@simichoil, in my current setup the 3-way automations are written in the Xiaomi app. The slave switch is decoupled and it is seen as a button. The automation is as simple as: when slave button press then toggle master switch.
The main benefit of the approach is that the slave acts as a button (so it does not trigger the relay) and the 3-ways works also if there is network issue or Home Assistant goes down (as the whole thing only requires the Xiaomi Gateway to be powered, not even connected to the internet).
@intositeme, yes, in decoupled mode you can keep the switch always on (you just need to check if the switch turns off automatically, after a certain period of time).
As I have disassembled few of these switches, I need to rectify what I wrote earlier: the embedded relay is a bistate model (from Panasonic). That means that it only requires power when it changes state. In simple words: you can keep it on forever, without consequences.
The only issue I see is that if you put in decoupled mode you wonât be able to capture the button press events in Home Assistant (I believe they were never supported) and when you have a power cut you need to remember to turn the switch on in the Xiaomi app.
If you need to power a smart light from one of these switches, you should put the switch in decoupled mode and keep it always on. Then use the button press event as more convenient to you. But sadly this doesnât work in Home Assistant, that doesnât capture the button events when the no-neutral switch is in decoupled mode.
You could theoretically use another another wire to power on the smart bulb, so it stays always on, and then use the wall-switch in Home Assistant (capturing the state, when not in decoupled mode) and writing automations out of it. The relay in this setup wonât control any light.
In my setup I try to not to mix smart bulbs with smart switches, for the above complications. But in one case, to make it simpler, I hardwired the smart lights directly in the switch box (you can use a Wago connector) and screwed on the switch box a battery operated Aqara Wall Switch (that looks identical to the no-neutral model). In this mode the button press events are captured by Home Assistant and I can control the smart lights with HA automations (e.g. turn on/off, increase brightness, change colour). A battery operated switch might seen ridiculous for this application, but it works perfectly, it is neat and the battery last forever (in my case never changed in 4 years).
I made the single button switch decoupled and then removed from the wall.
A few days later I reinstalled the HA and wanted to add the switch again but it wonât react to any button clicks so I canât reset it and enter into discovery mode.
PLEASE help how to get this switch discoverable again.
You just have to press and hold the switch for a few seconds until the lights of the switch start to flash (yes, there are LEDs at the bottom of the switch).
Even if you donât get to pair it, you will have forced the factory reset, which allows you to use it as a normal switch.
Well, I was just talking about the âdecoupled modeâ functionality, which is a very specific functionality of the switches.
Hopefully the devices will work properly (at least with Zigbee2mqtt).
