Troubleshooting flickering lights
Flickering is usually the bulb or the dimming range rather than the switch. Work through these in order.
- Check the bulb is dimmable. Plenty of LED bulbs aren't, and a non-dimmable bulb on a dimmer will flicker, buzz, or refuse to dim smoothly. It'll say on the box or the bulb itself.
- Check the total load on the switch. Add up the wattage of every bulb the switch controls. Stay under about 300W for incandescent or halogen, and under about 150W for LED. A fixture with a lot of bulbs on it can quietly go over.
- Raise the minimum dimming level. This is the one that fixes most flickering. Many LED bulbs can't hold a steady light at the very bottom of the dimming range, so they stutter. Raising the switch's minimum level so it never dims below what the bulb can handle sorts it out. See How to adjust dimming range on Simple Dimmers (trim).
- Check the fixture type. Deako Smart Dimmers use reverse-phase dimming, also called trailing edge, and support ELV fixtures. A fixture or transformer that needs forward-phase dimming will flicker on any reverse-phase dimmer.
- Check the wiring. Deako backplates are polarity sensitive. Make sure the neutral wire is connected to the same neutral as the switch, and that travelers aren't crossed between two switches in a multiway. See Common Wiring Issues.
Still flickering?
Call 1-844-673-3256 or email support@deako.com. Tell us the bulb type, how many bulbs are on the switch, and whether a known-good bulb changed anything.