TREATLIFE Smart Dimmer Switch 4 Pack, Smart Light Switch Works with Alexa and Google Assistant, Neutral Wire Needed, 2.4Ghz Wi-Fi, Schedule, Remote Control, Single Pole, FCC Listed

Treatlife, a real treat!
It’s been about a year since we installed 28 smart light switches throughout our home (26 being the Treatlife brand). I delayed providing a review to get some runtime in and now feel fully qualified to provide meaningful feedback.Currently, Treatlife offers three types of smart switches:normal single pole switches, 3-way switches,and these dimmer switches. They also offer different models, which I presume operate the same, but this review does not cover them (I don’t know which are the newer styles). Installation for all three of the switch styles we purchased is very similar and well documented instructions are provided. The 3-way switches can be installed as either 3-way switches (two switches operate the same light) or standard, single pole switches. This flexibility helps when planning the number & type of switches to purchase (they are cheaper when purchased in packs of four). What Treatlife does not offer is a combination 3-way dimmer switch.Physical installation is not difficult; a neutral (usually white) wire is required to provide current for the smart circuitry. Most of the “dumb” switches you replace are unlikely to have neutral wire connections, but unless your home is 40+ years old you are likely to find a neutral wire in the switch box. If you do have an older home, it would be wise to check for those neutral wires prior to ordering these Treatlife switches. Once installed with the power restored, the Smart Life – Smart Living App will walk you through connecting your smart switch to your home Wi-Fi network. I found that some of the switches were automatically found and added by the Smart Life app, but others I had to follow the in-app step by step instructions. In any case, connecting these switches to the network was not difficult. More on the originally recommended Smart Life – Smart Living app later (apparently Treatlife has their own app now).One word of caution regarding installation. These switches are very bulky, and the exteriors are of all plastic construction. One needs to neatly tuck in wiring to manage space within the electrical box. Because of the plastic construction, overtightening can cause binding. I found that if I overtightened the bottom screw, especially, the switch often wouldn’t operate correctly (i.e., pressing the switch may not turn the light on/off). So, manage the wiring in your electrical box and avoid overtightening to prevent binding and ensure proper operation.I was pleased to find out that for a pair of 3-way switches, only one switch must be replaced with a Treatlife 3-way smart switch for full functionality. I verified that it does not matter which of the two 3-way switches are replaced (in a 3-way switch circuit, one 3-way switch is connected to the line, or power, and one switch is connected to the load, or light, while the 3-way switches have two parallel lines running between them). Anyway, one doesn’t need familiarity with a 3-way light circuit to follow the provided smart switch installation instructions and only one of the 3-way switches needs to be replaced.All three smart switches have a discrete, circular indicator light. The color of the light tells you if the switch is connected to the network (red is not connected, white is). The indicator light will blink fast while connecting to the network, but the best feature is that they glow softly in the dark when the light is off. Indicator lights are also provided at the top of dimmer switches to indicate the brightness setting.Only on two occasions has one of our smart switches disconnected from the network. It hasn’t happened in months and I don’t know why it happened (two different switches on different days). The switches were not visible from the app when disconnected from the network. The switches can still be operated manually when disconnected from a network. The fix was as easy as pressing the reset button on the switch (see included instructions – easily accessible). Upon resetting, they auto connected to the network and were again visible in the app (all settings were retained and automatically re-applied). I have noticed that upon rebooting the Wi-Fi router or upon return of power after a power outage all the switches quickly reconnect to the network.A nice feature of the dimmer switch model is that lights gradually ramp up and down when being turned on and off. The lights dim/brighten at the perfect rate and it’s easy on the eyes! I wish, now, that I had purchased more dimmer switches – for as many as have bulbs that are dimmable – instead of single pole switches. The dimmer switches can be set to a preferred brightness level for a double-click shortcut to immediately achieve the desire brightness. See the accompanying video regarding this. I have noticed that when the power goes out the stored brightness level defaults back to slightly under half. This means that upon a power outage you have to re-establish the preferred