Tapo L535 RGBW Bulb slow level transition

🧰 Built-In Apps and Drivers Matter
1

Testing a couple Matter bulbs on the HE platform. Adding was super easy…commission on their app, enter the setup code in HE, and voila! Very impressed! The only issue I have noticed is that level transitions are rather slow. Setting level directly to 100%, when device is @1%, can take around 30seconds to complete. Is this expected behavior due to the early stages of live deployment? Or something else? Just for comparison, setting the level on the Tapo app is instantaneous. Definitely is not a dealbreaker, just thought to mention it.

2.3.7.140
Generic Matter RGBW Light

2

Can you temporarily turn the Debug logs on and paste a screenshot of the bulb live logs when changing the level?

These are the timings with my Nanoleaf bulb :

image
image923×276 36.1 KB

What is the default Transition time ?
image

3

Transition is set to the lowest (500ms). Default was 1s.

Here is the log for setting from 50% to 60%. It seems to be setting/confirming each % of level change rather than instructing the bulb to go directly to the indicated level. Or the bulb is just not accepting the command and doing its own thing, hahaha

——————————————————————————

dev:11882023-12-24 02:01:02.220 AMdebugevt- rawValue:152, value: 60, descT: Garage Toolbox Lamp was set to 60%

dev:11882023-12-24 02:01:02.217 AMdebugparse description: read attr - endpoint: 01, cluster: 0008, attrId: 0000, value: 0498

dev:11882023-12-24 02:01:02.061 AMdebugevt- rawValue:151, value: 59, descT: Garage Toolbox Lamp is 59%

dev:11882023-12-24 02:01:02.059 AMdebugparse description: read attr - endpoint: 01, cluster: 0008, attrId: 0000, value: 0497

dev:11882023-12-24 02:01:01.988 AMdebugevt- rawValue:150, value: 59, descT: Garage Toolbox Lamp was set to 59%

dev:11882023-12-24 02:01:01.986 AMdebugparse description: read attr - endpoint: 01, cluster: 0008, attrId: 0000, value: 0496

dev:11882023-12-24 02:01:01.022 AMdebugevt- rawValue:139, value: 55, descT: Garage Toolbox Lamp was set to 55%

dev:11882023-12-24 02:01:01.018 AMdebugparse description: read attr - endpoint: 01, cluster: 0008, attrId: 0000, value: 048B

dev:11882023-12-24 02:01:00.787 AMdebugevt- rawValue:138, value: 54, descT: Garage Toolbox Lamp is 54%

dev:11882023-12-24 02:01:00.782 AMdebugparse description: read attr - endpoint: 01, cluster: 0008, attrId: 0000, value: 048A

dev:11882023-12-24 02:01:00.742 AMdebugevt- rawValue:137, value: 54, descT: Garage Toolbox Lamp was set to 54%

dev:11882023-12-24 02:01:00.737 AMdebugparse description: read attr - endpoint: 01, cluster: 0008, attrId: 0000, value: 0489

dev:11882023-12-24 02:01:00.563 AMdebugevt- rawValue:136, value: 53, descT: Garage Toolbox Lamp is 53%

dev:11882023-12-24 02:01:00.560 AMdebugparse description: read attr - endpoint: 01, cluster: 0008, attrId: 0000, value: 0488

dev:11882023-12-24 02:01:00.495 AMdebugevt- rawValue:135, value: 53, descT: Garage Toolbox Lamp was set to 53%

dev:11882023-12-24 02:01:00.492 AMdebugparse description: read attr - endpoint: 01, cluster: 0008, attrId: 0000, value: 0487

dev:11882023-12-24 02:01:00.365 AMdebugevt- rawValue:133, value: 52, descT: Garage Toolbox Lamp is 52%

dev:11882023-12-24 02:01:00.356 AMdebugparse description: read attr - endpoint: 01, cluster: 0008, attrId: 0000, value: 0485

dev:11882023-12-24 02:01:00.232 AMdebugevt- rawValue:132, value: 52, descT: Garage Toolbox Lamp was set to 52%

dev:11882023-12-24 02:01:00.224 AMdebugparse description: read attr - endpoint: 01, cluster: 0008, attrId: 0000, value: 0484

dev:11882023-12-24 02:01:00.071 AMdebugevt- rawValue:131, value: 51, descT: Garage Toolbox Lamp is 51%

dev:11882023-12-24 02:01:00.066 AMdebugparse description: read attr - endpoint: 01, cluster: 0008, attrId: 0000, value: 0483

dev:11882023-12-24 02:00:59.990 AMdebugevt- rawValue:130, value: 51, descT: Garage Toolbox Lamp is 51%

dev:11882023-12-24 02:00:59.987 AMdebugparse description: read attr - endpoint: 01, cluster: 0008, attrId: 0000, value: 0482

dev:11882023-12-24 02:00:59.953 AMdebugevt- rawValue:129, value: 51, descT: Garage Toolbox Lamp was set to 51%

dev:11882023-12-24 02:00:59.946 AMdebugparse description: read attr - endpoint: 01, cluster: 0008, attrId: 0000, value: 0481

dev:11882023-12-24 02:00:59.822 AMdebugevt- rawValue:128, value: 50, descT: Garage Toolbox Lamp is 50%

dev:11882023-12-24 02:00:59.819 AMdebugparse description: read attr - endpoint: 01, cluster: 0008, attrId: 0000, value: 0480

dev:11882023-12-24 02:00:59.559 AMdebugsetLevel(60, 0.5)

dev:11882023-12-24 02:00:59.557 AMdebugsetLevel(60)

4

It is strange that there are two log records for setting the level, 2 milliseconds apart, but it may be just double tracing at different lines in the code.

