How To Program 3 Zooz Switches In a Virtual 4-Way With Regular Bulbs

Zooz switches are designed to connect with regular mechanical on/off switches in 4-way installations to minimize installation time and device cost. You can still use multiple Zooz switches to control the same light, you just would never wire them according to the traditional diagrams in the manual but instead, use special virtual 4-way wiring instructions you can find here. Once they're wired, you can program the switches according to the below instructions for virtual 4-way set-ups with regular bulbs (click here for instructions featuring smart bulbs).

You can connect any Zooz models in a virtual 4-way when using regular bulbs. Remember that dimmers need to be connected to high-quality dimmable LED bulbs or incandescent bulbs only. The recommended models for virtual 4-way installations are the ZEN71 on/off switch, ZEN72 dimmer, or ZEN32 Scene Controller. You can use different Zooz models in the same installation, it will not affect the wiring or the programming of the switches as long as they're fully supported by your hub.

Here are the most common use cases for this scenario:

Dimming from all locations in a 4-way, just like in the case of a virtual 3-way.
Uniform look and feel on all of your switches, just like with the virtual 3-way.
Multi-tap triggers aka scene control available from all locations.
You have load and line in separate locations and you purchased the ZEN71 or ZEN72, or ZEN32 models instead of the ZEN76 or ZEN77 models. Since these models cannot accommodate this type of a 4-way scenario, one approach is to create a virtual 4-way instead, especially when you would like to incorporate the ZEN32 Scene Controller, a unique device without an equivalent to work in larger multi-way set-ups with regular on/off switches.

Please click here for wiring instructions of your virtual 4-way set-up.

Once the switches are wired, you'll be able to control your lights from the primary switch or dimmer. This is the dimmer that has the load connection in. The remote switches/dimmers (the ones that only has line, neutral, and ground in) will need to be included to your hub and programmed to control the main device through wireless communication first.

You can program the virtual 4-way for regular bulbs in 3 different methods:

1. With direct association which is the recommended approach to a virtual 4-way, using the ZEN72 or ZEN77 dimmers on the latest available firmware.

Your Z-Wave system needs to support access to direct association and all switches need to be added to your hub with the same level of security. We recommend that you use the ZEN72 or ZEN77 models with the latest firmware for this scenario and program them according to the instructions below to keep the dimmers in sync:

Dimmer Instructions:
- Main dimmer or on/off switch (connected to load): no changes in settings
- Remote dimmers: set parameter 7 to value 11 - this is a new parameter that hasn't been added to selected platforms yet so you can accomplish the change by clicking the bottom paddle 4 times quickly after you add the dimmers to the hub (the LED indicator will flash 3 times to confirm the change - it will only do that the first time the change is activated so watch closely)
- Set direct association for Group 3 only, adding the device ID's for other dimmers in the group. So if dimmer A is your main dimmer and dimmer B and C are your remote dimmers, add dimmer B and C to Group 3 on dimmer A; add dimmer A and C to Group 3 on dimmer B; and add dimmer A and B to Group 3 on dimmer C.
- IMPORTANT: Remote dimmers can then only be used from the paddles (you need to hide them in your smart home interface not to trigger them via Z-Wave) while any Z-Wave or wireless control of the light needs to happen from the main dimmer A. This will ensure all devices stay in sync at all times.
  - SmartThings users: Group 2 can be programmed in the Basic Set Assoc. Device Network ID setting, and Group 3 can be programmed in the Multilevel Set Assoc Device Net ID setting.
On/Off Switch Instructions
- Main & Remote Switch: no advanced settings changes needed
- Set direct association for Group 2 only, adding the device ID's for other switches in the group. So, if switch A is your main switch and switches B and C are your remote switches, add switch B and C to Group 2 on switch A; add switch A and C to Group 2 on switch B; and add switch A and B to Group 2 on switch C.
- IMPORTANT: Remote switches can then only be used from the paddles (you need to hide them in your smart home interface not to trigger them via Z-Wave) while any Z-Wave or wireless control of the light needs to happen from the main switch A. This will ensure all devices stay in sync at all times.

We've included Direct Association programming instructions for the most popular Z-Wave hubs below:

2. With central scene commands where you use the multi-tap button functionality of the switches. You will need to set both remote dimmers / switches as remote control devices for your primary dimmer or switch. They communicate through the hub which needs to support central scene commands, including "start level change" and "stop level change" commands for remote dimming. Here are detailed central scene programming instructions for the most popular hubs:

Z-Box Hub
Home Assistant
Hubitat
SmartThings (no support for remote dimming with this method)

3. With smart rules using the status reported by each switch where you need to create an If... Then... scenario to link the devices together. This is only recommended if your hub doesn't give you access to direct association or scene control features. The steps to create these automations will depend on the user interface of your hub so please refer to the manual of your system for details. Here is an example of the 6 rules you would need to create to sync the 3 switches:

If switch A (primary switch or dimmer) is turned on, then turn switch B and C on (where B and C are the remote control dimmers or switches).
If switch A is turned off, then turn switch B and C off.
If switch B is turned on, then turn switch A on.
If switch B is turned off, then turn switch A off.
If switch C is turned on, then turn switch A on.
If switch C is turned off, then turn switch A off.

If you need any help programming your virtual 4-way set-up, please contact our tech support team and we'll be happy to assist you.