3 ways are definitely what give people the worst headache!
My suggestion would be to wire your new zwave switch without the 2nd switch. Ie, no traveler wire.
Then once this works out. Add the second switch.
Remember that in a 3way setup with zwave switch, the common wiring for non intelligent switch doesn’t apply to intelligent switch. So be sure to check the good wiring schematic.
So.
Step 1. Figure out which switch is master / slave in the current setup.
Master will have a 3 wire that will go to the slave switch and a 2 wire that will go to the load.
Slave will only have the 3 wire that come from the master.
Step 2. Wire the zwave switch at the master location. Black line. Black load and white.
Step 3. At this point the switch should be able to light the bulb.
Step 4a. The bulb won’t light up. Did you turned on your breaker
Step 4b. The bulb still don’t light up. The ball is now in inovelli’s hands.
Step 4c. The bulb light up. Niiiice!
Step 5. Wire the slave switch using inovelli wiring depending on type of slave units you have
Well… After some reading on others 3way issue. My hints might not be of good help depending on your actual setup.
thanks @simriv123. Funny as it sound, that’s what i’ve been trying to do, but appreciate the suggestions. The non-smart 3-way switches are working and my setup are close identical to the first diagram, at least for the left/master switch. I’m going to try to flip the two travellers on the remote switch to see if that’ll work. Then I’ll be golden… or awaiting for someone to decode into a z-wave schematic… which sounds so close to the other thread i referenced above, except only one of the switches is working.
Maybe i’ll just need to simmer down and wait for that thread to work out the remaining kinks.
So i rewire my switches to match the diagram below (which is the same as the one that came with the instructions) so i now can turn on/off from either of the inovelli or dumb remote switch… which is great, except these 2 problems
when i cut the power at the circuit breaker, i cannot turn on the light from either one of the switch. I keep flipping on/off from either switch and eventually the light will go on. I need to spend a little time to test the exact sequences to see which one will trigger the light on.
i can’t seem to add the Inovelli switch to the smartthings hub v2. These are the steps i tried in the classic app
a) turn off the power at the circuit breaker, turn on the circuit breaker and within 2 seconds, click on the add a thing (+ sign) in “My Home”
b) turn on the light from the Inovelli switch and restarting adding a thing (+ sign) in “My Home”, press the up button 6 times.
c) turn on the light from the Inovelli switch and restarting adding a thing (+ sign) in “My Home”, press the Config button 3 times. The LED bar will flash blue, then eventually red
d) turn off the light from the Inovelli switch and restarting adding a thing (+ sign) in “My Home”, press the Config button 3 times. The LED bar will flash blue, then eventually red
e) press the “Add Device Manually” and not being able to find Inovelli switch as an option… yet
I press the Config button for 5 seconds and the LED bar shows green so it is within the Z-wave range. Besides, i have a Leviton z-wave switch right next to it working properly and another GE nearby.
Was so excited with this new switch, and a little frustrated with these hiccups. Thanks for all the help.
@sean_trini - I’m not sure if I’m understanding correctly. If I’m reading it the way you’re writing it, for number 1, then you won’t be able to turn on the light since the circuit breaker is off. When you say circuit breaker, that means to me, the breaker in the power panel.
To add to Smart things hub, press the Add to home within the app. Press the config button 3 times as fast as you can. You should see the switch turn blue and see the switch appear in the app. Make sure you save the device after finding it. If it doesn’t work, you can try factory resetting it by pressing and holding config button for 20 seconds. The switch will reset. Try the above steps again for adding into your hub.
@harjms yes, for number one, i cut the power off at the circuit breaker, then turn on the circuit break and then try to add the device in the classic app. In this scenario, i do not touch either the Inovelli switch or the dumb switch. I saw this from one of the Youtube video.
the b) is from another youtube video i saw.
and c) is what i read from the instructions that came with my red switch and the same thing you describe above. I click on the config button 3x quickly and able to see the LED turns to blue, then the LED eventually turn RED.
Lemme try to reset it completely by holding the config button for 20 seconds.
@sean_trini - Great. I didn’t have any issues adding it to my v3 ST hub, but I ended up switching over to hubitat. If possible, move the hub closer to the switch to add it to your network, then move the hub back.
resetting the switch did the trick!!! thanks so much. Now onto the device handler festivities
I’m not looking forward into troubleshooting for my #1 problem tonight. @harjms, does it sound like the problem you’re having with (also with the thread from @DGRESBACK) ? Mine only doesn’t work when the power is cut off, once it’s working, either switch can turn on/off as a normal dumb 3-way switch.
Sorry to jump in late here – thanks @harjms for the help!
I think I see what’s going on here – these were actually instructions for our Gen 1 switch. We added, “auto-inclusion” on the Gen 1’s, but it ended up being more trouble than it’s worth, so we removed it for Gen 2. Basically, when power is restored to the switch, it would automatically include to the Hub (if the Hub was in inclusion mode).
For our Gen 2 switches, the proper procedure to include the switch is to tap the config button 3x rapidly as @harjms suggests.
Are you saying that when the Inovelli switch is off, your dumb switch doesn’t work, but when the Inovelli switch is on, the dumb switch works fine?
@Eric_Inovelli, you are welcome to jump in anytime. It’s always better late than never. For the record, i did read the instructions that came of the switch and I’ll even admit it’s one of the few times i read. I followed the steps in the instructions more than a few times and I was desperate so I was starting to google to see if there’s other ways and may have muddle the water, so to speak. I must have lucked out but thanks to @harjms, once i reset the switch, i was able to add it into the SmartThings hub.