This Tapo bulb behaves a bit weirdly, reporting back every 1% change in the level. My bulb (Nanoleaf) doesn't behave like that...

It will be better to turn off the debug logs, these 1% reports sent 120 milliseconds apart may overload the hub, when Debug logging is on.

5

Saw that too, but yours has the same two set level entries, after noticing that I figured it wasn’t odd.

setLevel(100, 1)
setLevel(100)

1 Like
6

Yep, that's the particular Tapo Matter bulb behavior/ implementation. Nanoleaf''s implementation seems smarter, not sending level change updates so frequently.

Besides the too-frequent level change updates, does the Tapo L535 Matter bulb respect the different Transition time settings? Does the bulb brightness actually change much slower, or is it just a slow update on the hub side?

Also, I suppose you have already checked for any available OTA firmware updates using the Tapo app?

1 Like
7

It does not respect level transition times, as far as I can tell. Takes approximately 5-7s to adjust by 10%@500ms transition time and the same amount of time @5s transition time.

The actual bulb brightness does change slowly, unfortunately. The two Tapo bulbs are not in an area where the brightness changes often, so not a huge deal. (Both bulbs act the same.)

Yeah, no updates available.

8

Factory reset device, commissioned through Amazon Echo, and then paired to HE. Same behavior observed when changing level via HE. Level changes with Alexa app are instantaneous (actual bulb brightness does not lag), as with the Tapo app.

Just to note: (topic of this thread is not affected)
Commissioning with Amazon then pairing to HE (with Amazon generated setup code) resulted in spotty behavior. Commissioning with Tapo app then pair to HE (with setup code printed on device) restored reliability.

9

Tested on HomeAssistant. Factory Reset -> Commission with Tapo app -> Add to HomeAssistant with device setup code -> Linked with HADB to HE -> Level changes set through HE are instantaneous (workaround resolves issue, but not the underlying cause). It does appear to be an issue with the HE driver.

1 Like
10

Could be, Matter is a new technology and protocol which implementation may have some hiccups in the beginning.

1 Like
11

Absolutely, as is to be expected when new features are deployed to the masses. Especially involving a rather young protocol. The way HE has seamlessly integrated it into the existing platform is very impressive! Just here bringing possible issues to attention.

3 Likes
12

It is definitely in the Matter code. Just installed the community installation version on my Hub (along with the matter version). The community version is instantaneously while the Matter version is as described above.

Notes:

  1. Dual install is NOT recommended. Just a test.
  2. The community version does not support user-selected transition time. It does support gradual on/off functionality via preferences. (This may be resolved in next version.)
2 Likes
13

I picked up a few Matter bulbs this past weekend to try out and am seeing the same slow transition time that is reported here. It's not a big deal as I'm using them mostly in a Circadian-type situation and the slow transition may actually be preferable.

The brand is Linkind 800 lumen RGBW but under the covers it's the same manufacturer that I've seen posted in other threads. The colors might be a step above my cheap Tuya bulbs, but not as good as my Sengled bulbs. The whites are superior to my Sengled bulbs.

image

2 Likes
14

It's not necessarily a Hubitat driver issue, as I surmised...my workaround by going through Home Assistant's Matter server started showing the same issue, after a recent update. So likely based on the matter protocol and how it communicates level transitions to the bulb from controllers. Thankfully, there is an app in HPM for Tapo account linking (from the app they transition properly). So far, it has been working as intended.

15

I developed the HPM Tapo integration and am currently working on improving transition time (for better driver-internal control). My integration is not a Matter integration. Instead it is the traditional tp-link (tapo) api. This will take several more weeks to fully test reliability and speed and fine tune the command timing.

2 Likes
16

I’m having the same issue on the current .158 firmware.

Transitions are almost instant from the Apple home app. I’ve only had these for a few days and I updated the firmware before pairing them to HomeKit.

17

Need information. Bulb model? Is the Bulb installed via Matter? In the Set Level command, what Transition Time are you setting?

One thing to check is the TAPO APP Setting for Gentle On-Off transition.

18

I have the same bulbs as the OP, Tapo L535.

I paired it to the Tapo app, updated the firmware, removed it from the app, factory reset it and then matter paired it to HomeKit, and then Hubitat.

I didn’t touch any settings in the app while I had it paired.

Hubitat’s transition setting has no effect on it.