Z-Wave 5-Button Scene Controller + Dimmer Switch | Project Limitless

I disagree. Despite being cheaper, I don’t like the zooz scene controller because it has the big button at the top, and prefer the Inovelli design on the bottom.

In my case, I want this in a spot where the switch is not the priority purpose (exterior light that is automated and no need to manually use daily) and the scene buttons are more important to use (garage door, locks, alarm).

The existing red switch and dimmer can be used where the switch is the primary focus, as they already support notifications and scenes.

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This is spot on as to the inspiration behind the design. It actually was supposed to be a non-load controlling scene controller and what was originally spec’d by the other company. We added the load portion in later as we thought it would be useful.

I can definitely see the argument for the load buttons being on top if this was a dimmer switch first and then scene controller second. We will definitely put the invert option on this switch, but as @CodeMaster pointed out, unfortunately the LED’s would be on the wrong side.

@rohan – excellent question – @anon88759745 is looking into this right now. We had a former employee looking into it, but when he left, it kind of slipped through the cracks. We do plan on figuring it out soon and will definitely keep everyone posted!

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Will all 5 buttons have individual “Default Level (Local) Default” parameter?
I currently have the Red Dimmer with scenes (2up = 30%, 3up=50%, etc) but sometimes Hubitat hangs and wont run the scene. Therefore, I am hoping this new switch will have ability to set parameter for power level on each button individually. I hope what I am saying makes sense.

@Eric_Inovelli

Crazy idea - could you guys release the stl for the buttons so we can 3d print our own? in tinkercad, it’s pretty easy to add on text either indented or raised to a model. And we can do our own colors if we like.

(Sorry if this has been answered before, I am have having issues searching this mega-thread.)

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Are there final association specs for this device yet? I don’t really care about the local load control buttons. I’ll be using them only for extra scenes. In fact, I’d be happy if there was a version of this with no relay at all. Just a straight up button controller! :slight_smile:

There is a 5-button remote (no load) on the 2022 roadmap. I assume it will be battery powered. @Eric_Inovelli can confirm.

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I like the RGB indicators, and the quickness of a hardwired solution (plus not having to keep a stock of yet another size button cell!). But location flexibility of a battery remote is a plus.

Is this still expected around 10/1/21? Asking because I’ve yet to hear someone reach out for my labeling options and theoretically this should probably already be on a ship over to the US from China if it were going to arrive aroundf 10/1 so…

We do not ship via sea - we ship via air.

Hopefully Eric should have an update for everyone shortly! I’ll break the bad news though and say they will not be ready by 10/1. Pretty status quo for an Inovelli project!

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Are preorders still open on this? I tried the link at the top of the thread which gets me to the product page but I don’t see anything to click to order. But I also didn’t see anything that said preorders were closed and the top of the thread makes it sound like they are still open. What am I missing?

I suspect that mine will be arriving the week of 11/8… :rofl:

TLDR: Project will likely not be released until Q2 2022 – a former employee lied to the manufacturer about the sales volumes and who was responsible for engineering costs and we had to come up with $150k to cover those costs, which took us a bit as it wasn’t budgeted. Pre-orders can be refunded if you’d like.


Update: The time has come where I feel the need to give an update on this project and I will preface this by saying the project is not going anywhere, we’re just running into some red tape that I will address below.

Please also note before I go down this path that we have set aside all money related to pre-orders so if you do request a refund due to the delay, we will of course honor it. The way our payment processor works is that it charges up front instead of when it ships. I know it’s dumb, but it’s the way BigCommerce and Stripe work.

That said, here’s where we’re at – and I’m going to be as transparent as possible so that everyone knows what’s happening.


Background

This project officially kicked off back in January 2021 (I know this thread started in Sept 2020, but the project was approved in January) as a project that we were working on with a separate company as they wanted a 5-Button switch.

Part of the agreement we had with our current manufacturer was that there was to be no new innovation allowed until we pay off our debt with them (they will continue to ship products we’ve already created, but no new innovation).

