How to switch on devices by bypassing manually having to toggle on the switch first?

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Hello everyone! Been using Home Assistant for a couple of weeks now, playing around and setting it up. Feeling a little intimidated to ask my question here because I’m afraid to sound stupid…but it’s a risk I must take :joy:

I have an Aqara Z1 pro switch linked to a ceiling fan + light. Problem is, I have to always toggle the main switch on first before the fan and/or light becomes available for me to toggle. Without switching the main switch on, the fan and light are showing as unavailable and I can’t activate it. Is there any way I can bypass the switch toggle to directly command the fan and/or light to turn that switch on? I hope I am making sense. If there is another similar topic available, please direct me to it. I’ve added a picture below to illustrate, just in case my description is not clear.

This is how it looks before I toggle the main Fan Light Switch on
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This is how it looks after I toggle the main switch on.
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Thanks in advance!

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How are these wired?

Smart switches bulbs and the like are intended to be ‘always on’ it appears you have these devices behind another switch?

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A smart switch will control the power to the fan and fan light, making both either on or off.

If you leave the switch on, a smart relay installed in the fan circuit (a Shelly or Aqara relay, for example) and a smart bulb would allow independent control of either. [NOTE: A RC Snubber should be installed with the relay for the fan, or any induction type motor being controlled]

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Hi Nathan, thanks for replying. The Aqara Z1 Pro is hard wired to the fan+light without neutral. I guess a simple way around this would be to just leave the switch on at all times and just switch the fan and/or light off?

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Hey Bob, thanks for the reply. What you suggested sounds like it would work but I was wondering if there was an automation I could use to link the fan and/or light to toggle the switch on.

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That would be the intended operation. You won’t get around it. If. You have downstream switching you don’t need this one. (whatever your code says wind of course…) but basically… you’re double switched and it causes this - solution: don’t

Smart switch OR smart bulb. Not AND.
And certainly not required with the fan

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An automation for such requires some modification of your fan’s circuitry.

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Hi Bob, thanks for getting back. I think I understand what you mean. I guess at this stage it’s just easier to leave the switch on all the time. Thanks for your suggestion!

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[chuckle] That’s what I’m doing until I get to moving the relay into the fan. To keep peace in the household, I had to use this simple though inelegant option: Light switch ‘lock’

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LOL why does it boggle my mind that they even have these ‘switch stoppers’!?

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Don’t the Z1 Pro include detached relay?
You’ll just need to enable that option