ecobee shows a different temperature than the room you are in

What number is the ecobee actually showing?

Usually not the temperature at the thermostat. ecobee says that if you have SmartSensors, the temperature shown is the average of all the sensors currently participating. The thermostat's own built-in sensor is one of them only if it is selected, and ecobee notes you can include or exclude any sensor, including that built-in one.

So the reading on the wall can describe the whole house, a few bedrooms, or one room on another floor. A thermometer next to you reads one spot. Both can be correct at the same time.

If you have no SmartSensors at all, this page mostly does not apply, and the general causes on thermostat shows the wrong room temperature are the better place to start.

Which sensors are counted right now?

That depends on the Comfort Setting that is running. ecobee's schedule is built from Comfort Settings such as Home, Away and Sleep, and each one has its own Sensor Participation list. The average changes when the schedule moves from one Comfort Setting to the next, even if no room changed temperature.

To see the list, ecobee points you to Main Menu > General > Sensors on the thermostat. Participating sensors are highlighted there and in the app. To change which ones take part, go to Main Menu > General > Comfort Settings, pick the Comfort Setting, then Sensor Participation. On the Smart Thermostat Lite and Essential, the path starts at Main Menu > Comfort Settings. In the app it is the thermostat, then Menu > Comfort Settings.

Two details catch people out:

• During a Manual Hold, ecobee follows the participation rules of the Home Comfort Setting, whatever the schedule says.
• When a sensor starts or stops participating, ecobee adds or removes it over a 30-minute transition period. The number drifts for about half an hour after a change.

How Comfort Settings work in general is covered on ecobee Comfort Settings.

Could Follow Me be moving the number?

Yes. Follow Me uses the occupancy sensing in ecobee SmartSensors and Room Sensors. ecobee says that when it is on, the thermostat takes temperature and occupancy readings from every sensor in the scheduled Comfort Setting, ranks them by the time you spend in each room, and uses that ranking to calculate the temperature for the Comfort Setting.

The practical effect: walk into a cooler room and stay there, and the displayed temperature can drift toward that room. Follow Me only works with sensors that already participate in the current Comfort Setting. It does not pull in a sensor you excluded.

You turn it on or off at Main Menu > General > Sensors > Follow Me, or in the app under Menu > Sensors > Follow Me. ecobee says the ecobee3 Lite, Smart Thermostat Lite and Smart Thermostat Essential need two paired sensors before Follow Me is available.

Is the screen showing a "feels like" temperature?

It can be. The eco+ feature called Adjust the Temperature for Humidity uses both humidity and temperature to calculate the number on the screen. ecobee says it compares current conditions with the humidity averaged over the past 10 days. When humidity is high compared with that average, the same air feels warmer, so the displayed value goes up; when humidity is low, it goes down.

ecobee says "eco+ is on" appears on the screen whenever humidity changes the temperature reading by more than one degree. Its page on inaccurate temperatures adds that the eco+ logo shows with the adjusted value. If you see either, the number is deliberately not a raw sensor reading. The toggle is in the ecobee app under Menu > eco+ > Adjust temperature for humidity.

What if the sensors check out and the number is still off?

Then look at the thermostat's own location and, last, at calibration. ecobee lists return vents, windows, doors and direct sunlight as spots that skew a reading. If the thermostat cannot be moved, ecobee suggests using SmartSensors as the only temperature reading, which you do by clearing the thermostat from Sensor Participation.

ecobee's Temperature Correction setting shifts the thermostat's own sensor reading by up to 10°F either way, but ecobee says to use it only when the error is a consistent amount. The steps are on how to calibrate an ecobee. A correction does not fix an average that is pulled by a cold bedroom sensor. How far the room can drift before cooling or heating starts is a separate question, set by the temperature differential.

Do you have SmartSensors or Room Sensors paired?

• Yes

  Under Main Menu > General > Sensors, is more than one sensor highlighted, or one in another room?

  • Yes

    The screen shows an average of those sensors. Change Sensor Participation for this Comfort Setting if you want different rooms to count.

  • No

    Do you see "eco+ is on" or the eco+ logo next to the temperature?

    • Yes

      The number is adjusted for humidity. Turn off Adjust temperature for humidity in the app if you want the raw reading.

    • No

      Check whether Follow Me is on, then rule out the thermostat location before using Temperature Correction.

• No

  Without sensors, the reading comes from the thermostat alone. Start with location and steady offsets.

For how other brands choose between remote sensors and the thermostat's own sensor, see room sensors vs the thermostat sensor. More ecobee pages are on the ecobee hub.