A former employee who was originally in charge of this project pitched the project to our manufacturer as this was a project that was going to provide a very large amount of volume and was being made for a very large company. He told the manufacturer that this company would pay all associated engineering fees, firmware fees, etc – totaling around $150k.

After some convincing, the manufacturer agreed with the fees to be paid in April 2021.

Well, April comes around and the manufacturer asks to be paid and I asked the former employee when this other company is going to pay, to which he replied, “they never agreed to pay those fees – I thought we’d have an investment by now, so I figured we could just pay”.

Naturally, this gets us in more trouble with the manufacturer as the hard work they’ve put into this project now is not being paid for – from a company that promised them this was going to be paid for.

This, among other things lead to this employee’s termination right then and there.

I then get on the phone with the company we’re making this switch for and find out that this former employee told them this is an Inovelli switch and we’d pay for it. To top it off, the massive volumes that were promised initially were also a lie and the company I talked to said they were going to order a test of 200 units… 200 units… this is a far cry from the 10k unit initial order we promised the manufacturer.

Great. So, I was duped, the manufacturer was duped and now I’m having to cover $150k worth of fees that were not budgeted.


Next Steps
Over the course of 3-4 months we’ve been working behind the scenes to get this project on track and continue to try to deliver on time – or at least by the end of the year.

Recently, there was a problem with the PCB where all the samples we received popped when we tried to test the initial firmware. When we requested additional test units, the higher ups at the manufacturer caught wind that they were lied to and they said that until we pay the fees, they were going to stop working on the project.

So, we paid the fees and this is where we’re at today.

At this point, we’re basically having to start over from a PCB standpoint and this project is looking like it will not be released until likely April/May 2022, but I also do not have a firm timeline.


Pre-Orders
Due to not having a firm timeline, we closed pre-orders. Once I have a definitive timeline and better optimism for a release date, we will open them back up. But I/we can’t, in good faith, keep taking pre-orders.

For anyone that has placed a pre-order, we can certainly refund you and I sincerely apologize for this. It’s likely the worst case of project management that I’ve ever seen and I definitely take responsibility for putting my trust in our former employee.

I will continue to work with the manufacturer to get a timeline locked down, but my best guess is Q2 2022.

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Well crap. Sorry to hear how all that worked out, but really appreciate the transparency on what all happened and why we’re looking at the delay.

I’m good waiting until Q2 2022 or whenever this ends up getting completed for mine.

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That’s a shame that it all went down like that :frowning: Thank you for the transparency! As far as pre-orders go, I’m content just letting mine sit as a pre-order as long as y’all are continuing to march forward with the project; I want some of these, and I’m happy to keep my money where my mouth is as long as y’all are still working on delivering them!

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Same with me. What a cluster of a situation.

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I consider my money already spent, so I have no issue with waiting until 2Q22.

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I agree with @k5map. Money is spent and can wait until product is delivered.

@Eric_Inovelli Thank you for your transparency.

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Well I for one am super bummed. I understand though and can only imagine your frustration. Thanks for the honesty.

Given the delay, will these switches be able to ship with etched buttons now? I know that wasn’t going to happen originally but given the new target date, I’d love for that to become a reality.

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wow, what a bummer. keep on fighting, and thanks so much for the transparency—I think it is good for people to get a human glimpse into how new products get made. they might feel less entitled when they hit “buy” on a kickstarter, if they saw how commonplace it is for good people to get utterly roadblocked by a whole world of external factors.

I had the pre-order tab open, and came back today to find this thread. even so, if you re-open preorders, I would still absolutely put myself down for a bunch!

really hope you guys (and all of us tbh) find calmer waters in 2022. it’s clear Inovelli has all the right stuff going on, but have suffered from setbacks by hands other than your own.

I for one will continue to be excited for your new products, for as long as you all wanna keep makin’ em!

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sorry to hear that. hope all these troubles are gone soon. thanks for being honest in this situation.

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