quick setting on each of your dimmer switches (it doesn’t take long, but it would be nice if the setting was retained through a power outage).The Smart Life – Smart Living app on the Google play store was the Treatlife recommended companion app when I purchased these switches. It has worked remarkably well, not just for these switches, but for nearly all subsequent smart home devices (the exceptions beingecobee Smart ThermostatandKwikset Halo deadbolt,which each have their own proprietary smart apps). Since my purchase and setup, Treatlife has come out with their own companion smart app. My comments on the app address only the Smart Life – Smart Living app by Volcano Technology Limited (which I believe is or was affiliated with Tuya Inc.). I’ve had good success with this app and don’t intend to change to the Treatlife app.Since these Treatlife smart Wi-Fi switches were my first smart home devices, my only control option initially was through the recommended Smart Life – Smart Living app. The app is easy to obtain (Google Play Store – look for the one by Volcano Technology) and walks you through initial setup. As I recall, your first step is to create & name a “home” within the App. Then you add smart devices that you want to control and there are a TON of categories (i.e., Electrical, Lighting, Sensors, Large Home Appliances, Small Home Appliances, Kitchen Appliances, Exercise & Health, Security & Video Surveillance, Gateway Control, Energy, Entertainment, Industry & Agriculture, and “Others”). Each category has many device types. You want the Electrical category and either the Dimmer Switch device for this product or the Switch (Wi-Fi) device for the other Treatlife switches. Once your Treatlife switch is installed and the power is restored, just open the App, click on the plus (+) icon at the top, select the category & device as mentioned, and follow the on-screen step-by-step instructions to connect. It’s all very easy. You’ll add the device to your home in the App, choose a room (optional) and rename the device as desired. Organizing your home, rooms and devices in the app is all part of the fun!All your smart devices are listed upon opening the app and they are controlled from there. You may arrange the devices in any preferred order, and you may view devices by room. One of the best features is the Automation. Have a closet light that is left on habitually? Set up an automation to turn it off after a time delay. Tired of coming home from a long day at work only to see that nobody turned off the porch light and it’s been on needlessly during daylight hours? Simply set up an automation that turns it off every morning at sunrise. A few automations are shown in the pictures. I will say there are no app instructions that I could find, but playing around will yield results without too much difficulty. The most complex automation I’ve created so far (a lot of trial & error for this one) was auto dimming the Master Bath lights within a specific time period, with the additional conditions that the light could be brightened once turned on, but they would dim again upon turning them off. No more fumbling with the dimmer while groggy during nighttime business – just turn on the light with no worries of being blinded!Tap-to-Run is another type of automation feature I have only recently played around with in the app. Once set up, a single tap will operate multiple devices. We have a Tap-to-Run established that turns off all but one light in the common areas to establish “Movie Lighting.” Thus, the normal Automations run whenever the conditions are met and Tap-to-Run actions require user activation. However, when it comes to operation, whether single devices or multiple devices via Tap-to-Run, Alexa via a smart echo speaker is Queen!Alexa integrates seamlessly with the Smart Life – Smart Living app! Honestly, my opinion is that without a smart speaker a smart home isn’t all that smart. Alexa is the perfect choice for a home assistant. “Alexa, turn off the Family Room Light.” “Alexa, turn on Movie Lighting.” The Smart Life – Smart Living app is required to create Automations or add smart devices (Alexa recognizes the new devices the instant they are added). But once you have a smart speaker, the app will rarely be used to operate the Treatlife switches. Alexa adds additional functionality in another way: establishing device grouping. With groups established within the Alex app (not the Smart Life app) additional commands are available. “Alexa, turn off all the lights.” “Alexa, turn off the downstairs lights.” “Alexa, turn off the lights in the Living Room.” I set up Google Home and the Google Assistant just to try it out. It does integrate with the Smart Life – Smart Living app, but frankly, Alexa is superior to Google (however I won’t explain why here since it has nothing to do with these Treatlife switches).I highly recommend these Treatlife switches as a start to anyone’s smart home project. The convenience of having remote operation of all lights in the home cannot be overstated. Alexa, Treatlife and the Smart Life – Smart living app; a terrific trio!

