This is a review of the Samotech SM323 v2 (“New for 2024”) sold here:
The v1 is the same unit I previously reviewed under the Iolloi brand. Samotech has a convenient comparison table that shows the differences:
It has a slightly different form factor, it’s shorter, and slightly wider, which makes it (even) harder to fit into standard dimmer plates:
Quick observations:
- It’s SUPER smooth. No clicking as you turn the knob (the v1 has a notable clicking that the comparison table above describes as ‘granular’), which means you can dim more smoothly even when doing it manually. When dimming remotely, both the v1 and v2 support transition time, but the v2 does it much more smoothly.
- It has minimum brightness calibration. Unlike the v1 which still illuminated my test bulb when set to 3%, the v2 didn’t show any sign of life until 22%, but has a dedicated hardware button to reset the bottom of the brightness range. I did this in <10 seconds and now the v2 is also able to illumiate my test bulb at a 3% brightness setting.
- It has a neutral. My house has neutral to the switch so I prefer to have power-consuming switches connected directly to a neutral. But this may be a downside for you if you don’t have neutral available in your switch back box.
- The reset/zigbee-connect procedure has changed. The v1 required push-push-and-hold which I could never remember and is easy to get wrong. The v2 has a dedicated reset button that you press 5 times to reset, though this means you can’t perform the pairing without removing the face plate.
- Power metering!?: It claims to be able to do “electrical measurement” and “simple metering”, but those aren’t coming through to Home Assistant for me, possibly because they aren’t yet supported by the Zigbee2MQTT adapter for the SM323?
The instructions are comprehensive and written in clear English. Overall a very impressive product from Samotech and a slam dunk for me, I’m buying a bunch of them.
