Zigbee or Matter remote that can be used without additional hub?

Devices & Integrations Connected Things
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I know there are many Zigbee or Matter remotes out there, but I’m looking for one that doesn’t require another hub (unless Philips Hue and obviously a SmartThings Hub as I already have these), must have press, double press, and held programmable actions, must be battery operated, and have at least 4 buttons.

The threads on this forum has some that would have worked previously as I found a thread listing off many from 2021 here [2021] Battery Power Switches and Buttons [NEEDS UPDATING], but in 2025 those device are obsolete with only groovy drivers not edge, no longer being sold or at least not being sold in the US, or are Z-wave and I only have SmartThings Hubs without Z-wave.

What I’m trying to do is get a remote for my just converted ceiling fan (Inovelli White Fan Canopy Module). For light dimming I’ll be using this driver: [ST Edge] Virtual Dimmer Device Driver

I want to use this programming if I get a remote that is straight up and down (like the Philips Hue dimmer).
Button 1: press toggle lights, double press toggle fan.
Button 2: press to increase light brightness.
Button 3; press to decrease light brightness.
Button 4: press fan speed low, double press fan speed medium, hold fan speed high.

The other option is if I have a remote like the Moes 4 gang smart switcher. This kind I can use two different ways.

Way one:
Top left button: press to toggle lights on/off.
Top right button: press to increase brightness.
Bottom left button: press fan speed low, double press, fan speed medium, hold fan speed high.
Bottom right button: press to decrease brightness.

Way two:
Top left button: press to toggle lights on/off.
Top right button: press fan speed low, hold increase brightness.
Bottom left button: press fan speed medium.
Bottom right button: press fan speed high, hold decrease brightness.

The issue I’m coming up with is almost all remotes require an additional hub, don’t have double press functionality (Philips Hue dimmer), or don’t have enough buttons. I first bought an Onvis 5 button remote, as it had Thread it wasn’t till I got it though I found it was only Homekit over Thread even though it is supposed to get a matter update from what I read it hasn’t came yet (kind of like Yales Assure 2 Thread module that I’m still waiting on). The Onvis would of worked perfect, it had enough buttons to control everything, battery operated, thread, and a magnetic base. But I can’t use it as it doesn’t work with my setup. The only remote I can seem to find that is still being sold today in the US (being sold through US companies like Amazon not temu or aliexpress) that does what I need it to is the Moes 4 gang switcher I talked about above, but don’t know if it will work with the edge driver from erickv here [ST Edge] Zigbee Driver for MOES 4-Button Scene Switch (TS004F) Plus Some Smart Knob Models as the Amazon listing doesn’t give me a matching model number to go off of from erickv’s driver.

Here is the amazon listing for the Moes 4 gang switch from Amazon if anyone can tell me if that will work: Amazon.com

Can anybody give me some ideas of what I could use to do this? If the Moes one will work with erickv’s driver I can go with that, but I’d prefer to be able to have the option to remove the remote from the wall as well, which I can’t do with the Moes without modding it (command velcro strips come to mind).

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Couldn’t be happier with my IKEA buttons (and the awesome driver from @mocelet ) - the STYRBAR is probably what you’re looking for.

3 Likes
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Which SmartThings hub do you own? Ikea, Aqara W100, Linxura could be options.

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Technically; 2 SmartThings Stations, 1 Built into a TV, 2 Built into soundbars (1 maybe getting removed as the soundbar has issues and still has the same issue after 2 repairs; found out it’s a firmware issue that Samsung doesn’t want to acknowledge and we will be sent back to Samsung for refund and not sure yet if it will be replaced with another or not) and Refridgerator with Dongle (Thread cuts out though). All mixed into 2 different homes/locations.

If we don’t replace the one soundbar, the home that has the ceiling fan will just have 1 SmartThings Station and the Refridgerator with dongle.

Anyway all 5-6 hubs don’t support Z-wave sonthat’s not an option, but Zigbee, Matter over WiFi, or Matter over Thread will work (except for the Dongle on the Refridgerator).

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They sound good, but according to mocelet his driver has problems with the newer firmware, just from my limited read of his driver. It maybe fixed now, but will have to read more on it later as I can’t do much reading now (just got out of the emergency room last night). The other problem I have is the closest Ikea is about 160 miles away so I can’t just go there and check manufacture dates, I’d have to order them online and try to return them if they don’t work and probably have to pay shipping to me and back. It might work, but with my medical conditions it maybe harder to do than using Amazon, heck even Costco for me.

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Vesternet have a few listed:

I’m in UK using a v2 hub and use thier branded one with their driver with no issues to date, it gives press/hold/long hold (see below) for buttons 1-10 with 11 & 12 providing ‘global’ presses for even 2-8 and odd 1-7 respectively, s1 & s2 are independent:

Thier driver button mapping is a bit amiss though, press and double press map to pressed, short hold maps to held and long hold maps to double press :thinking:. Once you get your head around that and the button labelling (1/0 button pair 1 on the remote equate to buttons 7 & 8 in the driver for ex.) it does work :man_shrugging:t3:… and it is fairly cheap :nerd_face:

(don’t know why link is showing in CAD - should be USD $34 + shipping I think…)

1 Like
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I really like the Linxura option personally, but I’m not sure if the rest of the family will with the price tag. They were upset with me just automating the ceiling fan and didn’t want a new smart fan as it was too expensive. Heck my father is ticked with anything automated in the house. Except for the Philips Hue and Google Voice control in the restroom. He didn’t want it and fought me tooth and nail, but now he uses it almost exclusively.

