Leviton DW4BC-1BW Decora Smart Wi-Fi 4 Button Controller, No Hub Required, 1 Pack, White, Wall plate included

The previous model, the DW15S, had side terminals and was easier to install in the electrical box. This new design has 5 flying leads, including a "traveler" that can be cut off but requires an additional 24 inches of wire, four wire nuts, and the oversized switch to be stuffed into the box. Why not use side terminals like the rest of the switches and outlets?.

Bexley Barton

| Jan 07, 2021

Instead of screw terminals, the second-generation switches/dimmers have five lead wires hanging from the box. This made today's installation of a switch and dimmer much more difficult. I had to complete a three-day project last week. because one of the switches in the gang box (all 1st Gen switches) failed It was a pain in the neck to replace it with a new 2nd Gen switch. the- you- know- what. Due to the different wiring, the entire box had to be redone. If screw terminals are present, backing off the old switch/dimmer (dumb or smart) and "dropping in" the new (with the exception of the neutral wires) is usually all that is required. br>br>Even though the 2nd Gen switches/dimmers are a little shallower, the addition of lead wires and the use of wire nuts adds EXTRA stuff to the workbox. You aren't conserving space in any way. To save space, I had to cut back on a few lead wires. br>br>I don't have enough time to comment on performance, but I did notice that these were Wi-Fi enabled. In comparison to my 1st Gen switches/dimmers, Fi is extremely fast - in a matter of seconds After installation, the power will be turned back on.

Elena Mejia

| Oct 24, 2021

A review is sometimes only as good as the person who wrote it. As a result, I frequently disregard some reviews in favor of others. I'll start by saying that I have more than 20 years of experience as a computer technician and come from a family of tradespeople (plumbing, heating, air conditioning, and electrical), so my home network and electrical system are in good shape. There are no dead spots in my house because I have a wireless mesh network that covers the entire property. Here's what I had to say about it: (1) Ergonomics. br>br>Ergonomics is a term that refers to the study of how people work. This Leviton switch, unlike others, has a completely smooth, flat, and featureless plastic surface. In complete darkness, it's impossible to find the on button reliably - It works in the same way as the off button. While you can converse with it (which has its own set of issues), the buttons should be easy to locate with your eyes closed and lightly illuminated so that you can see it without being bothered. br>Connectivity is the second factor to consider. The device bings and bongs, bleeps and beeps randomly and annoyingly throughout the day and night, as you can see in other reviews dating back to 2017. When it wants to, it disconnects from the internet. My wireless access points are only 20 feet apart, and none of my four Leviton switches can keep a consistent connection. The Tp- The Link Kasa switch next to it has no connectivity issues, and the home wifi works fine for all of my mobile devices. According to Leviton's response to my email, the wifi is being harmed because it is housed in a metal box with a metal cover. "Unfortunately, for wireless in-home entertainment, there is no such thing as a wireless in-home Signals are typically attenuated by wall devices, metal wall boxes, or metal wall plates, so even if they are connected, they may be intermittent. While we understand how difficult it is to replace a metal wall box, we recommend using Leviton Decora wall plates if you have the option. " If that's the case, why aren't the metal's effects felt by competitors' smart switches? The Tp- is, as you can see in my photo. (3) Lighting Performance. The Link Kasa switch is right next to the Leviton switch and has never had any issues with connectivity. br> You must hold down the power on and off buttons to dim or brighten the lights. It makes the job very inexact, and every Leviton switch emits an audible hum over the internal speaker whenever the dimmer is turned on (I have halogen and LED bulb fixtures, and it happens on both). Leviton may have needed to shield the internal speaker from the dimmer's feedback because of its compact size. (4) Smart Home Performance. I'm not sure why this happens, but it does on all four of mine. br> I'll tell Alexa to turn on the lights every now and then, and she'll say "OK," but nothing happens. I tell her to turn off the lights, she says "OK," and nothing happens. The switch must then be fully reset and connected to my Alexa network. I've never had to do this with my Alexa Echo or any of Leviton's competitors' cheaper switches. When I give it a voice command, it stutters and locks up. When I try to "drop in" on another Alexa device with the switch, the device becomes completely unresponsive and displays the message "Calling with Alexa is not supported. " It's not a good idea to call Alexa. It's not a good idea to call Alexa. " in a loop" is a phrase that is repeated several times in a row It's a known bug, according to Leviton. Even though the switch has a mic and a speaker and is connected to Alexa, Leviton has informed me that using it to make a call is not supported. Um. why not? br>br>Bottom Linebr>If you expect an Alexa Echo to be built into your wall, you'll be disappointed. If you want a dimmable light switch, buy an Alexa Echo for half the price of this switch and you'll get all the features plus some decent quality speakers. If Amazon is your smart home platform of choice, buy an Alexa Echo for half the price of this switch and you'll get all the features plus some decent quality speakers. Then go to Tp- and get the rest of your switches. To complete your smart home purchase, connect Kasa (shown in the image) or another capable manufacturer. I had high expectations for these switches, but after two months of trying to get them to work, they have all been returned.

