Customer Reviews

Leviton 6696-W Anywhere Switch, RF Remote Decora Rocker 3-Way Switch, White

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

I bought this so that I could control the outdoor light on our unattached storage room from inside the house. I simply had to replace the existing light switch in the storage room with the remote controlled one (receiver), and I mounted the battery operated transmitter switch in the house near the back door.

At first I had a little trouble with getting the transmitter to turn on the light. On the receiver there's a little wire that acts as an antenna. This needs to be placed so that it dangles down the inside of the wall, and mine had become bunched up. The switch worked great after adjusting the antenna.

The range is about 50 feet, and it dimishes somewhat for each wall or metal door that the signal may have to pass through. Before purchasing this product, I would recommend making a rough measurement between the switch you want to control and the place where you want to mount the remote. If it's around or under 50 feet, this switch should work great for you!

I have installed it in a basement to control compact fluorescent lights. The lights started flickering, but I solved the problem by adding a regular incandescent bulb in the circuit. I found that it works even if the incandescent lamp is very low power (I used a 5W bulb from my Christmas ligths). The antenna wire has to be away from the metal box, otherwise the range is very limited. Overall I'm not impressed.

useful device, it can save you hundred of dollars in rewiring expenses. the only caveat is that sometimes car alarm systems can interfere, and you might be locking your car and end up switching your lights on... no big deal, really.

Got one of these; didn't work. Got another; didn't work. Searched several non-Amazon sites and found a Heath-Zenith unit that, after I re-researched the Amazon site, found it buried in its bowls. Obtained this product (from Amazon), installed it and it works GREAT! The unit is Heath-Zenith SL-6133; why Amazon doesn't have this on its primary search venue is beyond me and disingenious. Yo! Amazon...save your clients the trouble and yourself the return shipping fees; put Heath-Zenith SL-6133 on your primary site and delete Levitron.

I have gone through two of these--the first one, which didn't work at all, was replaced by Leviton. The second one worked for a month or two and then stopped. Leviton is refusing to do anything, despite repeated calls. The company simply does not stand by its products. I've been told to buy the much more expensive (by 4 times) product the company now sells, as it is "much better." Meanwhile, I'm stuck with this lemon. Do NOT buy.

This product comes in two pieces: a wired switch and a battery powered remote switch. I installed the wired portion at the top of a stairwell and the remote about 15' away at the bottom.

At first it didn't work, but after I made sure the antenna was dangling in the wall, it worked fine.

My only complaints:

- the wired switch doesn't fit flush into my small (~50 yrs) old metal electrical box; it sticks out about 1 cm

- compact fluorescent bulbs flicker when the switch is off; I had to change to a tungsten bulb

I bought this product to solve the exact problem it was designed for: Remote switching of a ceiling light fixture. The light fixture is upstairs and I am in need of an additional switch for it at the bottom of the stairs. Why? Because when I turn out all the lights downstairs I can't see. This switch would enable me to turn on the upstairs hallway light before ascending the staircase.

Installation of the remote switch was easy. Installation of the switch with the antenna was not so easy. To do it right you really need to pull the single gang box and drill a hole through the bottom for the antenna wire to feed through. I have a metal gang box so I pulled it and removed a hole tab in the bottom for the wire. Still, it is a pain to feed a thin antenna wire through the hole such that as you reinstall the box the wire continues to feed through the box and hang below the box on the inside of the wall. This step is the most important because if your antenna is not positioned to properly receive transmissions from the remote switch it will not work.

I think I did a good job of this, but who knows? I can't see the wire without tearing out some wall. I have lathe and plaster walls so I am not eager to do this.

My switch doesn't work very well. I do not have line-of-sight from switch to switch. There is some stairway framing obstructing the line-of-sight. The switches are approximately 20 feet apart. The remote switch will reliably turn OFF the upstairs light but only very occasionally will it turn it ON.

In all I was disappointed with this product.

Great Product for the places you do not have wiring for a second switch. We had this placed in a dining room where there was no way to put in another switch. This elimated the problem with having to go thru a dark room to either turn on or off the switch. A few years ago we had a contractor put this in and loved it. We blew a light bulb in the fixture a few weeks ago and the switch no longer worked we ordered a new one. It would not work so returned it. There is one thing I would like to warn people. There is a small switch below the wired switch that needs to be switched to work. What happened when the bulb blew this tiny switch is like a breaker and it also popped we did not know it was there. So LOOK for the little switch below the wired switch to fix any problems.

By the way AMAZON return is terrific. I printed off the return label placed in a box and soon recieved an e mail that it was recieved and my account was credited. I can not beleive it was so easy. Thanks Amazon

Fine enough product but does not work with fluorescent bulbs at all. Do not try to use. Hard to find a product that can do this with fluorescents. Swith is large, make sure you have room in the gang box. I'm sure it would work fine with incadescents but doesn't really work with "going green" CFL's or any other fluorescent bulbs.

Remote switch often fails to turn circuit on (may be related to fluorescent lighting, but fails even if I place an incandescent light in the ceiling set). I know the signal reaches the base unit, because the remote unit will always turn the circuit off once the base unit is used to turn the circuit on. Bottom line--poor design, would not recommend.