Leviton’s very first generation of smart dimmers had a great deal going for them. They did not require a heartbeat. They affirmed 3-way switches, along with the My My Leviton program was amazingly full-featured. But, installing them had been performed through the older screw-clamp procedure. They had been somewhat constrained in smart house system service relative to their rival, Lutron, which also did not have built-in geofencing or even two-factor authentication (2FA).
For Your 2nd creation Leviton Decora Smart Dimmer Switch (D26HD), Leviton does away with all the older twist clamps, opting rather for sturdy wires that emanate in the trunk, making setup markedly easier. Additionally, it’s additional support for August smart locks, so there is at least another clever house integration — although it remains a far cry from many supported by Lutron’s Caséta series. Nevertheless, the improvements are sufficient to maintain the Leviton on our listing of the greatest smart lighting switches.
Leviton Decora Smart Wi-Fi Dimmer: Design
Aesthetically, the Leviton Decora smart milder maintains exactly the identical easy look as its style — a simple encounter with unwanted rocker for vertical and dimming LEDs reverse that for brightness degree, along with another LED that lights up whenever the change is off.
We locate that this simplicity for a pleasant, versatile look that does not clash with the decor. Build quality is not always cheap-feeling. However, some can get the buttons to become unsatisfyingly spongey.
Leviton Decora Smart Wi-Fi Dimmer: App and setup
On the other hand, the installation was painless and quick, either through HomeKit and the non-HomeKit path – that is fine because the 1st production Leviton dimmers may be a selective number of the peers, particularly with affiliate networks. Control of this dimmer through the program has a substantial delay compared to HomeKit. However, its ample options allowing you to correct LED behavior, the sort of bulb it is linked to — LED being very ordinary — min/max brightness, also fade speed. Everyone, these choices are extremely welcome.
But, 2FA is still nonexistent, and it is a pity since the darker, by default, may be manipulated remotely and can’t be disabled. In reality, if we disabled net access to the change, control may only be done via the Apple Home program; the lights had been unreachable by Google Home, Alexa, or even via the My Leviton program. So, for the deficiency of 2FA, we don’t suggest allowing the change to stay linked to Leviton’s program. Still, it would not be advisable to link it to personalize the change’s behaviour to your liking and then place the proper bulb kind.
Leviton has also published the Anywhere Dimmer. Comparable to this Philips Hue change, this flatter is a wire-free alternate to hardwiring a change to your house, but with a vital difference: it is designed strictly as a nutritional supplement to a present 2nd generation Leviton counter-clockwise, and you would use it as a 3-way swap for the identical light source. Setup involves sticking into the wall socket, and it matches easily with all the D26HD, without the requirement to set this up through HomeKit. We believe, nevertheless, that the $25 is somewhat much, particularly considering that the Philips Hue wireless change prices are the same and provides more flexibility — although Leviton’s switch enables you to control over simply Hue lighting.
Leviton Decora Smart Wi-Fi Dimmer: Verdict
Leviton produced some fine improvements into the 2nd-generation Decora Smart Wi-Fi Dimmer, especially a simpler installation procedure, compatibility with August along with a brand new Anywhere Dimmer, that will help spare you the price and hassle of cutting out a hole in your walls to put in a light change. However, we favor the Lutron Caseta lineup since it functions with much more intelligent house systems and contains two-factor authentication, a significant safety feature.