“I have had a lot of trouble with other back box relays overheating but these have worked without fail for a while now. More important SmartThings seems them straight away as did my original Vera hub. Not many devices are recognised by SmartThings in general so you have to pick carefully. This one is 100% fast to connect and reliable in use.”
“I have multiple of the Aeotec nano switches installed in my smart home setup with a SmartThings v2 hub. I used it mainly to control non-dimmable down lights. I had them installed in the false ceiling right beside the lights. They have been working rather reliably and the range seems to fare better than the other brand that I have in my setup. Would recommend these anytime for simple light setup.”
“The Nano switch works well when fitted correctly, but if you are in the UK there are a number of issues you will face when wiring them up. Firstly the documentation and pretty much all the information available on the internet is targeted at European and US users. Eg using AWG flex cable for fitting - this is a US standard and can't be used in UK switch boxes as it has the wrong cable colouring. Also if you have complex wiring setups and don't have a brand new house - these are really difficult to fit. They recommend using a switch back box of at least 60mm depth - these don't exist in the UK. The deepest you will get is 47mm. Even with this, if you use, e.g. flush fitting light switches, you will find that the Aeotec devices barely fit in the box as the back of the flush fitting switch is too deep. UK electricians tend to use cable (very stiff) in switch boxes, not flex and that makes them very difficult to position. Things get very crowded if you have more than just the feed in and light switch cables in your back box (and believe me, you will if you have a complex wiring routing). We have now fitted these in our house and only about 30% of them fit. With the others we are facing cutting out the entire rear of the back box and hoping they fit.
The instructions for wiring up of the device will not be easy to follow for UK users as we tend not to have neutrals in the switch box. Even our experienced electricians had different interpretations on how to do this. Wiring them up at the ceiling rose is not practical if your house (like ours) will have problems in accessing the ceiling void, or if these are meant to control lots of lights from one switch.
The switch itself is very well made, and if it fits - is a doddle to use. If you don't mind non flush fitting surface light switches, have modern plasterboard walls with a decent size void behind them, have non crumbly wall material, and you have non complex light setups with straightforward wiring routing, you will have no problem. If not, then look into your switch space before you buy them!”
“I've got Phillips Hue bulbs throughout the house. The problem is that in the bathrooms we have extractor fans that require switches and aren't smart. I'm using this switch and Smartthings to make those extractors smart and it's working well. The first switch turned up faulty but Vesternet replaced it very quickly and because I'm offshore, didn't require a return. Exceptionally happy with their customer service!”
