VTM35->VTM36 Matter fan binding partially works: hold changes speed, taps are inconsistent, fan switch LED gets out of sync

[koadic]

@andrewk

As I already said (multiple times)… All White switches work the same way., I have multiple VTM31s in that configuration as well as VTM30s.

Ok, I’ll keep this in my list of reasons against the White series when someone is asking about whether they should go with White or Blue switches when there is an option to go either way. Again, just trying to learn all these otherwise undocumented (as far as I am aware, officially) limitations so the next time I try to help, there is less of a chance of providing the wrong information

While I understand Matter as a protocol is still fairly new and being improved upon, this is yet another reason to make me feel more justified in my own personal decision to go Zigbee. It’s not that it is the right choice for everyone, it is just it was the right choice for me.

[andrewk]

@koadic

Ok, I’ll keep this in my list of reasons against the White series when someone is asking about whether they should go with White or Blue switches when there is an option to go either way.

Copy that… however from my point of view there are many more reasons to go with Matter. On that subject we will just have agree to disagree.

[andrewk]

@biggest.noob.in.town

I agree with you philosophically, but I wasn’t able to get this to work. I’ve got the switch controlling the two canopy modules, as I mentioned above, but it didn’t seem to impact the state of the canopy modules when I changed the state of the switch. Is there a different way to do this that I’ve overlooked?

If you don’t want to mess with automations just put the VTM35 and both VTM36s in a HA Fan Group (helper) and then use the Group to control them from HA. On/Off and Fan Speeds will sync between all three devices.

I use that approach for a pair of VTM31s that I have in a virtual “3-way”. I have the two VTM31s with bindings pointing at each other but I also have both switches in a group (a Light Group in that case) and that is what I publish to Apple Home. The actual switches are “invisible”. Works a treat.

[biggest.noob.in.town]

Using the latest beta firmware on all my devices and the default mode (which is different behavior compared to the current stable release) did the trick and everything behaves as expected. I initially had some fussing with rebinding and setting up an automation to ensure that the output percentage on the fan switch matches the current state if the canopy modules are mutated by something external (like a smart speaker, not Home Assistant or a physical interaction with the switch itself). Quite happy with how it works now. Slowly but surely I am replacing every switch in my house with Inovelli White modules and I have been extremely happy with how well they function.

[EricM_Inovelli]

@andrewk

@EricM_Inovelli Does this sound correct? Is the VTM35-SN not supposed to pass through commands from Home Assistant to the devices it is bound to?

Matter does not forward the changed EP1 attribute automatically—the VTM31 firmware must explicitly perform this forwarding. EP2 contains the required Binding and Level Control client clusters. It is something we are currently exploring, but it isn’t the default Matter behavior.