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Original poster

To be driven mad by a mysterious beep

203 replies

lifecouldbeadream · 24/01/2019 15:09

We’ve got a beep. It’s driving me insane..... it’s not regular and we thought it had gone away once we heard the ‘death beep’. No such luck.... I’ve checked the smoke alarms, they are mains powered and have been updated...... I can’t even locate where the noise is coming from.....

OP posts:
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Gth1234 · 24/01/2019 19:20

Our smart meter thing beeps when we reach some sort of daily target.

PickleFish · 24/01/2019 19:49

Do you live in an area where there are mobile bikes? We have some parked near our block of flats. When someone hires one, it beeps several times in close succession, then at decreasing intervals after that (I think). But if someone moves it when they're not supposed to, it beeps again, every few seconds, until it's somehow shut off (maybe remotely). They are remarkably loud, so I can hear them inside as a slight beep that I thought was a smoke detector until I finally figured it out. As there can be a few bikes around, the chirping can be at weird schedules, off and on, etc.

But it's only been around a few months here, and I don't think they've existed for a whole year, at least with this company. Other schemes might be similar though

Onlysocks · 24/01/2019 20:02

I had an annoying beep I couldn’t trace. I went to a sporting event where I was a referee and one other refs spotted we had the same model of stopwatch and asked if the random beeping annoyed me. I could have hugged him, apparently there is a fault with that model and when not in use it occasionally beeps for no identifiable reason.

Firstbornunicorn · 24/01/2019 20:14

You know those plug-in things you use to keep mice out of the house? You're not supposed to be able to hear them beeping, but if they're old or faulty, you can. I discovered this when I visited my aunt's house and was being driven mad by the mysterious beeping that nobody else could hear. If you have any, unplug them and monitor the situation!

GreatWesternValkyrie · 24/01/2019 20:26

Oh god Op, I had this a couple of year ago, it drove us mad and took two days to figure it out. Same thing happened a few weeks ago and it took me two hours to remember it had happened before. It was the low. battery warning on a carbon monoxide monitor. Next door’s carbon monoxide monitor.

They were away both times but luckily we have a key and went round on a hunch after turning our house upside down on a beep hunt!

MapMyMum · 24/01/2019 20:30

Could it be some sort of alarm on an old mobile phone?

Trumponerous · 24/01/2019 20:30

Fire Angel smoke alarms have had problems with beeping when nothing is wrong with them (apart from beeping). Not just one batch was affected according to the press. Just worth mentioning if your new ones are these.

Gotstuckwiththisname · 24/01/2019 20:30

Baby monitor? Ours used to randomly beep. I know you say DC are older than babies, but do you have it in the loft or similar?

allinthelineofduty · 24/01/2019 20:40

Scops Owl. Google it. I have never wandered around at 5am in a sleep-deprived frenzy thinking " oh my goodness the neighbours must hate us

couchparsnip · 24/01/2019 20:55

I had this and it turned out to be a carbon monixide detector at the bottom of a drawer.

BowBeau · 24/01/2019 21:04

I have a little gadget called an annoy-a-tron. It does nothing but beep at random. When DH annoys me I hide it around the house and let it drive him insane for a few days. We’ve lived together for six years and he hasn’t found it yet. The best part was when we moved house and The Beep followed us Grin

Justaboutawake · 24/01/2019 21:14

Had a weird beep in our house for months. Especially at night but throughout the day too. Wasn’t anything electrical that we could find. After lots of googling and hunting it turned out to be paper mites! Bought in with some charity shop books....

Original poster
lifecouldbeadream · 24/01/2019 21:14

allinthelineofduty It’s not a scops owl- I did google it- it’s cute, but not that

And Bowbeau that strikes fear into my heart.

It’s not Rent-a-bikes as we live in the middle of nowhere.

Next door doesn’t have a BMW, and the sound is loudest in the middle of the house- furthest from our drive and next doors.

I’ve just gone to try and investigate further. There is a cupboard where the noise is coming from. I had the doors open and the beep happened. I think it was coming from above me..... the cornice comes off, and I had a quick poke about but couldn’t see anything, will have a proper look in daylight. Am now thinking it may be coming from the ceiling...... it sounded fainter. Perhaps I’m just learning to tune it out Blush

OP posts:
RippleEffects · 24/01/2019 21:20

Have you tried turning the power off and waiting to hear a beep? Looking at your timings that may take an hour plus so you'd have to mumsnet by mobile whilst waiting.

Betsy86 · 24/01/2019 21:21

Ok cant lie in placemarking because in over invested in needing to know the outcome op Grin

Ynci · 24/01/2019 21:24

Mains powered smoke alarms still have batteries! They kick in if the mains power goes off and you can’t change them. They do beep as well. If your smoke alarm is over 10 years old it could be this. It was when I had a very annoying beep!

Wallywobbles · 24/01/2019 21:26

Ours was an Alcotest thing.

Littlejayx · 24/01/2019 21:27

I’m overly invested.

I once snapped a fire alarm from the ceiling when the beeping got too much. He was only doing his job 😭

Murinae · 24/01/2019 21:34

I had this. Turned out it was me! I have an implanted ICD and the battery was getting low.

WhatWouldChristineCagneyDo · 24/01/2019 21:35

Carbon monoxide alarms ar SUPPOSED to be situated below the level of your boiler as carbon monixide gas sinks, if this is th case it could be very low down, like under a kitchen unit.

Are you the only one who can hear it? When I was in my teens and early twenties my parents neighbours had an ultrasonic cat scarer device that went off every time something crossed the beam. It drove me insane, everybody thought I was crackers. Apparently they are of a very high frequency and some kids & teenagers can hear it.

Then one day I just couldn't hear it any more.

PootlesBobbleHat · 24/01/2019 21:35

We have a Brita water filter under the sink with a separate alarm that counts down to when it needs replacing. It beeps at entirely random intervals until you reset it. Like a smoke alarm type beep.

Took us ages to work it out.

WhatWouldChristineCagneyDo · 24/01/2019 21:36

Typo hell up there ^, sorry Blush

Original poster
lifecouldbeadream · 24/01/2019 21:43

WhatwouldChristineCagneydo you might have something there.... although slightly worrying as last house British Gas engineer fitted my CO detector above my boiler near the ceiling....... No water filters here, except on the fridge. And the filter on that has been changed since we moved, so not that. I’m going to look to see if I can get a scope type thingy to look inside the false wall..... turning into secret spy

OP posts:
3luckystars · 24/01/2019 21:44

You will have to light a fire near it and hope it sets it off fully. I cant think of another solution.

I would go completely mad, anything beeping or flashing, I cant bear it.

Maybe it is from the floor above? A watch/phone has fallen under the bed and it sounds like it is in the kitchen but it is coming from above.