So I saw this forum about an AL85 battery issue where the mod will begin to die off and start to shut off and give low battery warnings at around 50% battery. The issue in the previous situation seemed to be purely a battery issue but the cause of mine seems to be different. I bought a new tank (a Horizon Falcon tank) and while the resistance was similar to the tank the mod came with I started having this issue. Is there any solution? I just bought a new battery and that hasn't worked.
- Status
- Try a new battery
- Try a new atty replacement in your sub ohm tank.
Once you've ruled those two things out.
- Do not drop it
- Do not get it wet
- Do not flood it.
- Whip it down till its crispy clean.
There is a firmware for the AL85 that was sent to a user by Smok tech support.
It was never published on Smok's website, but it supposedly fixed that issue and another that I don't recall.
I downloaded this F/W, but never installed as I had no issues with mine.
I should also state that while several users used this F/W and said it worked great, I can't definitely confirm that it is an official Smok F/W or if it fixed anything.
If you get it and decide to try it, don't blame me if something goes wrong, lol.
It was never published on Smok's website, but it supposedly fixed that issue and another that I don't recall.
I downloaded this F/W, but never installed as I had no issues with mine.
I should also state that while several users used this F/W and said it worked great, I can't definitely confirm that it is an official Smok F/W or if it fixed anything.
If you get it and decide to try it, don't blame me if something goes wrong, lol.
With a regulated mod, your settings are more important than the resistance. It'll help us narrow down the problem if you can answer a few questions:
- Have you changed your settings (wattage) with the new tank?
- What wattage are you using?
- What battery (brand and model if you know it, whatever the wrap says if you don't) are you using? It would help to know this for both the old one and the new one you bought.
- How old is your battery?
- If you switch back to your old tank, do you have the same problem or does it go away?
- If you like videos, start with Mooch's 'Battery Basics for Beginners' playlist
- If you prefer reading, the best place to begin is Baditude's Ultimate Battery Guide
What specific batteries are you using? Brand and model?
Quite often, the Chinese re-wrap companies use inferior cells and inflate the specifications, so performance will leave something to be desired. Using authentic batteries made by LG, Samsung, or Sony you generally won't come across this issue. Are You Using a Rewrap (Rebranded or Aftermarket) Battery?
The regulator chip in the mod has a factory preset for "voltage cutoff" to protect against overdischarge of the batteries. That preset voltage is different in different mods. It might be as low as 3.1 volts, or as high as 3.5 volts. Sometimes a known fault in the voltage cutoff, like Rangertrix described, can be corrected via a firmware update.
Last edited:
Smok does not provide a Firmware update for the AL85 – at least I could not find one on their website. If you google “smok al85 firmware upgrade” you will find a few links to “claimed” FW updates, none of which are linked to Smok’s support site. I will not link these within the forum for I will not be held responsible for bricking your device. PROCEED WITH CAUTION (and I stress that!!) should you wish to test these for yourself.
As for coil resistance and battery drain. 2 different coils with the same or similar resistance can have different effects on battery drain, for their given heat capacity could mean one could take longer to reach optimum temperature than the other thus draining the battery faster. How much does this play into your issue? I do not know for we do not know the perimeters with drop in coils.
As for coil resistance and battery drain. 2 different coils with the same or similar resistance can have different effects on battery drain, for their given heat capacity could mean one could take longer to reach optimum temperature than the other thus draining the battery faster. How much does this play into your issue? I do not know for we do not know the perimeters with drop in coils.
Last edited:
You should probably proceed in a stepwise fashion. Rule out the batteries with a new authentic, if it persists yes, start swapping tanks and mods. AFAIK the Falcon has some pretty low reisistance coils so what you are describing as "dying off early" may be simple battery drain. Even if the resistance is similar, coil mass may be different (are you using mesh) and coil mass can make a HUGE impact on battery life honestly.
If it's not your battery and if you swap back the old tank and all is well it is likely not your board on the Alien, either. Although I suppose battery issues can or possibly could lead to board issues although that's maybe not my first guess or last guess.
If all fails (including maybe a trip to the vape shop if you have a competent one near you) warranty if it is still under warranty. I wouldn't recommend an unknown software upgrade on an alien honestly and you may just need a better battery for your falcon or a two battery mod.
Good luck,
Anna
If it's not your battery and if you swap back the old tank and all is well it is likely not your board on the Alien, either. Although I suppose battery issues can or possibly could lead to board issues although that's maybe not my first guess or last guess.
If all fails (including maybe a trip to the vape shop if you have a competent one near you) warranty if it is still under warranty. I wouldn't recommend an unknown software upgrade on an alien honestly and you may just need a better battery for your falcon or a two battery mod.
Good luck,
Anna
If your vaping around 70 80 watts that single battery isn't going to last long at all.
Welcome and glad you joined.
Could be many causes, suggest contacting:
Local B&M Vape Shop (call and visit)/someone who knows what their doing -----Might be simple.
Vendor who sold it ---see if they will repair or replace or advise (any authorized distributor).
Manufacturer contact ---see if they will repair or replace or advise.
All of the links will lead back to one F/W.
I didn't post the links for the exact same reasons........
Downloading from the manufacture there is a good change they will support you in the event something goes wrong. Download some random link, even if it originally came from the manufacture I can ensure they will just say, “Sorry, you're SOL”.
There has to be a reason why Smok has not posted the FW
Sounds to me like too high of wattage is being used or a poor quality battery, maybe both.
