Noob question re GE smart dimmers

Hello, I’m sure this is a dumb question but how do I get “a controller that supports the advanced configuration command class” so I can fine-tune (actually, tune at all) the dimming rate, etc,. of my GE/Jasco/Honeywell smart dimmers?
Any help would be much appreciated. I’ve been roving around the forums and am convinced you’re all speaking a foreign language!

Many Z wave devices have parameters that can be changed, such as the ramp rate for a dimmer. These parameters are stored in the switch itself and the process of changing them is called “configuration”.

When you are using the Samsung SmartThings ™ home automation platform, you want to be able to go into the SmartThings app and change these settings.

Every Z wave device being used with a Samsung SmartThings hub has a “device type handler“ or DTH. This controls the information that you see about the device in the smartthings app as well as the information you can configure.

Some devices will automatically be added with a DTH that lets you reconfigure the parameters. Some of the GE switches have this, and some don’t.

(First rule of home automation: the model number matters.)

So the first thing to do is just to add the switch to your Samsung SmartThings account in the usual way, go to the device details, see if there is a little gear switch icon on the screen, and if there is, you can probably tap on that and get to where you can do the configuration.

If the default DTH Doesn’t already have that option, then there is a way to do it in SmartThings, But it requires temporarily using custom code and I’m tired tonight, so I will have to leave other people to explain the “Z wave Tweaker” to you.

But first look and see if the detail screen for your switch in the SmartThings app already lets you get to those settings. If it does, you’re all set. :sunglasses:

All of this works because a Samsung SmartThings hub is a zwave “controller that supports the advanced configuration command.”

If you don’t already have a Samsung SmartThings hub, that’s a whole other conversation.

all of the above also applies to the Aeotec “Works as a SmartThings Hub” hub model.

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This is very helpful—thank you.

I do have a smartthings hub (my second one, actually, after the original ADT hub was bricked by Samsung.)

When I select the light switches there are three blobs in the top right of the screen that give access to the settings. The only option available, though, is to turn on or off the blue LED light on the switch itself. So it looks like I need to use the custom code you mentioned.

So, yes please, I’d love to learn how to do that as currently the dimming rate is not only too quick on most switches, it’s also inconsistent across different devices.

Thank you!

Dan

I’m sorry I’m not up to walking you step-by-step through the whole thing right now, the heat has been pretty hard on me. :nauseated_face:

Start by reading the following FAQ. It was written for the 2015 version of the smartthings app, so some of the steps are out of date, but the terminology and concepts are still good and this will give you a good idea of what you’re going to do.

FAQ: An Overview of Using Custom Code in SmartThings (SmartThings Classic)

Once you’ve read that, search the forum to see if someone has already written a custom DTH for the specific model number of your switch That lets you configure the parameters. Again, the model number matters. A lot. So look for an exact match. And just ask for help in that thread.

If you can’t find one, then you can use the Zwave Tweaker, but that’s a more complicated process.