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I'm looking for a basic light switch that works over WiFi to turn on a smart WiFi bulb. But the light switch will just be sitting on a desk next to a bunch of other equipment. Is there a WiFi smart light switch out there that just plugs into a regular power outlet and only does the wifi part, not worrying about physically hooking up to the wires in the wall at all?

anonymous2
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dmikester1
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  • yes there is .. – jsotola Nov 06 '20 at 19:12
  • this is an incredibly helpful comment .. – dmikester1 Nov 06 '20 at 21:13
  • I’m not really sure I understand the question. If you have a smart bulb, why do you need a switch? Also when you say “not physically hooking up to the wires in the wall”, you will still need plug it into a power outlet (which is actually powered)? – jcaron Nov 06 '20 at 21:13
  • Just want to have a physical switch so we don't need to open up an app on a smart phone to turn on and off a wifi light bulb. But don't want that switch to be on a wall just sitting on a desk but plugged in for power. – dmikester1 Nov 06 '20 at 21:14
  • Maybe "smart" was the wrong term to use, just a wifi light bulb. – dmikester1 Nov 06 '20 at 21:20
  • @dmikester1 you asked a yes/no question asking for confirmation of existence of a device ... Is there a wifi smart light switch ... ... such a question is on topic .... if you want to know where to buy one, then ask that, but such a question is off topic here – jsotola Nov 06 '20 at 22:44
  • We can go back and forth about semantics all day. You know exactly what I am asking. If you're not going to be helpful, why comment? – dmikester1 Nov 07 '20 at 03:36
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    For Zigbee (e.g. Philips Hue, Ikea Tradfri, and many more), that definitely exists (and they're actually wireless, and many cases interoperable, and they can have multiple settings like off/low/medium/high, and control multiple bulbs, or even trigger whole scenes). For WiFi I fear I think there isn't much standardisation, so you would probably need to have matching WiFi bulb and switch (which is more a remote control than a switch, really) from the same supplier, I suppose. – jcaron Nov 07 '20 at 14:05

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If you don't need it to be actually WiFi (802.11) but just wireless then the Ikea Tradfri range of bulbs do what you seem to be asking.

They are ZigBee based but don't need a hub (though can use one). You can pair with 3 different types of switch

  1. simple on/off (with press/hold for dimming)
  2. rotary dimmer switch
  3. 5 button switch (on/off button, dim up/dim down and colour temp up/down buttons)
hardillb
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  • The signal needs to go through at least 2 walls. Is that possible with Zigbee? – dmikester1 Nov 10 '20 at 21:12
  • That is an impossible question to answer, we don't know what the walls are made of or the distances. The only way to know is to test. Considering a single bulb and switch is only £10 it shouldn't pose a problem. – hardillb Nov 10 '20 at 21:29