WATTAGE PER SINGLE BATTERY on REGULATED MOD:
(Total wattage doubles using 2 batteries; Triples using 3 batteries.)
Up to 45W:
Samsung 18650 30Q, 3000 mah 15 amp CDR
Sony 18650VTC6 3000mAh 15 amp CDR
Sony 18650VTC6 3000mAh 15 amp CDR
Up to 60W:
LG 18650HG2 3000mah 20 amp CDR
LG 18650HE4 2500 mah 20 amp CDR
Samsung 18650-25R, 2500 mah 20 amp CDR
Sanyo UR18650NSX, 2500 mah 20 amp CDR
Sony 18650VTC5, 2600 mah 20 amp CDR
Sony 18650VTC4, 2100 mah 23 amp CDR
LG 18650HE4 2500 mah 20 amp CDR
Samsung 18650-25R, 2500 mah 20 amp CDR
Sanyo UR18650NSX, 2500 mah 20 amp CDR
Sony 18650VTC5, 2600 mah 20 amp CDR
Sony 18650VTC4, 2100 mah 23 amp CDR
Up to 75W:
LG 18650 HD4 2100 mah 25 amp CDR
LG 18650 HD2 2000 mah 25 amp CDR
Samsung 18650-24S, 2500 mah 25 amp CDR
Sony 18650VTC5A, 2500 mah 25 amp CDR
LG 18650 HD2 2000 mah 25 amp CDR
Samsung 18650-24S, 2500 mah 25 amp CDR
Sony 18650VTC5A, 2500 mah 25 amp CDR
Up to 90W:
LG18650HB6 1500mah 30 amp CDR
LG18650HB2 1500mAh 30 amp CDR
LG18650HB4 1500mAh 30 amp CDR
Samsung 18650-20S 2000mah 30 amp CDR
LG18650HB2 1500mAh 30 amp CDR
LG18650HB4 1500mAh 30 amp CDR
Samsung 18650-20S 2000mah 30 amp CDR
WATTAGE PER SINGLE BATTERY on REGULATED MOD:
(Total wattage doubles using 2 batteries; Triples using 3 batteries.)
Up to 45W:
Samsung 18650 30Q, 3000 mah 15 amp CDR
Sony 18650VTC6 3000mAh 15 amp CDR
Up to 60W:
LG 18650HG2 3000mah 20 amp CDR
LG 18650HE4 2500 mah 20 amp CDR
Samsung 18650-25R, 2500 mah 20 amp CDR
Sanyo UR18650NSX, 2500 mah 20 amp CDR
Sony 18650VTC5, 2600 mah 20 amp CDR
Sony 18650VTC4, 2100 mah 23 amp CDR
Up to 75W:
LG 18650 HD4 2100 mah 25 amp CDR
LG 18650 HD2 2000 mah 25 amp CDR
Samsung 18650-24S, 2500 mah 25 amp CDR
Sony 18650VTC5A, 2500 mah 25 amp CDR
Up to 90W:
LG18650HB6 1500mah 30 amp CDR
LG18650HB2 1500mAh 30 amp CDR
LG18650HB4 1500mAh 30 amp CDR
Samsung 18650-20S 2000mah 30 amp CDR
While i agree some batteries can put out those wattages, they won't do it for long and will cut off a lot sooner than if it was used at lower wattage. My AL85 would do well up to 50w, but beyond that it would kill the battery quickly and cut off at a much higher battery %, even with 25a batteries.
There's two questions I need to ask first. First, what brand and model of battery are you using? and second, what resistance are you using? If you're using a .2 ohm resistance coil on a single battery mod, your battery will not last very long.
As you use the device and the battery drains, the amount of power that the battery provides gets less and less. For most lithium ion batteries, a full charge is around 4.2 volts. As it drains, it goes to 4.1 volts and 4.0 volts fairly rapidly. Usually, batteries plateau around 3.8-3.9 volts. Now if you have a .2 ohm coil, you're probably vaping it close to the 85 watt limit. Soon enough, when your battery reaches the lower voltages, it just simply won't be able to provide the power to use that low of a coil.
There are two options you can go with at this point...
1) switch to a 2 or 3 battery mod... you can vape it at your current settings, but you'll find the battery will last way more than twice as long.
2) get or make a higher ohm coil. You'll find that higher ohm coils don't provide as much vapor, But they will considerably extend your battery life.
A firmware Update is a good idea I might try that
This is the second battery I've bought to try to fix the issue, the one I'm using now is a Sony 18650 which is brand new and it has aided the issue it still dies off then the batter looks about 40%. The new tank I'm using is the falcon sub ohm by horizon tech and the coils are rated for around 70W +-10W but I usually vape it at around 60W +-5W. with my old tank, I usually stayed around 45W so the wattage jump might be the issue. I sold the old tank so I can't really go back to it and try and see if it persists. thanks for the advice
@SamBaker - the firmware that is floating around on the net claims to have been sent to a user from Smok, will assume via email if there is any fact to this story. Smok does not have firmware for this device posted under their support page. If you use this firmware that has been posted on the web and it fails, bricking your device, you are SOL. Personally I wouldn’t touch this firmware without a legit copy of your original firmware from Smok. But that is just me. i cannot stress enough - proceed with great caution!
Thanks for the heads up with the firmware I'm not going to immediately jump to that if there isn't an official one. I've been switching between the M2 mesh coils and the F3 coils which differ by .04ohm. My ramp-up time is only about half a second so I don't really notice any problem there.
- Status
Similar threads
