Any update would be welcome! I guess no news implies some kind of hold up, or nothing to report, but expecting an update over two weeks ago and hearing nothing is frustrating. Please share a brief status update @Eric_Inovelli. Eager to place a pre-order, but need some help adjusting my expectations.
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Hi there,
To give a quick update on this, we just received the updated pricing from the manufacturer, have everything squared away with FedEx, and are onboarding next week with the company that is going to handle the VAT calculations on Shopify. Once that is finished, we will open up pre-orders. In other words, all the pieces are completed, and we just need to integrate it into Shopify. It should be about 1-1.5 weeks. Once everything is ready to go for pre-orders, we will let you all know!
Please let me know if you have any additional questions.
Thanks!
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Thanks for the update, Kaleb! It’s great to hear you’re continuing to make progress. I’ve already got my finger on the pre-order button in my head!
For those of us unaware of the remaining process and work still required, are we weeks, months or years away from the product landing in the hands of customers? i.e. Do you know approximately when deliveries will commence after pre-orders come in?
Thanks!
Great question!
Here’s a very high level overview of what has to happen:
- We kick off the project with the manufacturer and they review everything (Project Request Document + Firmware Tech Document) – then they will send us a quote
- We then agree and make the down-payment (usually this requires x% down for raw materials + all the engineering fees)
- Project is officially started and then there are 6 Phases:
- Phase 1 = Structure & Hardware Design (6-8 weeks)
- Phase 2 = Software Development (4-6 weeks)
- Phase 3 = Tooling (6-8 weeks)
- Phase 4 = Certifications (usually 8 weeks - but we’ve never done an EU version, so I’m not sure)
- Phase 5 = Mass Production (6-8 weeks)
- Phase 6 = Shipment to Customers (usually this is when it’s shipped to us, but since we’re directly shipping these from the manufacturer, we can skip that phase)
So, all in this is a 30-38 week (~8-10 month) process. But, as this thread has pointed out, we typically aim for getting new products in time for grandchildren to get them (good one @leah.la lol).
But here’s what I’m going to do that was not originally promised as I know this has gone on for a while and you guys are excited. Instead of this being a crowdfunded project (and thus waiting for the orders to support the downpayment delaying this any further) I will go ahead and make the downpayment in good faith that you guys are as excited as you are to get this off the ground. Please don’t make me regret it lol!
Here’s what’s happening next:
- I am signing the contract with the company who is collecting the VAT at checkout (and remitting it on our behalf)
- They will install the plug-in on our site which will allow the cart to adjust the pricing based on your shipping address so VAT can be collected at checkout (this way there is no surprises when the product ships and you’re left with a bill before you can get the product)
Once that plug-in is installed, we can make the page live for pre-orders.
There will be some bumps in the road as this is our first time dealing with a truly international market (our Canadian friends are close enough that I don’t really consider it international – I’m also like 160km from the Canadian border – see, I converted miles to km for you guys 
). So, please bear with us.
I think @vreihen summed it up perfectly – 99% of the time, the initial timeline will not work out (for those that are counting, we did get the Blue Series Fan/Light Canopy Module out ahead of schedule!) but I (and likely Kaleb) will try our best to keep you in the loop on any challenges we’re facing and what we’re doing to overcome it.
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I don’t think the switch is meant for Australia – it is 240V, but my understanding is the structure is different there than the EU. Right?
Maybe if your grandkids move to the EU, they will have a shot!
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Thanks for the comprehensive reply and transparency! 
I really appreciate you skipping the crowdfunding step – you have my word that I’m still buying a bunch of these!
I was hoping you would be saving more time by leveraging everything you’ve already done to have the White series in production in the US. For example, I get that tooling can be different for this European model, but I would have thought you’d simply re-use the software/firmware from the White series you’re already selling. I’m just curious at this point 
Also – side question – am I right in thinking this will have a mmWave or some other sort of presence sensor included? I recall some posts or a thread many months ago about the inclusion of a mmWave sensor that you were testing, but I’m struggling to find it (or I was just dreaming) 
And, if you are including this, I suppose that reduces the point I made above about leveraging your previous work 
Again, thanks for all the transparency. It’s insightful stuff.
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Created an account just to get updates on this thread and to tell you how exciting this looks. I’ve never considered Inovelli being in Europe, but reading through the features, concept and documentation is making me incredibly jealous. It looks like it pretty much covers everything I would want from a smart switch and has great support.
One thing to mention, I’ve tried to look through the shop to look at what I can expect to have at some point, and it is only showing the EU products (sold out in preorder but guessing that is to be expected now), with no apparent way to access the US store. Is there any way to access it so I can feel even more FOMO?
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+1 I keep forgetting to ask this exact same question!
It would be great if I could explore the specs/details of the US products, to have a better idea of what to expect when the EU drops…and/or perhaps you could share features and specs here, if they differ to the US variant.
Till we get an answer, I’d be looking at this:
and this
Especially their device manuals and device parameters.
Hope it helps 
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Hi there,
Right now, our website is setup to only show the products that are registered to your specific market based on your location. I will forward along your messages to our team to explore the ideas of viewing products available outside your market. Thanks for the suggestions! As far as where you can look in the meantime, our Knowledge Base would be a good place for that, specifically the Switches & Modules collection: Switches & Modules | Inovelli Help Center
Please let me know if you have any questions!
