Recommend a clicky/tactile button or switch

[SmartHomePrimer]

@gamerkingfaiz

Also 15-30 shipping estimate on their site!?

Depending on where you are, it’s not long to wait. I’m in Toronto, so there’s a Canada Express or something like that (haven’t bought anything from them in a while). Pretty reliably 15 days or less. Good and inexpensive buttons. Worth the wait for the overall cost in my opinion.

But, if you’re willing to make the initial investment in the Lutron Caséta Bridge Pro, the Picos and ability to use othe Caséta devices is really worthwhile. I have far more Pico buttons around the house than any other type.

[gamerkingfaiz]

What makes Advanced Button Controller better then the built in Button Controller app?
Is it just a better UI/UX experience?

Also is there any delay in between button press and it registering on the hub for the Picos?
That's currently what I'm experiencing on half of the buttons with the Sengled remotes as I detailed in this thread.

[mpoole32]

So far, I'm not seeing the sleepy issue with the z-wave Zen34s that is seen with devices like zigbee Iris 4 button fobs. Maybe as batteries weaken it might become an issue.

[SmartHomePrimer]

Preference for UI mainly. I still use both.

Picos are lightning fast. Maybe a 500ms delay, if that.

[oldcomputerwiz]

@jeubanks

My "issue" with battery z-wave "buttons" are that all I've tried are too sleepy and don't work on first press. Not an option to me.

I have the Zen34 installed and have not found that to be the case with this switch. It works even if not used for a few days.

[csteele]

The Picos are very fast..

I will predict, if you choose to invest in the Lutron Pro hub, that you'll get a Pico button working and start giggling, looking around for someone to show. I know I did.

Each 5 button Pico can be a 10 button device. There's the 5 buttons (labeled physically, top to bottom. Lutron numbers them in THEIR drawings differently, but ignore that and visualize them top down. That makes the little center button #3) and you can just tap them, OR Press and Hold (aka Long Press).

I use a set near each of my Ceiling Fans and the tap set is for the Light and the Long Press set if for the Fan. Thus tapping the bottom button then Long Pressing the same bottom button causes both the light and fan to turn off. My family pretty much never touches them, the Pico's scattered around are far more useful to our Guests that feel the need to turn off lights behind themselves.

"How do I turn off this light?"
"No need, they turn themselves off when you leave. But if you just can't help yourself, you can just Say "Alexa, turn off the Pool Table Light" or tap that bottom button right there."
"Oh.. that's cool. My kids never turn off a light."

[danabw]

@csteele

if you choose to invest in the Lutron Pro hub, that you'll get a Pico button working and start giggling, looking around for someone to show. I know I did.

This. ^^^^

Really true.

[jeubanks]

@oldcomputerwiz

I have the Zen34 installed and have not found that to be the case with this switch.

Good to know. Thanks for the update.

[jeubanks]

@gamerkingfaiz

How reliable have you found motion sensors to be? Can you just stick one in a corner of a room and have it reliably pick up movement?

Sensor placement is more of an art form then science. Zigbee motion sensors are generally better than most Z-Wave motion sensors for speed of detection. There are some Z-Wave sensors that are just as good but you need to ask before buying as they are not the same. People can give suggestions here. I don't use either anymore for motion as I use Lutron Occupancy sensors for all lighting now. They work great, fast and reliable. They work as true occupancy sensors too so if the lights on and there's movement at all... the light stays on until there's no movement. Occupancy sensor vs motion sensor

For Zigbee I still prefer the NYCE sensors as they are great. Fast reaction times and fast reset time.

[gamerkingfaiz]

tl;dr

• Bought the Pico Remotes w/ SmartBridge Pro and love them!
• Tried the Lutron Aurora, but returned it because I don't have toggle switches
• Tried the Sengled Smart Light Switch, hated it, and returned it

Detailed Review

Thanks everyone for the suggestions! I ended up getting the Pico remotes and love them!
I also bought the Lutron Aurora's to test out and will detail my findings about these below.

