Virtual 3-way White Series

It might be worth adding something to the documentation in the setup areas to make it clearer that ‘vmt31-sn + vmt31-sn’ switches in a 3-way is NOT the recommended solution and tell them what is. Make it explicit, rather than ‘by absense of info’.
(I had to come to the forum to find this out).
I think that as you open up to the matter+thread world, you’re going to see a whole class of less nerdy people that are ‘simpler’ Apple HomeKit users that aren’t going to want to learn about ‘binding’ and set up automations and ferret through forums to get a 3-way dimmer solution up and running.

Both the manual and the switch comparison Matrix state this.

Manual:

Comparison Matrix:

Hi Bry… there is no way that I would ever have guessed that “Matter binding” had anything to do with two switches not being usable for a 3-way switch.

The manual clearly shows a nice picture of two white switches (not an aux ) in step 2. So you get tricked into thinking … “yup… that’s my setup… this is going to be a breeze”.
But then you get down to the section under “switch configuration “ where there’s a table with 3 types…. And… ummmm… it’s not there!
I could have saved myself at least an hour or more of head scratching , and then an hour on this forum to finally realize … “dude: they shoulda just made it clear in the manual in step 2: order the aux switch!!”

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I agree with this. I’ve been using Home Assistant for years now and still didn’t understand what “Matter Binding” meant. Everywhere else in the manual makes it seem like 3-way works without issue. As you said there’s even diagrams detailing how to set it up, only to figure out once you’ve done the install and reset the switches 100 times that it’s not actually supported. I also feel the manual needs to be updated to be more clear on this. Dumb it down a little for people who are trying to setup things like this for the first time and may not know all the technical ins and outs of Matter Binding and Thread.

Paul - did you have luck getting this working with an Aux switch? Figured I’d let you verify before I order a few myself :wink:

Thanks!
Ethan

I ordered a few Aux-Switches and they work like a charm with the white series.

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Yup… work really well. Appreciate the communal help!

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Awesome thanks. I’ll place an order for a few so I can get these 3 ways working well :slight_smile:

I am reading through this trying to understand. I purchased 1 white-series smart dimmer to test and it is working well (except the color of the led is not the correct color when my front door is unlocked). I have an order in for several more white series smart dimmers and was intending to use some of those as multi-way, smart switches with neutral as the manual shows. But it looks like that is not a recommended configuration, is that correct? What would be a recommended configuration with a dumb light controlled by 2 dimming switches? I would like to control the light from 2 different switches.

Thanks
Greg

You will need to order an Aux switch for the 3 ways to work. Basically you need one white series smart switch and 1 Aux switch for a 3 way, or 1 white series smart switch and 2 aux switches for a 4 way. I was able to get my 3-way and 4-way setup without hassle this way. Currently the multi ways won’t work with multiple white series smart switches.

Edit: to add - my 3 way is a standard bulb (not a dimmer) and my 4-way is a dimmer. You can only control the actual dimming from the smart switch (since aux switches don’t have dimmer capabilities) but it still works without hassle to turn on/off from the aux switches.

Thanks, so will the Aux have any control or just on/off? It it only have on/off would it be the same as just leaving the current switch in place and just leaving it on all of the time?
Greg

The Aux will act as a dimmer.

Oops, Bry is right. I assumed the Aux wouldn’t dim so I never tried it. I just tried it and it does indeed control dimming as well. My bad.