How to control an RF controlled device with Smartthngs

Just make sure it has a load bypass, and then forward the event to the Bond. :+1: Should work great

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I have a bond with three ceiling fans and their lights connected to it. I get very frustrated about them getting out of sync.

Can you explain this solution in further detail? How would I pair the bond with a smart switch?

You can get a switch with a load bypass (Zooz) that has multiple buttons. Something like a ZEN32 which has 5 buttons or a Zooz Double Switch which has a dimmer + button. The key is to provide constant power as the inrush is bad for the RF module and can cause you to miss events if it is starting up as commands are sent. These switches allow the relay to be turned off so the on/off or dimmer events are only sent to your hub and do not actually cut/dim the current. Just make sure the switch of choice can handle the current your fan combo draws.

Once you have these events, setup an automation in ST to connect the Switch On ā†’ Bond Fan Light On, Switch Dimmer Level ā†’ Bond Fan Speed Level, etc. You can also add automations to go the other way as well in case you use the Fan device in ST to change settings. That would be Bond Fan Light On ā†’ Switch On. It wonā€™t be circular (See ā€œTrust Tracked Stateā€ below), but will keep the two in sync if you happen to hit them interchangeably in the UI.

After the automations are configured, go into the Bond app and head to the settings for the fan. You can fix the tracked state in the Advanced section. You may need to do this initially if the default state of the switch and fan light do not agree. Lastly there is another setting for ā€œTrust Tracked Stateā€. If your fan doesnā€™t have a true on/off, but instead has a power toggle, you will want to turn this on. It prevents redundant commands from toggling the light to the wrong state if it receives multiple.

After that, get rid of your remote and use the switch/ST. The remote will throw off the tracked states as they occur outside of ST. Bond has it on their roadmap to listen for the RF signal and update their states, but until they do, I wouldnā€™t use it.

So thank you for this. After reading your reply as well as a couple other posts here on the subject, I started thinking about my personal use cases.

It turns out I donā€™t really care that much about controlling the fans. I might occasionally, but even when I do, if it takes an extra button or two to get synced, thatā€™s just not going to bother me that much.

Itā€™s much more about the lights for me. I have three fans on the bond, so three sets of lights which I have not been able to use in scenes or anything because I do not trust them to stay synced.

I got to thinking about separating off the lights from the bond controls and controlling them with smart switches. I realize this still causes issues if the fan remote is used on the lights but I will address those once I get a new plan for wiring.

Of course itā€™s never that simple. One fan has two switches, but because of the way itā€™s wired, one switch controls both fan and light, and the other doesnā€™t seem to do much of anything. I can probably get the wiring worked out on this one.

The next is controlled by one of those white and green keypads in one spot on the switch, but has an open spot next to it in the box. Iā€™d imagine pulling the light off the keypad could maybe be done, but Iā€™m not sure how it would go over having the light button there not do anything, even with a switch right next to it.

And finally, the third fan and itā€™s light are controlled by one switch and thatā€™s all for that box. Iā€™m not nearly skilled enough to cut a hole and switch it to a 2-gang box and rewire the fan so itā€™s all setup correctly. So the solution on this one eludes me.

Then once I theoretically have the lights separated, I might consider cutting out the bond entirely and just using smart fan controls in place of the switches for each one.

This is sort of thinking out loud but also I would love suggestions from anyone.

Thanks.

These are all great questions, and it sounds like a very practical and interesting project, but itā€™s pretty off-topic for this thread. :thinking:

Could you please start a new thread about this project and that way people can give you specific ideas and you can brainstorm about it there.

You can add your new thread in the following section of the forum.

Projects & Stories - SmartThings Community

Maybe give it a title like ā€œNeed ideas for keeping my RF fan/light synchronized with STā€

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Still fun to see my face pop up in ongoing discussions. I admit I am even happier to still see posts by @JDRoberts

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The internet is forever @Ben

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hi i use a zigbee rf 433 relay to controll rf433 devices , pair the rf device ( anything that runs on rf 433mhz ) to the rf/zigbee relay then add the zigbee relay to smartthings job done .

i have one paired to my doorbell so i can run routines based of doorbell presses,
rf 433 motion sensor too in back garden