Wemo Smart Dimmer with Thread review: For Apple homes only

Apple-centric householders have extra decisions than ever with regards to outfitting a sensible dwelling, and the Wemo Sensible Dimmer with Thread is a strong—if costly—alternative for the HomeKit and Thread crowd.

There’s not so much to the Wemo Sensible Dimmer, which helps solely single-pole installations and affords a reasonably no-frills assortment of normal dimming options. On the upside, it is going to work with or and not using a impartial wire within the electrical field (Belkin recommends connecting a impartial wire if one is accessible).

You’ll faucet the oblong change to show the linked load on and off, press and maintain its higher and decrease dimples to brighten and dim the sunshine respectively, and double-tap them to take issues to most or minimal brightness. These max and min ranges aren’t set by an app-based calibration, which is the norm on non-HomeKit gadgets, however somewhat by {hardware}, through holding down a number of buttons concurrently to show the dimmer your most well-liked ranges.

This evaluation is a part of TechHive’s in-depth protection of the best smart dimmers and switches.

I discovered putting in the Wemo dimmer to be simpler than a lot of the switches I’ve labored with. The machine has double wiring holes on the bottom for every of the 4 connections required, together with the bottom. This makes wiring fairly simple: simply press the wire(s) in and tighten a screw; the one wire-nut connection I wanted to make was to my dwelling’s impartial line. A single white pigtail and wire nut is included within the field for this function, though the nut included was not massive sufficient for the wiring inside my dwelling’s wall, so I needed to provide my very own. The change’s dimensions are moderately sized, and I discovered getting all the things flush and cleanly connected to the wall was easier than on many competing models.

Belkin

As soon as connected, setup is completed utterly through HomeKit, Bluetooth, and Thread. For those who’re fortunate, you must have the ability to join by merely tapping your cellphone to the middle of the dimmer (through near-field communication, or NFC). I ended up needing to sort within the 8-digit code printed on a sticker on the change (beneath the duvet plate); as soon as I did that, all the things proceeded shortly. HomeKit execs know that the iOS Residence app is pretty primary (you possibly can’t use the Wemo app to manage the machine), offering a easy slider for handbook dimming and a useful scheduling system; plus, the power to tie the dimmer into the better HomeKit ecosystem. All the above labored effectively in my testing, and my take a look at mild is now dutifully turning itself on at sundown every evening with out criticism.

I did encounter one hiccup with the dimmer’s air hole change, a handbook security cutoff recessed beneath the paddle. Whereas this change is meant to be flush towards the change plate, mine stands out a couple of millimeter and could be very unfastened. The change nonetheless works because it’s speculated to, however in case you brush towards it, it’s simple journey, inflicting the dimmer to utterly lose energy. It seems one thing is flawed with the air hole’s spring-loading mechanism on this specific unit; Belkin says it’s a fluke drawback and at press time was sending a alternative.

Christopher Null/Foundry

One merchandise of observe is that the dimmer doesn’t and possibly is not going to assist Matter. A Belkin rep wrote in response to a query about this: ”The Wemo Sensible Dimmer works completely with HomeKit over Thread for a extra responsive, dependable and safe good dwelling expertise with out the trouble of third-party apps. We stay agency believers that Matter can have a considerably optimistic affect on the good dwelling business, however have made the choice to take an enormous step again, regroup, and rethink our strategy within the good dwelling house. Presently we’re pausing growth of our Matter merchandise, however we after we are capable of deliver differentiated merchandise to market, we’ll.”

At $60, the dimmer shouldn’t be low cost, although its assist for Thread and HomeKit, its fashionable design, and its simple set up give it a leg up over among the different choices on this class. For those who’re on the HomeKit-or-bust bandwagon, it’s price contemplating.