Button feel

Pico

The Pico remotes are much more tactile then the Sengled remote. The Pico remote has a good amount of travel in the button press, so you feel when the button is pressed, whereas the Sengled has little to no travel in the button press. This leads to the Sengled having that mushy button press I described. Yes, the Pico doesn't have the same "click" as a paddle switch, but it is definitely what I'd describe as tactile. You know that you've pressed it.

Sengled

On the other hand, the Sengled remote is so mushy that you don't even know if you've pushed it. I even had some instances where I saw the green indicator LED light up on the remote, but no button press was triggered. I think this was if I didn't press hard enough. You really have to give your press some oomph to make sure it registers.

Responsiveness

Pico

The response time on the Pico is much quicker. I noticed that the Pico remotes have two different drivers you can choose from: Lutron Fast Pico or Lutron Pico. The latter gives you all 10 button pushes (the normal 5 and then 5 more with each button having a held state). But because the remote has to wait to see if you held the button or not it's a bit slower to respond. This is where the "fast" driver comes into play. It only has the 5 button presses available so it reacts instantly. I've stuck with the "fast" driver for now.

Sengled

The Sengled button controller driver didn't have any sort of option (at least as far I could tell). I asked about it in this thread and got no reply. So it's on/off buttons had a delay that was really annoying. Compound this with its mushy buttons and you have no certainty of knowing if you clicked the button or not. Meaning you have to awkwardly wait for a second to see if the lights come on, not great when you're just trying to quickly go into a dark room to grab something and then leave.

Mounting

I didn't want to go with a more "permanent" solution like getting in-wall switches because we plan to move out to a bigger place at some point in the near future. I was really keen on something that was easy to temporarily mount so that we could take it and go when we move out.

I'm using the Mitzvah paddle switch cover to make sure no one turns off the switch to the smart bulbs in the house.

So I wanted to mount whatever switch I got on top of these. I got the idea to use these magnets from Smart Home Solver's video and this article.

Sengled

The Sengled remote's magnet was decently strong, but it has a hump for the battery cover that makes it not sit flush with the Mitzvah covers. I don't have an actual picture, but you can see it from this pic from the manual and the marketing shot of its baseplate:

This made it so when you try to push a button the remote rocks off the magnets on the Mitzvah. I had to use double sided tape to really secure it to the Mitzvah.

Pico

The Pico on the other hand has really strong magnets and a flat backside so it sits super flush and perfectly with the Mitzvah. I didn't even need to super glue the magnets for the Remote to stay firmly on the Mitzvah. I used the same double sided tape as well just in case, but I don't think it's actually necessary. Here are some of my pics:

Lutron Aurora

As I don't have the old style toggle switches, I didn't get to actually try this out. Though my wife did love these the most because of the solid easy big single click. And the rotate to dim is brilliant as well. I was considering trying to super glue the base onto the Mitzvah, but in the end decided against that because it seemed like a janky solution.

Summary

The Pico remotes are great and I'm glad I made the investment to get the $150 SmartBridge Pro because we can get the Lutron Caseta dimmers at our next house! Definitely recommend to anyone that wants a fast, mountable, and tactile solution.

The Lutron Aurora seems like a really great option for anyone that has toggle switches.

I would not recommend the Sengled remotes as on-wall switch replacements to anyone. If you plan on using them solely as handheld remotes, then that may be alright. But because how firmly you have to press the buttons to get them to register it doesn't work that well for a switch that you want to easily be able to press when you walk into a room.

There aren't any reviews on the Sengled remote at the time of posting that I could find, so I definitely bought these as an experiment. I hope this review can spare someone else the time with these cheap remotes, because remember: you always get what you pay for.

[danabw]

I'm not shocked at all by the outcome.

Hard to think of any button/remote that would stand up to the Pico. Fast, easy to use, never fails, extremely configurable and endless battery life. Enjoy your new toys.