# Cannot dim down to 1% **URL:** \ **Category:** Connected Things\ **Created:** [December 7, 2016, 5:21am UTC](https://community.smartthings.com/t/cannot-dim-down-to-1/66988 "2016-12-07T05:21:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![brooklynite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19b73/32.png) [@brooklynite](https://community.smartthings.com/u/brooklynite)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2016, 5:21am UTC](https://community.smartthings.com/t/cannot-dim-down-to-1/66988/1 "2016-12-07T05:21:31Z")
Does the Samsung Smart things app allow dimming down to 1% as part of automation or within the smart apps inside? I only see 10% and the problem is that my lights dim down to about 50% when I use 10%. So right now I have to manually reduce the lights to 1% which looks like what I need. Can this be included in an app update please? ---
**Author:** ![Benji](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/smartthings/user_avatar/community.smartthings.com/benji/32/74764_2.png) [@Benji](https://community.smartthings.com/u/Benji)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2016, 5:38am UTC](https://community.smartthings.com/t/cannot-dim-down-to-1/66988/2 "2016-12-07T05:38:49Z")
Unfortunately the stock Smart Lighting app can only do 10%, CoRE should be able to do 1% and yes it would be nice if they updated Smart Lighting so you could set any numerical value between 1 and 100%. Not sure who to tag? @slagle? ---
**Author:** ![csuk](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/smartthings/user_avatar/community.smartthings.com/csuk/32/14398_2.png) [@csuk](https://community.smartthings.com/u/csuk)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2016, 6:32am UTC](https://community.smartthings.com/t/cannot-dim-down-to-1/66988/3 "2016-12-07T06:32:49Z")
Like @Benji said, CoRE is your best bet right now, though 1% might be a little too low. Frankly, the way we currently do dimming percentages is just bad. Generally speaking, most lights accept a value between 0 and 255, and the 10, 20, 30% is literally just 25.5, 51, 56.5, etc. Really it should be a logarithmic function so that there are actually 10 distinct brightness levels. I’d like to see this changed during 2017! ---
**Author:** ![tipton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dfb087/32.png) [@tipton](https://community.smartthings.com/u/tipton)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2016, 8:17am UTC](https://community.smartthings.com/t/cannot-dim-down-to-1/66988/4 "2016-12-07T08:17:59Z")
1% does sound really low, but for me for some reason with one of my Zwave bulbs I use at night in a nursery this bulb does not dim like most do and setting it to 1% gets it as low as possible - still not as low as a normal dimmer switch could go. that being said, if you set a bulb to 1% using the app when you turn the bulb back on it will still be at 1%. also, an easy way to get it to 1% quickly is to use Alexa and tell her to to set to 1%. the other option for doing automation is CORE as mentioned above. ---
**Author:** ![brooklynite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19b73/32.png) [@brooklynite](https://community.smartthings.com/u/brooklynite)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2016, 12:52am UTC](https://community.smartthings.com/t/cannot-dim-down-to-1/66988/5 "2016-12-08T00:52:25Z")
> [@tipton](#): > > u set a bulb to 1% using the app when you turn the bulb back on it will still be at 1%. also, an easy way to get it to 1% quickly is to use Alexa and tell her to to set to 1%. the other option for doing automation is CORE as mentioned above. Thanks for all the info. Can someone please help me understand what CoRE is? I mean I Googled it and read all advanced stuff but nothing basic for new learner, is this an app within Samsung Smartthings app? ---
**Author:** ![Jimxenus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/258eb7/32.png) [@Jimxenus](https://community.smartthings.com/u/Jimxenus)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2016, 2:17am UTC](https://community.smartthings.com/t/cannot-dim-down-to-1/66988/6 "2016-12-08T02:17:10Z")
Try starting here. The first part that you’ll need to learn is how to install custom Device Handlers (DH) also known as Device Types and how to install custom Smart Apps. Then, install CoRE. CoRE is very flexible and can be somewhat intimidating but you can start slow and easy. > [@\[OBSOLETE\] FAQ: An Overview of Using Custom Code in SmartThings (SmartThings Classic, Groovy Code)](https://community.smartthings.com/t/faq-an-overview-of-using-custom-code-in-smartthings/16772): > > The original FAQ information in this thread refers to the original smartthings architecture, which was in place through the end of 2022 and a little beyond. Custom code was written in the groovy programming language and ran in the smartthings cloud. As of May 2023, you can no longer add new Groovy DTH‘s or smartapps to your smartthings account. So if you came here because of a link in an old forum thread, or on another site, I’m afraid the Groovy information is no longer usable. All of this was replaced by a new architecture. Cloud to cloud integrations use the smartthings API. Hub connected devices, mostly Zigbee and zwave, now use “Edge Drivers,” written in the LUA programming language. Here’s the official announcement on those: The process for using a custom Edge Driver in the new … > [@CoRE for Dummies (How to get started and make your first Piston)](https://community.smartthings.com/t/core-for-dummies-how-to-get-started-and-make-your-first-piston/55214): > > This is a noob’s post created by a noob. EDIT: 9/9/16 updated some links and added some newer info (Amazon’s Alexa, etc.) EDIT: 9/10/16 updated some key info not mentioned in the install links I’ve started this not because I know a bunch about CoRE (Community’s own Rules Engine), in fact it’s quite the opposite. Instead I’m just pulling together some helpful tips which got me get started and got me up and running with this outstanding rule engine for Smartthings. There is a lot info out there mainly designed to help people do amazing things with CoRE, but it was hard to find the “for Dummies” type info. And very hard for me (a true noob) to get started. Hopefully this post will help others who may not have ever added a custom smartapp to the IDE or maybe never even have had to log i… ---
