What's the consensus on GE Zigbee in-wall switches?

Devices & Integrations Connected Things
1

I am planning on replacing some Quirky Tapt switches I have with the GE Zigbee switches, just because they are supposed to be officially supported and I won’t run into as many Quirky issues. I would like to hear from people that own it if they actually work good? Have you noticed any issues with them like drop outs from the network? Have you found yourself power cycling the switch?

Overall, do you guys and gals recommend these ones?

2

I have 2 of GE’s Zigbee switches (one dimmer and one fan control) as well as two of their Z-Wave dimmer switches. I’ve had the Zigbee switches for over a year, and the Z-Wave ones for maybe 6 months, and so far all 4 have worked quite reliably.

3

Thanks. Most of my other switches are the GE Z-wave and besides them not dimming as low as the Linear ones, I have zero complaints. So you haven’t noticed any issues at all?

4

Nope. At least, not yet.

5

I’d say a year without issues is a good record. Thanks.

6

I’m curious - why are you choosing the Zigbee and not getting the Z-Wave switches? I’m about to replace all my switches to the z-wave from dumb switches and I want to make sure I’m making the right choice.

7

You can choose either one or mix them. I prefer to have both of them since I already have a mix and it would be very costly to change everything to only one protocol.

8

I have 3 GE zwave switches and a fan controller. I have been happy with them. I have had no drops unlike my Wemo switches.

9

I concur with @Natty345. I have 2 sets of GE Zwave 3-way dimmers, 2 single pole dimmers, and 2 fan controllers. I’ve had absolutely no problems with them, unlike my Wemo switches that frequently have drops and show as state “offline”.

10

I have a bunch of the Z-wave and they work perfectly. The ones I am interested are the Zigbee, but apparently there’s not many people using them.

11

I have 5 of them (3 dimmers, 2 switches) and I’ve never had any issues with them. Great way to improve your ZigBee mesh.

The only note I’d say is that the ZigBee DTHs do not run locally (unlike the Z-Wave ones that do). You can replace the ZigBee GE on/off switches with the SmartPower DTH for local control but I’ve been unable to get a local running DTH with power reporting to work with the dimmers.

12

On a side note, make sure the wiring behind the switch has the needed wiring. If there’s only a single romex behind the switch you will have to use your ground as a netrual for it to work. For me, I wouldn’t do that for safety reasons.

13

Thanks. The not running local doesn’t concern me much as the ones I’m replacing don’t run local, and the automations I’m using for some are more complex than Smart Lighting. But it is good to know I can just use the SmartPower DTH. I may have some automations I can use it with.