The switch doesn’t actually relay electricity to the light socket it controls (I’m not parallel-wiring the socket to be ‘hot’ even if it is a smart bulb installed,that’s unsafe).
My device failed to power-on correctly the first several attempts, actually had to relocate it to get it to come online correctly (Z-wave network was not detecting its handshakes correctly). I think there was damage to it before I plugged it in; it paired correctly, but I could not (with any of the 3 code bases in this thread I found) get the 5-7 buttons configured (the menus would not launch on the apps; I have 6 platforms using the ST app). When I configured buttons 1-4 (for press OR hold) they did not take action at all. The Z-wave rest states did not change either.
And for the record, Phillips Hue’s engine backs my lighting grid and a tasker automation handler backs that. My lighting scenes are perfectly capable of operating with no internet ever. So, yes, my design is valid. I even had at one point a 3-way lutron witch doing this very task. I resist buying another because they’re $200, and it broke in ~3 years.
I agree, there’s way too much tinkering involved right now in setting up any zwave home automation, but this particular device is just problematic.
It’s not on the official “works with” device compatibility list, and no one has added it to the list of compatible button remotes topic. as @tgauchat said, it is known in the community to be “fussy.”
(Many of us here are engineers: I am surprised that an engineer would skim this topic before purchase and not assume this device was going to be tricky. Too many obviously knowledgeable people reporting too many unresolvable problems.)
There is a huge gap in low end home automation between current offerings and real plug-and-play. It can be very frustrating.
I personally don’t spend more than 45 minutes on any device. If I can’t get it working in that time, I return it as defective. That’s just based on my personal priorities. There was a time when I would spend days tinkering with something to get it to work, but now I’d rather spend the time elsewhere.
This is not entirely true. With Z-Wave, you can create scenes and activate them without the Internet. In fact, you don’t even need SmartThings hub for that. Z-Wave network protocol supports scenes “out of the box”. All you need is a Z-Wave “Scene Controller” (e.g. a handheld remote) and “Scene Actuators” (many Z-Wave dimmers support this functionality) and you’re all set. Note that Z-Wave scenes are “native”, i.e. they’re implemented in the device firmware and do not depend on hubs or the Internet.
SmartThings does not use “native” Z-Wave scenes though. Instead, ST defines their own software scenes. The advantage of that is that you can have heterogenous devices included in the scene (i.e. a mix of Z-Wave, Zigbee, WiFi, etc.). The downside however is that they depend on the hub, the Internet and whatever bridge technology is used to communicate with WiFi devices.
Thanks for your explanation, but using the native z-wave features, without a hub, wouldn’t that make it a “local network”? Or is that not the correct terminology?
In Z-Wave (or Zigbee) terminology, there’s not distinction between “local” and “remote” networks since these protocols are not routable. Both are “mesh” network topologies.
If the ZWN-SC7 Enerwave wall switch works with SmartThings, why isn’t is listed on the things supported page? I want to be sure before I purchase it. Thanks.
If you look through these comments, you’ll see that only some of us would say it “works”. Mine work great, but I don’t think it is reliable enough to say that it is officially supported.
Devices which have been tested by SmartThings staff and verified to work with an official device handler appear on the compatible devices list that you link to.
There are a number of other devices which have not been officially verified, but work very well using a device handler created by community members. Sometimes this happens just because the verification process hasn’t been completed yet. An obvious example is the newest model of the GE dimmer switch which is actually sold on the smartthings website, but does not yet appear on the compatible devices list.
Then there are devices that only seem to work for some people, or may work but with some unexpected limitations or work for a while and then stop working. This is the group that this particular device, the SC7, falls into.
And finally, that there are devices that for any of several reasons just don’t work with smartthings.
You can restrict yourself only to devices on the compatible products list, but then you won’t have very many choices. Or you can come to the forums and search and see if someone else is already using one of the devices you’re interested in, and usually get a pretty good idea of how well it’s been integrated.
Great, thanks! Where can I easily find user-created device handlers? I have not yet looked through all 400+ posts in this thread. Thanks for the extra help.
Great, thanks @obycode. Early today I called Enerwave support and they gave me this same code by @mattjfrank. Enerwave said they acquired Matt’s code from the SmartThings community forums, saw that it worked, and that’s why Enerwave claims this device is compatible. But we know it is not officially sanctioned as compatible.
Many thanks to everyone for this contribution. This worked like a champ – even for a novice like me. I am using this successfully. I initially bought a Leviton 4 button (VRC54-MO) vizia scene controller that I could not find a way to make work with my ST network. I was initially hoping for fewer buttons. But, this Enerwave 7 button worked like a champ. Much thanks to @bdahlem@mattjfrank and the crew for doing this for us!
Anyone else notice this thing works even less / not at all after the platform updates the coincided with v2 of the app?
tgauchat
(ActionTiles.com co-founder Terry @ActionTiles; GitHub: @cosmicpuppy)
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No. Seems the same to me; but I wouldn’t be surprised. There is some tuning behind the scenes that is presumable optimized for “supported” devices. I mostly use Aeon Minimotes and they hiccuped for a day or two, but are fine now.
Mine is working fine in SmartThings as a 7 button on/off switch thing. I upgraded to the new SmartThings app 2.0 several days ago, and I just installed this wall switch last night while using the Smart App and Device Handler made by @mattjfrank, all with no issues.
@swamplynx, how is yours “working less?” That’s a vague question to be answered. Perhaps your issue is the thing(s) being controlled not manifesting results after the switch buttons are pressed? Verify the switch is working in the SmartThings activity log to see if it says “button pressed” as you press the buttons. If you see such activity logs, your switch is working, and what is “working less” is the cloud & hub not acting on the intended device being controlled, or the that device itself is misbehaving, or low battery. Does that make sense?