**Author:** ![JDRoberts](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/smartthings/user_avatar/community.smartthings.com/jdroberts/32/56577_2.png) [@JDRoberts](https://community.smartthings.com/u/JDRoberts)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2016, 2:29am UTC](https://community.smartthings.com/t/cannot-dim-down-to-1/66988/7 "2016-12-08T02:29:57Z")
> [@brooklynite](#): > > Thanks for all the info. Can someone please help me understand what CoRE is? I mean I Googled it and read all advanced stuff but nothing basic for new learner, is this an app within Samsung Smartthings app? Yes, it’s a custom smartapp. You install it to your own account, and after that you can open it from inside the SmartThings mobile app to create your own rules, which core calls “pistons.” > [@FAQ: What is WebCoRE? (And what was CoRE?)](https://community.smartthings.com/t/faq-what-is-core/59981): > > CoRE (now WebCore) is a very powerful community – created rules engine for SmartThings. It allows you to set up stacked conditionals like “If A then B but only while C and not if D.” Setting it up can be quite complex, but there are many community members who will be glad to help you. For example, here is a piston that one member created to notify him if the dog had already been fed twice that day and he picked up the dog bowl for a third time. He needed this because he has a large family and people didn’t always remember whose turn it was to feed the dog. dogblush [image] The original version of CoRE Has now been replaced by a new version, WebCoRE, which moves the data entry to a web interface. This allows for flexibility and an architecture that requires more memory than is av… ---
**Author:** ![tpip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/71e660/32.png) [@tpip](https://community.smartthings.com/u/tpip)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2016, 1:12pm UTC](https://community.smartthings.com/t/cannot-dim-down-to-1/66988/8 "2016-12-08T13:12:04Z")
Use CoRE or something like Gentle Wake Up app. I sometimes use Gentle Wake Up to slowly turn lights on. I also use it to dim when watching a movie from whatever the lamp is at to 1% over a set period of time. Gentle Wake Up is found in ST under automations\>Marketplace\>SmartApps\>Lights $ Swtches. > [@csuk](#): > > though 1% might be a little too low. 1% is not too low. It sounds low, but when watching a movie or turning on a light when it’s pitch black in a room 1% is very illuminating. ---
**Author:** ![Benji](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/smartthings/user_avatar/community.smartthings.com/benji/32/74764_2.png) [@Benji](https://community.smartthings.com/u/Benji)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2016, 3:24pm UTC](https://community.smartthings.com/t/cannot-dim-down-to-1/66988/9 "2016-12-08T15:24:36Z")
Someone beat JD in providing useful information/links 😮 My world is crumbling! ---
**Author:** ![RLDreams](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/smartthings/user_avatar/community.smartthings.com/rldreams/32/18109_2.png) [@RLDreams](https://community.smartthings.com/u/RLDreams)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2016, 3:32pm UTC](https://community.smartthings.com/t/cannot-dim-down-to-1/66988/10 "2016-12-08T15:32:52Z")
> [@tipton](#): > > 1% does sound really low, Back in the dark ages of Wink & GE bulbs 1-3% was all you needed for a hall light at night. It was just enough to give you a fighting chance of not tripping over a cat in the middle of the night. Now my solution is to use Hue bulbs and set them to 20% & red or blue. Still bright enough to not step on a cat, but not so bright that it wakes you up. ---
**Author:** ![YankeeJohnboy](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/smartthings/user_avatar/community.smartthings.com/yankeejohnboy/32/31280_2.png) [@YankeeJohnboy](https://community.smartthings.com/u/YankeeJohnboy)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2016, 6:32pm UTC](https://community.smartthings.com/t/cannot-dim-down-to-1/66988/11 "2016-12-08T18:32:05Z")
I do basically the same thing as RLD. I have a hue bulb or lightstrip in all of my common areas, and if the motion sensors pick up anything when the house is asleep, a CoRE piston fires to set the relevant lights to 3% dark red (which doesn’t screw up night vision). Has worked great, and has a high WAF 😉 No more kicking our black cat! ---
**Author:** ![csuk](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/smartthings/user_avatar/community.smartthings.com/csuk/32/14398_2.png) [@csuk](https://community.smartthings.com/u/csuk)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2016, 8:28pm UTC](https://community.smartthings.com/t/cannot-dim-down-to-1/66988/12 "2016-12-08T20:28:58Z")
I think it depends on the device itself. I mostly have GE Z-Wave light switches and with the coupled with the types of bulbs I have it would seem that I need to be at 5% at minimum for the bulbs to even turn on. ---
**Author:** ![Milomolly](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/smartthings/user_avatar/community.smartthings.com/milomolly/32/130954_2.png) [@Milomolly](https://community.smartthings.com/u/Milomolly)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2017, 11:38am UTC](https://community.smartthings.com/t/cannot-dim-down-to-1/66988/13 "2017-11-22T11:38:06Z")
Hi there @csuk , I want to dim my Ikea GU10 tradfri bulb to 3% using an automation. The Smartlighting smartapp only allows brightness control in denominations of 10%, so i used core which seemed to allow denominations of 1%. However, regardless, it only seems to be dimming to 10% when the Core automation is triggered. Could this be something to do with the device handler I’m using (ZLL Colour temperature bulb)? All help much appreciated