I have a light fixture in my kitchen that contains 6 Sylvania Zigbee bulbs. It was my first time using them, as opposed to Hue bulbs, since I was trying to be a bit cheaper. I have them paired to my Hubitat, where I've grouped them into a single device. Overall control is performed by Alexa.
An odd issue I have is that the bulbs often don't all want to turn off on the first attempt. Sometimes they all will comply, sometimes I'll have to Ask Alexa again and the second attempt shuts off the 2-3 which remain on.
Since I'm using several things here (Sylvania Bulbs, Hubitat, Alexa), it's hard for me to determine what the weak link is causing the issue. What's particularly odd is the issue only occurs when turning the lights off. When I ask Alexa to turn the device configured in Hubitat ("Overhead") on, they all comply with no issue. It only happens when turning "Overhead" off.
EDIT: Since you said "Sylvania," I assumed these were Zigbee. I'm not aware of any Z-Wave models they have (not saying they don't), so if that's really the case, then obviously my Zigbee comments below won't apply. But the rest may be helpful.
I assume these are in a Hubitat group? If so, there are some options you can try that may help. "Enable Zigbee group messaging" (turning that on) is most likely to help. If that doesn't help, try other options--metering may help if groups don't work (this puts the specified delay, in milliseconds, between successive commands), disabling (if your bulbs don't reliably report state back to the hub) or enabling (if they do and you want to cut down on traffic that won't change their state) optimization might, too.
I did this once and regretted it. I think I sold the bulb for like $5 on eBay (the most I could get after two attempts) and am solidly Hue since...
Are you sure they are Z-wave? I can't find any sylvania z-wave on Amazon nor the compatible devices list.
If in the same fixture, are they blocking each other? At the base, the minimum distance should be ~ 1 inch (checked on line for "minimum distance between Z-wave devices). However, there may be other factors.
Group: Try playing with the "Enable Metering" (100 ms or so delay). Also try playing with "Enable on/off optimization".
I have 11 of these in a group and overall I'm happy and didn't have to spend 600+ for color bulbs. As I said before, I'd rather go blind than pay Hue's ransom
This is the setup I came to after experimenting.
Depending on what I use to activate the group, it can occasionally have issues. The RGBgenie 5028 is meh, however the group device created by the groups/scenes app is 100%. If the hub is very busy I have seen delays or an occasional bulb fail to respond. These are the last revision of smart+ bulbs made with the latest firmware. If you have the bulbs with FCCID of IQ-Home, get those off your mesh or on a cheap lightify hub or on Hue Hub(outside of US)
Another user has also had good results, but switched to Lifx? @Ken_Fraleigh
I had (yes, past tense) Syl's in a few fixtures teamed and had a similar issue. THe Metering was the solution for me. Yes, I would get a popcorn effect but it was so negligible - I tested it pretty hard and depending on the fixture (Assumedly the distance from the HE or a repeater) I got away with 50ms for nearby fixtures, and 125 for the furthest fixture. I did need to disable 'group' messaging also.
Oh H$!! NO.
I still have 17 recessed rgbw and 5 Flex XL. I love them, do use zigbee group messaging, do use the Advanced Zigbee RGBW driver, don’t use metering, don’t use optimization. I do have about five GE Zigbee in wall dimmers around the house since the bulbs seem to have fairly weak reception and I had some missed commands before adding them. Also make sure they are on the firmware that ends in 428.
Edit: for A-19 bulbs I have switched to all Hue. Costco and Lowe’s have them on their websites on sale from time to time. I actually recently bought a few of the 100W RGBWs for 20% off at Lowe’s.
So, my ultimate update on this...I threw in the towel on the ZigBee bulbs.
Hue now makes filament bulbs that aren't limited to one set hue. They are part of the white ambiance lineup. My fixture had exposed bulbs, so a filament bulb was ideal, but I kept avoiding them since I wasn't happy with the color of the light. When I found Hue made ones with a color setting I could deal with, that was all I need to make the switch. The Hue bulbs of course turn on and off as a group, no issue. I do on a (very, very) rare occasion miss being able to have the entire kitchen bathed in any color of light, but oh well. Maybe one day they'll make filament bulbs that are full RGB too.
The Sylvania Bulbs will be thrown into my "experiment with" pile for now.