Thank you.
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Hey! Will ordering be possible all around EU, or just in the countries listed earlier? It’s a long wait still, and I’d really like to know if I can expect to be able to order directly, or if I would eventually have to buy from a reseller in some bigger EU country. This would obviously add extra costs and is a factor when deciding whether to just go with some zigbee alternative or to continue waiting, before upgrading the dummy switches in my soon to be new home.
Hi Eric,
I’m excited by this update. Is there a page where I can sign up with my email to receive notifications when preorders go live?
At some point, there will be a product page with details, which will have a “Sign Up for Updates” button. At this point, those pages don’t exist, AFAIK.
There will also be one or more community threads here, which you should also follow. The threads tend to have more timely information.
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I also noted that the product page says no faceplate is included…
Not sure about in the EU but here in the UK we have no concept of faceplates.
Light switches just come as 1 unit. There is no standard size separate switch and faceplate like in the US.
See examples attached of 1 and 2 gang typical UK switches.
Can an option to include a white faceplate be added on the basis no local supplier is going to exist to make them as it’s a foreign concept?
The ideal would be supply a white faceplate made of a plastic that can be painted should people want to customise them.
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Just seen LTT’s latest video and them demoing the new mmWave US switches.
Went looking for an EU/UK equivalent (as I do every few months) and stumbled on this thread.
I’ve skim read most of it. Sounds like the initial release won’t have mmWave. IMO that’s a mistake, seems a lot/most people are here for that feature!
Personally I’ll go whole hog (like Linus has) and replace every switch in my house if you release a version with mmWave/Lux with Matter over Thread (and a Zwave version if you want) compatibility with Hubitat and all the other features around no neutral/multi way etc etc.
Temp/humidity would be nice, but not essential - the only benefit for me is it would likely be more accurate than the built in sensor on the STRV as it’s not 2cm (1 inch ) from the radiator.
I’d also pay good money for a UK outlet controlled via Matter over Thread with built in controllable USB-C PD ports too. The same hardware used for these switches repackaged into a different mould would work (save for a slightly beefier relay to handle 3000W, plus the PD transformer for USB).
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I came here after watching the LTT video of him replacing his switches with the inovelli ones and it reminded me of this project as it was mentioned by a friend. However, I did not expect to find this kind of thread and this kind of involvement with the community, I am amazed.
I am also very interested in testing out some inovelli smart switches and if they live up to their name, get shipped to Greece and are reasonably priced, I’d be very keen on switching out all of my house’s switches to these ones.
Regardless, this was a very interesting and unexpected read and I wish you best of luck!
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As someone in 
, I can confirm and agree with everything you’ve said here re: faceplates and standards.
And I agree it would be amazing if a mmWave and temperature sensor were included, given the suitability of the typical placement of light switches. Looking at the various ESP32 based products out there (e.g. Apollo Automation and Everything Smart), I wouldn’t have thought physical space to be a limiting factor. I’m of the opinion that Inovelli should cram in as many sensors as physically possible (e.g. CO2, lux, humidity, PIR, etc. – see the products mentioned above). I know it’s easy for me to sit here as the consumer and ask for all of this. I’m sure the reality of it, including manufacturing, testing, certifying and complying with rules/regulations, is a monster amount of work.
I will need 30+ light switches in 2-3 months time and need to decide what to do. Buy some cheap dumb switches for now that can be replaced with the Inovelli White Series switches in future, or go all in on another smart switch that doesn’t tick as many boxes as the Inovelli White Series but is available today?
Anyone in a similar situation?
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In the UK, it would be good if Inovelli could produce a generic faceplate, but honestly I don’t see this as the end of the world so long as they provide recommendations and colour matches. I’ve been able to find some UK importers that have Gira and Jung frames and modules available, but nowhere’s really going to match UK style faceplates. Styling is inevitably going to be up to us.
Regarding mmWave and other sensors, this is a bit of a walk before you can run situation for logistics, marketing, etc. etc. Heck they’re also just doing one smart home tech platform and a single switch design right now. Regarding mmWave, I can think of countless instances where it’s completely useless in a UK home, since they have a 90-100º arc in front of them and can often just be staring at a door. The individual sensors with their specific placement are more generally useful.
I agree that mmWave in switches are going to be a gamechanger.
I believe many of us consumers want it. However Inovelli is in relative terms a quite small company when it comes to it and they only have experience in the US.
Expanding to the EU will be a massive undertaking for them. As you’ve hopefully read from the thread only the issue of EU taxes which is different from US is making things considerably harder for them.
It’s not unreasonable of them to test the waters with regular Thread switches and see how well it sells in EU.
We as individuals aren’t sacrificing ANYTHING by this. We just have to think about which switches we might not upgrade now in wait for mmWave if money is tight, or replace them later and sell the originals as 2nd hand.
It’ll take around a year before the switches can be delivered. A year or two more on top of that for mmWave in EU depending on if sales are a success or not during the first year doesn’t sound too bad. Even though I want it available in a month if I could wish for it.
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I don’t know if we’ll need a whole other wishlist thread for the Australia/NZ market, but another +1 from me. In early stages dealing with architects and specifying at the moment so in ~12+ mo time i’m going to be buying a 5bed house worth of light switches and your white range of switches have unparallelled Spousal Approval Factor