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discussion / Acoustics  / 10 July 2025

Issues with Audiomoth recorders

Sam Lima

Sam Lima

Postdoctoral Associate studying burrowing owls at the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance
Involvement level 1
Inventory Reviewer level 1

Groups

I am part of a research group using audiomoth recorders to capture bird calls. We have had some issues with the audiomoths and I was wondering if anyone else might be experiencing the same. One problem is that several of our units have had the circuit board come unattached from the battery case. Im not sure why those specific units have come apart but I don't think they were put under enough stress to justify the separation. They have also been a bit finicky with the batteries and will sometimes stop recording if lightly jostled (we have to deploy low to the ground so curious wildlife present a constant jostling risk). If anyone has had great success or failures with these units we would love to hear about it! 



Akiba
@Freaklabs  | He/Him
Freaklabs
I'm an engineer and product designer working in conservation technology. I specialize in technology for landscape restoration and wildlife behavioral ecology.
Group Leader
WILDLABS Event Speaker
WILDLABS Author

11 July 2025 12:38pm

I believe the circuit board is attached to the battery case via solder on one side and glue on the other. If you mean the glued side is coming undone, it could happen due to thermal cycling depending on the temperature in the field all the way down to the specific person that dispensed the glue for that unit. 
If you find that this is happening regularly, one possibility is to insert the batteries and then wrap tape around both the battery case and circuit board. This would hold everything in and also prevent jostling. 
Hope that’s helpful. 
Akiba

Alex Rood
@alexrood  | she/her
WILDLABS
World Wide Fund for Nature/ World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
I'm the WILDLABS Communications and Community Management Associate Specialist at WWF-US
WILDLABS Team
Involvement level 2
WILDLABS Quiz Master
Inventory Beta Tester
Inventory editor level 2

14 July 2025 3:04pm

Hi Sam! Sorry to hear you're having issues with your Audiomoth. These types of experiences are important for the community to know about when choosing what tech to use for their work. Would you be interested in sharing a review of the Audiomoth on The Inventory, our wiki-style database of conservation tech tools, R&D projects, and organizations?

Troy Gruetzmacher
@OwlSenseRecorders
Founder of Owl Sense, we create low cost, long running audio recorders.
Involvement level 1
Inventory_key_contact

21 July 2025 3:11am

I don't have any direct advice for the AudioMoth issues you are facing, but one of the reasons we developed Owl Sense is because we found AudioMoth lacking in many areas.  If you're in the market for some different low cost units, check out Owl Sense.  They offer longer runtimes, better audio and durability as well as easier to use.