As for the ceiling fan it was about a 30 year old fan that would work, but had to jerry rig it as it was connected via an outlet for power not romex through the ceiling. Also it didn’t have a ground wire. Finally bought new vintage style cotton braided 3 wire, a 90⁰ outlet plug with ground as outlet is behind couch and a toggle in line switch just incase I ever need to reset the Inovelli Module I can toggle power without remove the fans canopy (low profile mount means I’d have to completely dissasemble the fan just to get to the module otherwise).

Got everything working for a day and then the fan wouldn’t work on low then on medium. High still worked. I thought it was the capacitor and ordered a new one, but that didn’t fix it and according to a local electrition they said the SMART DEVICES like that are not made either well enough or their specs don’t match well enough to work. I thought this to be BS as most people in my rural area don’t know squat about smart devices. Next we just went and got a cheap new low profile fan that had pull chains and it worked right away.

Come a few days later I tore down the old ceiling fan and found the motor wires to be corroded and ripping out. So it was a fire hazard if it were to later arc on one of those bad wires, so good thing we replaced the fan.

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This is more my price range and could work for me for other things. We just got 2 Govee Matter lightstrips from Costco and plan to add them to the same room and the attached hallway to that room. This might help me control those as well as the ceiling fan with just the one remote.

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I don’t remember saying that it has problems. The notice literally says that “they might include new firmwares that are not tested with this driver”. Not tested means just that.

IKEA from time to time breaks things in new firmwares, happened recently with RODRET, they changed a internal identifier that broke Home Assistant integration and also made me update the driver for SmartThings.

So far I’m not aware of specific versions not working with the driver. Given thousands of users have installed the driver, not being aware of issues usually mean there aren’t.

1 Like
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I am using these Xiaomi switches https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4001007550766.html with the driver shown below

Program routines for the available number of presses/holding button

IMG_1224
IMG_12241170×2017 140 KB

IMG_1225
IMG_12251170×2288 189 KB

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I was mostly talking about the post about the STYRBAR post here :[Edge] IKEA STYRBAR Button Edge Driver (FW 2.4.5 compatible, full arrow support) .
Andreas_Roedl said that that was the Ikea Button I’d be probably most interested in.

I’m sorry, but like I told Andreas_Roedl right after getting out of the emergency room with a splitting headache that I though could be a brain aneurysm. Luckily it was just an infection that burst open causing extreme head pain, which I still have. I wasn’t able to read more up on your full post. At first I just read that the new STYRBAR was not compatible with existing drivers and to avoid the newer ones with the lastest firmware 2.4.11 (latest at the time you posted that post). Today with a clearer mind I was able to read more and see that it was probably fixed with firmware 2.4.16 as confirmed by your post here: [Edge] IKEA STYRBAR Button Edge Driver (FW 2.4.5 compatible, full arrow support) - #45 by mocelet. But, you did say in that post it’s probably best to avoid anything from that year. Which that was from 2024 and it’s already 2025 do the newer ones from this year still have that problem? If they do I’d have to pass on them as like I told Andreas_Roedl I can’t just go to my local Ikea and check everyone they have in stock and hope to find an older one with compatible firmware and it’s to much of a hassle to take the risk of ordering one online in the hopes of getting one with the compatible firmware. Then there is having to pay for shipping as they are less than Ikea’s free shipping amount. Finally to return them if I got incompatible ones would either cost more in gas if I drove to return them than they are worth or if shipping back via a carrier the return shipping cost is the customers responsibility. It’s just more than I’m will to deal with right now.

Thank you for the offering and it seems like a good solution, but I don’t think this solution is the one for me and my family.

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Hi Somebody,
The link to aliexpress just give me an error saying: “Sorry, the page you requested can not be found:(”, do I can’t see the device youbare talking about. Do you have another link or a picture of the device? Also, can you get the device at another shop other than aliexpress? Preferrably, Amazon, big box stores like Best Buy, or the actual manufacture. I’m not trying to be stingy or rude, but the purchase must be approved by all in the family and they prefer it be bought from somewhere they know it’s coming from and can return it easily if we have a problem.

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Didn’t say the units at the store had problems. There was a specific firmware update (an update, SmartThings cannot update the firmware) that had bugs and were fixed by IKEA in another update a few weeks later.

I would not expect IKEA to include that buggy firmware in the retail boxes, but since it might happen and SmartThings cannot update the firmware I included the warning and a way to be 100% sure that the box was made before. But again, doesn’t mean there is a problem with retail units of any year, it’s just a might.

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Here’s a pic:

button
button881×645 71.8 KB

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