a battery
• False alarms
• Installing or replacing a new smoke alarm/detector
• Performing a reset or a reboot of the device

Can’t You Just Flip the Switch to Turn it Off?

Most houses wouldn’t even have switches for these smoke alarms. However, residential and commercial properties that have switches have the misconception that it’s enough to turn it off.

But, no, that’s not the case. These smoke alarms are so independent that you need to cut all sources of energy to turn them off.

This means, even if you take the battery out and you flip the switch, it’ll still be on.

After enumerating the reasons why you need to do it, let’s now learn the process! How do you turn off a sounding hard wired smoke alarm?

How to Turn Off Hard-Wired Smoke Alarm? – Complete and Detailed Steps

Most people would think that because it contains a battery, removing it would be enough to do the job. But, in truth, that is not sufficient.

Worry not, because our tutorial will comprehensively lay down the steps on how you can successfully turn off a hard-wired smoke alarm!

Step #1: Remove the Cover From the Brace of the Device 

The first thing you want to do is remove the outer layer of the alarm. To do this:

1. Rotate the cover of the hard-wired smoke alarm counter clockwise.
2. Pull the cover down carefully.
3. Detach the cover from the main device.

Step #2: Take the Battery Out

The process of taking the battery out will depend on the type or class of smoke alarm you have. If your smoke alarm has the battery within the brace, then you need to remove it first.

On the contrary, if the battery can easily be dismounted from the brace, you can take it out with no problems.

NOTE: Make sure that you’ll completely lift or remove the battery from the tray.

Step #3: Unscrew the Brace

The base or the part of the smoke alarm that’s connected to the ceiling will be screwed. Unscrew this part so the wires of the circuit are let out.

Be careful not to touch these because these are live wires and touching them even by accident can electrocute you. To prove this, take your voltage detector and place it near the power supply wire.

You’ll find that the detector will go off because the wires still have power.

Step #4: Locate the Circuit Breaker

Now that you’re done dismantling the alarm, the next step that you want to do is to locate the circuit breaker.

Now, in most houses, there wouldn’t be an independent circuit that’s specific to the alarm.

Therefore, you’ll have to find the circuit breaker that’s used to power the smoke alarm.

Here are a few tips to help you find it:

• They’re usually going to be at a 15-amp circuit
• It’s not always the circuit of the room where it is
• It will never be connected to a Ground Fault Circuit (GFI)

Step #5: Do a Trial and Error of the Breaker

Now, depending on how big your house is, you’ll usually have to do trial and error to find and locate the specific breaker of the alarm.

With step #4, though, your time locating it will definitely be cut short. Of course, you may have to try out three (3) to four (4) switches still.

1. Have another person turn the selected breakers off.
2. Every time a breaker is turned off, check if the green LED light is still on.
3. If it is, the breaker toggled was incorrect

Step #6: Double-Check if it’s Turned Off

To ensure that the circuit is turned off, every time you switch off a breaker, test it using the voltage detector. Remember never to touch any of the wirings without making sure that the circuit you’re working on is turned off.

When you point the detector to the power supply or to the wire and it beeps, it’s still turned on.

But, if it does not make any sound or if it doesn’t beep when you put it near or close the wiring, it’s already turned off.

Step #7: Reassemble the Device

Now that you’re sure that the unit is turned off completely, the last and final step is to reassemble the device!

NOTE: If wiring is your problem, switch out or examine the wiring first and check for disconnections before you reassemble.

Reassembling is easy, you simply have to screw the device back into place, and then connect the battery to the device. Put the cover back into it, and then power it up again via the breaker.

It’s easy, right? Once you’ve become aware of these, you can now be sure that your smoke alarm is turned off! The green LED light, indicating that it is receiving AC power should now be gone.

It should then be replaced by a blank LED light indicator, signifying that it’s not receiving power!

Whether your reason is that the alarm is sounding when it shouldn’t, or if you’re trying to perform a complete reset of the unit, follow these steps to successfully turn your hard-wired smoke alarm off!

My Hard-Wired Smoke Alarm Isn’t Turning Off

Should you be unable to resolve it even after exhausting all your efforts, your best bet is to contact your local fire department.

They should have a device that can help you deactivate your smoke alarm in just a few minutes.

Let them know of the things and actions you did in an attempt to keep your smoke alarm dormant.

To turn your smoke alarm off completely, take the battery out first. Then, dismantle and pull the brace to reveal the wires, and locate the breaker it’s connected to. Finally, perform trial and error and check if it’s still on using a voltage detector.

Read Next: Do Smoke Detectors Detect Carbon Monoxide?

Bottom Line

If you ever get lost in solving the problem of how to turn off hard-wired smoke alarms, you can go back to this guide and get every information you need.

Other guides online will give you a general take of how to do it without making sure that it’s turned off!

With our guide, however, we can assure you that you will get all the information you need in the most detailed and most meticulous ways possible!