semiatic

Low battery symbol

The batteries are running down. A flashing battery usually still lets you measure; an empty or steady one on some monitors means no more measurements until the batteries are changed.

Check your monitor’s manual — makers differ.

What it is for

Change all the batteries at once, with new ones of the type your manual names. A&D: “replace all batteries with new ones. Do not mix old and new batteries.” Stored readings survive: Omron says “Replacing batteries will not delete previous readings”, and Beurer and Microlife keep the values but ask you to set the date and time again.

These pages report what each maker’s manual says and quote it wherever health is involved. They do not diagnose anything and are not medical advice; only your own monitor’s manual describes your model.

What it looks like
A battery outline, partly filled or empty, that flashes or stays lit on the screen.
Names makers use
Low battery symbol and Depleted battery symbol (Omron); LOW BATTERY mark (A&D); Battery replacement symbol (Beurer); Battery Display (Microlife)

Where makes differ

Omron has two marks: a low battery symbol that “Flashes when batteries are low” and a depleted battery symbol that “Appears when batteries are depleted”. Microlife flashes a partly filled battery when the batteries are about ¾ empty (“the device will continue to measure reliably”) and a flat battery when they are flat (“You cannot take any further measurements”). Beurer’s BM 28: if the symbol “is displayed and does not disappear, measurement is no longer possible.” Withings’ BPM Connect is recharged by cable and shows ERROR 220, or an orange light, when the battery is low.

What it does not mean

It does not mean the readings taken so far are wrong. Microlife says that at the first warning the device “will continue to measure reliably”; the symbol is only about power.

Sources

No published standard we could check defines blood pressure monitor control icons, so this meaning is taken from 5 makers’ own manuals and support pages, each fetched and read on the date shown:

Written in our own words; quotations are the makers’ wording.