Help with first smart light switch (Ezex C20)

I bought my first light switch (Ezex C2O model). I only bought one because I wanted to make sure it works well before replacing all the switches in my house.

I bought this model because it doesn’t need a neutral wire (no neutral wires in my house) and because it appeared in the SmartThings supported device list (I didn’t want to be bothered with any custom device handlers).

Installation and setup was easier than I expected. Seemed to be working great, and no flicker or other weirdness that I read about with no-neutral switches.

BUT… SmartThings doesn’t update the status when I use the physical switch. For example, if I turn on the light using the physical switch, it still appears Off in SmartThings. To turn it off using SmartThings, I need to click the button twice. Once to “turn it on” (which does nothing because the actual light is already on), then a second time to actually turn it off. This is annoying, and also makes it useless for automation. If I set an automation to turn off lights when I’m not home, it won’t work because SmartThings thinks the light is already off if it was turned on using the physical switch.

Questions:

  1. Is this normal? (I’m guessing no)

  2. What can I do about it? Can I submit a bug report somehow? Should I be submitting it to SmartThings or Ezex?

  3. Can anyone recommend good SmartThings-compatible switches that don’t require a neutral wire and work with 220V?

What country are you in? The device selection does vary. :sunglasses:

As for your first two questions,

  1. it’s not normal for something connected directly to a smartthings hub. It does happen with some of the cloud cloud integrations, it just depends how that device manufacturer set up their status refresh. Obviously it’s very annoying when it does happen. :rage:

  2. And the individual device manufacturer is now responsible for their integration, so you would be contacting them about questions and problems.

I’m not finding the eZEX C20 in the officially supported device catalog. Their Zigbee stuff is listed for several countries in Asia, however. This could be why you are experiencing the inconsistency with light state.

As for your questions:

  1. What is “normal” definitely can vary by the level to which the device is supported by SmartThings.
  2. I would agree that eZEX might be a good place to start, you can reach out to SmartThings Support as well. But, we generally refer to what is/is not officially supported for providing more than basic troubleshooting.
  3. Offerings, supported functionality, and frequencies will vary by region. We can definitely assist you further and more precisely knowing where (roughly) you are creating this setup.

Hope this is helpful!

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I can’t help troubleshoot, but I can say that I also do not have any neutral wires. I get the Lutron Caseta dimmer (PD-6WCL-WH) switches, which do not require a neutral. They’re amazing and work flawlessly with ST. No custom codes or anything. They do require their own little hub, but it was worth it to me to have light switches that just work how you’d think they’d work.

They’re kind of pricey, so I just stalk ebay for them. I figure if I can get them for less than $40 including shipping, I’ve gotten a deal.

Lutron Caseta are great in standard US homes (I use them in my own house.) :sunglasses:

Unfortunately they aren’t going to work for the case presented in this thread, because they are not Available for 220V. :disappointed_relieved:

For people in countries that use 220 V electrical systems, the usual two suggestions are

  1. Aurora zigbee. Some models do not require a neutral. However, these can be hard to find and some community members have indicated they only work with some specific LED lights.

Community discussion thread:

Some Aurora AOne Zigbee Devices added to official list (UK for now)

  1. Zwave Aeotec nano dimmer. A more popular option has been the aeotec nano dimmer, although you may need to add an additional bypass device if the load is too low. These work very well with smartthings and Aeotec does manufacture them for different regions, including North America, Europe and the UK, Asia, and Australia. You just have to make sure that you are getting the model with the Z wave frequency that exactly matches your smartthings hub Z wave frequency.

The aeotec devices have proven to be reliable and seem to work with a wider choice of lamps.

That said, both of those are fairly expensive devices. There are some other less expensive No neutral options from China for 220v. I think coolcam has a model that doesn’t require a neutral, but I don’t remember specifically. There are some others though. if you happen to find a Z wave one, again, remember to check that it matches the frequency of your own hub exactly.

@jelockwood and @csc have both done considerable research into 220V switches that do not require a neutral, and might have more to add. :sunglasses:

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The writer of the post has installed the second one from:

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And if not that brand, then ZemiSmart has no neutral zigbee switches as well. (Same look)

Or push switch,

And there is an official DH from ZemiSmart as well, but that requires to be loaded to the IDE.

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