Zooz new firmware to control smart bulbs is out (beta) has anyone tried it? How’s it work?
I may have mentioned this in one of the several other threads you've created for this same topic, but I have access to a ZEN27 and will be trying the new firmware out this weekend. I'll let everyone know what I think.
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Just to update, I was told the beta firmware isn't ready yet (they thought maybe by Friday so I was hoping to try it this weekend...though since Zooz appears to never sleep or take a day off, who knows). Maybe next weekend!
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Thx
Just an update: I tried a recent firmware version (2.0.2) on the ZEN27, which has had it applied since they released that in the summer. This is not the new version they're planning on releasing this fall. I'm actually happy with the current firmware: contrary to my assumptions, if you hold the paddle up, it sends a "held" event (I didn't time how long it takes to be held down but it felt natural enough) followed by a "released" event when you let go. This means that it's already usable as a button device in the way I want it: single taps up or down are button 1 or 2 pushed, double taps up or down are button 1 or 2 double-tapped, and holds up are button 1 or 2 held with a release after. This means that holding the button is usable for startLevelChange (on "held") and stopLevelChange (on "released") with smart bulbs. I actually prefer this to something that emulates a "real" dimmer like the Lutron Aurora, which doesn't send button events (for dimming/turning--I think it does or at least can for presses) and has to be "mirrored" in order to make work with smart bulbs.
Perhaps others' wishes may vary. It's also still not clear to me exactly what the new firmware will do--I suspect something closer to what the Lutron Aurora does, but hopefully only as an option and not something that takes away the existing behavior for held buttons. I will still test if it Zooz ever sends to me for beta testing (or when it's publically released if nothing else).
My assumptions about the existing behavior for this device were based on what I had seen in other scene switches, like HomeSeer and Inovelli. I don't think either of those support both "held" and "released" for paddle holds (again, I could be wrong since I made the same assumption here, but the stock Inovelli driver for the new Red series switches definitely doesn't expose that behavior and I'm pretty sure HomeSeer didn't when I tried, but it's been a while). Again, I'm quite happy with the Zooz as-is. 
The only thing that would be better is if "dumb" three-way switches didn't still phyiscally turn the switch off even when you have local control disabled--that defeats the disabling of that feature, in my opinion. (I understand the challenges involved in figuring out how to handle that in a "smart" situation--ideally, some other kind of button event might be nice so the user can distinguish it themselves and, say, toggle the smart lights, but I'm not sure what is actually possible. The new Inovelli switches appear to suffer from the same issue, though they support other secondary switch configurations and I'm not sure if it would be different in other cases.)
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Do you mean 3 and 4 for the double taps?
I'd be very interested to hear how they perform in real life. If you don't mind terribly, I have a few specific questions I've been dying to know!
- What type of delay before held is registered by the hub?
- Is there a delay after you release before the hub receives the release?
- Do you only get the release after held or also after pushed?
That's all i have for now but any other observations you want to share would be very welcome (at least by me). Thanks!!!
Nope, but I sure as heck didn't mean what I wrote. This should be buttons 1 and 2 doubleTapped. Thanks for the catch! (The device itself might support more, by the way, but this is the built-in Hubitat driver that only does up to two taps, the max they are usually willing to officially support in similar devices).
I didn't time the held, but it felt reasonable to me. The release is registered almost immediately, but it only comes after a hold and not a push. I tested it with a startLevelChange and stopLevelChange on four individual Sengleds (not a group) and to my shock it worked pretty well.
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OH...i gotcha. so, 1 tapped and 1 doubletapped. I see.
Good to know!!! I had a feeling that would be the case.
Thanks!!!
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If I understand correctly, you have to guess the dim level? Or does it show as you dim?
It doesn't simulate another device, it reports button presses. So, you would use it the same way you would use any other button controller. So, on Hold you could "Start Raising Dimmer Level" and then on Release you could "Stop Changing Dimmer Level". The bulb will stop changing when you release.
So it will dim in real-time? Like I can see it as it dims? Thx
I don't know what you're referring to so I can't answer that question. Not all devices support the commands that I mention. So, you would have to be more specific when you use the word "it". He is referring to using this dimmer to control smartbulbs. Not as a dimmer. So, this device doesn't show up as a dimmer so it doesn't dim in real time because it doesn't dim.
Do you understand how button controllers work? Do you understand what the command "Start Raising" and "Start Lowering" do?
Sorry. On the zooz, if I hold down to “start dimming” will I actually see my lights actually dimming in real time?
You are not being clear what you are asking about.
The Zooz isn't the device we're wondering about; it's the bulbs or other devices you're trying to dim. As stated, they need to support the startLevelChange and stopLevelChange commands. If you already have these devices, you can check their device page in the admin UI to see if they have buttons for these commands. If you don't, if you ask about your specific device, someone will probably know. Groups don't support these commands, unfortunately, so if you're trying to do a whole room you may have bad luck with them appearing to remain in sync regardless (I did four individual Sengleds and it worked surprisingly well). Most of these concerns have nothing to do with the Zooz; it reports button events in a way that makes them quite usable for any purpose on Hubitat as long as your other devices can work in the desired manner.
Thank you. I have 4 hue lights in my bedroom. Sux it won’t work for groups. For it to support groups, is that something hubitat can develop or Philips only
Groups support this on the Hue API side, but Hubitat's integration doesn't for some reason. You could always try the individual bulbs and see if that works well enough (it can't be worse than Sengleds, I'd guess).
Hey, dou you how to tag a developer to this post
To tag any user, type @ then their forum handle. For example, @frmWink2Hubitat.
If you didn’t complete the discourse (forum software) tutorial when you joined, take a look at this thread.
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