Last week, I was helping a friend mount a TV on their living room wall. Knowing this would be the best time to take out my Ryobi stud finder from my toolbox and put it to use, I bought it along with me. But the moment I turned it on, the light kept blinking, and it wouldn’t calibrate at all.
Usually, the Ryobi stud finder stops flashing after it has done calibrating, but this time it just wouldn’t stop blinking. I held it against the wall and tried again, but there were still no results, and the same blinking problem came again.
At first, I thought it was I who didn’t know how to use the Ryobi stud finder, but after many tries and understanding how the stud finder works, I figured out how to use the Ryobi stud finder properly and what was causing the Ryobi stud finder not to calibrate.
Related: Craftsman vs Ryobi vs DeWALT Stud Finder Comparison
But before you continue reading this article, you could first watch the short video I’ve made about this topic. You can watch it below.
On the video, I briefly discussed the 3 possible reasons why a Ryobi stud finder would keep blinking and not calibrating. First is the surface is not smooth and not flat. Second is you’re moving the tool too fast, and last is its battery is already low.
3 Reasons Why Your Ryobi Stud Finder Keeps Blinking, Not Calibrating, & Not Working
There might be multiple reasons as to why your Ryobi stud finder not work, here are 3 most common reasons that I found out to be the culprit when the Ryobi stud finder doesn’t calibrate and work properly.
Reason 1 – The Surface Isn’t Smooth Enough for Detection
1. This might be one of the most common reasons if your Ryobi stud finder doesn’t work properly. The Ryobi stud finder is made to be used on a smooth surface for it to be able to detect studs behind the wall.
2. If the wall surface is not smooth, the Ryobi stud finder might not calibrate properly and will keep blinking. Make sure the wall surface is smooth before you use your Ryobi stud finder.
3. After identifying a smooth surface, place the Ryobi stud finder on the wall and let it calibrate first. After its stops flashing start moving it until you find a metal studs behind the wall.
Reason 2 – You’re Moving the Stud Finder Too Quickly
1. If the lights on the Ryobi stud finder keep flashing, and it doesn’t calibrate, it’s probably because you are moving the stud finder too quickly.
2. The Ryobi stud finder is used to locate wooden studs or metal studs behind the walls. Moving it too fast would prevent the Ryobi stud finder from completing its calibration and finding studs behind the wall.
3. Let the Ryobi stud finder complete it’s calibration and stop flashing. After that move it slowly and steadily across the wall for the stud finder to work properly.
Reason 3 – The Battery Might Be Dead or Too Low
1. If the Ryobi stud finder keeps flashing and can not complete its calibration, the problem might be occurring due to the low battery levels of the AAA battery that is used in the tool.
2. Remove the front plastic cover of the Ryobi stud finder, below which two AAA batteries are stored. Remove the old batteries and replace them with two new AAA batteries. Try using the Ryobi stud finder again, and your problem should now be resolved.
It’s very important that your know how to use the Ryobi stud finder properly. I’ve made a short video in which I demonstrated how to use this tool properly and you can watch it below.
After checking the battery, slowing down my hand movement and making sure I was using the Ryobi stud finder on a smooth surface, I was able to make the most use of it, and helped my friend mount his TV in his living room and do my deed as a good friend.
I’m glad that I did not rush to toss the Ryobi stud finder out, thinking it was not working properly, because with just a bit of patience and the right technique, I got it working back to normal.
If you also find yourself stuck with the problem of the Ryobi stud finder not working properly, just follow the steps above and make the most out of this helpful tool.
