It’s fun running into a remote that works well with Z-Wave or Zigbee setups. There are options out there, but not all of them maintain solid connectivity while also sporting a good battery life. This is one that offers both of these traits while also providing plenty of button functions and a fantastic price tag.
The Minoston S2 Z-Wave Wireless Remote Control Switch comes with everything required to mount it onto a wall so it looks like any other switch around your home. Without having to make any holes outside of the screws and anchors that come with it. The company even includes solid anchors vs your typical skinny plastic ones.
If you prefer not mount it on the wall and would rather it just be sitting on a flat surface somewhere, that is fine as well. The remote pops right out of the wall mount, as it is only held in place with magnets. So you can ultimately do whatever you want with it.
Its instructions are pretty straightforward, and you might not even spend much time reading them at all if you already have experience working with Z-Wave devices. The hardest part is configuring each button, as the process depends on whatever hub you are making use of (we added it to a Home Assistant server/hub), and the process wasn’t terrible. We just added various automations that fire depending on what button is pressed, double-pressed, or held down.
In our setup, we simply used the remote to control various lighting conditions within our studio here. Offering an alternative way to control the lights both in the roof and along the truss, and the various scenes we have for them all.
We have been using it for around three months now, and it has been doing great. There have only been two times when we picked it up, and it wasn’t responding to the buttons we pressed. Both times, it resolved itself minutes later. This wasn’t too surprising, as this happens a lot with both Z-Wave and Zigbee remotes as they temporarily lose connection to the hub from time to time. We have come across remotes that didn’t respond half the time, so only a few instances in about three months time is pretty good!
The only other thing to really bring up is battery life, and this is also something it seems to be doing great with. Our second favorite option to this is the Aeotec WallMote, and even that loses connection more often than this does. This one also has a better battery life.
Our Conclusion
Nothing like a quick review! This one was an easy one to talk about since it didn’t really have any issues when it comes to adding it, it mostly remains connected at all times, and offers a great battery life thus far. That last variable is one we will keep an eye on over time, as we will quickly come back to update if we feel the battery doesn’t deliver when it comes to long-term use.
Right now (at the time of writing this), its price is only $28.70, which is quite fair and makes this a good buy for anyone looking to add a small remote to their Z-Wave setup. It is small, offers plenty of configurability between all of the buttons, and looks great on or off the wall.
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