[Closed] Quinetic light switch / MK Echo

"Alexa, living room on." Light switches are so 20th Century.

If you don't want to go full smart, you can get bulbs with remote controls.

We are using 2x quinetic dual receivers with the MK compatible switches.

Layout is
Shower/Fan1 switch 1
Bathroom spots switch 2
Fan2 switch 3
Toilet light switch 4.

They were installed by an electrician but there was nothing complicated about the install, no reason why you couldn't do it yourself.

We did/do have a problem with switch 2. The spots in the bathroom are bluetooth enabled philips hue bulds. I think these interfere with the wireless protocol (though the frequency is not the same so not sure why)
.

For us the spots always switch on but intermittently don't switch off (have to retry a few times).

The controller/receiver was originally installed close to the spots. I've since moved it around 1.5m away and this seems to have improved the situation though still the odd time they wont switch off.

I tried contacting the quinetic help email about this but got no response.

Light switches are so 20th Century.

true! Alexia’s a bit old hat too now tho 😉 Been installing motion sensors recently, feel like a bloody caveman now when I walk into a room which doesn’t have one yet 🤣

Thanks. Don't want Alexa or anything smart but perhaps just the bulbs could work. How are they switched?

If the MK stuff works with Quinetic that's handy as the sockets are too close to the floor for their plug-in receivers but the MK ones go up the way.

Or, is it possible to wire the MK receiver unit into the existing switch and blank it off?

These are the receivers we're using:

Quinetic 2 x 6 Amp Wireless Dual Switch Receiver, though they also do single channel ones assuming you don't need both channels.

And this is the MK compatible switches we have: Quinetic Grid Switch - White - (MK Logic)

They're momentary switches rather than standard toggle switches but they fit in standard MK grid plates and look like MK switches.

These are what you need for single gang: K3631 and K3701

or these for double: K3632 and K3701

The switches will fit into a 16mm backbox OK, don't think you could go much shallower though.

You can connect multiple switches to a single receiver (think it's 10 max or something) so you can have switches in multiple locations if you need.

<edit>fixed links!</edit>

Just re-reading your original post and maybe I misunderstand but the receiver will not fit in a back box it would need to be else where and needs a power source, for us these just in the roofspace but this could be a problem for you if you've no access to the lighting circuit.

I've not looked at the MK Echo system so no idea how this works!

You can buy a Hue bulb + dimmer switch and use that without a Bridge (or Alexa), can also control via phone/tablet

e.g. https://smile.amazon.co.uk/Philips-White-Ambiance-Wireless-Dimmer/dp/B07SR3DTPR/ref=sr_1_6?ascsubtag=1ba00-01000-org00-win10-other-smile-uk000-pcomp-feature-scomp-wm-5&dchild=1&keywords=hue+switch+bluetooth+bulb&qid=1618383493&sr=8-6

That's all really helpful, thanks.

I’ve just been looking at the Quinetic stuff to solve a problem we have.
Our hallway has lights along it but 2 switches, one upstairs and one down. That’s fine BUT the downstairs switch was put in at the end of the hallway so it’s miles away when you come in the front door. I can’t use smart bulbs, already tried that.
What I need is an intermediate switch next the the front door. Which would be fine but there’s no way of adding one without massive disruption to 3 already decorated areas so that can’t happen.
Can I install a Quinetic receiver as an intermediate switch to turn the hallway lights on then add switches where I need them? I can’t find out the best way to wire in the receiver on the internet.
EDIT - I do not want to replace the normal 2 way switches as they match everything else and are quite visible.

I’ve just been looking at the Quinetic stuff to solve a problem we have.
Our hallway has lights along it but 2 switches, one upstairs and one down. That’s fine BUT the downstairs switch was put in at the end of the hallway so it’s miles away when you come in the front door. I can’t use smart bulbs, already tried that.
What I need is an intermediate switch next the the front door. Which would be fine but there’s no way of adding one without massive disruption to 3 already decorated areas so that can’t happen.
Can I install a Quinetic receiver as an intermediate switch to turn the hallway lights on then add switches where I need them? I can’t find out the best way to wire in the receiver on the internet.
EDIT – I do not want to replace the normal 2 way switches as they match everything else and are quite visible.

I can't see any way you could do this without replacing the current 2 way switches also (though this is trivial, you just replace the faceplates, costs money though). The manual for the receiver I've got says 30m indoors range though we have the switches installed about 2m from the receivers (if it helps I could pull one of the switches out and check if it still works from downstairs - maybe 15m away from the receiver max). Bear in mind you need access to install the receiver somewhere as the receiver replaces the switch(es).

the receiver will not fit in a back box it would need to be else where and needs a power source, for us these just in the roofspace but this could be a problem for you if you’ve no access to the lighting circuit.

I've been looking into these as have similar door flipping problem as the OP. I think MK works in the same way.

Quinetic does have a switch plate with built in receiver though. https://www.quinetic.co.uk/products/in-line-receiver-switch/
So you can have a Quinetic switch instead of a blanking plate behind the door, with a paired secondary switch elsewhere.
Requires a 25mm pattress though, knowing my luck my 3 gang switch will have a 16mm...

Ah, hadn't seen that, it's pretty clever, quite a bit smaller than the receivers we have (though our switches were to new knockouts with no wiring so this wouldn't have worked for us).

EDIT – I do not want to replace the normal 2 way switches as they match everything else and are quite visible.

no experience of this system, but as said it looks like the whole lighting circuit would have to be part of the system so you couldn't just add one of their smart switches alongside your existing non-smart switches.

In my house I've made all the lighting smart by adding Shelly wifi relays behind all the switches. These are great for 3 reasons, they're really cheap, you can still use your existing switches, and for any family members not interested in smart-stuff to all intents and purposes everything will still function exactly the same (your lights will even still work if your wifi network goes down!) You do need to wire them in yourself though so you need to be confident/competent electrically.

In your case you'd install a Shelly behind one of the 2-way switches, making the lighting circuit smart (you could then control it from your phone, Siri etc). You then have options for installing another remote switch somewhere, either a battery or USB powered smart switch which can be mounted on the wall, won't match the rest of your stuff but is the easiest. OR you could surface mount a new switch with a relay behind it, mains powered (you'd need to spur off a nearby socket to power it and run some cable to it which might not be aesthetically to your taste!)

Requires a 25mm pattress though, knowing my luck my 3 gang switch will have a 16mm…

yeah I had this problem when fitting relays behind my switches, you could chisel out the wall & fit a bigger back box but I just ended up 3d printing some pattress extensions & surface mounted them, actually looked alright in the end!