ecobee Changing Temperature by Itself? 7 Causes and How to Stop Them

The Short Answer

An ecobee that changes temperature “by itself” is nearly always running one of its own features, or obeying another device. Look at the home screen first: a hold bubble, an “eco+” message or a Comfort Setting name (Home, Away, Sleep) usually tells you what is in control.

1. Smart Home & Away

Smart Home & Away uses the occupancy sensors to override your schedule. ecobee’s rules: Smart Away kicks in after two consecutive hours with no occupancy detected during a scheduled Home period, and Smart Home switches to Home if it sees someone after an Away period has run for at least an hour.

One detail explains a lot of confusion: Smart Away does not use your Away temperature. ecobee says it picks a setpoint from which Home can be reached within 30 minutes. If you sit still out of a sensor’s view, it can decide you have left. Fix the sensor placement (see ecobee sensor not working) or turn the feature off: Main Menu → General → eco+ → Smart Home & Away, or in the app Menu → eco+ → Smart Home & Away.

2. Follow Me

With Follow Me on, the thermostat ranks sensors by how much time you spend in each room and weights the temperature toward the busy ones. The setpoint does not change, but the temperature it is controlling to does, so the system can start or stop as people move around. Turn it off under Main Menu → General → Sensors → Follow Me.

3. Sensor Participation

Each Comfort Setting can use a different set of sensors: the bedroom only during Sleep, say. When the schedule moves from Home to Sleep, the average changes and the system reacts. ecobee says sensors are phased in or out over 30 minutes. Check Main Menu → General → Comfort Settings → [setting] → Sensor Participation for each setting.

4. Pre-Heat and Pre-Cool

Formerly called Smart Recovery, Pre-Heat and Pre-Cool learn how long your system takes and start early, so the house reaches the scheduled temperature at the scheduled time rather than starting then. It looks like the thermostat jumping ahead of its schedule. It is in Main Menu → General → Preferences.

5. Utility Energy Events and Time of Use

If you enrolled in Community Energy Savings, ecobee says your utility will send events a few times a year that adjust the temperature for no more than a few hours. The thermostat pre-cools or pre-heats first, then applies a setback for the event, and overrides your fan setting during it. You can opt out of an event by setting a hold or ending eco+ for the day; leaving the program for good is done through your utility.

Time of Use is similar: with it set up, ecobee says the thermostat will allow the temperature to rise above the setpoint before cooling during expensive hours.

6. The Schedule, Schedule Assistant and Comfort Setting Holds

Changes at the same time every day are the schedule. If the schedule looks different from what you set, check whether you accepted a Schedule Assistant suggestion: it emails recommendations based on five weeks of occupancy, and ecobee notes an accepted change can take a few days to show up.

Choosing a Comfort Setting by hand (for example tapping Away) is different from a temperature change: ecobee says it creates an indefinite hold that stays until you cancel it. Tap the x on the hold bubble to go back to the schedule.

7. Alexa, HomeKit, Google Assistant or SmartThings

ecobee says any temperature change made through a third-party integration such as Alexa, HomeKit, Samsung SmartThings or Google Assistant sets a Manual Hold. A routine or automation in one of those apps can therefore change the temperature at odd times. Check routines in each app you have linked.

How long a manual change lasts is set by Hold action (Main Menu → General → Preferences → Hold action; in the app, Device Settings → Hold Duration): 2 hours, 4 hours, until the next scheduled activity, until you change it, or ask each time. If your changes “undo themselves”, this is usually set to end at the next scheduled activity.

Two smaller effects also show up as “it’s colder than I set”: during Away periods ecobee adds an extra 1°F to the differential before it calls for heating or cooling, and changes to settings made during a hold do not apply until the hold is cancelled.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does my ecobee keep changing the temperature?

Usually Smart Home & Away reacting to occupancy, Follow Me weighting busy rooms, Pre-Heat or Pre-Cool starting early, a utility energy event, the schedule, or a hold set by Alexa, HomeKit or another app.

How do I stop my ecobee from changing temperature?

Turn off Smart Home & Away under eco+, turn off Follow Me under Sensors, and set Hold action to Until You Change It in Preferences. Then check the schedule and any linked voice assistant routines.

Why does my ecobee switch to Away when I am home?

Smart Away assumes nobody is home after two hours with no occupancy detected. A sensor that cannot see where you sit causes this; move the sensor or turn off Smart Home & Away.

Why does my ecobee hold end on its own?

The Hold action preference is probably set to end at the next scheduled activity or after 2 or 4 hours. Change it to Until You Change It.

Related Guides

• ecobee sensor not working — N/A, pairing and wrong readings
• Nest changing temperature by itself — the Nest version of this problem
• ecobee vs Nest — how the two handle schedules and sensors
• Smart thermostat troubleshooting — every fix guide by symptom

Sources

• ecobee: Smart Home & Away
• ecobee: Follow Me
• ecobee: Sensor participation
• ecobee: Preferences (Pre-Heat and Pre-Cool)
• ecobee: Community Energy Savings
• ecobee: Schedule Assistant
• ecobee: What is a Hold?
• ecobee: Cooling basics and FAQ
• ecobee: Threshold settings