Aqara Light Switch - "no neutral" vs. "neutral" version

I have been using the no neutral version of the Aqara switch for over a year in a few rooms in my house with absolutely no issues.
The small current flowing through the circuit doesn’t give my downlights any problems. No flickering, no lights on at all unless the relay is active.
They don’t act as zigbee routers (maybe the neutral version does?)

Overall it’s been rock solid.

Capacitor is the exact solution for other china wall switches with no neutral. I had 2 or 3 of them and they send capacitor with switch.

Are you using traditional or LED bulbs? As i know that LED bulbs are quiet sensitive to this.

Would it be possible to use a capacitor, without having a Neutral?

Yes, that is why you need a capacitor

All LED downlights

Hi @apmillen do you know if in the case of the double no neutral switch, if only one of the switches is physically connected, the other one still sends the Zigbee signals when pressed?

I would like to get the double one, but only connect actually one for my ceiling lamp and use the other one for whatever I want :slightly_smiling_face:

Yeah, I only have the double no neutral switches. They have 2 relays, one for each switch.
If you use the Xiaomi hub apparently you can use the switches in “decoupled mode” which stops them from controlling the relay.

I use deconz and that isn’t available. However I have one switch controlling the ceiling lights (wired in) and the other controlling the lamps which have ikea bulbs in (not wired in) and just use the on/off state of the switch in HA to determine whether to turn the bulbs on or off.

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Does the capacitor connect in series to simulate a load?

I don’t really know, just saw capacitor and some instructions in old switch’s box. Did not use it, so don’t know how to set up

I’ve been looking all over for info on whether this would be possible. I’ve got three dual gang switches, one which will control a “dumb” light and the other a smart bulb and I was hoping I could wire the dumb one and leave the other side as a Zigbee controller. So the fact you’ve made it work gives me confidence! Thanks :+1:

The capacitor is installed in parallel with the bulb(s) and it is used as a load.
Or you could buy a bypass from other manufacturers like Fibaro, Shelly, TEM or any other.

TEM Bypass

FIBARO Bypass 2

I think I’m starting to understand how the aqara switch works. I’m curious then how it applies to smart bulbs. Aqara has a detached mode which only allows switching via zigbee. The smart bulb should be constantly powered anyway. Does it make sense to buy aqara switches with no neutral in this situation?