I live in apartments where there’s communal lights for the stairwell.
Downstairs there’s currently a timer light switch which when pressed stays on for 10 minutes.
Upstairs theres a standard light switch.
These both control the communal lights, however they don’t work in tandem.
If the downstairs timer switch is off and the upstairs switch is on then it just stays on.
If the downstairs switch is pressed, it stays on regardless until the timer is up. (even if you switch the upstairs one)
I’m looking to replace one of them with a smart light switch so this can be controlled better but not sure what sort is needed? I have a feeling these are both just individual light switches that happen to control the same lights.
being that the light is in an apartment complex adds more complexity to this.
are you allowed to just go replacing light switches at will? More apartment management frown on the tenants doing their own electrical work.
and if you made them smart then who’s smart home control system gets to control the lights? What if the other tenants don’t like the way you have the system running?
All of that aside it definitely sounds as if the two light switches are simply wired in parallel instead of in a standard 3-way configuration (in the US, 2-way in others areas from my understanding).
it will be difficult to run smart switches if the wiring in the wall doesn’t support them.
Sounds like a 2 way wiring with the downstairs on a timer switch
You could install a relay like sonoff zbmini L2 if you don’t have neutral behind them and replace the downstairs switch with a regular type switch.