This unit fits nicely into a multi-gang box, and what I like most about it is the feel of the buttons. I have another style of wifi dimmer in the house as well that is just a rocker switch up and down. The wifi control of that switch is fine, but the physical use of the switch is troublesome, as it often doesn’t register the tap and you have to click multiple times. This switch is great. The buttons click nicely, I like the lights that indicate the last brightness setting so you know what brightness the lights will come on to once you click the power button, and you can set the brightness before turning on the light. It has a light on the power button that comes on when the switch is off, and one of the brightness LEDs stays on all the time, so this switch never goes dark. That said, these lights are at a pleasant level and are not a nuisance in a dark room. From an installation perspective, this switch comes with wires sticking out of it that you use to connect to the wires in the switch box using marettes (wire nuts). The issue with this (as opposed to screws that you connect the wires to) is that it takes up more space in the switch box, and these smart dimmers are also quite a bit deeper than regular switches, so it can get tight. It’s easy enough to install in a multi-gang box where you can shove some of the wires behind the other (non-smart) switches. But in a single-gang box I can see it being a tight fit with the existing length of wire in the box, the wires coming out of this device, and the marettes.I have it flashed with ESPHome so cannot comment on the Smartlife app, but if that is up your alley, it is easy to flash with the OTA method and works great with my Home Assistant setup. The only issue (and this is particular to using alternative firmware) is that there are two different fnIDs to set the dimming level and get feedback on the dimming level from the physical buttons unlike other dimmers. So in my case, I can set the dimming level over Wifi just fine, but when I adjust the dimming using the physical buttons, it doesn’t update in home assistant. The workaround that I will be attempting is setting up a sensor for the dimming level feedback (I’ve done this part already and it works well), and setting up an automation to make the dimmer level equal to the feedback sensor when it varies and the light is on.

I love these switches so much I bought more, and my partner bought the exact same ones for his entire place. After trying others, and searching for everything I wanted, I found it in these switches:1. They have a great feel and design. They look and feel so smooth, modern and classy. The clicking is gentle, the dinner function is easy to use and set even in the dark. The LED light signaling the dimmer level is so subtle it doesn’t bother you at night (like other brands who apparently are trying to land planes in your living room). They pair up super fast, work great with google home.2. Customer support is amazing. I was having some issues (see point 3.) and they walked me through the trouble shooting, explained the issues clearly, made recommendations. I spoke to humans and no insane wait times.3. The instructions are clear and easy. The app is super user friendly, and the dimmer adjustment and lock option is excellent if you live in an older building and maybe have limited circuits or added dimmers in areas where there were none before (which may give you the haunted house flicker vibe due to the voltage interference).PS. If one room comes on when you turn another, or one flickers when you dim another…this has nothing to do with the switches. If you live in a small place with very few circuits/breakers and you put too many dimmers (or add dimmers where there were none before) on the the same circuit the dimmers may interfere with each other. Best results are spreading them around different circuits, opt for smart light bulbs in some rooms instead, or (like me) tinker with the dimmer feature and come to the conclusion that you cannot have dimmers in every room lol

The 4-packs are about as good value as you’re getting anywhere – especially when purchased on sale (and they’re often on sale).These things work. They work well. Easy to install and pair.There’s a nice improvement versus v1 (I have the non-dimmable v1 as well) in these switches, where they have added a restart button. This makes resetting a breeze.The one thing of note is this works a bit better with the SmartLife app versus Google home. While switching on and off works equally well, the dim range is slightly different on SmartLife vs GH. On SmartLife, you get a true 0-100% dim range, whereas on GH dimming to 0% only gets the lights to what SmartLife’s 20% brightness is. Very minor grievance, and doesn’t really take away from their utility or function because I probably don’t really need dimming below 20%, realistically.Excellent product.