I'm too dumb to replace my smoke alarm batteries - help

[sleepingkoala]

My smoke alarm has just started beeping every few minutes. It's so annoying. I don't know how I'm going to sleep tonight. But I can't remove the smoke alarm. I know it sounds stupid but I've been trying to about an hour and I can't do it. I followed the instructions on a youtube video and what it says on the alarm itself. I insert a screw driver into the whole it seems to click and i move the screwdriver as much I can to much it out. But then I can't slide the alarm off. I've also been trying to do most of it in the dark because the video said to turn the electricity off first. I honestly don't think it owed make any difference if it was light though.

What can I do. I don't know anyone to ask who could help me as I've just moved to a new city. What if I can't get it off even tomorrow during the day? Would it be rude/weird to ask the cleaner on Monday who does the communal areas if he knows how to change a smoke alarm? And then offer to pay him? I really don't want to ask him but I'm kind of desperate. Also I only know of one handy man service locally and I can't ask them because I recently had a problem with my plumbing and they managed to crack half the tiles off my bathroom walls as they were banging too hard with the hammer so it would be too awkward to ask them.

sorry for all the typos. And i meant I liv in an apartment so the cleaner who does the communal areas of the building.

thanks.

Yeah ask the cleaner, if not landlord or whoever owns your house failing that I asked the local firestation to put some in my home they was happy too, I didn't need to pay for the alarms and they even come to check on them. Good luck

Oh just remembered the fire alarms they put in can't replace the battery, u may have one of them?

If it's a battery operated smoke alarm then you don't need to turn of the electricity.

@chocoholic Thank you for your reply.

Ok I might ask the cleaner of the building if I still can't do it tomorrow. if the cleaner says yes then should I offer to pay him and how much?

No I'm pretty sure it's meant to come off and change the batteries as it looks the same as the one in the video and makes the same sound it''s meant to when the batteries are low apparently. and it has written on it how to remove it.

I actually own the apartment so no landlord but I am just really terrible at the simplest diy things unfortunately.

@ScarletForYa ok thanks. I did wonder as it doesn't warn about that on the alarm but it does have a note on how to remove it. It says it's 'mains powered' and has a wire running to it (I can see it because the wire is in it's own casement if the makes sense just under the ceiling coming from the wall. but I think it also has batteries.
It looks exactly the same as the one in this video

Maybe the video is just being overly cautious as surely the alarm itself would have a warning about that?

Well if cleaner says yeah it won't take long if they know how to do it, when cleaner going just say here's £5 christmas tip.

Depending on the age of the alarm the actual detector may need replacing. Aico alarms generally only have a 10 year lifespan. May be a sticker somewhere on the detector telling you when it needs to be replaced by.

yes I was surprised to find out that many smoke alarms cannot have batteries changed. This is to force you to get anew one, for safety reasons rather than keep using an old one. It could be that it is impossible to get to the batteries on your alarm, the only thing you can do is get rid and get a new one. Can you google the model? Was it in situ when you bought the flat?

I had this problem. In your fuse box, there should be a switch that says "smoke alarms". If so, switch off at the mains.

I think you've got the sort that you put a screwdriver in and then you slide the smoke alarm cover to one side. I remember being on a stool and trying to do this. It's very frustrating. I too, looked on you tube for help. Good luck.

Like others say, if your apartment is built in the 90s or more recent, you will have a mains operated smoke alarm. They are to be replaced every 10 years by a electrician. It's wired to mains. You can do it yourself but you have to be competent like putting up a new ceiling light.

If it's battery operated, then the lid should open and you should be able to put a new battery in.

My smoke alarms look like those ones too and they are a bugger to get off to replace the battery. You can also buy a new unit that slides onto the existing wired in base as we replaced ours a couple of years ago as they were over 10 years old

And yes, they are mains alarms but have a battery back up in case of power failure

My mains powered one has a battery back up that beeps when it's running out. Didn't need to turn the mains off to replace it tho. I'd suggest if it's not simple that you can't actually do it yourself. They're designed to be user friendly.

OP says the alarm says it can be removed. Wonder if it's like mine as it says on it 'unclip and slide'. Was still a bugger to get it off though as the screw driver needs to go in the unit to push down a clip so you can slide the top unit off

Is this like yours OP?

mains powered alarms might not have their own breaker, because it makes it easy for people to turn them off. They are interconnected with fire-resistant cable so that if there is a fire in one room, the sounders in other rooms also go off.

They are often connected to the lighting circuit so that if there is a fault, it is sufficiently inconvenient for the residents to get it fixed.

Mains-powered detectors often have non-replaceable batteries.

Did you get it sorted?