This time I want to share a little of my experience with a random device that I thought would be easy to implement (at least in Zigbee2MQTT), but it turned out to be the opposite. I was intrigued to try this device because I found it quite unique, in addition to the rotary knob, it also has 4 buttons and 3 switchable modes: scene, light, and curtain, and is made of premium materials.
After the
item arrived, it was easily paired with the Tuya gateway (and app), and then
tried the modes in the app. Then I tried pairing it with the Z2M, and sure
enough, the device didn't report anything. It was definitely using a custom
cluster or needed some magical code to get it working. Finally, I went back to
the Tuya app and opened the Tuya IoT Platform website to try to find
information about the Tuya Data Point as documented on the Z2M website, but to
no avail.
Long story
short, the only way was to sniff the Zigbee network using the CC2531 and
Wireshark. After I had all the necessary equipment and settings, a new problem
arose. Besides the thousands of lines of sniffing logs, I was confused about
how this device worked. I finally turned to Claude AI (Opus 4.5) for help. From
there, I discovered that the device requires special activation method to
activate each mode (bind). Furthermore, button detection in Light and Curtain modes
requires a special method to record the button's Group ID (in Z2M) because I
couldn't replicate what the Tuya app (cloud) does. If you're interested, you
can see the details here. In short, this device will be supported on
Zigbee2MQTT in next year's update.
Let's move on to the device itself. From its appearance, it looks quite premium, with its aluminum and glass construction. The packaging is quite nice, thick, and has a magnet at the opening. For details of the contents of the packaging, you can see for yourself in the photo. The buttons feel good to press, and the knob is quite satisfying to turn. It also has a base with a strong magnet.
I'll briefly explain the features and modes. It has 3 modes that need to be activated (bind) one by one in the settings. Press and hold the right/left button to switch between modes. LED indicator: red is scene mode, green is light mode, and blue is curtain mode.
· In
scene mode, there are only 4 buttons that function and there is only 1x press
function, no knob function.
· In
light mode, there are 4 buttons and a knob for each button. Press once for on
or off command, the knob only works when the command is ON to adjust
brightness, press quickly 2x to enter the color temp setting by turning the
knob.
· In
curtain mode, there are 4 buttons and a knob for each button. Press once for
start or stop command, knob works on any command.
Note that
the knob is intended to controls each device (on each button), so you have to know which device you want to control first, by pressing the button first. So the knob only works when one of the buttons is pressed first, if left unattended for
a certain period of time, the knob does not function. This device uses 2x AAA
batteries but does not report the remaining battery.
In closing,
I don't recommend this device because the knob requires a button press to use
it, and in Light mode it can only be used when the command is ON. Unless you
can accept these drawbacks.