Jaxtyn Foster

| Jun 13, 2021

Almost everything in my house is controlled by some variation of these switches. I began replacing my switches with Gen1 switches a few years ago and have only recently completed the process with Gen2. My bathroom exhaust fans are the only switches that are not these. I've written quite a bit here, so congratulations if you've made it this far. br>br>At the moment, I'm using the following switches: br>DW6HD (Gen1 600W Dimmer)br>DW1KD (1000W Dimmer, Gen1 but still uses leads instead of screws)br>DW15S (Gen1 Switch)br>DW4SF (Gen1 4 Speed Fan Controller, also uses leads over screws)br>D26HD (Gen2 600W Dimmer)br>D215S (Gen2 Switch)br>DAWDC (Gen2 wireless dimmer companion)br> As some have mentioned, I haven't had any problems with constant dropping. The app is well-designed, and I particularly like the Away feature, though Alexa can do the same thing. They also integrate well with Samsung SmartThings. Alexa usually picks up a new switch and lets me know it's connected before I can finish entering the name I want for the device, but this isn't an issue because it updates automatically once I enter the name I like. I use it because I was sent some ZWave Leviton switches by mistake when I ordered WiFi ones, and instead of throwing them away as Amazon suggested, I put them to use. I also like that if anyone comes to visit, they work just like a regular switch would, rather than using something like smart bulbs, which can go haywire if the power goes out. When turned on or off, these don't stick out or lean in one direction or the other, which pleases my OCD. They have a very unassuming appearance, which I think is a good thing. br>br>My house is only a few years old, none of the switch boxes are metal, and there is a neutral wire in the box almost everywhere. Only in a few of the 3-star hotels did I have problems. way switches, where whoever wired the house appeared to cut some corners and didn't run all of the wiring these require, as well as not keeping things in their proper places (e. g. , red wire hot, black wire traveler, and so on. ) As a result, for a while, some of my 3-year-old son's toys (red wire hot, black wire traveler, and so on) There were no 3-way switches. way. The Gen2 wireless switch companions, on the other hand, fixed this. In general, I prefer screw terminals, as do many others. There were, however, a couple of occasions when having the leads came in handy. I preferred using the lead for the neutral wire because it is more flexible than cutting a piece of 14/2 and using that instead. It actually saved me some space in my kitchen dual gang box, which was already crowded before I changed the switches, because I was able to remove the extra rigid wiring and use the existing wire nut on the house neutrals, so I wasn't adding anything. In a bedroom, however, I preferred the leads. Rather than using a wire nut with two leads coming off of it, the people who wired the boxes liked to strip a section of the hot wire, loop it around the hot terminal on the switch, and then terminate it on the second switch in the box. Both switches were connected to the house hot wire by a continuous hot wire, which I was able to cut down to the stripped part and then simply nut both switch hot/black wires to the house hot wire. The looping method they used is a pain with the Gen1 screw terminals, but I've made it work before. The leads made it easier, but I prefer the screw terminals in general. br>br>The companion wireless switches and dimmers are fantastic. They figured out how to fix my three problems. They solve the problem of two-way wiring and are incredibly simple to install. I was worried there would be a lag after pressing the rocker, but it responds immediately. If you're using Gen2 switches and wish you had a 3-port switch, this is the product for you. If you have a way light somewhere you don't want it, these are a quick fix, especially since the included adhesive pads can be used to stick them to a bare wall. I'm hoping for a battery life of at least 5 years, but I'm not holding my breath. br>br>I'm also a big fan of the fan controllers. In all of my bedrooms and the living room, I have pull chain ceiling fans without remote controls, which allow me to control the fan speed with the switch itself, voice, or an app. Much better than my short wife trying to pull the chain while standing on something. br>br>Gen1 vs. Gen2br>As previously stated, I prefer the screw terminals to the Gen 2 leads. br>Gen2 makes it simpler to update the switch firmware. You can update all Gen2 switches at the same time in the My Leviton app. You must still do each switch separately for Gen1 switches. When you have a large number of them, it becomes tedious. It's fantastic that the wireless switch companions for Gen2 have been added. I don't have any experience with Apple Homekit, so I can't comment on how Gen2 works in that environment. br>br>ISSUESbr>The majority of the problems I've had have been due to faulty house wiring or some other external factor, rather than a problem with the switches themselves, but they aren't without flaws. br>- Some LED bulbs aren't compatible with dimmers. Maybe it's because I tried the less expensive bulbs first, but I've noticed that the EcoSmart bulbs from Home Depot don't always dim well. Other brands work better, but I haven't found an LED bulb/switch combo that gives 1) the dimming range or 2) dimming smoothness and 3) no flicker on dimmer settings% You can get one or two out of the three, but not all three.
- There have been some disconnects in my life. It hasn't happened often enough for me to consider it unusable or a deal breaker, but it does happen. br> The majority of wifi-enabled devices will occasionally go down. On dimmer switches, this is much easier to deal with because you can pull out the bottom dimmer rocker, which effectively cuts power to the switch and allows you to reconnect it. I wish the standard switches had something similar, so I could turn off the power without having to turn off the breaker. To be honest, when a non-native speaker says something that isn't true, it makes I don't do anything because the dimmer isn't connected. It will reconnect eventually, but it could take a day or several days. It would be so much easier if the plain switch had a reset button that was easily accessible.
- I've had one switch (out of 26) simply stop working. In any case, this has been the case thus far. It died in my overcrowded kitchen dual gang box, which I believe was a contributing factor. However, and this is a plus, Leviton's customer service was excellent. They walked me through a few steps (which I had already attempted, but I understand they need to double-check their boxes) before sending me a new switch. Everything went off without a hitch, and there were no snafus. They also replaced it with a Gen2 equivalent because it was a Gen1 switch that had been discontinued. br>br>Overall, I'm happy with the switches and how they work on a daily basis. I'd give them five stars all day if the first one hadn't died and they could fix the resets on the plain switches. I'm not sure if the dimming is due to Leviton or LED bulbs in general, so I won't hold it against them for the time being. Please accept my heartfelt gratitude for attending my Ted Talk.

Aspen Booth

| Oct 05, 2021