Regarding the “circuit breaker” feature, the problem is that if i cut the power from the circuit breaker and restore it, i cannot turn on the light from either the Inovelli switch or the dumb switch. I believe the first time, once restored powered, i tried turn on with the dumb switch first, then turning on with the Inovelli switch. The second time, I turn on the Inovelli switch, then the dumb switch. Lemme spend a little time troubleshooting and I can create a matrix of the steps to see if i can narrow it down.
edit: i’ll need to wait a little bit later when they go to sleep since the shutting off the circuit breaker take out the lights in all the rooms
It’s all good – sometimes I’ve found with smart home products, sometimes you need to rub your tummy and pat your head while standing on a few feet of books for you to successfully pair something
Yeah that’s really weird – if it’s not too much trouble, I’d love to see it.
@Eric_Inovelli there was a sleepover last night so I couldn’t play with the electric panel until this morning but here’s the findings. My current 3-way setup is with LZW30-SN Z-Wave and the Leviton 5613-2W dumb remote switches.
note: there is no on/off for the 3-way setup so I’ll just say toggle the switch for the power on/off
With the light off, I go and flip off/on the circuit breaker:
First test
a. I toggle the Inovelli switch and the light goes on. I toggle it again and the light goes off.
b. I toggle the Leviton switch and the light do not go on. I toggle the Leviton switch once more, and the light “flickers” as if it went on, then off immediately. I toggle the Leviton switch for a 3rd time and the light goes on. At this point, toggle from either Leviton or Inovelli switch will turn the light off.
With the light off, I go and flip off/on the circuit breaker:
2) Second test to repeat to make sure i can duplicate it.
a. I toggle the Inovelli switch and the light goes on. I toggle it again and it goes off.
b. I toggle the Leviton switch and the light do not go on. I toggle the Leviton switch once more, and the light “flickers” as if it went on, then off immediately. I toggle the Leviton switch for a 3rd time and the light goes on. I just toggle the Leviton switch to turn it off
With the light off, I go and flip off/on the circuit breaker:
3) Third test
a. I toggle the Leviton switch and the light “flickers” or went on/off immediately. I toggle the Leviton switch a second time and the light comes on.
With the light off, I go and flip off/on the circuit breaker:
4) Forth test
a. I toggle the Leviton switch and the light “flickers” or went on/off immediately. I toggle the Inovelli switch and the light comes on.
Once the dumb remote switch flickers for the first time, then everything is working normally. Lemme know if there’s other scenario you want me to test. I was volunteered to judge a speech and debate tourney soon so i’ll be out for the next 8 hours so i can run more tests if needed.
edit: Just want to note a small change. i went through the instructions here last night to setup both the device handlers but the behavior feels the same
Hey @sean_trini - thanks for the detailed write up, I appreciate it!
Random question - do you have a non-illuminated dumb switch and if so, can you swap out the illuminated one with it and see if you experience the same behavior?
There’s a warning on the Leviton page that the bulbs may flicker when the switch is off.
Just got home and I do have another Leviton dumb non-illuminated 3-way switch that i can test, though i may not be able to test until tomorrow morning. A casualty from another sleepover tonight… stay tune.
@Eric_Inovelli ugggh… can’t upload the video directly, but the good news is that the non-illuminated switch doesn’t exhibit the flickering. Here’s a video of it.
Here’s a video showing the flicker with the illuminated switch so you can see the behavior
Another thing to add to the incompatible list of dumb switches? Or it’s something that can be fixed with a firmware update? It’s a convenience thing to be able to see it walking in the dark.
NOTE: When connected to compact fluorescent lamps or LEDs, the bulb may flicker while switch is in the off position.
Regarding the warning note above, i don’t think it’s my case technically or not, because the bulb doesn’t flicker when the switch is off. Mine flickers when i toggle on
ps, i didn’t want to tag you to give some peace and quiet last night but of course you replied which is a very nice thing to do!
I had a hunch this may cause the issue so I just bought an illuminated switch myself and was going to test it tomorrow (along with some of the other issues pending). Hopefully I can replicate it too so I can send over to the manufacturer.
Glad the non-illuminated one works though and thanks for sharing. I agree, I like the illuminated ones and I’ll check to see with them if they can make it work with the current hardware.
I’ll download the videos above and edit your post so don’t have to share your G-Drive info.
I’ll also definitely add this to the incompatible switches for the time being until they fix it.
Thanks again for working with us on it, I really do appreciate it!
You should be able to replicate. My 3-way wirings is in the diagram above in case you need it. I think I am going to keep using the non-illuminated switch for now so I don’t freak out the wifey and kids.
I am glad we are able to flush out another one of these undocumented features. I appreciate if you can send the updates… maybe once when you replicate the issue and once when you have the fix?
Edit: very appreciated of you looking out for your customer privacy re: g-drive, but it is my spam account / alternate persona. … lol.
edit 2: @Eric_Inovelli, inquiring mind would like to know whether you were able to replicate the “flickering” issue and/or a fix for it now that you’re in the home stretch for the dimmers.
Arg, no – I haven’t had a chance to look at this. We are about to send back some switches and incompatible bulbs to the manufacturer next week, so I’ll make sure to put in an illuminated switch as well to see if they can take a look at it.
Thanks for following up – it’s hard to keep track of everything.
If you don’t hear back on this thread in a week or so, feel free to tag me again. Sometimes I think I need a personal assistant to keep up with all these threads!
Thanks for the update. I figured it’d be the case. I’ll circle back in a week or two. It would be nice if at least one thing i bought the Red switch for… works for me … lol
